(342) Alejandro Cerrudo, Artistic Director of Charlotte Ballet
This week on Conversations On Dance, we sit down with Charlotte Ballet director and international choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo. We spoke with Alejandro about his first season of programming for Charlotte Ballet, how important freedom and risk taking are to the choreographic process and his plans to make the company an integral part of the city's identity. If you are in the Charlotte area, you can catch the company's choreographic lab from June 9-17. To subscribe to the company's 2023-24 season, visit charlotteballet.org.
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TRANSCRIPT
This transcript was generated automatically. It’s accuracy may vary.
Rebecca King Ferraro [00:00:36]:
I'm Rebecca King Ferraro.
Michael Sean Breeden [00:00:38]:
And I'm Michael Sean Breed and you're listening to Conversations on Dance. This week on Conversations on Dance, we sit down with Charlotte Ballet director and international choreographer Alejandro Ceruto. We spoke with Alejandro about his first season of programming for Charlotte Ballet, how important freedom and risk taking are to the Choreographic process, and his plans to make the company an integral part of the city's identity. If you are in the Charlotte area, you can catch the company's choreographic lab this June 9 through the 17th. To subscribe to the company's 20 23 24 season, visit charlotte.org.
Michael Sean Breeden [00:01:19]:
Alejandro, thank you so much for joining us this morning. We're very excited to hear a lot about Charlotte Valley's just announced 23 24 season. But before we get into that, we always like to start at the beginning. If we have someone we haven't interviewed before, we just love to hear a little bit about your own personal artistic journey. So take us all the way back. When did you first fall in love with dance and what was your early training, early journey with dance like?
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:01:47]:
Yeah, well, I started fairly young. I was about eight, nine years old and I didn't know much about it. I just knew that my sister danced. So that's how I got curious. And bit by bit, going to ballet every day really picked my interest until now that it became a passion and has become my career in my life. So it started very slow and then escalated very quickly.
Rebecca King Ferraro [00:02:25]:
Yeah. When did you realize that you wanted to pursue it professionally and make a career out of dancing?
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:02:34]:
Quite young as well. Before I finished my studies in dance, I knew this is what I wanted to do. I think that taste of being in front of an audience, that gave me really the excitement that I needed. Like many other things in life, the more I got to know what dance was about, the more passionate I became, because you I really was able to see the depth of what the dance can have. It was quite early.
Michael Sean Breeden [00:03:24]:
At what point did you start to feel like choreography would also be a pivotal focus for you? And how did you sort of balance that with your own dancing ambitions?
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:03:34]:
Yeah, that was a little bit later. I studied classical ballet in Madrid and then I danced for a year. My first professional company was Classical Neoclassical Dance Company. And then quickly I moved to Germany and I went to Stuttgart. To Stuttgart Ballet. And there there was an opportunity to do a choreographic workshop in which the dancers will choreograph on their colleagues. And I was not particularly interested in choreography itself, but I was interested in improving myself as a dancer. And I thought if I put myself in the eyes of a choreographer, I would be able to become a better dancer. So that's how the curiosity for choreography started. It was more so I could become a better professional as a dancer. Yeah, it's just that then afterwards, after my first one and my second one, I got approached by some people from presenters saying that they liked what they saw and that they wanted to offer me the opportunity to create a commission work. And that's how it all started. It was not intentional, but my passion continued to grow.
Rebecca King Ferraro [00:04:57]:
That's really interesting to me because we talk a lot on the podcast about how Michael and I, once we retired and we started teaching, that kind of gives you this different perspective. You're needing to analyze your body and how the steps work in order to vocalize that and explain it to students. So hearing you talk about that in a similar experience with your choreography, I wonder how once you did start choreographing, how did you start to kind of implement what you were learning from being in the front of the room to.
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:05:26]:
Your dancing almost right away? It really is an eye opening experience to be in front of the room when you're so used to being, in a way, hidden among the other students, but in the front of the room, then once you put yourself there, you have a completely different perspective. So even if you're not that intentional about it, there is something that changes in you because you're more aware of what that person sees and perceives from the front of the room, or what that person really how can you better help person?
Michael Sean Breeden [00:06:14]:
I'm curious to hear a little bit about some of the early works and what maybe your defining choreographic traits were.
Michael Sean Breeden [00:06:21]:
At that point and how you feel.
Michael Sean Breeden [00:06:23]:
That might have evolved in the years since you've been making work.
