- CULTURE: With tributes to the toilets and in a single venue the festival Los Veranos de la Villa returns to Madrid
Los Veranos de la Villa , the classic summer festival that annually lands in Madrid, returns today to the capital, breaking records in its 36th edition. Never before have so many changes to the program been made, or everything prepared in such a short time. : hardly in two months. The arrival of the Covid-19 not only delayed its start , but also forced companies, artists, creators and the City Council to adapt to the conditions demanded by the pandemic.
One of them was the National Dance Company (CND) that will be in charge of raising the curtain on the festival . Tonight the courtyard of the Conde Duque will host a show that pays tribute to the toilets and that has as its common thread the sense of community . Whether among the dancers, with the music or with the audience, "I wanted to show this feeling of union that we long for in the confinement and happiness that it represents for us dancers to get back on stage," he says. Joaquín De Luz, the director of the Company.
The program of one hour and twenty minutes duration consists of four pieces , three of them emblematic works to adds a new creation that was born in the state of alarm . The entire work is based on the Japanese philosophy of the 'kintsugi' that seeks to highlight the cracks with gold when something breaks, which for De Luz summarizes these months of pandemic. " I think that with everything we went through we have broken and now this work is trying to unite the pieces and transmit the beauty of the dark, " he says.
The presentation will begin with the Festival of Flowers in Genzano , in Bournonville , and will continue with the love of Ricardo Amarante , Love Fear Loss , inspired by the life and work of Edith Piaf and which will have Cuban pianist Marcos Madrigal playing live . Later, it will be the turn of A Suite of Dances , by Jerome Robbins , in what supposes the return of Joaquín De Luz to the Madrid stages; and finally the closing with the new work of Mar Aguiló, Pino Alosa and De Luz himself , around the music of Crisóstomo Arriaga (1806-1826), a young Basque composer of classical music.
"Stylistically the work has a natural progression, it grows from the academic classic, it goes through the neo-classical and ends with our premiere piece that we develop between three , something that almost never happens in dance," explains the director. For him, each story on the show is a reflection of what is happening in the world. " I wanted this piece to convey a sense of community and to be created from the community. I think we have succeeded," he explains.
The work of dancers and choreographers has not been easy. De Luz confesses that confinement began "a little dark" until she decided to let the physical pull the mind and began to exercise. "I ran 11 kilometers a day, 70 days in a row. I stopped imposing on myself the obligation to create and allowed myself to have days when I did not want to get up from the chair. It was a very strong internal process, but.
With the CND team, work resumed on June 1 , the date on which the assembly and testing of the work began. "There are 30 minutes of music that we had to choreograph and 21 dancers will appear on stage in the new piece. We reviewed divided into groups, respecting at all times the sanitary measures. We have had days of 12 hours or more , but I am from those who I think lead by example and well I have done it delighted, "he says.
In addition, he stresses that the feeling of returning to the Madrid stages is one of total gratitude and immense emotion . " In the world you are not dancing , there are those who are going to lose a year, others who will not be able to celebrate their career because they will not be able to retire. Dancing here will be very special for me," he says. One of the last performances of De Luz in the capital was precisely at the Veranos de la Villa festival, in 2008, and the stage, the Conde Duque.
Data about the work
- They are four pieces that will last 1 hour 20 minutes (without intermediates)
- The show has accessibility measures for people with hearing disabilities and with audio description and a scenic walk for people with visual disabilities.
- Five functions will be offered, from July 29 to August 2, in the Central Courtyard of Conde Duque.
ORGANIZATION AND POSTER
Despite all the changes that had to be made in this year's program, the City Council always had something clear: the CND would be in charge of opening the festival . "Veranos de la Villa has to be the natural space for dance in the city of Madrid in the open air and having Joaquín De Luz this year is a privilege", says Ángel Murcia, director of the festival.
Murcia ensures that constant feedback between the organizers and the companies have made this festival a reality. "The experience of all of us who are immersed is also one of the great advantages we have," he says.
Veranos de la Villa is the first piece of the Town Hall that is put into operation so that the rest of theaters open their season. "Not everything can go as we want, or as we had planned before the pandemic, but this will undoubtedly be an emotional boost for the cultural sector of the city," he highlights.
Remember also that with this celebration, Spain is being a benchmark for other countries . "For us it was a moral duty to open the path of hope for the other companies," he says.
In addition to dance, this year at the festival it presents other activities among which the cinema stands out, some focused on children from the age of zero, urban pieces, electronic folk music, couplet, zarzuela, circus or a unique gastronomic show. "There are many projects that we were able to readjust to the new conditions . Finally we wanted to present an open mouth of what the festival could have been.
SANITARY MEASURES AGAINST COVID-19
For everyone's peace of mind, Veranos de la Villa adopted sanitary measures and protocols for both workers, creators and the public. That is why this year it will be held in a single venue, the Conde Duque, in addition the artists' dressing rooms will be constantly disinfected, the entire place is sectored to protect the safety distance and all the requirements of the Ministry of Health have been met. .
Also, seats have been preserved for the toilets that fought against Covid-19 during the pandemic. There will be eight free tickets per function in all the shows in the Central Patio. Additionally, Telemadrid will broadcast six open shows, so that everyone can enjoy this festival.
The complete program and other information of the festival can be found on the web: www.veranosdelavilla.com.
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