Cesar Corrales (Rehearsing COPPELIA)

Here is the youngest new male principal with The Royal Ballet, (2021) Cesar Corrales, rehearsing COPPELIA with coach Leanne Benjamin (former principal with The Royal Ballet). His parents were both ballet dancers in Cuba and Cesar was mainly trained by his mother Taina Morales. I first met Cesar when he was 9 years-old; when I was teaching and rehearsing Les Grand Ballet Canadien de Montreal. I would go there every year (16 in all) from late November thru December to get the company in shape for Fernand Nault's rather spectacular Nutcracker. I would do my own barre in the morning and his mother would teach him a private class after that. She saw how I worked and asked me to give her son some privates so he could get a taste of the Balanchine technique. The next year when he was 10 he took a few more of these privates. It was obvious from the start he was a major talent. Here he is at the top of his game, and living up to all his potential. He reminds me most of Rudolph Nureyev. When I was teaching and choreographing my ballets (4) for Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Nureyev was guesting with the company, and he too asked me to give him privates and he took all my company classes too. Both Nureyev and Cesar have an almost supernatural power to their dancing, as you can see here. Both are speedy and both use force in their pirouettes. No slow turns for them! I'd also like to compliment his coach here, Leanne Benjamin. I love her attention to style and character, and agree with everything she's saying.

[@delph2000]

Francesca Hayward described him as having energy and fire. I can see what he means now. He needs roles that use these qualities. I absolutely love Leanne - she was a superb dancer.

[@FinisJhungballet]

Superb technique and most of all a willingness to listen and do as coached - destined for eternal stardom the world over - a long ways since teaching him as one of the original Chicago Billy Elliots in 2010. Promises fulfilled!

[@smurf902]

Been following Cesar since featured in the Prix de Lausanne. Terrific dancer, beautiful young man, smile can light up London and Paris both together

[@ezequielmca4385]

You must pay, baby. Have money?

[@ibuprofenPill]

Watching rehearsals makes me miss dance more than watching the performances. The relationships and interactions were the best parts of it for me. Even 25 years after retirement I can still feel the dancer in me and it will probably always be there. Even now I think of being backstage before performance and imagine one of the stage crew coming through with a headset on yelling 5 MINUTES! It still gets my adrenaline flowing all these years later. I would ask them what the house looked like and it was usually full. Then I'd be in the wings watching the opening and hear the clapping of a totally full house. I was very nervous up until I stepped on stage, then it just didn't matter to me anymore. I've since been in a band and done a little stand up comedy. Nothing compares to dance.

[@DavidAsset78]

Wow! He's amazing.

[@susannevollmer2347]

Exciting. The cuba dance education!

[@dinaduckworth2786]

Thank you so much for showing this

[@GeorgeOu]

Those beats are insanely clean and large.

[@Ballet-ester235]

Great Cesar!

[@tatiana8077]

That energy and jump !

[@rolandculler4470]

JUST AMAZING 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿😍

[@hermajesty52]

Holy crap!!!!

[@tontonjeannot6089]

I really liked the advice the director gave him; there's no reason for someone with his mastery of technique and physical perfection to not play it for all it's worth.

[@rlatimer10]

Wow!

[@hay_bail1]

Great tours!

[@chez-Monica]

Amaizing 💜

[@jorgejure7673]

A personality of his own this dancer . More in the line of Vladimir Vassiliev’s frank expressiveness or even the expansiveness of Irek Muhamedov or Edward Villela’s if we go to the shorter types! Nureyev was so disturbed and absent minded so many times! this one is not like him.

[@jcliff26]

I knew and worked with Nureyev. Until the end when his health was shot, I would never call him “absent minded.”