Don Quixote - Quitry or the Impetuousness of the Leap
The role of Quitry in the full version of the ballet *Don Quixote* has been a significant part of my career. I danced this role at the Romanian Opera in Cluj-Napoca (with Florin Brândușă, Mihai Babușcă, Dan Sas), at the Romanian Opera in Bucharest (with Mugur Valsami), at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, USA (with Florin Brândușă), and at the Opera in Hanover, Germany (with Juan Boix). In partial versions, such as only Act I or Act III, I performed the role at several gala performances, including at the Munich Opera (with Alen Bottaini) and on tour in Japan during the summer of 2002 (with Jeremie Belingard).
Quitry, the beautiful and cunning girl of the people, is characterized by her exuberance. Though the role fit me "like a glove" in many ways, I danced it less frequently than other roles.
Similar to Lisa in *La fille mal gardée*, but enhanced by her Spanish temperament, Quitry convinces the audience through the dynamism of her actions and her effervescent experience of events. To express these qualities, leaps and spins are the most appropriate technical elements, utilized throughout the three acts. Quitry makes her entrance with a grand jeté, as if proclaiming, "Voilá! I'm here!" and proceeds to captivate everything around her.
The first variation essentially defines the character. The high leaps, executed with aplomb and ease, quicken the pace and attack the accent at the last moment, creating a surprising effect that gives Quitry a spontaneous charm. This spontaneity is reflected in her relationship with Basil, her fiancé, and also catches the eye of the dreamy knight Don Quixote. The castanet variation is considered a highlight of Act I.
To endure the demands of the first act and the entire choreographic score, a ballerina must undergo rigorous training, with a strong focus on grand allegro (big jumps). Without this preparation, there is a risk of muscle cramps or accidents.
Another challenge lies in rehearsing the role with various ballet masters. While there are exceptions, the days when a teacher would meticulously "train" a young ballerina in a role are, for the most part, gone. The more I travel and dance in different companies, the more I observe this with sadness.
Act II, in addition to the picturesque windmill episode and the gypsy dance, includes Don Quixote's dream, where the old traveler envisions Quitry as the embodiment of his desires. Both roles are danced by the same ballerina. This act is stylistically similar to Act II of *Sleeping Beauty*, where Prince Desiré sees Princess Aurora in the naiad scene. This part of the role, Don Quixote’s dream of a fantasy world populated by nymphs and fairies, serves as a counterpoint between the first and third acts.
Act III features the happy conclusion of Quitry’s marriage to Basil, culminating in the famous pas de deux, which over time has become more of a technical showcase than a display of style. Temperament, a psycho-physical aspect of behavior, is increasingly confused with technical execution. However, not all ballerinas who can perform the 32 fouetté and sustained allegro possess the temperament required to portray the character authentically.
The refinement of temperament is key to this final pas de deux. Regardless of the choreography, the stylistic parameters of *Don Quixote* must be adhered to, whether dancing a sequence or the full performance.
Even though the ballet *Don Quixote* has only a few tangential connections to Cervantes' novel, my literary exploration of the character helped cultivate a certain interpretative depth. Ballet dancers, as artists who embody knowledge through movement, often prefer to render a theme using the well-practiced vocabulary and syntax of classical ballet rather than approaching a role through intellectual research.
For me, the combination of movement and word has always provided a sense of security in my artistic exploration, acting as a guard against superficial interpretation.
Curiosity about what the word hides and what movement reveals—or what can be read between the lines—has been a constant and rewarding pursuit.
The preparation of classical repertoire roles, except for premieres, is usually done at a fast pace in theatres, due to the high number of performances and the various priorities of ballet directors, who may not prioritize the artistic perfection of the performers. This fast-track approach can set dangerous traps for young dancers. This is why, as in my case with Mrs. Larissa, the presence of a mentor becomes essential. This healthy practice of protecting young talent through the time and care given by former prima ballerinas is, unfortunately, almost extinct in most classical ballet theatres around the world. Exceptions might include the operas of the former Soviet Union, the Paris Opera, and perhaps the Havana Theatre.
