Natalia Osipova to Star in Contemporary Carmen
Natalia Osipova is Carmen
In December UK audiences will be treated to the unique opportunity of seeing the thrilling Russian ballerina, Natalia Osipova, Principal of the Royal Ballet, in a brand new, contemporary dance production of ‘CARMEN’. The show will perform at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on the 17th and the 18th December.
Multi award-winning Osipova will perform the title role of this classic tale in an exciting new version by internationally renowned choreographer and director Didy Veldman who has designed the production to be performed by five first class dancers – many of whom will be familiar to dance and ballet audiences. Joining Natalia in the cast are superstars Isaac Hernández and Jason Kittelberger, as well as emerging dance stars Hannah Ekholm, and Eryck Brahmania.
In March of 2020 ‘Carmen’ was in the final stages of rehearsals when lockdown struck. For Natalia Osipova lockdown brought a break from a crazy performance and rehearsal schedule, her first real break since she started dancing professionally at the age of 17. Natalia said “after months at home you wonder how you can start dancing again, but you get back in the studio and you just do it. Dance is my life.”
For Isaac Hernández who plays the dashing toreador Escamillo, lockdown meant cancelling plans and performances which was difficult to come to terms with. Isaac said “I started streaming dance classes from my kitchen which really helped and gave me something to look forward to. It was a connection with the dance community despite the restrictions.” The classes were viewed by several million people, one of which was Natalia Osipova!
Bird&Carrot’s production of ‘Carmen’ was ready to open but Covid-19 halted their plans. The company were not sure if the production could go ahead. Natalia said “I spoke with Alexandrina Markvo our brilliant Producer and said we need to revive ‘Carmen’ because it is an amazing concept with exciting choreography and we’ve worked so hard. We can’t say no.” With new cast members and a new dynamic, two years on the production has evolved and grown.
Producer Alexandrina Markvo said “Natalia Osipova, her movement range, theatricality, voice and personality will be explored. I’d like the audience to truly get to know her, showing her strength, vulnerabilities, passion and insecurities on stage. When I look at Natalia, I can’t help but think of Carmen.
Natalia was introduced to Director and Choreographer Didy Veldman by her husband and fellow cast member Jason Kittelberger. Natalia said “Jason has worked with Didy at Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet in New York. She is a so sensitive and charismatic, her work is of particular interest to me.”
Didy Veldman said “I am not interested in depicting the whole story. I am keen to make a movie on stage, with live footage depicting several scenes of Carmen which will include her sensuality, strength, a murder, some superstition and lots of passion.”
Using parts of the original Bizet score interlaced with newly composed music by Dave Price the sound world will be an exciting mix of past and present. We also get a look behind the scenes when the characters like Carmen, José, Escamillo and Michaela are relaxing in the Green Room. Here we discover their true personalities and real-life relationships. With hilarious quick changes, moving in and out of character, creating a dynamic performance throughout we are transported in the life of these artists and are not sure at the end what part was reality. Using a strong physical movement language, theatricality and a quirky sense of humour this production will be bursting with energy shining a new light on Natalia Osipova.
For Natalia embodying a character like Carmen starts from within. “You have to understand the reasons behind a character’s actions, their personality and what they are trying to say to the audience. It’s your brain working with your soul in connection with your muscles. I use my body to create the language of Carmen.”
Isaac adopts a very similar approach to building the character of Escamillo. Having worked with renowned contemporary choreographers such as Akram Khan who push dancers to a whole new level of movement and vocabulary, Isaac said “dance has no language barrier, you have to rely on your artistry rather than the technicality of your training to become more than a dancer to tell the story.”
Natalia Osipova is excited to be back in Edinburgh having premiered Bird & Carrot’s production of ‘The Mother’ in 2018 at the EICC. “It’s fantastic to be back. We’re going to really enjoy seeing the Edinburgh audience reaction to this brand-new adaptation of ‘Carmen’. There is always a risk in staging a new production, but we have such a talented cast and choreographer in Didy Veldman as well as an amazing team including British composer Dave Price and acclaimed stage designer Nina Kobiashvili. I’m sure it’s going to be good, even great!”
World Premiere of the contemporary dance production of ‘Carmen’ will take place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre on 17th – 18th December 2021. Tickets available at www.pleasance.co.uk.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Martin Hunt, Tartan Silk Public Relations: Martin@tartansilk.co.uk, 0131 557 0341
Megan Williams, Tartan Silk Public Relations: Megan@tartansilk.co.uk, 07956 612 591
NOTES FOR EDITORS
The World Premiere of the contemporary dance production of ‘Carmen’ will take place at the EICC in Edinburgh at 19:30pm on 17th – 18th December.
Tickets are available from: https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/carmen#overview
The production design and costume design are by Nina Kobiashvili.
Composer Dave Price uses parts of the original Bizet score with his own original music making the soundscape an eclectic mix of past and present.
CAST and CREATIVE TEAM:
NATALIA OSIPOVA
Principal dancer of the Royal Ballet since 2013, this will be her second collaboration with Bird&Carrot following the acclaimed THE MOTHER (2018-2019) choreographed by Arthur Pita. Classically trained, Natalia’s repertoire for the Royal Ballet and her many guest appearances around the world include all the major principal roles (Swan Lake, Giselle, Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, etc). Increasingly, however, she has embraced more contemporary work including the choreography of Christopher Wheeldon, Wayne McGregor and Alastair Marriott as well as the work with Arthur Pita. CARMEN will potentially be a major step for Natalia in her work as a contemporary dance artist and in leading a company of leading contemporary artists.
