NYCB 10/14 Joaquin de Luz – From one dream to the next

When you can dance for a quarter of century and finish your career in white tights performing in a technically exposing role like Theme and Variations in which you can still do a series of double tours with pirouettes straight down the white dotted vertical line on the stage floor while landing fifth after fifth after fifth position, you are either lucky or blessed or brilliant – more probably all three. My goodness, did Joaquin de Luz ever make us sorry to see him go on Sunday afternoon.

 

But what a celebration it was of fine dancing, of Spanish heritage, and of a dancer who literally went from one dream to the next dream when in 2003 he left ABT after dancing Puck in Ashton’s The Dream and stepped right into New York City Ballet's A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Oberon (following a compulsory debut in Nutcracker). Where will his dreams take him next? We don’t know. We had hoped to see him on stage in NY City Center’s A Chorus Line with perhaps Tiler Peck, but that doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen. However, there is the upcoming High Button Shoes that Jerome Robbins choreographed and will be presented in May by NY City Center Encores! He would be fabulous in that, just fabulous.

 

On Sunday, Theme and Variations looked in top form. In addition to Joaquin’s technical mastery and exemplary execution, there was Tiler Peck’s glorious musical phrasing and equal determination to be perfect. The demi-soloists and corps were in top form as well. Among them was Aaron Sanz, only hours before having been appointed a soloist, dancing with rocket boosters firing under him. The pride was close to chest-beating, “He & I – from Madrid!” The up and coming Spaniard might also one day knock our socks off in Theme and Variations. Let’s hope that he invests 30 seconds each and every day practicing that double tour/pirouette sequence so that he will be ready to carry the torch.

 

During the celebration at the end of the performance, out came a slew of colleagues and people who were important to Joaquin throughout his career including, of course, more Spaniards. Gonzalo Garcia ran out waving the red and yellow Bandera de España, and the two performed an impromptu bull fight with Joaquin as the matador and Gonzalo as the bull. Victor Ullate, Joaquin’s first director when he danced in Ullate’s company at the age of 16, arrived on stage with the vigor of a man decades younger. It doesn’t appear that many in the audience recognized him even though his very famous school produced Joaquin, Angel Corella, Tamara Rojo, Luciá Lacarra, and Carlos Lopez, the former ABT soloist who also arrived on stage to congratulate Joaquin. What a touch of class it was to invite orthopedic specialist Phillip Bauman (probably not a Spaniard except for perhaps on Sunday) to also appear on stage; where in the last decade would Joaquin’s career have abruptly ended without him? And finally Joaquin’s dancing mother arrived in the pink — literally. The two of them festively swirled around one another to the snapping of cameras from all sides. Such a joyous celebration.

 

We salute Joaquin de Luz – always one of our favorites for more than 20 years regardless on which side of Lincoln Center he danced. We look forward to what ever he dreams up next.

 

Comments

[Jeannette]

I attended Watermill at BAM-Fisher last Thursday. De Luz was terrific in this mostly-mime work...but it takes a true master performer to pull it off (as Villella and Hubbe did in the past). A real honor to have witnessed this. BRAVI to all concerned.

[Haglund]

Thanks, Jeannette! Joaquin will eventually become an important repository for Watermill, Rubies and other significant works handed down to him by the original interpreters. So glad to hear that the performance was successful.