{"id":55283,"date":"2022-10-10T07:41:19","date_gmt":"2022-10-10T07:41:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/?p=55283"},"modified":"2026-04-16T07:28:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T07:28:49","slug":"pablo-legasa-loves-what-he-does","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/pablo-legasa-loves-what-he-does\/","title":{"rendered":"PABLO LEGASA LOVES WHAT HE DOES"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Sylvie Guillem taught him that at a cocktail party some years ago, and he continues to do so. Now, the Paris Opera Ballet First soloist opens up about his expectations, his love for villain roles and his political commitment, and he reveals why he detests promotional competitions. An Interview by Alessandro BIZZOTTO.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Compared to Milan, this year Paris is cooler and less humid in early July. Being used to the hotter Milanese temperatures, it is almost a pleasure to reach the Opera Garnier on foot without sweating on a sunny afternoon. When I meet Pablo Legasa, he is dressed very informally and in dark colours. His eyes have a vaguely curious look while he gives me a slightly shy smile, as if he didn\u2019t know what to expect from the interview that is about to begin. Legasa joined the Paris Opera Ballet nine years ago. He won his latest promotional competitions in November 2019, when he got promoted to First soloist, one rank away from the title of Principal dancer (\u00c9toile, as the French say, a position that doesn\u2019t depend on success in the annual competition). We start out slow while sitting next to an open window, through which the Parisian traffic sounds reach us.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_55284\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55284\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-55284\" src=\"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/In-The-Vertiginous-Thrill-of-Exactitude-\u00a9-Julien-Benhamou-1024x672.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"672\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/In-The-Vertiginous-Thrill-of-Exactitude-\u00a9-Julien-Benhamou-1024x672.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/In-The-Vertiginous-Thrill-of-Exactitude-\u00a9-Julien-Benhamou-300x197.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/In-The-Vertiginous-Thrill-of-Exactitude-\u00a9-Julien-Benhamou-768x504.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/In-The-Vertiginous-Thrill-of-Exactitude-\u00a9-Julien-Benhamou-1536x1008.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/In-The-Vertiginous-Thrill-of-Exactitude-\u00a9-Julien-Benhamou-2048x1344.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/In-The-Vertiginous-Thrill-of-Exactitude-\u00a9-Julien-Benhamou-600x394.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-55284\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">&#8216;The Vertiginous Thrill of Exactitude&#8217; \u00a9 Julien Benhamou<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Your name doesn\u2019t sound French.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is not, you are right. My father is Spanish. He was born in France to Spanish parents, who had migrated to France during the Spanish war to flee from fascism. My mother instead was born in Belgium to Italian parents.<\/p>\n<p><strong>So, how many languages do you speak?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t speak Spanish, nor Italian! I wish my parents taught me! At home, they spoke to me and my sister in French. So, I speak only French and English, even though Pablo is a Spanish name, and my surname is from the Basque Country.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_55286\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-55286\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-large wp-image-55286\" src=\"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/As-Basilio-in-Don-Quichotte-\u00a9-Svetlana-Loboff-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/As-Basilio-in-Don-Quichotte-\u00a9-Svetlana-Loboff-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/As-Basilio-in-Don-Quichotte-\u00a9-Svetlana-Loboff-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/As-Basilio-in-Don-Quichotte-\u00a9-Svetlana-Loboff-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/As-Basilio-in-Don-Quichotte-\u00a9-Svetlana-Loboff-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/As-Basilio-in-Don-Quichotte-\u00a9-Svetlana-Loboff-2048x1366.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/As-Basilio-in-Don-Quichotte-\u00a9-Svetlana-Loboff-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-55286\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">As Basilio in &#8216;Don Quichotte&#8217; \u00a9 Svetlana Loboff<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Wow! I can\u2019t wait to be there next September to cover the San Sebastian International Film Festival\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Oh, I still have relatives in San Sebastian! It is a beautiful city!<\/p>\n<p><strong>The face of the Festival this year is French \u2013 Juliette Binoche! She features on the official poster and will receive the honorary award.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I made a movie with Juliette! I served as a dance double for one of the actors in \u201cPolina, Danser Sa Vie\u201d directed by Val\u00e9rie M\u00fcller and Angelin Preljocaj. She is super nice!