Here are a few reviews of my performances in this role over the years:
"...The performance of *Don Quixote* was a success, thanks primarily to the soloist couple Simona Noja and Florin Brândușă, who brought balance and rare brilliance to the production. (...) As for Simona Noja, who, at only nineteen years old, tackles the most challenging roles in the classical repertoire with the ease of a ballerina with many years of experience, we can say she is a true revelation. A first proof of her outstanding qualities was recently seen in the title role of *Swan Lake*, in a festive performance dedicated to the ballet master Oleg Danovschi at the Bucharest Opera. Her precocious talent, sensitivity, and stage intelligence enabled her to master the most complex roles in the genre, including *Giselle* and *Don Quixote*. Simona Noja owes her initial training to gymnastics, debuting at an early age in the national gymnastics team and shining for a few years among the constellation of Nadia Comăneci's followers, promising to become a great star. Her rigorous training and the strict discipline of gymnastics, along with her complicated apparatus exercises, gave her great work capacity, stamina, and concentration. These qualities, combined with a perfect sense of balance and ease in executing the most difficult technical passages—such as the thirty fouetté, which she performs with the ease of spinning on one leg in a cascade of pirouettes without flinching—made her stand out. Ballet lessons in gymnastics classes won little Noja over to the art of dance, which she studied at the Cluj-Napoca Choreography High School. The performances in which Simona Noja has participated so far have confirmed her indisputable talent, possessing all the characteristics of a remarkable dancing artist, for whom the accumulation of nuances and details of interpretation is just a matter of routine, resolved over time. Thus, the performance of *Don Quixote* presented on the Cluj stage offered, above all, the satisfaction of admiring a young and valuable talent who has established her name among the best dancers, and to whom we wish full success and fulfillment in future achievements..."
"Towards the end of the season, the Romanian Opera in Cluj-Napoca offered us a pleasant surprise: the debut of Simona Noja in the role of Quiteria in the ballet *Don Quixote* by Ludwig Minkus. Only a year after graduating from the Cluj-Napoca high school, and only a few months after a highly praised appearance as the protagonist in *Swan Lake*, the young ballerina takes on, with noticeable aplomb, another score from the classical repertoire. The impressive technical qualities of the performer increasingly find an organic integration with her dramatic ideas and poetic expressiveness from one performance to the next. In this endeavor, Simona Noja seems to have found an ideal stage partner in Florin Brândușă: calm, inspiring confidence, without being routine, very agile—despite his massive physical presence..."
"The Romanian Opera of Cluj-Napoca has once again included in its repertoire the ballet *Don Quixote*, this time with Simona Noja and Florin Brândușă in the main roles. (...) The undeniable stars of the performance, and the reason for its success, were the couple Simona Noja and Florin Brândușă, as Quiteria and Basilio. In Simona Noja, the very young soloist of the Romanian Opera of Cluj-Napoca, who debuted in *Swan Lake* last autumn—perfectly assisted by the same Florin Brândușă—I noticed the delicacy, discreet charm, and aplomb of a true professional. Her mastery of technique, with the ease that usually comes with longer stage experience, stood out. Since then, she has performed the role of Myrtha in *Giselle* and had a fruitful collaboration with the Fantasio Ballet. Now, in her early twenties, she tackles a new, difficult leading role. For Simona Noja, dance is a rich means of expression, a controlled, harmonious movement that dispels the fear of human fragility. Shy and reserved in everyday life, fragile and hesitant before speaking her mind, Simona Noja shows surprising tenacity, strength, and independence as soon as the mathematical, demanding rhythm of dance takes hold of her. Her artistry is impressively impetuous, and her stage presence captivates completely every time. Simona Noja's acting skills are evident; she carefully composes her role, leaving no detail of her facial expressions, gestures, or outfit to chance. The effort and concentration are perfectly masked, her dance aspiring to the weightlessness of flight. She knows how to impose two simultaneous structures on her body—one physical, strictly tied to technique, and the other mental, ensuring subtle interpretations. This explains the ease with which she performs the virtuoso sequences, the spectacular fouetté, the dizzying pirouettes, the wide jumps—sequences with the greatest audience appeal. It also explains the interpretative complexity of the more composed sequences. While the first and last acts showcased her technical prowess, the second act, with its slow-motion movements, apparent disregard for gravity, and calm, voluptuous gestures—as in a dream—demonstrated Simona Noja's artistic qualities and the true measure of her talent. Together with Florin Brândușă, also a graduate of the Cluj ballet school and now a soloist at the Romanian Opera in Bucharest, Simona Noja shone once again, becoming a certainty after having started as a great promise."
