María Pagés’ flamenco converses with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s contemporary dance in ‘Dunas’

The premiere will be from November 18th to 21st at Madrid’s 2009 Autumn Festival

S.C./Flamenco-world.com, July 2009
Cover photo: Pierre Gonnord

“The two of us, María and I, are enthused about exploring the desert we have before us”. With these words, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui sums up the show which, side by side, he is going to stage with bailaora María Pagés. The show, in which the Belgian-Moroccan’s contemporary dance and the Sevillian’s flamenco dancing will dialogue with one another, is entitled ‘Dunas’. It will be performed from November 18th to 21st at the Teatros del Canal in Madrid, in the setting of the 2009 Autumn Festival.

María Pagés (Photo Daniel Muñoz)

‘Dunas’ promises to be a fruitful exchange between María Pagés’ flamenco nature and Cherkaoui’s contemporaneity, stemming from a base of mutual admiration. “My encounters with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui have always been the product of harmonic and rhythmic destiny”, the Sevillian bailaora and choreographer explains. She now predicts that “Larbi will lead me to recognize myself in that soul not just of an artist or creator, but rather in that of my own person”. And on her part, she thinks “I’ll lead Larbi by the hand to the re-encounter with his essences, with his most genuine roots; they and other unique ingredients make up his fabulous world”.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui reflects upon this “refreshing” show when he says that “Knowing María has been like knowing a current of passionate, positive energy; she’s extraordinarily open and able to see the quality of movements uniquely, far from the conventionalities of contemporary choreography”. The choreographer admits “I love the way she moves around, the way she commits herself entirely with all of her emotional expression: she devotes herself in body and soul up on stage, with might and dedication never before seen, she makes it entirely her own”. And he goes further when he says “her style redefined my way of perceiving movement and sharing the stage with her has been an honor and a great learning experience for me”.

María Pagés and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui began their professional encounters in May 2008 in China, where the choreographer was putting together his show ‘Sutra’. And it isn’t the first time that the Sevillian artist, winner of the 2002 National Dance Prize, has worked side by side with an international dance figure. In November 2007, she was invited by Mikhail Baryshnikov to create and dance at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York, an experience which the show ‘Autorretrato’ (‘Self Portrait’) arose from, already displayed at festivals such as Seville’s Bienal de Flamenco 2008 and Festival de Jerez 2009, following its premiere in May 2008 at the International Forum Theater in Tokyo.

‘Dunas’, with original music by Szymon Brzoska and Rubén Lebaniegos, will be performed from November 18th to 21st, 2009 at the Teatros del Canal, as part of the program of Madrid’s 2009 Autumn Festival. In representation of the most avant-garde contemporary flamenco dancing, the bill also includes ‘El final de este estado de cosas, redux’ by Israel Galván. The show, inspired by the Biblical Apocalypse, will be on the bill November 5th to 8th at the Teatro Español.

Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui (Photo Koen Broos)