Inspared in the union of Don Quixote de la Mancha with the Uruguayan Arturo E. Xalambrí, a history is born, mixture of invention and reality, around the figure of the Uruguayan collector. The production arrives on October 25th to Auditorio Nacional del Sodre’ stage, is a collaboration between the National Ballet of Sodre, the National Institute of Performing Arts and the International Cervantino Festival

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On the occasion of the Cervantino Festival -which takes place in Montevideo between October and November-, the idea of ​​creating a ballet piece that will mix elements framed in this festival but from the Uruguayan eye was born. The gentleman knight Don Quixote de la Mancha and the Uruguayan Arturo Xalambri -the largest Cervantes collector in Latin America- converge and find themselves at the point of departure that gives rise to Don Quixote del Plata.

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The bed of death of Xalambrí -a man with as much passion as obsession with books, especially Cervantes, is the kick that starts the story. His daughters Wilborada (as the Patron Saint of the books) and Cecilia Teresa, read fragments of Don Quixote to keep him alive and this introduces him (and the viewer) to a world of adventures that, among windmills, idyllic ladies , burning books and Spanish parties, confuses reality with fantasy in the same act that flows for an hour and a half. Two worlds and two characters that appear to be dissimilar in time and space-far from separating-end up merging with each movement.
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To carry out this quixotic idea, forces were needed that, besides being open to the capacity to create, did not fear the pressure of the calendar, since this ambitious piece had to be developed in a few months. For Igor Yebra, current Director of the National Ballet of Sodre, combining different artistic disciplines in the same project is essential; for that reason, before the idea of ​​recreating the history of the Uruguayan collector, it ended with the name of one of the most outstanding local dramatists in the performing arts. Santiago Sanguinetti became the first piece of this ensemble, in charge of the fictional base and the fictitious construction of Xalambrí, a character hitherto unknown. With this construction on the way and the need to assemble it visually, it was essential to have Hugo Millán, who has been responsible for the scenery and costumes of different SNB projects for five years. The third vertex of this perfect triangulation came from Spain; with the incorporation of the choreographer and dancer Blanca Li, the Uruguayan company receives one of the most relevant contemporary dance artists worldwide.

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With this team of creators, a great story to tell and the dancers at their point of maturity, the circle closes with the participation of the Symphonic Orchestra of Sodre that will perform live in each show with a very complex selection of compositions that vary in time and styles and travel from the baroque – with the German Georg Philipp Telemann – until the late nineteenth and early twentieth century – with Russian composers such as Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Aleksandr Glazunov.

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About the BNS Ballet Nacional SODRE
From June 2010 to December 2017, under the artistic direction of the renowned Mtro. Julio Bocca, the company, now called BNS Ballet Nacional SODRE, suffers the biggest transformation of its entire history. A new team takes over the management and the company is re-founded, opening a new stage that continues to this day. The incorporation of Mtro. Julio Bocca as Artistic Director provoked a deep and dynamic process of refounding the national cast, opening its doors to the region and the world both in the integration of its components and in the election of the teachers, choreographers and invited dancers, restarting a gradual and safe incorporation of the company in a path of excellence already in line with these times and at an international level.

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Since then, more than thirty works have been released in the National Auditorium, many of them in an integral version, of the great classical ballets, paradigmatic works of the best contemporary and modern repertoire, and original creations for the company itself. Punctual presentations and ambitious national and international tours once again show the presence of this company both in the country, in the region and in the world, with presentations taking place in Spain, Italy, Oman, China, Thailand, Russia, Israel, Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil.

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As of February 2018, Master Igor Yebra assumes the position left by Bocca with the clear objective of continuing on this path on an upward path. The SNB stands as a reflection of a new country; of new generations; of renewed potentialities; a young company, renewed, with a wide repertoire, with large productions, with a growing international projection, with a public that exceeds 110,000 spectators per year which makes it closer to the citizen, ultimate recipient and absolute beneficiary of their work and work daily.