AIRE

"Repeat, die, and repeat. Classical dance excites and sublimates through exhaustion." These words could be from Marion Barbeau, the prima ballerina of the Paris Opera. She will, in some way, be present in Swan. Presence—and its necessary corollary, absence—is one of the central themes of this new production by Mar Aguiló, whose extensive career as a dancer (fourteen years in the National Dance Company) will also be both present and absent in the piece.

In this dance of presences and absences, of performers and choreographers, of realities and fictions, two other names accompany the flight of the swan: Tchaikovsky and Clémence Gross. Ancient—romantic, even mythical—stories, and new ones: Gross, who is also part of the Paris Opera Ballet, represents a new generation of classical dancers who, here and now, confront the context of contemporary dance.

Trying to escape the misfortunes of Odette—which may be the same for all dancers of this style—Clémence, perhaps another character in this Tchaikovskian tale, will share with the audience at the Principal Theatre a strange form of knowledge that obsessively concentrates on the body (or, rather, on a peculiar idea of the body). An intimate, deep, and disciplined knowledge that today is only preserved and cultivated in certain institutions of old Europe dedicated to sculpting, shaping, beautifying, and eroding these bodies and their corresponding souls.

This physical and metaphysical miracle—which can often resemble torture—is perhaps necessary to transform a bare stage of a theatre (or, even more difficult, a sad dance studio) into a lake.

We don't know if it's appropriate to associate these effects with magic, but we do believe that contemporary creation should not renounce fantasy. We also don't know if all these transformations are just a product of the imagination of a dancer named Clémence Gross (although perhaps her name is Marion Barbeau, Mar Aguiló, or even Odette—or maybe she doesn’t exist at all).

It’s even unclear if tonight (every night) the theatre’s curtain separates reality from fantasy, or if the latter is more present on stage than in the audience.

Credits

Artistic Direction and Choreography: Mar Aguiló

Performer and Choreographic Collaboration: Clémence Gross

Music Composition: Aire and Okkre
Lighting and Set Design: Víctor Colmenero
Dramaturgy: Miguel Álvarez-Fernández
Costume Design: Andrea Pimentel
Artistic Support: María Jerez
Technical Assistance: Irene Cantero
Photography and Video (Work in Progress in Madrid): Lourdes Cabrera
Teaser Work in Progress with Marion Barbeau: Tirador Studio
Teaser with Clémence Gross: Omotesando
Poster Photography: Alba Yruela
Photography: Hugo De la Rosa
Photography and Video in Mallorca: Claire O’keefe

Production: Mar López and Mar Aguiló

Co-produced by Teatros del Canal and Teatre Principal de Palma

Project realized with the support of the Institut d'Estudis Baleàrics

With the support of Ballet Opéra de Paris, Centro Coreográfico Canal, Teatre Sa Màniga, and ELAMOR

Special Thanks: Marion Barbeau, Joven de la Perla, José Carlos Martínez, Pere Josep Santandreu, Berta Blanca T. Ivanow, Max Laury, Eduardo Rivero, Cristina Pons, Lola Moreno, Cecilia Aranyossy, Rocío Barriga, Lolo and Sosaku, Aitor Bigas, Marina Herp, Helena Barrero, Martí Somoza, Io van Helsing, Alejandra Napuri, Roxane Mercerat, María Isabel Hidalgo, Luisa Gutiérrez, Sara Lasry, Andrés Izquierdo, and Marta Armengol.