Don Quixote, whose fight with windmills became synonymous with all exercises in futility, has his own methods not to lose faith in the good and his ideals of generosity and righteousness. For centuries, Miguel de Cervantes' literary work served as a source in dance to stage Spanish folklore, which embodied a fascination for the exotic other at the time. To this day, Marius Petipa's 1869 full-length ballet, with music by Ludwig Minkus, ranks amongst the classical favourites of audiences and dancers alike.
The Staatsballett Berlin presents DON QUIXOTE in a version by Víctor Ullate. To evade all too common clichés of superficial folklore in ballet, the Spanish choreographer and pedagogue aspired to authenticity. From dancers, his ingenious style not only demands the concise execution of original movements from the »Escuela Bolera« or the flamenco tradition but to develop an intrinsic attitude crucial to interpret his choreographies. It requires the dancers' sincere emotional involvement to the point where elegant earnestness and effervescent vitality enrich the dancers' virtuosity, culminating in the accurately defined »parfum espagnol«
Víctor Ullate enhanced Ludwig Minkus' score with virtuoso guitar music which is not only played together with the orchestra but improvised in parts as well. For the first time since 2018, DON QUIXOTE will be performed with complete scenery (by Roberta Guidi di Bagno) and light design (by Marco Filibeck) as originally intended. The opulent revival ― newly staged by the choreographer with numerous changing casts ― will also be on the schedule during Christmas season.


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