CAMAGÜEY.- The history of his life has been marked by tragedy and also by love. Under the pretext of his 50 years of artistic performance, Adelante Digital talks with the great maître José Antonio Chávez.
Between choreographies, applause, steel works and sacrifices, the life of José Antonio Chávez has passed. From early on he was overcome with difficulties, but as he himself said, because of "that crazy desire to always want to dance" he pursued his dream: to dance with his body and with that of others.
The man from Holguin was captivated by the charm and mystery of the city of Camagüey. He came after a long struggle after the search for dance training: "I fell in love with ballet since I was little, and I began to train furtively".
That decision had consequences and he went to Havana, where he faced shortages of all kinds and worked in trades that had nothing to do with it. Chávez worked sessions at the José Martí Steel Company, known as Antillana de Acero, and at the National Cabotage Company at the La Coubre docks.
At the same time, he continued his desire to be a dancer, knocking on doors that sometimes opened and others closed. Then he had to move away from his passion during active Military Service.
He was almost 18 years old when he met the newly founded Ballet de Camagüey (BC), and he quickly integrated. In the Land of the Tinajones, he worked in the Lenin workshops and later rehearsed. He also collided with the refusal of people, but was not daunted.
“The years as a dancer gave me a lot. My debut was exactly on March 9, 1970, in the first performance of Giselle by the BC. I remember with emotion when I danced for the first time on stage.
“I loved dancing so much, although I never dreamed of seeing myself center stage. Simply being there in the ballet corp made me happy. I shared with trained dancers since I was nine years old. This made me feel favored even if I did not have a title, because knowing the value of sacrifice is enriching.
Photo: Alejandro Rodríguez Leiva/ Adelante
"When I couldn't with my body, I did ballet with the bodies of others."
If something has catapulted Chávez to the top of the Camagüey Choreographic Olympus, it is his creations, defined by him as sons. “With Alfonsina I can achieve something more. Choreographing has implied challenges, because as a teacher it is sometimes difficult to achieve what you want if you do not feel the complete dedication of the student. I like dancers who give themselves up, who give me their body and soul to tell a story. Sometimes I ask myself: can I?
He prefers to work with two or three dancers, because better communication flows. “I feel with that state of mutual grace as if I am hugging them, it is a spell or magnetism. Many dissociate and we do not reach the great artistic fact.
“It's nice when my disciples give thanks. But I must also thank them because they gave me the opportunity to dance with their bodies.
"I'm a human being. I live alone and although my ghosts and spirits accompany me, I have given my life to ballet, I suppose to loneliness as the one imposed by loving him so much”.
Chávez's footprint transcends beyond the borders of Camagüey. "Ballet is an undoubted art. I consider the process to arrive at a staging complex and expensive. I have worked with the Santiago de Cuba Ballet, the Chamber Ballet and the Holguín Lyric Ballet, in Santa Clara, Ciego de Ávila and in Guantánamo I have left works for the Compañía Danza Libre ”.
Then he confesses: "I feel great pleasure when someone invites me to create or to teach a class."
Photo: Alejandro Rodríguez Leiva/ Adelante
Although Chávez's first composition was Ofelia, he has certainly been a choreographer with dramatic conceptions where he frequently alludes to death. He was always passionate about that eagerness to tell a story, and he proudly recalls certain moments.
“In '87 I did Oda, interpreted by the great Jorge Esquivel and Aida Villoch, with the collaboration of the Camagüey Symphony Orchestra, directed by Jorge Luis Betancourt, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of Máximo Gómez's birth. It was a great production: relevant guests, commissioned original music, and local artists.
“I dared to do my own version of Giselle, a total daring, almost like throwing myself into a pack. However, the reaction was favorable; he toured Havana and even Spain.
“When I conceived Fidelio (based on the life of the painter Fidelio Ponce de León), I undressed the dancer on stage who was hugging Ponce and through technical tricks, he ended up with his face covered in blood, because he died of tuberculosis. She came up laughing”.
For December he is already preparing a show with his entire choreographic repertoire. “That is gratifying, because at my 75 years (I never thought I would live that long) to gather what I came up with in the '80s (Ofelia), together with the Alfonsina of just a year ago is to remember how many dancers, choreographers and many others have been part of my career.
“My life has many highs and lows, which I would like to tell through a book. What I have done and lived has been worth it”.
Photo: Alejandro Rodríguez Leiva/ Adelante
Translated by Linet Acuña Quilez