‘ANIMA ANIMAL’, Herman Cornejo’s first production

In 2021 Herman Cornejo received a scholarship from the Center for Ballet and the Arts at New York University for his proposal “Re-imagining Nijinsky” to research a ballet called “Caaporá”, which takes up an indigenous Guarani legend about the mythical origin of a bird called Urutaú and that was Vaslav Nijinsky’s last professional object of interest.

“Caaporá” was written in 1915 by two Argentinian intellectuals, Alfredo González Garaño and Ricardo Güiraldes, with all its staging references. This choreographic project was at the time proposed to Vaslav Nijinsky during his last trip to the Southern Cone with Les Ballet Russes (no one knew at that time the audience in Uruguay would be witnessing his final performance on stage). The Ukrainian dancer was very interested in moving towards its realization -and even appointed Igor Stravinsky to make the music for it, but sadly he was later hospitalized, and immediately afterward he was forced to retire from dancing.

As part of his scholarship, Herman researched the different aspects of the legend of the Urutaú as there are several versions..
On the one hand, he learned about the beliefs and worldview of the Guarani tribe in Argentina and Paraguay, and the historical and cultural circumstances in Argentina at the beginning of the 20th century that laid the foundation for the creation of a ballet that aimed to be perceived as “indigenous,” as well as its aesthetic connections to the modernism of Les Ballet Russes and Nijinsky’s particular style of dance. On the other hand, this helped him to imagine new choreography, and, consequently, a brand new complete piece of dance, which he brought to life with the celebrated Argentinian choreographer Anabella Tuliano.

During his research of the different indigenous tribes' religiousness, Herman found an underlying similarity in the concept of nature as an inextricable part of a universal balance that human beings need to embrace lovingly and to respect, for they are also a part of nature. The other concept that would constantly emerge was the permanent presence, and the fear of, an evil force that everyone must face sooner or later. In most legends,

this usually would come in the shape of a moral dilemma between good and bad, and a definition of such, in the midst of a life-changing experience.

In this process, Herman came across a phrase that really stuck with him: “Delve into the past to create your future”. It was in this way that his research served as a springboard to reinvent the story and make a reflect on the constant crisis of our modern humanity, whose complexity has currently put our survival as a species into serious question.

Herman wrote it himself as follows: “I felt the need to create a piece where not only the characters could communicate an ethical standpoint through movement, I also wanted ‘the Earth’ to have a voice, to flow through music and be a protagonist. Guarani culture inspired me to think about the difficulties of the present moment through a new, more mystical lens, and the urgent need to rethink the relationship between human beings and of humans with nature”. 

Inspired by Nijinsky 's last artistic object of interest, reimagined by Herman Cornejo and choreographed by Anabella Tuliano to an original score by musicians Uji and Noelia Escalzo.

Herman Cornejo will lead the piece, accompanied on stage by Grupo Cadabra, the acclaimed Argentinian contemporary dance company created and directed by Anabella Tuliano.