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:06:28]:
Yes, so the the first the first. So I talked about how I did this choreographic workshop in Germany, and then from Germany, I went on and worked for a very prestigious contemporary dance company, another long dance theater in The Hague. I learned a lot there. I worked with incredible artists, and then I moved here to the United States in Chicago, the company that I work for in Chicago, they also had a graphic workshop, and so I created a small duet that the director really liked, the director of the time, Jim Vincent, which is he's been my mentor since I met him. Then he offered me to create a work for the company. So that was my first commission work. And that experience was incredible because that work was very successful. Many other companies have acquired that work. And then the company that I created on Harvested in Chicago at that time, we would tour a lot and we would tour with that work. So that was sort of the perfect business card for me because every time where Harbor Street Dance Chicago would perform that work, the audience would see my work and agents would see my work and other directors would see my work. And that's how we get approached. So that was a great gift in my career. Yes. And I see how important it is to provide those opportunities to young artists and really provide a platform where they can create without any kind of pressure of having to deliver anything in particular. Just let them work and then really showcase their talent.
Michael Sean Breeden [00:08:55]:
I'd love to hear a little bit more about that because I feel like as arts funding, I mean, it's always been tight. But I feel like even with the pandemic and things have become exacerbated and there is sort of a pressure that when a new work is choreographed, that it needs to deliver or be a hit or that the company can cash in on this risk they took. Maybe you could speak a little bit more to the importance of just risk and being able to explore your own creative side.
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:09:29]:
Yeah, definitely. There is a pressure associated with creating new work. Especially in contemporary work. We want to always make something new. We want to innovate. And that sounds very exciting and all, but we tend to focus on, yes, this guy is something new and innovative, but there's a risk factor into something trying to make something new and something revolutionary, and it's very difficult to do. So that's why I think these choreographic workshops are so important and Shallow ballet has we have our own choreo lab which will be performed in two weeks here at the center for Dance. And that is the one program out of our season when the choreographers really they have a free car to do whatever they're inspired to do. Next season, which is the first season that I've programmed, we're going to take it even further. It's going to be renamed now the Choreography Workshop. It's going to be called Flip. And it's because we're not going to only give the dancers the opportunity to create choreography, but we're also going to flip roles on that side, the choreographer and dancer. But also I want to give the opportunity to our artists to look at lighting design or costume design. We're going to see how much of that they can also poke their heads into marketing and more administrative work. So this is an opportunity for all of us to understand what other departments do what it takes to produce a show, and at the same time to give an opportunity for development beyond the dance career. That often can be quite short. A dance career is often over by 35, 30, 40, if you're lucky. And then the big question becomes, what do I do next? So I think this is a great initiative to really start presenting the options for our artists on what might be of their interest after this great career that they have in.
Rebecca King Ferraro [00:12:23]:
I love that so much, and I love how that goes back to your roots of you starting to choreograph and how that was you were doing that kind of to change your perspective on things. So I want to know how the dancers get involved in this. How are you encouraging them to choose if they want to choreograph, if they want to do lighting design, what does that process look like? And have you even started it yet?
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:12:44]:
Yeah, so we're doing a small test for this year, and so far it's working really well. Of course, there are so many details that we have to figure it out as we go, but overall, it's a very exciting initiative, and I can feel that from the downstairs, I'm not imposing anything on them. When I spoke with everybody about this idea, I made clear that this is something that they need to be inspired to do. I'm not here to force any inspiration on anyone to do anything that they're not motivated to do, because at the end of the day, they are downstairs. So anything out of that scope, they really need to want to. They signed up for different things, and now we're exploring how we can how we can make that happen and then to what extent we can make that happen.
Rebecca King Ferraro [00:13:57]:
Yeah. So if you did see a dancer that you thought maybe could have a knack for choreography but didn't sign up, maybe not this year, years in the future, would you maybe approach them and ask them if they've thought about it?
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:14:11]:
Yes, definitely. I mean, I would want to encourage anyone, and for the same reason that I started choreographing. Even if you're not interested in choreographing, I think it is a good experiment to go through to become a better dancer. So even if someone would say, why not so interested in Caraffin, even if it's just an exercise, I think it's a good thing to do. Definitely.
Michael Sean Breeden [00:14:42]:
Right. It just struck me that you're one of the only directors presently who choreographs. It used to be a much more popular model that the director would also be in house choreographer. So not only does that obviously affect this initiative we're talking about, you as a choreographer, are much more adept at giving advice to other choreographers. But how do you think that impacts your role as a director? Just having that insight, maybe in particular, how you program being a choreographer. How does that shape what you do overall as director?
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:15:20]:
Well, it's really hard to tell because I'm so close to it. I'm so in it. I don't know how much of my choreographic background influences my decisions. Obviously, they have to. I mean, it's unavoidable. But one of my thoughts on programming and inviting all the choreographers to choreograph for shallow ballot often is to let them do what they do best. So I'm not here to tell another choreographer what on how it should be done. Once I commission a work, it's because I trust that artist and I'm behind them. And I understand that they might be making a revolutionary work or they might be making a work that is not as successful. But that's what we're here for to create, to experiment, and to push a little bit further. So if we want to become the best ones, we have to put that risk into it. It's important for me that any artist that works with us feels that they have that full trust from me.
