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English version
The first thing that seduces when approaching this man whose tours en l’air leave lovers of dance with their mouths agape, is his calm, sweet, and a somewhat youthful-looking face. Thin, small, sinewy and powerful at 5’9” and 145lb. This enviable build is the result of a simple recipe: Mediterranean diet and a lot of ballet. No alcohol, no drugs, no smoking - and partying like a Carthusian Monk. Corella smiles: "Oh, come on! There are dancers for all tastes and there are also those who consume alcohol, smoke and even do drugs. But my body is my weapon of work and I look after it. For me, it’s easy because alcohol does not attract me, nor smoking or clubbing. In this I am a bit odd, really”.
Not likely. Really the only unusual aspect of this star of the dance, who began to astonish the world when at 19 he began his career as a soloist at the American Ballet Theatre in New York, is his naturalness. He has received many awards including the Prix de Benois, the Oscar of dance, and has toasted his success with all kinds of celebrities, from Kings to Prime Ministers and all the stars of Hollywood. But he does not lose sleep over this image of power. "I’m still the same old Ángel. I like to be with my family, my friends and now with my dogs. I enjoy the simple things rather than a big party with all the great actors and actresses in Hollywood ".
Today, through a lengthy telephone interview Angel tells me that he’s booked for all summer. "On 31 July we will be in the Noches Mágicas de la Granja with a very complete program: Raymonda Suite, For 4, Soleá, and Danse à gran Vitesse." Corella speaks with particular enthusiasm of Soleá, a piece created especially for the siblings Corella by Maria Pagés. "I wanted to bring to New York something very Spanish, that would help to show the everlasting relationship between my sister and me. We almost never partner in dance because she is very tall, but I fancied something that showed this harmonious relationship we have, and it’s clearly seen in Soleá. "
What does a day in your life look like?
Quite varied. If I’m not on tour, I get up at 9, I shower, I feed my three dogs, take them out for a walk, take the car, come here, (his studios) attend class and rehearse until half past 6 or 7 in the afternoon. Then it depends, but more or less a cocktail of interviews, dealing with banks, meetings with the Junta de Castilla y León, or just doing things around the house.
With that schedule, you must be a superhero or your day has 30 hours...
I am a superhero! (Laughs). The truth is that I have a fantastic team. I came to realize that directing is much more tiring than dancing. The kids see that I am with them, that I am interested - I’m not just sitting, saying “Stretch that foot”, but I am part of everything that is happening. That tires me much more than dancing. So I lose weight, because when I’m dancing my rehearsals, I finish and that’s all, but when I direct, I also dance, rehearse, direct, and that’s all extra.
How is your health?
It’s fine. Actually I have no problem with my health; just sometimes I get stressed because I do many things at once. In Valladolid I had some dips in blood sugar levels whose origin I did not know and at last we saw the cause was nothing other than not eating. There were days that I forgot to eat. Now I have set a routine to stop, yes stop, yes stop, from 3 to 3:30pm and have a meal, even just a sandwich.
The truth is that in addition to running your newly created company, you continue as one of the star dancers of American Ballet Theatre. Do you feel the King of Rock and Roll?
I’m quite honest when I say that I have no time to think about me. The careers of 50 dancers are in my hands and that’s a big responsibility that does not leave room for vanity. I have lived my moments of glory already, and now I don’t want to squander everything I’ve learned all these years, but share it with all these young people.
Did you know that your name is listed as a possible director of the CND?
This is the first I’ve heard about that. We had some discussions with INAEM and the Minister and our position is that with the budget the Compañía Nacional de Danza has, both the CND and a classic company could be run. What I find crazy is trying to transform CND into a classical company. Anyway, I think it is better to stop beating around the bush and let those who have to make the decision do what they think best.
You started very young and also triumphed very young. What role did the Goddess Fortuna play in your story?
Everything counts, I think. But I am also convinced there are things which are written and life will lead you to them. Never thought I would get what I got or that I was going to be one of the stars of the American Ballet Theatre for 14 years. I was so shocked… It’s a dream from which I have yet to awaken.
How many pirouettes are needed to tempt, seduce you?
(Laughs) None,really. But it’s strange because we dancers are still dancers when it comes to sex; sometimes it becomes almost a choreography, but I think that’s something that happens to everyone when we are with someone who really reaches us.
Are you the darling of the Government?
I think not, just the opposite. We have worked hard for years and they did not make the way easier. I had to knock on many doors, and sometimes I felt like throwing in the towel and thinking: What am I doing this for if I really do not need it? I can dance with all the companies in the world, run a company in America and make a packet, things I’m not going to be able to do with a Foundation which needs all the i’s dotted and all the t’s crossed at year’s end, showing where every penny was spent.
Speaking of numbers, how do you manage in times of crisis to carry out a production like Swan Lake?
With much intelligence, and pinching every penny. For us the most important is paying the dancers - that they cash their paychecks every month, that thing is paramount. And from there you do what you can. In this case, we were fortunate the Teatro de Sant Cugat, Teatro Calderón of Valladolid and the Campoamor de Oviedo joined and took on the costs of production and that was favorable to all.
You have been dancing since age 7. What gets left by the side of the road when one passes from childhood to maturity without yielding to the temptations of adolescence?
Well, one does not realize what he is relinquishing because he never had it in the first place. The prospect of my life has ever been that I love dance and want to be a dancer. Yes I’ve missed something, of course. There were other kids that I saw going out all weekend, up to their eyeballs in calimocho (red wine and cola.) In the meanwhile, I went home, watched a movie and dreamed about the movie. I love cinema and I think that is part of a dancer being a good actor, to get into the skin of another character, like Romeo, and live this love so desperate. So, being a child who has so dreamed, I have been very happy. Other children have had their extras, I have had different ones.
It seems that you never have gone too far. Are you like Mary Poppins, practically perfect?
No, I don’t think anyone is perfect, I also believe that perfection would be boring. As a good Scorpio I am very stubborn, a perfectionist and very passionate, but at the same time I am extremely impatient, and if something goes wrong I cannot relax - to take a break. I think that things have to happen now or never.
Do you also prick the butt of the dancers when they do not stretch well, as some Russian masters used to do?
Absolutely not! I do not do that, I fuss over them affectionately. I show them I can bring them to their fullest potential, but they should want to. This is a profession that requires much passion and a lot of sacrifice, there’s no room for laziness or weakness, today my toenail hurts a little, I will not dance, well no, that does not fit here.
How do you get by with that guy you find in the mirror every morning?
Pretty good. It is not false modesty; I know my strengths and my faults and recognize them as such. I am very insecure, much more than people think. The fact of having made more than four thousand people give a standing ovation forces you to think that the next day you have to equal or best that, you have no choice. And that is a responsibility that sometimes scared me a lot and created a lot of anxiety in me.
Tell me, if there is anything, what, with great sorrow of your heart, would you leave ballet for?
(Thinks for a while) Anything that would affect my family. If I have to quit, of course I would.
Translation by José Luis Domingo fine tuned by Karen Over
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