Contemporary ‘Carmen’ dance show to play CCM this week

A dance adaptation of George Bizet’s celebrated “Carmen”, created by Swedish choreographer Johan Inger and performed by the National Dance Company of Spain (CND), will be held at the Macau Cultural Center (CCM) on the evenings of November 3 and 4.
The performance will blend the original score of Bizet’s operatic masterpiece with additional contemporary music and culture, all designed by Inger to be observed through the “innocent eyes” of a young boy.
The plot revolves around a love triangle composed by Don José, the main prison guard, the very beautiful Carmen and the Toreador, who in this version is portrayed more as a pop star. The story is famously filled with “intense lust and violent moments”, reads a statement from CCM, that ultimately leads to the heroin’s death.
Combining Southern European passion with Nordic charm, the performance presents the familiar legend of the fiery character in a refreshing light, according to CCM. “Removed from the usual stereotypes associated with the story, Johan Inger’s ‘Carmen’ stages a sober, contemporary version with a subtle proximity to the [performances of the] 1960s,” the statement continued.
Speaking to the media ahead of the performances later this week, the CND’s artistic director, Jose Carlos Martinez, explained that in their adapted version, the part of a young boy has been introduced to allow the audience to understand the story through his “innocent eyes”.
The young boy, however, will in fact be portrayed by a young woman, Martinez explained, who is a talented dancer from the company.
“With the boy’s presence here, we can imagine the whole piece. Without the boy, it will be a performance of Carmen with nothing interesting other than the choreography. So instead of having just two people on stage [Carmen and Don José], we will have three people,” he explained. “The energy is different.”
“What I wanted to do was create a classical piece but put some fresh air inside. Even if it [uses] a classical choreography, I thought it was more interesting to try something contemporary,” added Martinez.
Founded in 1979, the CND is a world-renowned dance company with a history of cooperation with famous artistic directors and choreographers, including Nacho Duato, who took over its directorship for more than 20 years.