The choreographer and dancer Albert Quesada (Barcelona, 1982) has been moving between the Catalan capital, Brussels and Philadelphia for some time. After investigating flamenco in a trilogy of pieces that he has yet to complete, he received a proposal that has made him radically change his register.
This is Desert, created from the percussion work Timber, by the American composer Michael Gordon and presented in Spain in 2016 by the percussion ensemble Frames Percussion. Quesada will premiere it this weekend at L'Auditori as part of the Grec programme, accompanied by two other dancers, Frames Percussion in the musical performance and with a completely renewed staging.
How are the rehearsals for the play?
This is like a puzzle, it contains so many elements... it's about giving each one time to settle down and then seeing how to start collaborating.
How did the idea of choreographing Timber come about?
This comes from Frames Percussion, who have this piece of music that already existed, by Michael Gordon, that they were touring with. They wanted to give her a body, put her on stage beyond touching her. They asked me if I could do the choreography, and without thinking about it, I said yes. I listened to it for a minute and I already said yes.
Didn't know the piece before?
No, neither the piece nor the composer. I didn't listen to it in its entirety until February of this year, because I wanted to wait to hear it when I was ready. And I went to the desert, to the Bardenas Reales, I began to walk and, after an hour of walking, I put on the music. Since we decided that the piece would be called Desert, I started listening to it and imagining what we could do with this music. Here was the first physical activity: the act of walking, having a hard landscape...
So, choreography was born in the desert?
I think so, because before going to this desert, we had an idea of having the musicians, then the dancers, and then the public. When I was walking I realized that the public could not have this fixed gaze. This piece of music needs some kind of help of space to enjoy it, or I did. This is what I think has led me to make many of the decisions of how I can soften the space to listen to this music.
How has the creative process been?
The talk with Frames Percussion started in 2018, this is when I decided: let's do it. Then we talked to L'Auditori, but the pandemic came and we paused. We finally agreed and said that in the summer of 2022 we would do it. This became clear last year, and I began to formalize the technical team. But the starting rehearsal part was this year. The musicians started in January, they recorded the music, I took it to the desert, after that I made the video and with all this I arrived at the studio four weeks ago. We've done it all in four weeks.
What role did you have in the staging of the play?
I have done the choreography, a bit of arrangement of the space together with the set designer and I do the audiovisuals. The set designer has also taken care of the lights, but all I do, if I can, is in conversation. I have my idea and we are building it.
Is Desert an immersive piece?
Yes, because it is not a theater where you arrive and there are the seats, the stage, there is a distance, and people talk and then everything starts. Here once you enter the space it already begins. We believe that when you once open the curtains of the space, it is as if you walked through a door and everything is ready. There will be a sound, a smell, a wind... The public will enter a living space, not a space where things will happen, but a space where things are already happening. This is a bit of what happened to me in the desert, there is nothing but everything is alive. There is a very strong impression, and I want people to have this from the beginning. The public will be among us while we dance, we will go around them, they will feel our presence, maybe we will touch them... We believe that everything touches a lot, both the music and what we do and the materials we use. It is as if the public constantly received a contact.
What does it mean to debut in the framework of the Grec?
It is the first time, and the second time that we come here to Escenes, in L'Auditori. To be in the Grec is to be in the program with many other artists. What it means I will say later, when it happens. But I think our job is to bring it here and the context, L'Auditori, is their job to help the piece gain visibility.
Do you expect Desert to have more to go beyond the Grec?
Yes, when I thought about it I didn't believe it, but now that we've done it, it has a versatility that could be done in museums, exhibitions, or in many different spaces.
Why didn't he believe it when he created it?
Because music seems complicated to me. And I didn't see myself capable of creating this listening space that I now think we have achieved, that anyone can enjoy. We have been very lucky with the team.
What projects do you have planned soon?
I have two. One is the completion of the flamenco trilogy. In 2015 I did OneTwoThreeOneTwo, in 2019 Flamingos, and now I'm preparing the third piece about flamenco. At the moment it's called Beneath flamenco, I'd like this to come out in 2024.
How was this registry change to create Desert?
It's okay to change. And after Flamingos it has been good for me to make a change. From 2019 until now, many changes have also happened globally. This is lighter, flamenco touches me more, there is a more visceral connection. This has another lightness, in Flamingos we went through many emotions. This piece is not that it is more superficial, but it is more about space, distance, seeing and feeling. Flamingos was stomach and passion. Later I am also preparing a children's piece. It remains to be seen if the children would participate. This has no name or date but I also hope to do it before the third installment of Flamingos.
