Presentation of seven new Canarian projects associated with cultural heritage, education and social groups

The Arts and Movement Festival FAM organised a forum of professionals to promote dance through projects underway in the Canary Islands associated with education, cultural heritage and social groups. The meeting took place on Thursday (6 June) at the Teatro Guimerá. It was attended by the Minister of Culture of the Island Council of Tenerife, José Carlos Acha, and the council member for Culture of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Santiago Díaz.

During his speech, José Carlos Acha mentioned the recent aid measures approved by the regional government for the Network of Municipal Performing Arts Venues: “The creation of networks is of vital importance, and we are here today to promote projects that may be taken anywhere on the island”. The council member added, “Dance is such an extraordinary medium. It is an ephemerous art that changes with every performance and develops languages of corporal expression to allow creation, participation and social inclusion through culture”. Santiago Díaz appealed to the sector, asking for greater relevance of “educational initiatives for artistic performances as a means of achieving greater enjoyment of the public and increased involvement of all spectators”.

The artistic director of the Auditorio de Tenerife, José Luis Rivero, and the coordinator of the Performing Arts of the Regional Institute of Cultural Development (ICDC), Lorena Matute, introduced the event. Rivero explained that “The Festival of Dance Arts has always taken place with the help of a forum to have time to reflect, to inspire and to motivate. This year’s novelty is that the curatorship has been taken on jointly by the three institutions collaborating in the festival”.

Both speakers provided the audience with data on their respective programmes for the exhibition of performing arts. The information suggests little activity in the area of dance, which may be explained by the fact that authorities invest far less in dance than in other disciplines. Lorena Matute suggested “searching for a common ground to see dance from a perspective other than an exhibition, to meet goals by taking a different approach from areas such as cultural heritage, social initiatives or education”.

Details were provided on the projects that had been invited to participate in the forum. The managers of the Autonomous Department of Cultural Affairs of the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Leandro González and Yudi Acosta, presented the video-dance performance Cabeza de venado, which was shown along with the eponymous painting of Diego Velázquez, on loan from the Prado Museum, and the show Dulces bestias of the company Nómada. The second project shown was Across Hip Hop, presented by the council member for Culture of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Adrián Santana, and Vanesa Medina, the educational coordinator of the project, which features the artistic direction of Natalia Medina.

Afterwards, the photographer and videographer Derek Pedrós and the dancer Emiliana Battista Marino offered the public details of their project on dance and architecture. La Pascua Florida de Guía de Isora was presented by the councilmember, José Vidal, and the dancer and choreographer Roberto Torres. The artistic project Puzzle Atípico, which places professionals from the worlds of dance, theatre, performance art and video art alongside ordinary people with and without Asperger’s/ASD, was shown by the person in charge of the initiative, the head of the Laboratory of Live Arts and Citizenship of Tenerife, Beatriz Bello, and the representative of the association Aspercan, María Europa Luis Ramallo.

The council member of the Island Council of Lanzarote, Alejandro Aguilar, and the director of Studio Danza Emocional, Celia Medina, presented the programme Diversos. Lastly, the programme Danza en Comunidad by the Auditorio de Tenerife was shown with the collaboration of José Luis Rivero and the coordinator and dancer Laura Marrero.

This Sunday (9th), the Arts and Movement Festival FAM culminates at 7:30 p.m. with the large-format performance Mont Ventoux, by the Spanish company Kor'sia. The show has three nominations for the Max Awards for the Performing Arts. In addition, the programme continues today (Friday 7 June) with several proposals to be enjoyed in the streets of Santa Cruz. On Saturday (8th), the Espacio La Granja welcomes He aquí un acto romántico by Richard Mascherin, and the Teatro Guimerá hosts Sonoma, by La Veronal. You can find the tickets for the indoor shows, at a single price of €8, and all the updated information on the festival on the website www.famtenerife.com.

The FAM festival, which started on June 1 in different venues in Santa Cruz, is an initiative promoted by the Auditorio de Tenerife with the collaboration of the Canary Islands Government through the Regional Institute of Cultural Development, the Autonomous Department of Cultural Affairs of the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the programme "Danza a Escena", which is part of the Spanish Network of Theatres of the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM) of Spain's Ministry of Culture.

This weekend, the Espacio La Granja also welcomes the companies Poliana Lima and Reinaldo Ribeiro.

The 14^th edition of the Arts and Movement Festival FAM begins this Saturday (day 1) with Go Figure, a show by Sharon Fridman, candidate for two Max Awards for the Performing Arts (Best male dance performer and Best choreography). The performance takes place at 8:00 p.m. at Espacio La Granja, the theatre that welcomes the first proposals of the festival. Tickets for the indoor shows, which will take place from 1 to 9 June, have a single price of 8 euros, and several discounts are available.

The show Go Figure stars Shmuel Dvir Cohen and Tomer Navot, a duo competing for the national award ex aequo. This show is a landscape of inequity in which Shmuel can observe the functioning of his body, acknowledge it, take into account what conditions exist, and define its movement, transforming it into a bridge that reaches out towards connection with others. Tomer responds to this call, accepting the invitation to engage in dialogue, and crosses the bridge. While searching for a point of balance that arises from the limits that impose or reveal both capacities, a beautiful woman emerges who only wishes to be herself. This lovely woman is the result of the will to seek support without losing her identity.

