Elisa Badenes had to leave her family and friends behind at the age of 16: "It wasn't easy, but she had received a scholarship for the last year of the Royal Ballet School in London that she couldn't miss". It was Luis Tena's own teacher at the Valencia Dance Conservatory, Gema Casin, who sought an audition for him in Nuremberg and "overnight" this young Valencian took "a plane to get on stage".
Elisa and Luis are two great dancers who, forced to leave Valencia to fulfill their dreams after much effort, succeed on the international scene. She has been the principal dancer of the Stuttgart ballet since the 2013/2014 season and he - dancer and choreographer - works at the Mannheim National Theater (NTM) under the direction of Stephan Thoss.
Both will perform next Thursday, July 28 at the first Gala de Dansa Internacional Valenciana gala to be held at La Rambleta. A (re)encounter organized by the Ballarins Valencians Internacionals association that aims to "make visible the reality of Valencian dance that occurs outside our borders and that unfortunately the local public is unaware of."
The organizer of the gala explains that "the Valencian Community has been exporting talent abroad for more than 30 years, in many cases great performers who worked at an international level, and who have finished their professional careers without ever having set foot on a Valencian stage".
Thus, from the association they say that this exodus has increased considerably in recent years, with approximately 40 Valencian dancers currently active who exercise their professional career only at an international level, many of them winners of international performance and choreography awards.
“Once our artistic talents emigrate in order to fully develop their professional careers, they become international representatives of the cultural values of Valencian society, but they disappear from our stages and cease to enrich our society”, explains one of the the professors of the Valencia conservatory who prefer to remain anonymous.
From Ballarins Internacionals they explain that "normally any performer who wants to develop professionally, seeks to surround himself with his references, work with the creators that interest him, as well as access the companies with whose repertoire they feel identified".
And they admit it: "Given the current situation, Europe offers many more possibilities to have a complete and satisfactory professional career, with a broad and stable job offer." Elisa and Luis realized this when they were very young.
The dancer attends La Vanguardia while she packs her bags in Stuttgart to return to Valencia where she will dance at the gala on July 28. She recalls how “hard” it was for her to leave home while she was still a minor to leave family and friends. Her parents always supported her, but they did not discover how sacrificed her profession was until they had to say goodbye to her at the airport. "They liked art and they always supported me, but in my family there was no dancer and it hurt them that I had to go out to fulfill my dream," explains Badenes.
Remember that “it was not easy”. With the obstacles of the language he had to graduate from this prestigious London academy at the same time that he finished his distance learning baccalaureate.
The now principal dancer of the Stuttgart Ballet explains that studying abroad opened “the doors to the professional world” for her and “made her understand what it meant to be a professional dancer”.
He emphasizes that in Spain the opportunities are limited, "you just have to compare the number of companies in Germany and those in Spain". From her experience, she emphasizes that in Europe “they have enormous respect for dance” and she points out that she feels “very respected and loved”. All in all, she indicates that she has been very lucky to be able to dance in Spain and that “dancing at home is a pleasure”.
Of course, he reiterates that, although there are people who try to do things, in his country of origin the opportunities are limited. Elisa Badenes says that the career of a dancer is short and points out that, in Germany, for example, in addition to having different opportunities as choreographers, dance teachers or company directors, dancers are even entitled to a pension.
Luis Tena, who is going to complete his tenth season in Germany, explains that what a dancer can earn in the German country doubles "and in some companies almost triples" what can be received in Spain.
His experienced teachers already made him see that he would have many more opportunities abroad, so he did not hesitate to get on that plane to audition in Nuremberg. "Here each city has its theater, its orchestra, its ballet, there are many more options." It was a fairly abrupt cultural change, in addition to having to leave family and friends behind and having to "create a life in another country."
Although he would like to return to Spain, at the moment, he does not consider it. He has acquaintances who have done it and are having a lot of trouble finding some economic stability. He explains that the returnees are doing jobs, but there are times with nothing and some months they have to ask for help to make ends meet. “In Germany, being a dancer is a more stable job. He can make a living from dancing”, he says.
Both will take the stage next Thursday at a gala that will highlight the Valencian talent scattered throughout Europe.
