This year there will be a greater presence of international companies at the Dansa Metropolitana festival, this joint venture that brings together a dozen municipalities of the so-called Barcelona of the five million around dance, and which is in an expansion phase because, although It began as a fortnight, it has now been extended, in its 7th edition, to four weekends (from March 1 to 24).
The Mercat de les Flors has brought together a few gems from its programming that month. And the first of them connects with the story of this edition, which is largely dedicated to celebrating urban dances, “from the street to the stage.” This is Corps extremes, a piece by Rachid Ouramdane that comes from the sport of climbing and features the French tightrope walker Nathan Paulin (the one who crossed Passeig de Gràcia on a cable).
The Sidney Dance Company also attends with pieces by its director, Rafael Bonachela, by Marina Mascarell and by Antony Hamilton, “a choreographer that I recommend and who has not yet been to Barcelona,” says Cesc Casadesús, member of the festival's artistic commission. Also at the Mercat will be a reference piece in the history of dance, Tragedie, by Oliver Dubois.
The National Theater also participates with Paraíso de los negroes, by María Pagés. But the interesting thing is that these great proposals reach the rest of the municipalities: the Colombians Sankofa Danzafro, by Rafael Palacios, will be in l'Hospitalet with "a proposal that synthesizes urban dance with the Afro-Colombian dance of the Pacific communities." And in Badalona the X-Press company will offer its urban dance based on hip-hop and classical music, another trend in the sector.
In Sant Cugat, Käfig, by the French choreographer Mourad Merzouki, who has been commissioned to walk along the Seine for the Olympic Games, will perform. from Paris. And in Terrassa the Xiexin contemporary dance company attends, whose founder has danced with the Tao Dance or Sidi Larbi Cherkaoiu. Santa Coloma receives Blub Guy
The opening will be at the Parc Catalunya in Sabadell, with the Be soul All*Star Battle organized by Soul Headquarters, and in the Plaza Argub with Prélude, by Accrorap, with artistic direction by Kadder Attou. A piece for a dozen dancers who seek to take hip hop where it is least expected.
The festival also presents eight new pieces in which it participates as co-producer with national or local artists: in front of the Filmoteca de Catalunya, the Esbart Rocasagna de Gelida (Delfí Colomer award from the Fira de Manresa) will show Era. Or Joaquín Collado will do the same with Quien baila, la mal espanta de el, at the Fàbrica de Creació Roca Umbert in Granollers. Also showing new work are Poliana Lima, Elelei Dance Theater Company, LaSadcum, Unaiuna, Ancorae and El Desvío.
"We want to establish new ties and create parallel educational activities and community mapping," the festival indicates.
As a novelty, the transversal project Artèries with which we want, through dance shows, to put different spaces in the twelve municipalities that participate in the festival in contact and communicate, which has a budget of 1,250,000 euros.
There are 109 shows out of a total of 270 proposals in 107 spaces in Badalona, Barcelona, Cornellà, El Prat, Esplugues, Granollers, l'Hospitalet, Sabadell, Sant Cugat, Santa Coloma, Terrassa and Viladecans.
