The dancer Aída Gómez will be responsible for teaching Spanish dance at the school, which will be called ‘Nacho Duato Academy’

The choreographer and director Nacho Duato has presented this Friday, March 17, its new dance school ‘Nacho Duato Academy’ (NDA) located in the former headquarters of Antonio ‘El Bailarín’ company, in Madrid. “I want a school with a sensitive education, the words ‘no’ and ‘impossible’ do not exist in my school“He stated at the presentation press conference.

“General corrections do not exist, they have to be from teacher to student or student. The student has to enter and say: this is my site“, added the choreographer when talking about his school, which integrates the previously called SCAENA Higher Center for Performing Arts and the Professional Dance Conservatory directed by teacher Carmen Roche.

Duato explained that the academy was born from the collaboration between the Spanish choreographer and the former dancers of the National Dance Company who worked with the artist for more than 20 years. “My dancers told me: you have to continue your work“, he recalled.

In addition, he has detailed that the NDA arises from the need to preserve his choreographic work through “specific” training and study in his most “iconic” works, which are part of the cultural heritage of dance in Spain.

In this sense, he has indicated that he wants to expand the current educational offer through a training of “excellence” focused on the current challenges of the performing arts, without forgetting the “tradition and demand” of classical ballet and Spanish dance.

In this context, he has added that the initiative also seeks to return the “splendor” to the dance of the Bolera School. To this end, it will count on the work of Aída Gómez –National Dance Award Winner, former director of the National Ballet of Spain (BNE) and current reference point for Spanish dance– who will be responsible for teaching Spanish dance in the school.

“It cannot be that we have figures like Aída and that she is not in a school made for her. that teaches is a treasure“, Duato has highlighted. “You have to have excellence to make good dancers and artists. Good dancers not only of dance, but of head and heart”, added Gómez, also present at the press conference.

INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM ‘NACHO DUATO TRAINEE PROGRAM’

On the other hand, the academy will offer an international postgraduate program ‘Nacho Duato Academy Trainee Program’, a project designed and directed by the choreographer himself where students have the opportunity to learn about the director’s work and work professionally with his dancers.

In this sense, this initiative aims to help students join different dance companies and create the young Nacho Duato Company (CND), where students can take their first steps as professional dancers and go on national and international tours. Thus, the first generation of students will leave the audition that will take place at the school headquarters on March 26.

“I think there are no Spaniards, there are 20 dancers from all over the world, but it seems that 14,000 euros for training with the best dancers in the world seem very expensive to the SpanishDuato pointed out.

When asked about his possible teaching at the academy, Duato has indicated that he goes to classes and makes them “a wiggle”, but that he does not like to teach classes since he does not consider himself a “good teacher”. “I choose the dancers and I am with them. I know perfectly well if a student or a teacher is worth it or if he has to leave”, he added.

On the other hand, he has revealed that he wrote a letter to Felipe VI 15 months ago and that he himself replied that he was going to look for a “hole” to meet with the artist but that, after all this time, he has not received an answer, so that “the desire to share the problem of dance” has gone, he acknowledged.

“What I wanted was to tell her to encourage dance more, not to start doing ballet, to go accompany the girls and ask her if Princess Sofía wanted to be godmother of the ballet. I don’t know what he would think but hey, 15 months, the desire has gone,” Duato ironized.