Burgos & New York International Choreography Competition has closed the deadline for the admission of proposals to the competition with the reception of 302 creations from countries like Italy, Ukraine, Cuba, South Korea, Poland, USA, Germany, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, France, Puerto Rico, Portugal, China, Belgium, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Guatemala, Mexico, Andorra, Argentina, El Salvador, Sweden, Colombia, Costa Rica and Spain. A committee formed by professionals linked to the world of dance will be in charge of selecting, in the coming weeks, the works that will finally be exhibited to the public during the twenty-second edition of the festival, to be held between July 10 and 28.

The Contest, organized by the Ballet Contemporáneo de Burgos with the main sponsorship of the City Council of Burgos and the contributions of the Ministry of Culture and Sport and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Junta de Castilla y León, as well as other cultural entities, will bring together the pieces, many of them as premieres, of emerging choreographers and companies from around the world and the national geography. Urban and contemporary dance and creations expressly conceived for street and non-conventional spaces make up the program of an event that will distribute 59,000 euros in prizes and will be complemented with workshops, meetings and training activities.

‘Dance on Camino de Santiago’

Between July 10 and 23, the performances programmed by the Certamen will once again travel the Camino de Santiago. The festival will kick off with 'Dance on Camino de Santiago', a competition co-organized by the Junta de Castilla y León and the Certamen Burgos & New York that this year will visit several cities and municipalities located on the Jacobea route as it passes through Burgos (Villafranca Montes de Oca, Real Monasterio de San Agustín, in the capital, and Castrojeriz); Palencia (Frómista, Villalcázar de Sirga and Carrión de los Condes); León (Mansilla de las Mulas, Ponferrada and the capital); Lugo (Sarria and Portomarín); and A Coruña (Santiago de Compostela), before concluding at the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

Other sections

For its part, the competition 'Dancing with stones' will exhibit a total of six creations in the surroundings of the Cathedral of Burgos (Llana de Afuera). It will take place on July 25. Later, between the 26th and 28th, fans of the most current choreographic creation will gather at the Teatro Principal de Burgos to attend the semifinals and the final of the 'Dance en el theater’ section, in which contemporary and urban dance productions compete together. Completing the program will be the section of the festival dedicated to Street Art or muralism and the contest 'Burgos T-Mueve', an initiative aimed at young dancers and choreographers who record their work (between 30 and 60 seconds) with cell phones. The deadline for this contest will remain open until July 14 and those interested in participating must be over 14 years old. To compete, they must record choreographies between 30 and 60 seconds long with their smartphones and upload the videos to their social profile on Facebook or Instagram, tagging Certamen Internacional de Coreografía Burgos & Nueva York (@cicbuny) and including the hashtag #burgostmueve.

Former dancer Luis Martín Oya, Deputy Director of the Nacho Duato Academy (NDA) in Madrid, will be in charge of chairing the official jury of the Certamen in 2023, replacing choreographer Goyo Montero. Martín Oya was born in Madrid and began his classical dance studies at the age of 11 with maestro Pedro de la Cruz. He graduated from the Real Conservatorio Superior de Danza de Madrid and from L'École de Danse Clasique Princesse Grace de Monte Carlo with Marika Bessobrasova. In 1987 he joined the National Dance Company under the direction of Maya Plisetskaya, a period in which he began to perform his first roles as a soloist dancer. With the incorporation of Nacho Duato to the direction of the company, he was promoted to first dancer.

He participated in all the creations of Valencian choreographer and danced most of the repertoire of the CND, which also included pieces by great international choreographers such as Jirí Kylián, William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin or Mats Ek, with whom he had the opportunity to work personally. After finishing his career as a performer, Nacho Duato incorporates him into the production team of the CND. In May 2015, he was appointed Production Director and since 2019, Executive Production Director of CND. He holds a degree in Business Management from ESERP (Madrid) and a Master's Degree in Internalization and Cooperation in Cultural and Creative Sector Management from the Complutense University of Madrid.

The twenty-second edition of the Burgos & New York International Choreography Competition will present a new award and, thanks to the collaboration of the Nacho Duato Academy (NDA), will complete its list of winners with the Nacho Duato Academy Young Promise Award. This award involves the granting of a scholarship to attend a full course at the Nacho Duato Trainee Program (NDTP) in Madrid. The scholarship, valued at 12,900 euros, is aimed at young dance performers who show high technical and artistic potential for their future professional career but still require pre-professional training.

Nacho Duato Academy reserves the right to distribute this award to a maximum of three dancers. The award covers the tuition for the training but does not include the costs of travel, accommodation, food or any other additional expenses, and will be conditional upon the start of the NDTP, scheduled for September 2023. Under no circumstances may the award be exchanged for cash value.

NDTP is part of the Nacho Duato Academy and shares space with the Centro Superior de Artes Escénicas SCAENA and the Conservatorio Profesional de Danza de Carmen Roche. It is a unique space that integrates more than 200 students and 50 professionals.

During 2023, and between July 17 and 28, the facilities of the Centro Hélade will host the intensive program of classes that make up the Summer Danza, which will be held in the morning (from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm) and afternoon (from 2:45 pm to 4:30 pm). This year, the invited teachers are Luis Martín Oya, former first dancer of the National Dance Company under Nacho Duato and teacher at NDA (Nacho Duato Academy), Catherine Coury, performer, creative assistant of Mario Bermúdez and pedagogue of gaga language, the former Japanese dancer and teacher Ayako Kurakake and Mario Bermúdez, choreographer and artistic director of the company Mercat Dance.

The experience and artistic trajectory of Luis Martín Oya are his great letter of introduction. The trust placed in him by world-renowned choreographer Nacho Duato is just one example of his ability to provide students with the basics of an essential choreographic language in the composition of movement. Mario Bermúdez, for his part, has signed valuable pieces and creations that have been seen on stages in Asia and Europe and the "choreographic and educational repertoire workshop" that he will give at Summer will inspire and enrich our budding artists.

The experience of both Ayako Kurakake and Catherine Coury is equally valuable. Ayako, an expert in the "Graham" technique, will provide the young artists with the opportunity to learn the origins of this technique, while Catherine, with a wealth of experience in the "Gaga" technique, will offer new experiences in the dancers' body learning.

This intensive program of 15 days and more than 70 hours of practical work is undoubtedly an inspiring and unique experience that will provide the participants with valuable tools for their professional and artistic development.