A World Premiere in the Making
Fernando Hernando Magadan performed works by prominent choreographers throughout his 15 seasons as a dancer with the Nederlands Dans Theater. Now renowned for his choreographic work, Fernando’s movement vocabulary is known for his highly physical, inventive, and musical characteristics.
His latest commission for Ballet BC will have its world premiere on March 2025 at ZENITH. While in process for the new creation at our Vancouver studios, Fernando sat down with us to discuss his current inspirations, his experience working with our dancers, and the special collaborations that are supporting his artistic vision.
What has been your inspiration for this creation?
I’m intrigued by the idea of space in its broader meaning. By how our existence seems so fragile – at times insignificant – among the monumental magnitude of everything that surrounds us. By the miracle of life with its vital driving pulse and by the fact that, despite appearing so trivial in the grand scheme of things, we are still able to contemplate, admire and be inspired by the immensity and its colossal forces.
As we look up, we are confronted with the limits of our knowledge. With a deep sense of mystery, we wonder about our place and connection to it all.
The Queen Elizabeth Theatre was also in my mind when thinking about potential themes for this creation. It is such a large construct that involves a lot of space. I’ve seen strong dance works being swallowed by this space. Dance is a very subtle language, it needs a good podium, so I decided to create a piece that copes and enhances the given space and how the work relates to it.
How did that inspiration develop into choreography once you were in the studio? Was there anything that surprised you?
First, many questions arose. For instance: How to translate the pulse of life into dance language—heartbeats, percussion, the ecstasy of movement; how to portray a sense of creation and a sense of departure in the same piece. Questions about our existence and the journey of life. About what lies behind the horizon.
Together with the dancers we started doing what we do best, we danced. I presented them with a few dance combinations that contained the right energy and physicality. Then, based on those phrases, they created more phrases—they came out with some truly amazing material! That material invited more dance ideas that I started editing, composing, and structuring into the different sections of the piece. Simultaneously, and after a process of deciphering the type of sounds and moods we wanted for this piece, together with Ben Waters, the composer, the music creation continued. Dance and music established a creative dialogue, bouncing ideas off each other and feeding each other.
Tell us more about your creative process.
Every process is different. The inspiration can come from anywhere: A particular period or event in your life, a piece of music, a text, a photo…. Sometimes it can also depend on the resources you have, or the calibre of performers you are going to be working with.
I’m a very visual person. I can imagine fully accomplished theatrical situations in my head. I also have a passion for stage design. I’m inspired by the given space and I get excited imagining how the space and the set are going to host the choreography.
When I begin a process I always aim to have a concept or a theme to explore, some basic choreographic ideas and a sense of structure. For this work with Ballet BC, I knew I wanted to work with the idea of the space and with a large group of dancers that represents humanity. I also knew I wanted to highlight their individual skills and talents and to create a section that taps into something more vulnerable – like trying to portrait the two contrasting poles of the human condition.
What has working with Ballet BC’s artists been like?
It’s been absolutely wonderful. The whole process has been fantastic. It just flowed. The calibre of these dancers is very high. They are passionate and open-minded. I never perceived any sense of negative judgement towards the ideas that I was bringing to the table, or a sense of not wanting to belong to the work we were creating. The same goes with the entire creative and production team; music, costumes, set…. I’ve been constantly feeling that everybody is pursuing the same goal with a very high sense of standard. My endless gratitude to Medhi for bringing me on board; someone I respect and admire, and a true artist.
Can you tell us more about the other artistic elements involved in the creation?
As I explore the concept of space, I felt the set had to feel epic; something monumental that invites a sense of wonder and awe—resonating the feeling we get when looking at the stars. I started dreaming of the idea of representing nothing less than a black hole. Something unknown, mysterious, intimidating, yet undeniably enticing. A metaphor for life, death and the colossal powers of the universe. Something that also symbolizes those human earth-shattering changes or devastating emotions. But also something inspiring, with light, with hope. The black hole turns into a fleeting eclipse. I once read that black holes can be seen as mirrors of our existence, reminding us that we are all stardust navigating through this cosmos journey of life.
Music is another essential element in the piece. Working with a talented, passionate and open minded composer like Ben is a true pleasure. We started playing with sounds that evoke the vastness of the space, beats and percussive elements representing the pulse of live and ethereal melodies with a more intimate and personal feeling trying to tap into our human and spiritual condition. This ended up resonating with the three sections of the piece.
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