A place full of pure vital and creative energy, full of possibilities, outside the usual space – time of life in Madrid: this was what I felt in each session taught in the Beyond the Skin workshops held at Espacio Vilariñyo .
It was very exciting to teach sessions for a group of approximately 36 people full of desire to dance and move, all racialized / migrants / from the diaspora. Actresses, therapists, singers, musicians, poets, dancers, intellectuals, activists… a very visceral, vibrant, sensitive and talented community.
As a teacher, creator and director of the project, the most important thing for me at this stage was that we managed to build ourselves as a community, with respect and affection. Know each other, recognize each other. See us. Let them see us. Make connections.
After our sessions I left the studio flooded with tears, smiles and many images. The time was coming to choose the 4 people and move on to the next phase: the artistic residency for the creation of the piece. It has not been easy at all, but I trusted that the traces of the experience as a group would be present in the chosen corporalities. So it was.
Beyond the skin won a very special cast, made up of Benia Nsi, singer, poet, visual creator and student specializing in cultural management living in Madrid; Natasha Ortiz, performer, dancer who explores dance focused on improvisation, its limits and its possibilities; Julio Hu Chen 胡陈臻, student of performing arts through acting, belonging to the Chinese Diaspora Network in Spain and Malvin Montero, graduate in choreography and dance performance. She creates, dances, directs and is the director of the artistic platform ZebraPrieta.
We have begun the process of creating the work in our beloved La Parceria, subsequently passing through the studios of the Teatros del Canal and the Paco Rabal Cultural Center.
Accompanied by the guest artist as dramaturgy and choreography assistant Poliana Lima and by the musician and composer Miguel Zamora Sánchez we lived 4 intense weeks of work, dedication and a lot of pleasure in creating and being together in this process.
Once again I felt strongly in my heart that the process is already the result.
Ps. If you are interested in knowing more details about the creation process, see the report made by Teatro Madrid magazine, here.
