Spanish National Dance Company in the context of Railway Museum (Madrid)

Don Quixote is a ballet in three acts, based on episodes taken from the famous novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. It was originally choreographed by Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus and first presented by Moscow's Bolshoi Ballet on 26 December [O.S. 14 December] 1869. Petipa and Minkus revised the ballet into a more elaborate and expansive version in five acts and eleven scenes for the Mariinsky Ballet, first presented on 21 November [O.S. 9 November] 1871 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre of St. Petersburg.

All modern productions of the Petipa/Minkus ballet are derived from the version staged by Alexander Gorsky for the Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow in 1900, a production the ballet master staged for the Imperial Ballet of St. Petersburg in 1902.

Raymond Martin Barallobre Ramirez (January 3, 1930 – March 26, 2025), known professionally as Ray Barra, was an American ballet dancer, ballet master, choreographer and ballet director who worked mostly in Europe. He was a soloist with the American Ballet Theatre and from 1959 a principal dancer of the Stuttgart Ballet, where he danced parts in creations by John Cranko including Romeo in Romeo and Juliet with Marcia Haydée as Julia, and the title role in Onegin. He created major roles in ballets by Kenneth MacMillan, Las Hermanas and Song of the Earth. After retiring from the stage due to an injury, he worked as a ballet master first with the Berlin State Ballet, then with John Neumeier at the ballet of the Oper Frankfurt and the Hamburg Ballet. He was associate director of the Spanish National Dance Company, and created several choreographies internationally.

José Carlos Martínez (born 29 April 1969 in Cartagena) is a Spanish dancer and choreographer. He was a danseur étoile of the Paris Opera Ballet and artistic director of the Spanish National Dance Company. He became the director of dance at Paris Opera Ballet in December 2022.

Throughout his career, he has won numerous ballet awards and competitions, such as the Prix Benois de la Danse, the Gold medal of the Varna International Ballet Competition, and a scholarship of Prix de Lausanne, among the most prestigious dance competitions in the world. The Japanese Shinshokan Dance Magazine recognized him as one of the best dancers of his era.

Joaquín De Luz (born 1976, Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish ballet dancer. He was formerly with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT), and a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet (NYCB). He is currently director of Spanish National Dance Company.