Maya Plisétskaya and the Russian school in the National Dance Company
Round table discussion

^{©CND Archive}

  Wednesday, September 24
  18:00 h
  Free admission with prior withdrawal of invitation at the box office or on the website.
MUN Classroom 2

Speakers: José Manuel Garrido, former Director General of Music and Dance of the Ministry of Culture (1982 - 1985) and former Director General of INAEM (1985 - 1989), Azari Plisetski, dancer, choreographer and ballet master, Elna Matamoros, ballet master and researcher, and Muriel Romero, artistic director of the National Dance Company. Moderated and presented by Teresa Lasheras (artistic director of the MUN).

Maya Plisétskaya arrived at the CND in 1987, invited by José Manuel Garrido, at that time the first General Director of INAEM, to incorporate the repertoire of Russian academic dance and Marius Petipa, its greatest exponent, into the company.

With the participation of Elna Matamoros, ballet teacher and researcher, all of them will talk about the arrival of the Russian school repertoire to the CND, the importance of this heritage and its scope in contemporary creation.

^{@Manuel Castells}

JOSÉ MANUEL GARRIDO
José Manuel Garrido has had a long professional career as artistic director, manager and theater producer. During his ministerial period, he was General Director of Music and Theater of the Ministry of Culture (1982 - 1985), first General Director of INAEM (1985 - 1989) and Undersecretary of State for Culture (1989 - 1992). During these years he founded the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM), created the National Classical Theater Company, the National Youth Orchestra of Spain (JONDE), the Center for the Diffusion of Contemporary Music (currently CNDM), the National Center for New Stage Trends and promoted the Almagro Festival. He also launched the National Plan for Halls and Auditoriums and the rehabilitation of public theaters in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Works and promoted the conversion of the Teatro Real into an opera house. He has also been founder and general director of Artibus S.L., a production, consulting and cultural management company with which he directed the Teatro de Madrid for eleven years, from where he promoted dance and directed the Muestra de Teatro de las Autonomías. In his last professional stage he was an advisor to the University of Navarra in the project of the Museo Universidad de Navarra, signed by Rafael Moneo, which he joined as artistic director after its inauguration (2015 - 2020). José Manuel Garrido is in possession of different awards and recognitions to his career both nationally and internationally.

^{©Martin Divíšek, 2025}

ELNA MATAMOROS
Elna Matamoros, (Madrid, 1972) divides her work between the rehearsal room and theoretical research. D. in Aesthetics and Theory of the Arts with International Mention by the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid and Master of Arts in Dance Education by New York University as a Fulbright Scholar. With an extensive career as a dance historian, ballet teacher and disseminator of the arts, she is currently a teacher at the Ballet Nacional de España, a contributor to El Cultural and a specialist teacher and guest researcher at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK). Since 2012 she has been Choreographic Assistant to José Carlos Martínez. Her books include Augusto Bournonville, historia y estilo (Madrid, Akal, 2008) and Dance & Costumes (Berlin, Alexander Verlag, 2021). She is a full academician and president of the Architecture and Fine Arts section of the Royal Academy of Doctors of Spain.

AZARI PLISETSKI
He was born in Moscow into a family of artists. He began his studies at the Bolshoi school with his uncle Assaf Messerer and teachers Nikolai Tarassov and Alexei Varlamov. In 1957 he joined the Bolshoi company, participating in successive tours around the world. In 1963 he joined the National Ballet of Cuba, where he remained for 10 years and was able to train as a dance teacher, repetiteur and choreographer, as well as playing numerous leading roles as Alicia Alonso's partner. He also took part in the assembly of the new School of the National Ballet of Cuba. His first choreographies date from his time with this company. In 1973 he returned to the Bolshoi, until 1978 when he joined Maurice Béjart's 20th Century Ballet in Brussels. In 1981 he returned to the Soviet Union, where he joined the Leningrad Mariinsky as a dance teacher. In 1983 and 1984 he worked at the Marseille Ballet under the direction of Roland Petit. Later he returned again to the USSR and joined the Moscow State Ballet Theater as a dance teacher and choreographer. He traveled to Germany to supervise, together with Valentina Savina, the staging of Petipa 's classic Raymonda by the Stuttgart Ballet, a company with which he also prepared a new version of Canto vital. In 1987 he joined the Ballet del Teatro Lírico Nacional (our current National Dance Company) as assistant director and ballet master to Maya Plisétskaya. In the three years he remained in this position, he supervised the staging of Las Sílfides and Raymonda Divertimento, as well as the staging of Carmen Suite and Swan Lake (second act).

^{©Ximena and Sergio}

MURIEL ROMERO
Muriel Romero, artistic director, dancer and choreographer with a brilliant career in the world of dance. She has accumulated numerous awards and recognitions throughout her career, has been part of important companies such as the National Dance Company, the Bayerische Staatsballett of Munich or the Deutsche Oper Berlin and has worked with renowned choreographers. In 2000 she began her career as a freelance artist exploring new formats, collaborating with avant-garde choreographers and playwrights. In 2008 she founded the Stocos Institute in Madrid, together with composer Pablo Palacio, a transdisciplinary project that combines dance, music, mathematics, experimental psychology and artificial intelligence. In addition, she has participated in international projects and has researched the intersection between dance and technology. He has worked on new European productions and projects, exploring the relationship between different art forms. Her dedication to dance and her desire to innovate have led her to become the current director of the National Dance Company.