ISAAC HERNÁNDEZ
A Mexican ballet dancer and actor, a lead principal with the English National Ballet since 2015. His repertoire include classical works such as Romeo and Juliet, La Bayadère, La Sylphide and Don Quixote as well as contemporary works including Aszure Barton’s Fantastic Beings and Akram Khan's Giselle. In 2018, Hernandez won the Prix Benois de la Danse and was the youngest artist there to receive an outstanding artist award from the Mexican President.
JASON KITTELBERGER
A contemporary dancer and choreographer, Jason trained in the US and is now based in the UK, and will bring his skills of contemporary dance and design to the collaboration. He has worked with most of the major European contemporary choreographers including Hofesh Shechter, Sidi Larbi Cherakaoui (with whom he works directly as an assistant), Crystal Pite and other choreographers with a particular strength in crafting narrative through movement and dance.
ERYCK BRAHMANIA
Since graduating from the Royal Ballet School, Eryck has performed with Rambert Dance Company, Michael Clark Dance Company, Humanoove, Protein Dance, Company Chameleon, Alexander Whitley Dance, New Movement Collective, Musemotion, and Hong Kong Ballet. He has performed works by Christopher Bruce, Itzik Galili, Richard Alston, Merce Cunningham, Siobhan Davies, Garry Stewart, Mark Baldwin, Andre Gingras, Darshan Singh Buller, Karole Armitage, Paul Taylor, Doug Varone, and many others. Eryck has also worked on movement development for numerous West End musicals including Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Groundhog Day and Frozen. In addition to dancing Eryck teaches yoga and Vedanta at numerous studios across London.
HANNAH EKHOLM
A rising star of dance world, Hannah has trained at the National Swedish Ballet School, The Royal Swedish Ballet School and Tring Park School for the Performing Arts. She worked with Gareth Pugh, Benjamin Milan, Chrysalis London, Kianí Del Valle, Pablo Bronstein, Alexander Whitley, Didy Veldman, BBC, CR Fashion Book, Nowness, YEARS & YEARS, Joy Crookes, James Wilton and others.
CREATIVE PRODUCER – ALEXANDRINA MARKVO
London-based Creative Producer Alexandrina Markvo is Creative Director of Bird & Carrot Productions and a leading figure in the arts in Moscow and London. With over 20 years of experience in theatre, television and film, Alexandrina is at the forefront of curating and producing high profile contemporary art, literary, fashion, cultural and theatre events. As Creative Producer, she has originated the concepts for CARMEN building on her work on the critical success THE MOTHER and developing ongoing creative relationships within the dance sector - primarily with Royal Ballet Principal Natalia Osipova. www.birdandcarrot.com
CHOREOGRAPHER – DIDY VELDMAN
One of the most fascinating international choreographers of the modern era, Didy has created works for Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, Cedarlake, Cullberg Ballet, Introdans, Gothenburg Ballet, Iceland Dance Company and Royal New Zealand Ballet. In the UK, Veldman has been commissioned by Rambert, Northern Ballet and Scottish Dance Theatre and in 2019 she started collaborating with composer Gabriel Prokofiev for Birmingham Royal Ballet’s inaugural Ballet Now programme.
DESIGNER – NINA KOBIASHVILI
Nina Kobiashvili is London-based international stage designer whose projects range from theatre to global sporting events, films and TV. She has made numerous cross-artform projects in the UK, Germany, Canada, Russia and her native Georgia. Nina graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design with a BA (Hons) in Theatre & Performance Design. She then received a Commendation of Excellence Award from the BBC Vision Design Awards for Production Design.
COMPOSER – DAVE PRICE
Dave Price is an acclaimed composer, multi-instrumentalist, performer, sound designer and music producer. He composed and recorded original soundtracks for The Overcoat, Missing, Institute, The Time of Your Life, The Dreamer and The Wedding. Other theatre includes original live scores for the RSC; the stage adaptation of The Lovely Bones, scores for National Theatre, Young Vic, HOME Manchester and Bristol Old Vic. Recent dance projects include scores and sound designs for The Roof and DeadClub (Requardt & Rosenberg) and THE MOTHER (collaborating with Frank Moon) by Arthur Pita.
LIGHTING DESINGER - BEN ORMEROD
Ben has lit numerous opera and dance productions including for Scottish Opera, English National Opera, Rambert, Phoenix dance, National Dance Company Wales,Grand Théâtre de Genève, Danish National Opera, Lithuania National Ballet and Ballet Gulbenkian. He is lighting consultant for the Calico Museum of Textiles, Ahmedabad, directed Athol Fugard's Dimetos (Gate) and adapted four films from Kieslowski's Dekalog for E15.
BIRD&CARROT PRODUCTIONS
Bird&Carrot Productions company specialises on a wide-spectrum of theatre, music and visual arts projects. Some of their recent projects include The Mother, a National Dance Awards winning dance drama based on Hans Christian Andersen's tale, choreographed by Arthur Pita and starring Natalia Osipova which premiered at the Southbank Centre; Brodsky / Baryshnikov, a theatre performance starring Mikhail Baryshnikov at The Apollo Theatre and the group exhibition “Art Riot: Post-Soviet Activism and Inside Pussy Riot” at the Saatchi Gallery.
THE PLEASANCE THEATRE TRUST
Founded in 1985, The Pleasance Theatre Trust is a not-for-profit charity, dedicated to championing artists, developing bright ideas and nurturing talent. We hand-pick the best live entertainment to showcase at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe each summer and in 1995, we established our year-round home in North London, now comprised of three unique performance spaces. We're proud that our programme sees the brightest up-and-coming newcomers perform alongside some of the most established and respected names within the industry. Our artist development programme, Pleasance Futures, also provides financial support, mentorship and in-kind resources to artists at all stages of their careers. In 2018, the Pleasance worked with Bird & Carrot to present The Mother, at the EICC, inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's dark tale and starring international dance superstar Natalia Osipova. Carmen marks our second collaboration together.