Michael Sean Breeden [00:16:53]:
Maybe we could go into next season a little bit. Could we go blow by blow? Tell us what we have in store. This is your first year programming, is that right?
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:17:02]:
Yes, absolutely. And I'm super excited. The first program that we're presenting, it's called Breaking Boundaries. It's in the fall and we are going to be performing at home at the center for Dance. We have a black box theater. And if anyone listening to this has now been to our space, I really encourage you to come because it's such a unique experience. You're so close to the artist. You can hear them breathe, you can hear them put. Therefore, the physicality is something that you cannot quite get by going to a prestigious regular space theater like Night Theater or the Bed Theater. Those are beautiful theaters, but your experience is much more detached because you're not nearly as close to the artist as you are when you come here. So that first program, we're going to have a new work by Matututelli November. He's a South African choreographer based in the UK. And I love his work. He's more of an emerging artist, but he's very much in demand and he's a beautiful person to speak with. So I do know that the dancers and our audiences are going to be enriched with this new work. And then we also present in a work by a grapher. Ohadna, Harin. And the work is called Camou Yacht. And this is a work that I saw quite a few years back in New York. And I saw it, and it's one of these performances that you come out just happy with that smile on your face. I want to see that performance. I wasn't expecting much of it, and it just really made my day so much better. So I really share that experience that I had, and I hope the audience has a similar experience as I did back then. And we're also planning to transform our space with those two works. There are surprises that I don't want to give it all away, but it's going to be a very unique experience. That performance, in particular, our first performance of the season is going to be a performance unlike anyone has seen before in our space. So, yeah, I'm very much looking forward to that program. Then we're, of course, doing our nutcracker at the Belk Theater with the wonderful Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. And of course, that's always a beautiful time to get the family together and experience the magic of the holidays. Right. For a lot of people, it's it's a tradition and it's I think it's as beautiful it's a beautiful tradition. Then after that, we're presenting our program Come to Life, that will be at the Night Theater. And we're presenting a new work by Penny Saunders. I've known Penny for many years. She's choreographed everywhere. And I'm very much looking forward to having a new work by her here at Charlotte Valet. Then we're also presenting a work by Checker Eric Elian and the work is called Petimo. This work is one of the works that sort of transformed the way I saw dance. I used to be a classical ballet dancer and I used to only like classical ballet until I saw this work. This is a contemporary dance work. At the time, he was the director of Netherlands Dance Theater, the company that I went to work for. So basically, I was a ballet dancer in Stuttgart. Then I came across this work, Petimo, and I thought, oh, my goodness, I have to work with this choreographer. And I was lucky enough to get a contract and work with Unikillian and many other great choreographers. So I went from classical ballet to contemporary dance through that work. So that's why it was so important for me to bring that work to Charlotte because it made such an impact on me. Part of what I would love to come across with my programming is that is to create a taste for the audience to appreciate classical ballet and contemporary dance, to cross as much as we can those two different dance styles, and to create the appetite for both of them.
Michael Sean Breeden [00:22:41]:
Yeah, I think that even just the juxtaposition of having Pete Moore and then the next program, you go to Pete Moore, which is such like an iconic late 20th century work. And then we have Swan Lake, which is maybe the iconic 19th century work. So you are certainly, like setting that up just in that transition from one program to the next.
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:23:02]:
Absolutely, yeah, absolutely. As you mentioned, then we're doing Sean Lake and that is the first time we're presenting. Shallow Valley is presenting Sual Lake. So it's going to be a very exciting moment for everyone. Also with live music, with the Shallow Symphony Orchestra. So I just imagining that beautiful score and with our dancers and such an iconic ballad. I'm very excited about that.
Rebecca King Ferraro [00:23:39]:
Yeah, I want to just rewind for a minute because I wanted to talk about how this opportunity came about for you to become the artistic director now that we're talking about your first season of programming. I'm sure this was part of you had to kind of put a vision together to present to the board. So tell us a little bit about that process and then what it feels like to kind of have this all starting to come to fruition now that you're there.