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Let me ask you, how old were you when you first took a dance class?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I was six years old.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where did you start?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At the Studio Harmonic in Paris, it is quite famous. I still go there to take class from time to time.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ihc-locker-wrap\"><div  class='ihc_locker_2'><div class='lock_content'><p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Imagine_website_Digital_Exklusiv.jpg\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Weiterlesen mit Digital+<\/h2>\n<p>Alle Formate in einem ABO.<br \/>\nBequem auf Ihrem mobilen Endger\u00e4t Ihrer Wahl.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Alle Artikel online lesen<\/li>\n<li>Zugang zum ePaper<\/li>\n<li>Zugang zum Online-Archiv von Dance for You<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h4>Jetzt digital freischalten!<\/h4>\n<\/div><div class='lock_buttons'>\n  <!-- Login Form - Start -->\n  <div class=\"ihc-login-form-wrap ihc-login-template-11\">\n      <form method=\"post\" id=\"ihc_login_form\">\n          <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"ihcaction\" value=\"login\" \/>\n          <input type=\"hidden\" name=\"ihc_login_nonce\" value=\"37a7331602\" \/>\n\n          \n                    <!-- Username field -->\n          <div class=\"impu-form-line-fr\">\n              <i class=\"fa-ihc fa-username-ihc\"><\/i>\n              <input type=\"text\" value=\"\" name=\"log\" id=\"iump_login_username\" placeholder=\"Username\"\/>\n          <\/div>\n          <!-- End of username field -->\n          \n                    <!-- Password field -->\n          <div class=\"impu-form-line-fr\">\n              <i class=\"fa-ihc fa-pass-ihc\"><\/i>\n              <input type=\"password\" value=\"\" name=\"pwd\" id=\"iump_login_password\" placeholder=\"Password\"\/>\n              <span  class=\"ihc-hide-login-pw hide-if-no-js\" data-toggle=\"0\" aria-label=\"Show password\">\n              <span class=\"dashicons dashicons-visibility\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/span>\n                <\/span>\n          <\/div>\n          <!-- End of Password field -->\n          \n          \n          <!-- Remember me checkbox -->\n                    <div class=\"impu-remember-wrapper\">\n              <input type=\"checkbox\" value=\"forever\" name=\"rememberme\" class=\"impu-form-input-remember\" \/>\n              <span class=\"impu-form-label-remember\">Remember Me<\/span>\n          <\/div>\n                    <!-- End of remember me --->\n\n          <!-- Additional links -->\n                        <div class=\"impu-form-links-pass\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/lost-password\/\">Lost your password?<\/a><\/div>\n                    <!-- End of Aditional links -->\n\n          <div class=\"ihc-clear\"><\/div>\n\n          <!-- captcha -->\n                    <!-- end of captcha -->\n\n          <!-- Submit bttn -->\n                        <div class=\"impu-form-line-fr impu-form-submit\">\n                  <input type=\"submit\" value=\"Log In\" name=\"Submit\"  class=\"button button-primary button-large\"\/>\n              <\/div>\n                    <!-- End of Submit bttn -->\n\n          <!-- Social -->\n                    <!-- End of Social -->\n\n          <!-- Additional links -->\n                        <div class=\"impu-form-links\">\n                <div class=\"impu-form-links-reg\">Don&#039;t have an account? <a href=\"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/register\/\">Register<\/a><\/div>\n              <\/div>\n                        <!-- End of Aditional links -->\n\n      <\/form>\n  <\/div>\n\n  \n  <span class='ihc-js-login-data'\tdata-user_field='#iump_login_username' data-password_field='#iump_login_password' data-error_message='Please fill out all mandatory fields' ><\/span>\n  <!-- End of Login Form -->\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sylvie Guillem taught him that at a cocktail party some years ago, and he continues to do so. Now, the Paris Opera Ballet First soloist opens up about his expectations, his love for villain roles and his political commitment, and he reveals why he detests promotional competitions. An Interview by Alessandro BIZZOTTO. Compared to Milan, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":55285,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[135,70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exklusiv","category-people"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55283","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55283"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55283\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56144,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55283\/revisions\/56144"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55283"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55283"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.danceforyou-magazine.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55283"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}