A Local Choreographer on His Creative Process
Alberto Gaspar on Celebrating the Miracle of Life Through Dance
By Madison Huizinga, DWC Blog Editor
Amid all the challenges humans experience on a daily basis, it can be easy to lose sight of the fact that our mere existence is something worth celebrating. Through his upcoming work for Olympic Ballet Theatre, DWC Ambassador and local dancer/choreographer Alberto Gaspar strives to communicate the miracle that is life itself and showcase the technique and talent of local professional dancers. Read on to learn more about Alberto’s creative inspiration and choreographic process. Click here to get tickets to see Alberto’s work in Olympic Ballet Theatre’s summer performance Saturday June 4th at 7:00 PM at Edmonds Center for the Arts.
The title of Alberto’s work is “1 in 102,685,000" in reference to the statistical probability of a human being born. “The possibility of someone [being] alive is…a miracle. An honor,” Alberto says. After reading about this statistic and literature about the persistence of human survival, Alberto was inspired to create a piece that recognizes the triumph of being alive as well as the challenges of living. “It’s not easy to be alive,” Alberto recognizes. “It is happy, but it is a struggle.” He shares that the piece is about the miracle of existing on Earth and the heaviness that human journeys can carry. “You have to find beauty within the journey to be able to be happy,” Alberto says of human struggle.
Alberto says that he considers each of his dance works to be a child of his, sharing that once he lands on an initial choreographic idea, it evolves and changes as it’s passed on to the dancers. “Sometimes you come up with an idea and the dancers transform it into something much more complex,” Alberto says of the choreographic process. The finished work is rarely the exact same as the initial vision of the choreographer.
Alberto says that one of the elements that has the biggest impact on his choreographic process is the music. “Music determines what you’re going to express. It determines the mode,” Alberto says of its significance. For “1 in 102,685,000", Alberto uses a 28-minute musical piece by Michael Nyman that was intended for the integration of the high speed train in Paris, France. “It’s a very powerful [piece of] music that [is] obviously about our journey,” Alberto says, connecting it back to the theme of the work. He references the sound of the train running on the tracks as a guiding force in the music.
Initially, Alberto’s work was conceived for dancers in sneakers and socks, but was later choreographed for dancers en pointe. Olympic Ballet Theatre describes the piece as “vibrant” and “neoclassical” in its style. Alberto has described himself as an “old-school” ballet dancer, expressing the respect he has for productions like The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker that still hold up after over a century. At the same time, he recognizes that new art is constantly being created. “Everything is evolving into a much more modernized expression of the balletic world,” Alberto says of choreographic trends in ballet. “That’s what I’m bringing into my piece as well.”
Alberto is grateful that his rehearsal process hasn’t been as greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic as past productions have. He shares that over the course of the past two years, rehearsing virtually was an interesting and challenging process. He appreciates the fact that he can direct dancers in person nowadays and provide tactile feedback to help transfer a more palpable energy among the performers.
“I’m always curious about how people feel,” Alberto says of audiences’ relationships to his creations. He enjoys seeing how people interpret his work based on their own readings of it and personal life experiences. Alberto is looking forward to not only inspiring people through his work but showcasing the talent and caliber of eighteen professional dancers. “It’s rare to see that nowadays,” he says of watching dance pieces with that many professional dancers en pointe. “It’s important for everyone to be involved in the dance community,” Alberto says, sharing that he’s excited to show people the talent that Seattle dancers possess. “There’s a lot that we have to celebrate…I want people to feel proud that they’re a part of this community,” he shares.
Get your tickets to see Alberto’s work in Olympic Ballet Theatre’s summer performance Saturday, June 4th at 7:00 PM at Edmonds Center for the Arts.
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