fego and classic elegance, instinct and control, hawk and swan. If you see Sergio Bernal on stage, you won’t forget him. Because on stage this thirty-two year old from Madrid manages to be two dancers in one, the perfect union between opposites. His shows have titles designed to make the audience dream as A night with Sergio Bernalor to dare, like the hottest choreography Orgia. Sergio Bernal is the new sex symbol of flamencothe only one who can aspire to the throne left vacant by the star Joaquín Cortés and, before that, by the charismatic Antonio Gades who imposed baile on the cinema, in the films of Carlos Saura.
Sergio Bernal in Zapateado © Graham Spicer
Sergio Bernal, beyond Flamenco
But it’s not just flamenco. Because Bernal is an all-round dancer who promises to revolutionize the very image of the Spanish dancer, even with a perfume inspired by him (“Sergio”, fragrance by Laura Bosetti Tonatto) and Roberto Capucci designer costumes. But if you meet him in everyday life, he’s the boy next door. A jaunty tuft from which a blue gaze emerges, Bernal tells iO Donna how he is about to conquer Italy with a tour at the helm of his company (on April 13 at the Teatro Duse in Bologna, on 14 at the Verdi in Gorizia, on 15 at the Verdi of Pordenone, on the 18th at the Mario del Monaco in Treviso) and as the star of the Gala Les Étoiles by Daniele Cipriani (on the 1st and 2nd of April at the Comunale di Bologna, on the 20th of June at the Ravenna Festival) and of the evening Duets and Solos (on the 16th April at the Verdi in Pisa). And then in October, with the Sergio Bernal Dance Company for the first time in the States, in New York, Miami, Los Angeles.
Are you a planner?
In short… I started my company in January 2020 and, damn it, everything stopped! A locura, an absurd thing: I was principal dancer of the Ballet Nacional de España, with a secure contract, and I left it. I always wanted to do more because I danced a Spanish and flamenco repertoire and felt the need to learn from classical ballet choreographers, such as Justin Peck, Wayne McGregor or William Forsythe.
Let’s recap: how did your love for dance come about? Do you belong to a family of artists?
Absolutely not, no one in my family dances except my twin, Juan, when he goes clubbing with friends. We have another older brother: when we were little my mother was desperate for our liveliness and she enrolled me and Juan in a dance school near our home. We were four years old. He rebelled in the second week, he preferred to play football or do anything else that wasn’t dancing sevillanas. Instead I took a liking to it and went on: I let myself be taken by the charm of dance, thanks to bailaores who passed on their passion to me.
That of the dancer is an ancient profession, based on the rigor of the body, and at the same time it is modern, pursued by tours, exposed to social media. How does it find its balance?
It’s not easy: art is not like baking croissants. You have to let things settle, listen to each other in silence, between a Facebook post and a photo on Instagram, which are still necessary, otherwise the public is not with you. Social media is important to capture the attention of even those who know nothing about dance and to teach new audiences what to see. It is the school of the 21st century.
If you had to convince someone new to dance to come to the theatre, what would you say?
Come and see me, you will have some magic. Theater is this.
It will have crowds of fans, what effect does it have on you?
The audience gives me the strength to do more, to take the next step. When I go out onto the stage and hear the silence of the spectators, I approach them to look them in the face and applause breaks out, then I know that people follow me as if on a journey and are grateful to me. It is the reward of a hard and tiring career, with the body often in pain and the head following. As a young man you can do everything but you are not sure of yourself, when you grow up you acquire security but the body is no longer omnipotent as before. The most complicated thing is knowing how to manage yourself.
He has a theater project on Yves Saint Laurent. How was it born?
Leafing through the book Yves Saint Laurent. The scandal collection 1971 by Olivier Saillard and Dominique Veillon. It’s a beautiful project that started a year before the pandemic, speaking with the Yves Saint Laurent Foundation in Paris. I am thinking of a show on the life of the designer and his partner, Pierre Bergé: Saint Laurent has revolutionized fashion and put women on the same level as men. His life has not only been glittering, he has had drug problems and many insecurities: translated on stage, it can become a compelling show, I imagine it with the live orchestra, but I need a bigger company. Now, however, we are in a complicated moment: after Covid, inflation has made airline tickets very expensive, the costs of a company of 30 elements have become unsustainable for a private producer. But I have to do it, it’s my life’s dream.
Another dream of hers was to meet Mikhail Baryshnikov. But this one he accomplished a few months ago.
Baryshnikov is a myth to me: I knew I had to follow in his footsteps when I saw the historic video of his Don Quixote variation. He dances, but above all personality. Thanks to his Italian producer, I met him at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York. It was nine in the morning and I was warming up alone in a rehearsal room. I heard a door open and he came out, Misha: I couldn’t believe my eyes. And then I danced in a private audition before the heads of major New York institutions, from the Joyce Theater to the New York City Center to the David H. Koch Theater. I didn’t feel fit, the week before I had danced in Mexico where I had been terrible from the altitude. Yet when I stood in the center of the room and saw Baryshnikov in the audience, I was strangely calm even though I’m usually very nervous. I said to myself: “You are in New York like on the set of West Side Story and you have Baryshnikov in front of you. It’s your dream, dance!” It was unbelievable, I was drenched in sweat after the solo. Misha hugged me: “You have personality, that’s what matters most”. In the dressing room, in the shower, I cried my eyes out.
Does the cinema tempt you?
Of course, I would like to work with Pedro Almodóvar. But now it’s too early.
Is there room for love in the midst of all this dance?
Yes, I have a person next to me with whom I am very comfortable. It was tricky at first. But if you strongly believe in something, then it comes. How it was with Misha.
About Baryshnikov: The life of a ballet dancer has lengthened a lot. How do you see yourself projected into the future?
I want to continue to grow with my company. In about ten years, I dream of creating a foundation in my name to support young dancers: I can’t imagine a talented child not having the money to study and build a career. I want to give back what life has given me. But what I want most is to be happy, respecting my times. Watching the sun or reading a book: life is simple.
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