Nacho Duato

Nacho Duato’s work roots deeply into Western historical precedent, and yet is entirely of our time. His dance vocabulary and line, unquestionably contemporary, nevertheless draw directly from classical ballet. Born in Spain, trained in England, mentored by Jiri Kylian in the Netherlands, Nacho Duato creates work reflecting today’s globalization in ballet, while maintaining a distinctive Spanish identity. Duato’s compositions are breathtakingly spatial, sculptural and kinetic. The works, often stripped and austere in highly contrasting light, recall the palate of Velazquez and the starkness of the Spanish landscape. There is a note of the oriental, and yet these theatrical dances, rhythmic and passionate, are distinctively Spanish. Akin to modern abstract ballet, yet with a vibrant detail, a singular color or concept, Duato’s work has a subtle narrative, with a rich memory of the baroque and the medieval.