Esteban Berlanga interviewed for "Cupcakes & conversation..."

Cupcakes & conversation with Esteban Berlanga, Soloist, English National Ballet

Berlanga has been nominated in the OUTSTANDING MALE PERFORMANCE (CLASSICAL) category of the National Dance Awards.  The other nominees in this category are :  Tobias Batley / Northern Ballet Theatre, Esteban Berlanga / English National Ballet, Sergei Polunin /The Royal Ballet.

Berlanga has also been nominated in the Emerging Dancer Award, which is an annual competition for English National Ballet to recognise and nurture the phenomenal talent of their up-and-coming dancers. The Award encourages excellence and potential within the Company, with the winner being awarded a £5,000 cash prize.

During the Summer English National Ballet’s artistic, musical, administrative staff and Principal dancers have been voting for their Emerging Dancer and the top six nominated dancers are Esteban Berlanga, Anais Chalendard, Crystal Costa, Ksenia Ovsyanick, Junor de Oliveira Souza and Venus Villa.

Throughout the Autumn Tour of Giselle and the Christmas Season you are invited to vote for your favourite of the six nominees, giving you the chance to win some fabulous prizes. The dancer with the most public votes will win The People’s Choice Award. You can vote now for your favourite dancer.

There will be an Awards Evening on the 25 February 2010 to announce the winner of both The Emerging Dancer Award and The People’s Choice Award.

What motivates you at 8am on a Monday morning ?
I don’t think I have any motivation at that time!!!! But I wake up every day with energy to spend working a lot during the day in my ballet class and also in the rehearsals, to get better and better every day, to improve every second at work, and also in my normal life.

Who would you most like to dance with ?
Any amazing dancer.

What is your daily routine at the moment ?
Well, right now I wake up at 8 in the morning, I take a shower and then have breakfast. I take the tube, put my ipod on until I get to High Street Kensington or Gloucester Road, then I take the bus to work. At 10:30am I have a ballet class every day for an hour and fifteen minutes. After that a 15 min break and then I go to the rehearsal (depending on the timetable I can be rehearsing all day without break or have some little breaks at some point, but otherwise I finish my work day at 6:30). Then normally I take the tube again back home...when I get home I put my computer on and the first thing I do is check my Facebook and emails, and then I cook and prepare everything that I need for the next day.....

What are you looking forward to dancing this year ?
Well I’ve already done my first show as Albrecht (from Giselle) in Manchester with Senior Principal Daria Klimentova. Also I'm looking foward to dancing a solo from one of my teachers in Spain (Ricardo Franco) for the Emerging Dancer Award.

You can ask six famous people to dinner - who would you invite ?
Angelina Jolie, Pedro Almodovar, Penelope Cruz, Nureyev, Woody Allen, Victoria Beckham.

What would surprise people about you ?
People are surprised when I say that I am from a little village (Motilleja) in Albacete (Spain).

Who inspired you to dance ?
I was inspired by my mum, and little things that I see in other people.

How would someone else describe you ?
Well I don’t really know...but I think they can see that I am a happy person, joking all the time, but also that I really focus on my work.

What is your best piece of advice ?
Hakuna Matata! (Hakuna matata is a Swahili phrase that is literally translated as "There are no worries". It is sometimes translated as "no worries", although is more commonly used similarly to the English phrase "no problem".)

Which role has tested you the most & how ?
I think it was Des Grieux in Manon because I think is a really hard work. It is a three act ballet and you have to be strong enough to deal with the dancing, pas de deux and also what’s really important is the acting throughout the ballet.

What is the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you ?
Once I went to Hong Kong with the Company, and my group of friends and I were looking for a restaurant to have dinner. We were dancing Alice in Wonderland at that time, and one of my friends (Juan Rodriguez) dances the lead role, the White Rabbit, so we were chatting about that role and then I was trying to imitate him, and I fell onto the floor in the middle of the biggest street in Hong Kong and everyone was looking at me.... it was so funny and embarrassing, but we had a lot of laughs .....

If you designed your own stage costume, what would you create ?
I would do something like shorts in a naked colour. I love to see the dancers bodies on the stage.

What are you most proud of ?
I’m proud of myself, everything I have done, my dancing. Now I can speak English (a little bit) and I’m proud of my family because they help me a lot, always.

Who would play you in the film of your life ?
Someone with a lot of energy, someone who knows very well what he wants & what he dreams of, someone funny, happy, friendly, someone who likes to work hard every day to get the best in work and life.

What is your favourite quote?
"mas vale caer en gracia que ser gracioso."
"It is better to fall into grace than to be funny"

What’s on your iPod ?
I have so much music - many Spanish songs, so much Flamenco music, salsa, classical music, everything....also some photos and videos which I need to learn for work.

What makes you a good dance partner ?
Well I think that whatever I do, I try to do it well. I give everything to my dance partner. I am a calm person and a lot of people like that because they feel comfortable next to me, and I think I transmit a lot with my face, so anyone dancing with me can see it in my eyes.

Do you have a secret skill which no one knows about ?
Not really. Well I can make people smile when they are having a bad day....and that makes me feel good as well.......

Describe yourself in just three words.
Hardworking, passionate, modest.