Altea Nuñez and Alain Honorez, dance is their shared passion. As former prima ballerinas at the Royal Ballet of Flanders with an impressive portfolio, they founded Junior Ballet Antwerp, or JBA for short, in 2019 together with Irma Sijnen. A youth company where talented, highly trained graduate dancers from all over the world gain their first professional experiences in an atmosphere of intense collaboration, mutual respect and openness.
By now, the name and fame of JBA has spread far beyond the borders and deservedly so. Their platform receives support and encouragement from dance professionals worldwide. The plurality of movement languages forms the foundation of their training. They weave not only culturally diverse references but also the diversity of dance vocabulary.
These were not the easiest years for the development of JBA. Corona threw a spanner in the works. But passionate artists are not easily thrown off balance or stopped in their tracks. This pithy one-liner from Mark Twain perfectly captures their perseverance: "They did not know it was impossible, so they did it". With fighting spirit but also imagination, they navigated through that difficult period and even drew extra strength from it. Five years of hard work and supporting a future generation of ballet dancers in creating dynamic, diverse and artistically charged performances. The bar has been raised higher and higher in recent years.
In 2024 they celebrated their first lustrum. With 'FURORE' a comprehensive title that stands for fury, fierceness, but also for transport and inspiration, a new chapter begins. This impressive triple bill includes two world premieres 'Saltarello' a choreography by Jorma Elo, 'Furore' by rising star Francesco Annarumma and in-house choreographer Altea Nuñez reworked her choreography 'Yu' for the company. The group with which they work this year consists of 15 women and 4 men. The choreographies let the women stand in their strength. Three different styles but you sit fascinated from beginning to end watching this young talent that in their performances approaches perfection with astounding technique and suppleness. Every movement is refined to the finest detail.
'Saltarello' choreography Jorma Elo (world premiere)
Music: Antonio Vivaldi/Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber/Felix Mendelssohn
Finnish choreographer Jorma Elo is no stranger to the Antwerp dance scene. More than ten years ago, he received a commission from Ballet Vlaanderen, then under the artistic direction of Kathryn Bennets, to create two works. As a permanent choreographer of Boston Ballet, he has many world premieres to his credit. Working with such highly qualified choreographers is a godsend for the company's young dancers.
With six women and two men, Elo, inspired and driven by the music of the three composers, created a whirling choreography. Compositions full of space, challenges and surprises. When the curtain opens, the dancers stand with arms spread wide, like a flight of geese in V-formation, with an azure blue backdrop behind them. The six women wear a softly flowing light blue dress, the men a dark blue outfit. The first part can be described as purely classical, fiery and passionate with exuberant youth and dynamic quality with many jumps, pirouettes and a wonderful synchronized movement pattern approaching perfection. Each accent in the music coincides exactly with the movement, testifying to a wonderful sense of musicality and rhythm. The second part is somewhat quieter and shows more forms of contemporary dance. The third, fourth and final part is a mixture of both. A joyful act and fantastic performance.
Assistant choreographer: Nancy Euverink
Costume design: Ria Van Looveren in collaboration with Jorma Elo
Costume execution: Ria Van Looveren & Jolien Deweerdt
Lighting design: Gloria Montesinos in collaboration with Jorma Elo
Repetiteur: Altea Nuñez
Dancers: Ella Matthews, Lizé Mentz, Maja Grubic, Letizia Austoni, Sora Nishida, Halle McGregor, Silvio Nikolov, Ludovico Gallo
'Yu' choreography Altea Nuñez
Music: Johann Johansson & Yair Elazar Glotman/John Williams/ Juno Reactor
Altea Nuñez was a talented ballerina, but choreography is truly her calling. Her pieces are now enjoyed and performed internationally. Music is her fuel and ignition. With 'Yu' she accomplished small wonders. She created this work in 2019 for the male students of the Royal Ballet School, the dance was inspired by martial arts. It was also performed during the launch of JBA. The combination of the flowing long black skirts and powerful leaps created an image that stuck with you then. During corona, Alain and Altea looked for other creative solutions to keep the company viable. Film as a medium proved most suitable for this. 'In restriction the master shows himself'. Keeping the corona restrictions in mind, she turned it into a stylized duet for two dancers. Also impressive.
