Don Quixote: Charming Basilio is equal to the task
Building stamina and core strength is important to be able to take on the role of Basilio, says Gerardo Francisco who did so in 2017. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
If Kitri were feisty and playful, Basilio – the love of her life – is equally spirited and strong-willed. Indeed, the lead characters of Don Quixote are the most equally-matched in personality and demeanor in the world of classical ballet. Thus, it comes as no surprise that Kitri fell head-over-heels for the charming Basilio.
While not the first, among the earliest danseurs to perform the role of this delightful town barber was Sergei Sokolov for Marius Petipa. It was a departure from the previous versions of Basilio because this was the first time that the character was seen front and center rather than a minor player as written in the novel. Petipa chose two chapters to highlight in his ballet masterpiece and focused on the love story between Kitri, the innkeeper’s daughter, and Basilio, the barber. Since then, all other versions of Don Quixote focused on the love story rather than the title character’s complicated journey.
Osias Barroso dances as the spirited and strong-willed Basilio in one of the stops of a Russian tour he and Lisa Macuja did in the mid-1990s.
But unlike other ballet princes, Basilio was not just a supporting partner to Kitri. He was an equally prominent figure in both the narrative and the choreography. There was just as much excitement in his big jumps as there was anticipation for Kitri’s fouettes. In Act 1, the pair danced alternately as often done in classical ballets. What made this scene unique was how the segment was treated as a jovial but intense showdown between the lovers – flirting while dancing competitively in a light-hearted attempt to dominate the other.
Petipa created two versions of this grand ballet: one in 1869 with four acts and eight scenes, and another in 1871 which had five acts and eleven scenes. One of the most notable changes between the two-year gap was Basilio’s comic fake death scene – appearing to stab himself to convince Kitri’s father to give his daughter’s hand in marriage. He gave his blessing and Basilio revealed that it was all a trick. In the new version, Petipa decided that the scene should become dramatic with Kitri threatening to commit suicide should her father insist on marrying her off to Gamache. From a light-hearted comedy, Don Quixote suddenly became a drama piece. Today, all the contemporary versions of Don Quixote have chosen to restore the fake-death scene and keep the ballet a comedy that the family can enjoy.
Many danseurs have performed as Basilio in its many versions including Russian dancers Lev Ivanov and Nikolai Legat. Ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev not only performed as Basilio but created his own version of Don Quixote for the Vienna State Opera as well. Mikhail Baryshnikov did the same for the American Ballet Theater. Today’s most notable danseurs such as Carlos Acosta (with The Royal Ballet), Sergei Polunin (with the Stanislavsky Ballet), Carlos Quenedit (with the Joffrey Ballet), Charles-Louis Yoshiyama (with the Houston Ballet) and Lucien Postlewaite (with the Pacific Northwest Ballet) have all performed as Basilio.
Jerome Espejo portrays Basilio in 2004. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
At Ballet Manila, then principal dancer and now co-artistic director Osias Barroso performed the role during the company’s first decade opposite prima ballerina Lisa Macuja-Elizalde’s Kitri. The pair first danced the piece together in the early ‘90s up to Barroso’s retirement in 2004. Since then, he has passed on the role to the Espejo brothers (Eduardo, Jerome and Jeffrey), Niño Guevarra, Rudy De Dios, Rudolph Capongcol and current principal dancer Gerardo Francisco Jr. Soloist Joshua Enciso and company artist Rafael Perez have successfully performed Don Quixote variations during international competitions.
“Basilio is such an extrovert – he’s a fun and charming person who captures people’s hearts with his wits. He has a huge character, which needs to be conveyed well in terms of movement,” De Dios said in a 2017 interview. “The biggest challenge is to retain the technical aspect of dancing without losing the artistic value of the character. To do this, I attend more classes than I usually do. And during my free time, I watch videos of some of the greatest Basilios and try to learn how I can improve my technique through them.”
It is the physicality of the role that Francisco noted the most about being Basilio.
“Basilio is undoubtedly one of the most challenging characters for a danseur,” he admitted during his 2017 performance of the role. “You need to be really fit for you to pull this character off. I try to stay in shape by doing extra workouts that help me build my stamina and core strength after every rehearsal. These include planking, crunches, push-ups, and stretching. Rehearsals are also more tedious now and last longer. It’s also important that you get a good idea of how the character feels and thinks at every situation, so I invest a lot of time in researching more about Basilio.”
Today, Francisco is the only active male danseur of Ballet Manila who has performed the full-length Don Quixote as Basilio but the emerging talents in the company clearly show the role is in capable hands.
For his turn as the male lead in Don Quixote in 2012, Rudy De Dios watched videos of some of the greatest Basilios to see how he could improve his technique. Photo by Ocs Alvarez
