LA DANSE DU SOLEIL

A daring and eclectic dancer, choreographer, musician, and stage director, Juan Kruz Díaz de Garaio Esnaola is hailed as one of today’s most fascinating artists in the field of contemporary dance. Born in Legazpi, Spain, he began his musical studies as a singer, at the San Sebastián Conservatory, and later at the Early Music School in Amsterdam.

A stunning self-taught dancer, he was quickly spotted by several renowned choreographers in Europe, such as Pieter Scholten, Emio Greco, Arthur Rosenfeld, Luc Dunberry and Lloyd Newson, who all invited him to collaborate with their dance companies.

Since 1996, Juan Kruz Díaz de Garaio Esnaola is a member of the Sasha Waltz Dance Company, in Berlin. He has assisted Sasha Waltz in numerous choreographic shows and tours, while also collaborating with other companies on various projects.

In 2000, he premiered his first two choreographies, The rest of You, as well as My Dearest... My Fairest. following the success of these works, his was commissioned by the Akademie für Alte Musik in Berlin to create a new choreography, based on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The world premiere of this show, given at the Radial System in Berlin, was hailed by the public and the press, making Juan Kruz Díaz de Garaio Esnaola an international sensation.

In addition to his work as choreographer and performer, he is also a guest professor at the Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen, and he regularly gives masterclasses around the world.

His latest choreography, “Dance of the Sun”, commissioned by the Geneva Camerata for an orchestra of thirty musicians and one solo dancer, has been praised as one of today’s most important accomplishments in the field of contemporary dance. Performed on tour this season in numerous cities in Europe and the USA, this hypnotic new show is also broadcast by the ARTE TV channel worldwide.

Born in Barcelona, Martí Corbera started his dance studies at the prestigious Institut del Teatre de Barcelona. Very early, he was awarded several prizes and scholarships from various dance competitions and institutions in Spain, such as Certamen de Barcelona and Certamen Coreográfico de Castellón. These distinctions opened for him the door to collaborations and residencies with various dance companies, in New York and in Madrid.

Martí Corbera has danced in some of the world’s most important venues and festivals, such as the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Tel Aviv Opera House, the Teatro Central de Sevilla, the Sibiu International Festival, the Granada International Dance Festival, and the Maestranza Festival.

Discovered at a very early age, Martí Corbera started his career first as a Flamenco dancer. Before he was twenty years old, he was already performing as solo dancer with Spain’s most prestigious Flamenco companies, such as Ballet Flamenco de Andalucía and the Compañía Danza Larreal. In addition, he was invited by the Swiss dance company Flamencos en Route, as a solo dancer.

Martí Corbera’s intense collaboration with the dancer and choreographer Juan Kruz Díaz de Garaio Esnaola began at the Flamenco Bienale, in Sevilla. Since then, the two artists have collaborated on several contemporary dance projects, such as the new work “Flamencolorquiano”, presented in the Festival de Granada 2019. Among the upcoming projects that the two artists will accomplish together, a trio for two dancers and a musician, with the great baroque violinist Midori Seiler, as well as the choreography for the opera “Guillaume Tell” by Grétry, at the Reims Opera House in France.

This season, Martí Corbera becomes the solo dancer in “Dance of the Sun”, one of the most well-known and successful choreographies created by Juan Kruz Díaz de Garaio Esnaola. In this unique performance, Martí Corbera dances with thirty musicians of the Geneva Camerata orchestra, who perform Lully’s Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme and Mozart’s Symphony No.40.

Known for his eclectic and fascinating programmes, conductor and pianist David Greilsammer is recognised as one of today’s most audacious and adventurous classical artists. The New York Times has awarded his albums Baroque Conversations and Mozart In-Between as “Recordings of the Year”, in addition to selecting his recital Scarlatti:Cage:Sonatas as one of the ten most important musical events of the year.

Praised as creator of numerous ground-breaking musical projects, ranging from baroque to contemporary music, David Greilsammer has also been celebrated for his Mozart performances. He has performed in Paris all of Mozart’s piano sonatas in a one-day “marathon” and recently, he has played and conducted all of Mozart’s twenty-seven piano concertos, in one season. In the past years, David Greilsammer has released four recordings on the Naïve label, and more recently, three prize-winning albums for Sony Classical.

Since 2013, David Greilsammer serves as Music and Artistic Director of the Geneva Camerata, one of the most daring, bold and innovative orchestras internationally. He has recently performed as guest conductor/soloist with the BBC Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony, La Verdi Orchestra di Milano, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Mexico National Symphony, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony.

He has recently given solo recitals at the Wigmore Hall in London, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Mostly Mozart Festival in New York, Verbier Festival, Forbidden City Theatre in Beijing, Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, Venice Biennale, and Kennedy Center in Washington.

David Greilsammer’s latest piano recital, named Labyrinth, has been described by the press as “fascinating and courageous”. This daring solo programme will be released this season on a new album, in addition to being performed on tour throughout the USA, Europe and Asia.