GUEST CHOREOGRAPHERS
Cayetano Soto
Soto began his dance education in Barcelona at the Institut del Teatre and then continued his studies at the Koninklijke Conservatorium in The Hague. After receiving his degree in Classical Dance, Soto danced with IT Dansa Barcelona in 1997, before joining Ballet Theater Munich a year later. In 2000, he was awarded Best Young Choreographer to Watch by the German magazine “Tanz Aktuell” for his first choreography for Ballet Theater Munich, Plenilunio. While with that company he created several successful ballets and one of his first signature pieces, Fugaz.
Since 2005, Soto has worked as a freelance choreographer and has received commissions from Nederlands Dans Theater, Stuttgarter Ballett, Royal Ballet of Flanders, Ballett Zürich, Compañía Nacional de Danza, Ballet du Capitole, Czech National Ballet, Balé da Cidade de São Paulo, Gauthier Dance Company, Companhia Nacional de Bailado, Perm Opera Ballet Theater, Národní Divadlo Brno, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Oklahoma City Ballet,Tanz Luzern Theater, Ballet Hispanico of New York, Ballet BC, BJM Montréal, Maggio Danza Opera di Firenze, BalletX, Introdans and Györi Ballet. He also created several ballets with German companies such as, Staatstheater Braunschweig, Hessisches Staats Ballett Wiesbaden, Staatstheater Nürnberg, Ballett Theater München, Staatstheater Augsburg. Soto created a new full evening version of Carmen for Ballett Dortmund, which was then staged by Národní Divadlo Brno in Czech Republic. Soto served as Resident Choreographer for Ballet BC from September 2015 for three seasons.
Both subtle and assertive, Soto’s choreographies require technical aptitude, imagination and abandon. His dance vocabulary is distinct, comprised of nuanced detail and grotesque adaptations of traditional movements. Expressive hands and fingers, and complex, acrobatic duets, are characteristic. “He uses descriptive language, imagery and metaphor to provide entry points into the artistic layers of the choreography.” - Dance International
Soto has received numerous awards and accolades for his creative work. In 2006 he was awarded first prize for his ballet 24FPS at the “Uncontainable” choreography competition at the Royal Ballet of Flanders. Canela Fina, commissioned by Balé da Cidade de São Paulo, was awarded Best Dance Production of 2008 by the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo, and was performed at the Exposition Universal Shanghai in 2010. In 2011, Soto was nominated for the most prestigious dance award in Russia, the Golden Mask Award, for his work Uneven. Arte 1 Brazil broadcast a six-episode documentary of Soto’s 2015 creation for Balé da Cidade de São Paulo, ADASTRA. During the 2016-2017 season, Soto was the Choreographic Fellowship Mentor for Philadelphia’s BalletX, and in July 2018, he was invited to be on the faculty of the contemporary dance program at the worldfamous Jacob’s Pillow. Soto’s choreography was awarded Best Screen Choreography up to 5 Minutes: With Reason and Heart at dancescreen 2019 + TANZRAUSCHEN Festival Wuppertal in Germany. His creation Prelude und Liebestod for the Czech National Ballet was nominated best premiere of the season by the prestiges Europe Dance Magazine in 2021.
Photo credit: Hans Gerritsen