The performance of The Common Ground can be enjoyed on Sunday (2nd) at 7:30 p.m. at Espacio La Granja. This dance sextet explores the relationship between the diverse (diversity) and the standard (community). It takes a fictional choreographic approach that evokes fantastic dimensions with incursions into the monstrous or the mythical. The cast of this play by the company Poliana Lima is made up of six performers. Four of them migrated to Spain and have different profiles; the other two are Spanish. Three of the members are racialised. Each has a specific cultural heritage and a multicultural artistic career, with incarnate vital experience in their identities and bodies, the result of the crossing of cultural lineages.

On Monday (3rd) at 8:00 p.m., the Espacio La Granja programmes NO/MAS/SACRE, a duet directed by Reinaldo Ribeiro in collaboration with the dancer Aymará Parola and the pianist Lea Petra, who are the protagonists of the proposal. The performance runs contrary to a trivial dialogue with Stravinsky, completely immersing itself in its underlying complexity. It claims the right to ire, virtuosity and excellence. The piece unfolds in the seemingly classic triangle of piano, pianist and ballerina only to subvert expectations through a dizzying ritual of the pleasurable, the grotesque and the transgressive.  NO/MAS/SACRE explores the limits of the human body, in which movement and sound redefine the rules and laws that govern their encounter.

The festival offers 15 shows by 13 Spanish dance companies. It will continue on Wednesday (4th) at Espacio La Granja at 8:00 p.m., presenting the first large-format performance of Mucha Muchacha, interpreted by the eponymous company and which is inspired by the female artists of the generation of 1927.

Wednesday, 5 June, the solo artist Marcia Vázquez will offer the first outdoor performance, Onde pousa a humidade, at 5:30 p.m. in Plaza del Príncipe and 7:30 p.m. outside Espacio La Granja. Also scheduled for that day is This is Alfred, interpreted by Elías Aguirre with double bassist Jorge da Rocha at 6:00 p.m. at the Museo de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts). At Espacio La Granja at 8:00 p.m., Oro negro will be performed by the Poliana Lima Company. On Thursday, 6 June, Luz Arcas and her company La Phármaco will offer the public the live-music show Mariana at the Teatro Guimerá at 8:00 p.m.

FAM continues outdoors on Friday, 7 June, with the duet performance La medida que nos ha de dividir interpreted by the Qabalum Company at 6:00 p.m. in Plaza del Príncipe and 8:30 p.m. outside the Teatro Guimerá. For a different experience, Vacío espiritual will be performed by Richard Mascherin in Plaza del Chicharro at 7:00 p.m., and an hour later, the duet performance of Otempodiz will be offered by the Ertza Company outside the Teatro Guimerá. The show is nominated for the Best Street Show at the next Max Awards. The only indoor performance scheduled for Friday will be In-Side, an interpretation by Lucía Montes and Mado Dallery at 6:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. at the Museo de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts).

Two performances have been scheduled for Saturday, 8 June. The first is He aquí un acto romántico, by the Richard Mascherin Company (nominated for the Max Award for Best Male Dance Performer) at 6:00 p.m. at Espacio La Granja, and the second is Sonoma, at 8:00 p.m. at Teatro Guimerá, by the company La Veronal, led by Marcos Morau, winner of the National Dance Award.

The Symphony Hall of the Auditorio de Tenerife hosts the festival's grand finale, the large-format show Mont Ventoux, interpreted by the Spanish company Kor'sia, which takes place on Sunday, 9 June at 7:30 p.m. The show has three nominations for the Max Awards 2024, to be presented on 1 July at the Auditorio de Tenerife: Best Dance Performance, Best Choreography and Best Musical Composition.

The programme is a showcase of the talent in Spain. It will delight audiences with the power of live dance in the capital with large-scale theatrical performances, outdoor solo performances, award-winning duets, interdisciplinary pieces and many more acts in different formats and offering different concepts that go from reflections on the passing of time to representations of the gravitational effect on bodies, all interpreted through the lens of contemporary dance.

The FAM festival is an initiative promoted by the Auditorio de Tenerife with the collaboration of the Canary Islands Government, through the Regional Institute of Cultural Development, the Autonomous Department of Cultural Affairs of the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the programme "Danza a Escena", which is part of the Spanish Network of Theatres of the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM) of Spain's Ministry of Culture. All information and ticket sales are available on www.famtenerife.com and at each venue's point of ticket sales.

15 shows will take place at the Auditorio de Tenerife, Espacio La Granja, Teatro Guimerá, the Museo de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts) and several outdoor locations

The Tenerife Island Council has announced the 14^th edition of the Arts and Movement Festival (FAM), an initiative promoted by the Auditorio de Tenerife. Details were provided by José Carlos Acha, who is the regional Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Culture of the Island Council of Tenerife, Cristóbal de la Rosa, who is the General Director of Cultural Innovation and Creative Industries, and José Luis Rivero, the Artistic Director of the Auditorio de Tenerife.