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:24:07]:
It was a very lengthy and challenging process to become the artistic director. I feel very privileged to be in this position. I can hear on full force I really want us to well, first of all, I see how Shallow Ballet was already very well positioned, and there's so much more room for us to grow. I came here. I'm excited about where we are in time right now and in space. We are in the right place at the right time, I think, Charlotte, as everybody sees and feels, this is an amazing city that is growing so rapidly. So we are part of this growth, and it's up to us now to shape what the city is going to become in 3510 years. So to be at the lead of Shallow Ballet and to have this opportunity to contribute to the cultural status of the city and to really add to elevate this fantastic city is so exciting to me. Of course, that was part of my message to the board and to everybody in the organization when I did the interview, is that this company has everything that an artistic director could wish for. We have an amazing, rich program. We have wonderful academy. We have a preprofessional program. Then we have a second company, which is eight downstairs that they do lecture demonstrations. So it's basically like the main company, but for more of a junior downstairs. And then, of course, we have the main company. So this company had all the tools. And I'm here to try to continue inspiring our artists and everybody that works in this organization and really to share my passion and my excitement for what we do and what's ahead of us.
Michael Sean Breeden [00:26:54]:
Did you always have aspirations to become a director? I'm thinking for choreography, it's something that you were kind of flirting with or trying out, but it wasn't an end goal. How did the goal to be a leader in this capacity come about for you?
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:27:10]:
Slowly. I mean, I always had the most respect for artistic directors. It's not an easy job, and you have a lot of responsibility. You're responsible for a lot of people, not only in the organization, but you're also responsible for the audiences. Liver to inspire audiences, to certain extent, to challenge audiences. So I didn't always want to be an artistic director. That was not in my mind. But when I transitioned from dancer to choreographer, then I was very curious about producing my own show and learning from that. I didn't know if I wanted to be an artistic director, but I had the curiosity to experience what would it be like and see if I was good at it if I liked it. So that's how I self produced my show that was called It Starts Now. And we premiered it at the Joy Theater in New York, and then we went to Chicago at the Harris Theater a year later. So that's really when it was the test for me with producing my own show from the ground up. I didn't have anything. I didn't have any infrastructure, I didn't have a team. I just did it. So I had to have hundreds of conversations with different people, whether it was for advice or financial aid. There are so many aspects to it, spoke to so many presenters. So that really gave me a sense of what this world of artistic directorship is like or could be like. And from there, that really gave me a lot of reassurance on this path of being artistic director.
Michael Sean Breeden [00:29:23]:
So your name has a lot of international and national recognition. I'm wondering what plans you have to get Charlotte, I guess more so on the national or international stage if you envision the company touring more often, or how you plan to kind of assert the company's identity under you to a larger audience.
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:29:47]:
So, yes, I mean, we're touring next season. That's actually our first performances will be in Toronto, in Canada, and that's the first time the company is going to be touring since internationally, since 1981. So that's the first thing that we're going to do. And we've been invited by four, four Dance North in Toronto, and we'll be there for a week. And then for me, touring sounds phenomenal. And yes, we will be doing some touring, but I really want to focus on Charlotte and audiences here and make sure that we deliver here and that we grow our audiences, that we grow the interest, and really that we are able to send the message to as many people as possible. That what we do. It's a really great night out, so it's not only art and inspiring, but it's really fun, perhaps for many people, might be a very unusual way out. Instead of going to a bar or watch a movie on your TV, going to see Dance, it's a whole different experience. And then you go for dinner and talk about what you've seen and what you like, what you didn't like so much, or what it made you think of. I think I would love for us to really become part of the lifestyle of the people here in Charlotte. And when we work on ourselves and then we continue elevating the quality and the type of programming that we present, we're going to continue growing and becoming really, hopefully, the company that everybody wants to imitate. That's what I would love to do, right? And of course, right now, with social media and other platforms, that's the way we tell the world what we're doing and how we're doing it and why this company is so special. The first step is with next season. And I hope every audience member enjoys our programming because I'm certainly very excited myself.
Rebecca King Ferraro [00:32:33]:
Yeah, so right. Just before we let you go, we love to ask all of our artistic directors if there's one project that they have, a dream project that they would love to bring to their company. The sky is the limit. You have no budget. You can do whatever you want. What would it be? What would be something that you would just love to bring to Charlotte Valley?
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:32:53]:
I don't know. That is a very difficult question. I mean, there are so many specific works or artists that I would want to bring, but ultimately, my dream would be that the audience comes to see us regardless of what we're presenting. That they come to see us because they know they're going to have a good time, because they love what we do every time they come see us. So they trust the company to a point where it doesn't matter what we present, they know they're going to have a good time and they're king to come out of the theater inspired. So that is my dream, really, that we attract every Charlotte and every visitor to come and see us regardless of the title of the work.
Michael Sean Breeden [00:33:53]:
Thank you so much for joining us today. And we hope that everyone that's in the Charlotte area and those that are within a reasonable drive, come on down to Charlotte and see this incredible season that you've programmed.
Alejandro Cerrudo [00:34:04]:
Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.
Rebecca King Ferraro [00:34:08]:
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