This third adaptation for the entire company with predominantly women reaches superlative heights. It is magically beautiful. The music was expanded with a rousing percussive passage and the costumes also underwent a makeover with red bodysuits and black flowing long skirts with red lining. Equality is the name of the game. Altea knows how to translate her ideas with feminine nuances into intelligent, sensitive body language. The choreography reflects strength, resilience but also vulnerability. The whole looks like a beautifully polished glowing ruby. When the curtain rises the stage is shrouded in diffuse grey. The dancers search their way in the world. One slowly and tormented, another explosively, another cuts through space. At certain moments they become one movement, they are connected. The whole refers to the zeitgeist: loneliness and connectedness. Everything: music, dance, costumes, lighting testifies to a stylized precision and refined abundance and an arresting intensity. At a certain moment a male face is spotlit. He looks like a Greek god. A man/woman duet completes the picture. As an audience you are swept along by the physical power of the music and how the movement comes into being for the human body, the sensual feminine and the virile masculine.
Costume design & execution: Ria Van Looveren in collaboration with Altea Nuñez
Lighting design: Gloria Montesinos in collaboration with Altea Nuñez
Dancers: Lizé Mentz, Letizia Austoni, Maja Grubic, Seohyun Mo or Arisa Hirono, Sora Nishida, Halle McGregor, Phoebe Watson or Valentine Chaumet, Amber Du Bois, Benedetta Sicillia, James Cooper, Silvio Nikolov, Ludovico Gallo
'FURORE' choreography Francesco Annarumma (world premiere)
Music: Ezio Bosso
Assistant choreographer: Tars Vandebeek
Costume design: Francesco Annarumma in collaboration with Ria Van Looveren
Costume execution: Ria Van Looveren
Lighting design: Gloria Montesinos in collaboration with Francesco Annarumma
Rehearsal director: Altea Nuñez
Dancers: Ella Matthews, Lizé Mentz, Letizia Austoni, Maja Grubic, Seohyun Mo, Maria Cordero, Arisa Hirono, Sora Nishida, Halle McGregor, Phoebe Watson, Valentine Chaumet, Amber Du Bois, Benedetta Sicilia, James Cooper, Silvio Nikolov, Ludovico Gallo, Inès Valet, James Cooper, Samuel Kendal
Francesco Annarumma can be called a key player in the world of young choreographers. How does JBA pick up all these renowned and promising choreographers? In 2024 Alain Honorez served as a jury member during a competition for young dancers and he was not only surprised by the high level, but also by the choreography of one choreographer in particular: Francesco Annarumma. Arrangements were made immediately. Alain Honorez asked him to create the finale of the evening program which carries the Italian word FURORE, meaning 'fury' or 'uproar'. They searched intensively for a suitable music fragment. Eventually they settled on 'THE ROOTS – A Tale Sonata' by Italian composer Ezio Bosso, who passed away several years ago. This recent work contained all the elements Francesco Annarumma was looking for. Each choreographer brings about a change of energy in the space. The dancers of JBA have to interpret a completely different palette of feelings and dance styles. The whole is intriguing and emotional. An almost naked body lies in the middle of the stage. Rises unsteadily and uncertainly and explores the space. A dancer with a beautifully proportioned body. All the women stand in one line with their backs to the audience. They look like wax figures. They turn towards the audience and advance forward on pointes in completely synchronized movement language. The long stretched silhouettes have something mysterious about them. Visually a beautiful spectacle. The boy recoils from the flood that comes towards him. The beginning of the choreography goes for simplicity and formal perfection, there is also quite a bit of groundwork involved. Fall and recovery. Simple in readability, or just very complicated. An honest, gripping portrayal of the state we currently live in. Gradually the act gains more colour. Droplet by droplet the dancers appear in red outfit on the stage and the spectacle bursts into an explosion of dance joy and zest for life.
'FURORE' a beautiful and interesting ballet performance, with three choreographies. Each has its own character, dynamics and time span. Layered pieces full of nuance, soft lyricism and tempo changes. What information do you want to share with the audience as an artist? Do you give little or much information away? It is always an investigation into rhythm and expression in flowing movements. The musical architecture is always a challenge for choreographers and dancers. Nothing but praise for the young dancers of JBA. The audience was clearly impressed by this performance and honoured the impressive cast with minutes of standing ovation.