The scheduled companies constitute a varied sample of talented Spanish dance artists, such as Sharon Fridman, Poliana Lima, Reinaldo Ribero, Mucha Muchacha, Marcia Vázquez, Elías Aguirre, Luz Arcas de La Phármaco, Qabalum, Lucía Montes y Mado Dallery, Richard Mascherin, Ertza, La Veronal de Marcos Morau, and Kor'sia.

José Carlos Acha explained that "between 1 and 9 June, Santa Cruz will see 18 performances of 15 dance shows of 13 companies. The performances will take place at Espacio La Granja, Teatro Guimerá, Museo de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts), the Auditorio de Tenerife and several outdoor locations in Santa Cruz".

The regional minister added that "The programme includes large-scale theatrical performances, outdoor solo performances, award-winning duets, interdisciplinary pieces and many more acts in different formats and offering different concepts that go from reflections on the passing of time to representations of the gravitational effect on bodies, all interpreted through the lens of contemporary dance". Acha went on to say, "We must continue offering dance at the institutional level, and the FAM is helping to achieve that goal".

Cristóbal de la Rosa recalled that the festival's beginnings "started with the Auditorio de Tenerife and José Luis Rivero as a bold decision taken in the wake of the 2011 crisis brought on by the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy". "We are grateful for the Tenerife Island Council's backing of contemporary dance and for the receptiveness of other public administrations". Explaining what he considers a necessity, De la Rosa went on to say, "In the Canary Islands, we must continue offering dance, and those in charge of programming must be adventurous to give these kinds of festivals a footing, to reach youth and to create a supporting community".

José Luis Rivero pointed out that "without the FAM, collaboration among institutions would be impossible. In our case, the implication is even greater, as the shows are jointly directed with the technical staff of the venues". This programme is highly representative of the domestic dance scene, with a combination of prestigious choreographers, from the internationally acclaimed Marcos Morau to Poliana Lima, along with other emerging artists in smaller formats, in addition to regional artists, of course". He also stressed the importance of affordable prices, "with tickets at eight euros and a wide range of discounts offered".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lukYZihnlQk

The Canary Islands Government collaborates with the festival through the Regional Institute of Cultural Development, the Autonomous Department of Cultural Affairs of the City Council of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and the programme "Danza a Escena", which is part of the Spanish Network of Theatres of the National Institute of Performing Arts and Music (INAEM) of Spain's Ministry of Culture.

The festival will kick off on Saturday, 1 June, with Go Figure, performed by the Sharon Fridman Company at Espacio La Granja at 8:00 p.m. At the same venue, on Sunday, 2 June, the Poliana Lima Company will interpret The Common Ground at 7:30 p.m. The scheduled performance for Monday, 3 June, is NO/MAS/SACRE, a duet directed by Reinaldo Ribeiro, to take place onstage at La Granja at 8:00 p.m. The programme for the following day at 8:00 p.m. features the first large-format performance of Mucha Muchacha, interpreted by the eponymous company.

Wednesday, 5 June, the solo artist Marcia Vázquez will offer an outdoor performance of Onde pousa a humidade at 5:30 p.m. in Plaza del Príncipe and at 7:30 p.m. outside Espacio La Granja. Also scheduled for that day is This is Alfred, interpreted by Elías Aguirre with double bassist Jorge da Rocha at 6:00 p.m. at the Museum of Fine Arts. At Espacio La Granja at 8:00 p.m., Oro negro will be performed by the Poliana Lima Company. On Thursday, 6 June, Luz Arcas and her company La Phármaco will offer the public the live-music show Mariana at the Teatro Guimerá at 8:00 p.m.

The programme continues outdoors on Friday, 7 June, with the duet performance La medida que nos ha de dividir interpreted by the Qabalum Company at 6:00 p.m. in Plaza del Príncipe and at 8:30 p.m. outside the Teatro Guimerá. For a different experience, Vacío espiritual will be performed by Richard Mascherin in Plaza del Chicharro at 7:00 p.m., and an hour later, a duet performance of Otempodiz will be offered by the Ertza Company outside the Teatro Guimerá. The only indoor performance scheduled for Friday will be In-Side, an interpretation by Lucía Montes and Mado Dallery at 6:30 p.m. and at 9:00 p.m. at the Museo de Bellas Artes (Fine Arts).

Two performances have been scheduled for Saturday, 8 June. The first is He aquí un acto romántico, by the Richard Mascherin Company at 6:00 p.m. at Espacio La Granja, and the second is Sonoma, at 8:00 p.m. at Teatro Guimerá, by the company La Veronal, led by Marcos Morau, winner of the National Dance Award.

The festival's grand finale is the large-format show Mont Ventoux, interpreted by the Spanish company Kor'sia, which takes place on Sunday, 9 June at 7:30 p.m. in the Symphony Hall of the Auditorio de Tenerife.

All information, including ticket sales, will start tomorrow (Wednesday 15) and is available on www.famtenerife.com, and at each venue's point of ticket sales.