LACDC x Spain
The Choreographic Residency organized by the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain and L.A. Contemporary Dance Company (LACDC) offers a unique experience for Spanish choreographers to work with U.S. dance companies.
SPAIN Dances, the dance program of the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain, is conceived to provide professional opportunities for Spanish dances and choreographers in the United States. The Choreographic Residency aims at fostering artistic dialogue between Spanish and American dancers and choreographers, and serves as an incubator for new or in-process work.
Timeline
- 2023: Choreographic Residency with Mario Glez
- 2022: Choreographic Residency with Iker Karrera
- 2021: Choreographic Residency with Elías Aguirre
2023
(Nov-Dec 2023) Choreography residency in Los Angeles commissioned by the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain for the third consecutive year in partnership with Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) and the Spain-USA Foundation. The invited choreographers for the 2023 edition were Mario Glez and Carolina Alacreu as choreography assistant with original composition by Madrid-based AEREA. This two week-long residency with Glez concluded with an informal lunch showing as a part of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company's (LACDC) The Unseen Hours...a salon series.
*Behind-the-scenes footage coming soon
2022
(Oct 2022) Choreography residency in Los Angeles commissioned by the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain for the second consecutive year in partnership with the Spain-USA Foundation. The invited choreographers for the 2022 edition were Iker Karrera and Carla Diego as choreography assistant with original music by Madrid-based Alex Aller. This week-long residency with Karrera concluded with the November event If These Walls Could Talk where LACDC premiered the result of the residencies by Elías Aguirre and Iker Karrera. Additionally, filmmaker Andrew Southam produced a 20-minute film documenting Karrera's creative process.
(Nov 2022) L.A. Premiere:
- Live stage performance of Insecto Primitivo (excerpt) by Elías Aguirre with music by Jorge da Rocha. Choreography based on the Elías Aguirre production of “Insecto Primitivo”.
- Live stage performance of “Table for One” by Iker Karrera with original composition by Alex Aller and voice by Juan Debel.
"This has been my first creative residence abroad and it could not have been a more enriching experience. As soon as I received the invitation from the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain, I knew that this week of creation was going to be quite a challenge. Having only 6 days to create a 15-minute piece, with dancers I didn’t know at all, it was going to be hard, but in the end I can say that we have achieved it... The work environment from the beginning was fantastic and everyone was very eager to learn and absorb my dance. Something I love about American dancers is that they are incredibly fast and precise. All the dancers in the company were very versatile and brought a very eclectic line-up. Many of them also danced more urban and commercial styles and had even worked in fields such as musical theater. The fact of having such a varied formation brought them even closer to my way of understanding dance and throughout the process I felt that the entire cast connected a lot with my movement.
I go back to Spain very happy and motivated by this experience and enormously grateful to the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain for thinking of me for this project. And hopefully I can bring LACDC to Madrid so that my people can see all the work we have done during these weeks in LA!
¡Muchas gracias!"
—Iker Karrera
2021
(Nov-Dec 2021) Choreography residency in Los Angeles commissioned by the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain in partnership with the Spain-USA Foundation. The invited choreographers for the 2021 edition were Elias Aguirre, and Ruth Muelas as choreography assistant. This week-long residency with Aguirre concluded with a new dance film directed by LACDC’s artistic director Jamila Glass featuring music by Barcelona-based Jorge da Rocha.
"The result was surprisingly positive. None of us had imagined that in such a short time we would have such outstanding results... It has been a pleasant surprise to see how well they understand my concepts and how they really express what I want through their body and movement... This experience has been very useful to me because it has not only been a choreographic exchange with American dancers, but it has also helped strengthen my methodology for physical training and for artistic and creative movement."
—Elías Aguirre