Nadia Muzyka, prima ballerina at the Teatro Colón, is about to hang up her dance shoes after more than a quarter of a century as a professional. At least on the big stages: a teacher for future generations of dancers, she dreams of her own company, but also of a more relaxed schedule and time to pamper herself.
News: Your last name is Muzyca, do you feel that you were destined?
Nadia Muzyca: Yes, I believe a lot in destiny. My mom always told me that during labor, in the room where she was, there was a Degas painting with ballerinas. I feel like she was singled out to be a dancer.
News: Is it Ukrainian?
Muzyca: Yes, but I have no family in Ukraine, those ties will be lostn. The last name is originally with K. But my grandparents were written down wrong. Many dancers insisted that I wear the K, and Nadya. They told me that I garpaba more. But I don’t feel that being good at dance comes from having Slavic blood. I feel one hundred percent Argentine.
News: Why is he retiring?
Muzyka: Retirement is not a decision that is made overnight. I always said that I was going to retire at 40. At 14 I was already working professionally, and I am 41, the pandemic caught me, otherwise I would have left by now. I had nothing left in the inkwell, I gave myself all the pleasures, I danced everything I wanted and exceeded my expectations. I was able to have a great career in my country, I had the opportunity to go abroad, they have awarded me in Moscow. They tell me “why are you leaving now if you can dance for a couple more years?”. But you have to retire whole and with plenty. That people have a good memory of my last function.
News: Do you take stock of your career?
Muzyka: I have so many beautiful memories. Very strong moments that were hinges. When Julio Bocca hired me for the Argentine Ballet I was 14 years old, I was at the Colón school, and I had to leave to travel the world, to go to New York. I really appreciate the trust they had in me.. When they gave me my first leading role at 20 dancing Manon, until the gala at the Bolshoi.
News: Are there black moments?
Muzyca: Always, but you have to know how to get around them. With my first Quixote I had such nerves that I caught a fever. My partner, Federico, with whom I’m retiring now, he told me “it’s better, you’re calmer that way and you don’t go overboard.” And he was right, it was a fantastic performance. And again, dancing Giselle, in the second act my veil got tangled around my foot, but I did all my variation with my leg tied. The applause was phenomenal, everyone was thinking “this girl is going to kill herself at any moment” (laughs). You have to have a cool mind, experience gives you that.
News: Are you thinking of transmitting that experience today?
Muzyca: I teach my students that we are human, it can happen to you. If it happened to Julio Bocca that he fell at a gala… You have to get ahead and know how to handle frustrations. Not everyone was born to be a prima ballerina, but everyone has nice things to give. And then I am very demanding, they were very demanding with me in my career. One has to commit to what he does, there is no magic. Finally, I like to accompany from a constructive side. In ballet there are teachers who traumatize. You have to achieve goals within the possibilities of each one. Not all are Messi. Life is so. I’ve seen a lot of girls who have gone bankrupt, who get frustrated and stop dancing.
News: Is Muzyca Messi?
Muzyca: I have my effort in favor, which was always one hundred. And I have my physique in favor. I entered the Colón without knowing anything thanks to the position of my instep. I have a dancer’s body and that helped me a lot. Finally, it is also a question of attitude. We are all cramped, your feet hurt, there are blisters, but none of that has to be noticed.
News: Do you have cabals?
Muzyca: Not anymore. Sometimes we artists start to grab those things. Entering the stage with the right foot, he brought a teddy bear, family photos. But in the end they are extra weight and I cut it.
News: But the bouquet of flowers at the farewell can not be missing.
Muzyka: That, and my husband and children going on stage. I already have everything scripted (laughs). I chose this moment to retire, with Giselle who was my first leading role at the Teatro Argentino de La Plata, where we met with my husband who is a technician. I like dramatic ballets. The more that happens to the protagonist, the more there is to develop.
News: Do you think that like Giselle, you want to “come back from the dead”?
Muzyka: No, because I’m going to continue with the dance. But if I didn’t have my school, it would be very traumatic. Dance is part of my life, my studio is next to my house… maybe I would like to start a company.
News: You are not going to throw yourself in an armchair to watch TV, then.
Muzyka: I hope to have more time to watch a quiet movie. Staying at home and being on the couch watching TV is my ideal weekend. The week in general is crazy, and on the weekend we try to get the kids out in the open air a bit, with the ball and the bike, but it’s always a bolonqui because one wants one thing and the other another. They have different ages, so I run to one and my husband to the other and in the end whenever we go out we forget something, we always lose a pot. The life of parents is like that, there is no plan, it is day to day.
