A piano. A voice. Bodies in movement. A sleepless journey from dusk to dawn to evoke the mysteries of feeling, consciousness and memory.

 

Through words and bodies, Nocturna proposes a dance, music and poetry exploration of the great topics and contradictions of the night, with the lucidity and hallucination of those who watch, those sleepless, party versus quiet...without overlooking the night as a mystical experience, as a visionary path and its opposite: the night as a game, as a playful ritual of identity confusion.

The night, the great shadow, has been an immense source of inspiration for great artists of all times and disciplines. To stay up, to stay awake, has acquired profound cultural meanings throughout the centuries, from the vigil of arms to the restlessness of love, passing through the magical, tragic or festive vigil; to spend the night awake is to enter our dark side.

 

As a time of sleep, insomnia or nightmare, as a magical or cursed space, as a time for rest or for madness, as a storehouse of terrors or fantasies, the human being finds in this dark mirror the reflection of their greatest questions, which we formulate today in the key of flamenco.

The night changes things, it transforms, it confuses, it moves: it is pure movement. Today we follow its steps. Today we dance until dawn.

 

 

The soundtrack to this proposal leads us to a totally new creation in our choreographic trajectory, as it involves an exploration of sounds and different kinds of developments around the piano.

With the aria as a starting point as well as various fragments of the Goldberg Variations of J. S: Bach (an emblematic, enigmatically beautiful Baroque piece, originally conceived as a facilitator of sleep) and the development of topics specifically composed for the play, the soundscape is presented as an entity with a personality and an essential presence in the development of the play, a work around different sounds, in search of the quiet, or the bewilderment through not only the musical creation but also of the listening proposal for the audience.

This work’s sound will be developed with recorded music and live flamenco singing, performing poems about the night while guiding us through different moods and emotions. Silences play an essential role in this play.

 

On stage the dancers will jointly develop different evolutions as well as work on their solitude. They will also share their concerns from the freedom of participating with the other.

 

The group, as an entity, will be in an open, alive space.

 

The most dense emptiness or the most overwhelming noise of the night.

 

The night we are living…

 

 

Choreographer and Director: Rafaela Carrasco
Dancer and choreographer Rafaela Carrasco is a renowned flamenco leading figure. In 2002 she founded her own company hosting fruitful artistic collaborations, after having achieved the main awards at the 11th Spanish Dance and Flamenco Choreographic Contest. She has worked as the Director of the Andalusian Flamenco Ballet from 2013 until September 2016. Both the bailaora and above all, the choreographer profile, stand out throughout her career. Rethinking, researching and personalizing flamenco has been her main goal since she started. Taking risks. Creating her own vision of dance: warm, thorough, conceptual and designed for a dance group within a stage setting. Developing flamenco dancing. Updating it. In order to do so, she has absorbed knowledge from other dance disciplines, without neglecting her flamenco roots, while taking her very own return personal path within her experience and expression of dance.

Álvaro Tato (Madrid, 1978) is a writer, actor and playwright, founding member of the company Ron Lalá; his shows have toured twenty countries with unanimous critical and public success and dozens of distinctions; among others, the Max Award for Best Musical Show 2017 and Max Award for Best Performing Arts Company 2013. His most recent shows are ‘Crimen y Telón’ (2017) and, in co-production with the National Classic Theatre Company, ‘Andanzas y Entremeses de Juan Rana’ (2020, Max Award Nomination for Best Version /Adaptation), ‘Cervantina’ (2016, Max Award Nomination Best Supporting Actor) and ‘En un lugar del Quijote’ (2014). He is also co-founder of the company Ay Teatro, which has premiered his plays ‘Malvivir’ (2021, directed by Yayo Cáceres) and ‘Todas hieren y una mata’ (2019, directed by Yayo Cáceres, Teatro de Rojas Best Author Award). He has produced several versions for the National Classic Theatre Company, directed by Helena Pimenta: ‘El castigo sin venganza’ by Lope de Vega (2018), ‘El banquete’ (2018), ‘La dama duende’, by Calderón de la Barca (2017), ‘El perro del hortelano’ by Lope de Vega (2016) and ‘El alcalde de Zalamea’ by Calderón de la Barca (2015 Max Award Nomination Best Version/Theatrical Adaptation) and has written shows like ‘Ariadna. Al hilo del mito’ (2020; direction and choreography by Rafaela Carrasco); ‘Zarzuela en danza ‘(Teatro de la Zarzuela, 2017 and 2019; direction and choreography by Rafaela Carrasco), ‘Zarzuela en danza’ (Teatro de la Zarzuela, 2017 and 2019; direction and choreography by Nuria Castejón), ‘Nacida Sombra’ (2017; direction and choreography by Rafaela Carrasco), ‘Comedia multimedia’ (2016, directed by Yayo Cáceres), ‘Ojos de agua’ (2014, directed by Yayo Cáceres) and ‘El intérprete’ (2013).

 

 

PRODUCTION TEAM
Choreography and direction: Rafaela Carrasco
Dramaturgy: Álvaro Tato
Voice-over: Aitana Sánchez-Gijón
Dancer: Carmen Angulo | Carmen Coy | Alejandra Gudí
María Carrasco | Julia Gimeno | Cristina Soler
Blanca Lorente | Magdalena Mannion | Rafaela Carrasco
Musical direction and composition: Pablo Martín Jones | Pablo Suárez | Jesús Torres
Music Lyrics: Álvaro Tato | Jesús Torres
Classical pieces adapter: Marta Estal
Musicians / recorded music
Pianos: Marta Estal | Pablo Suárez
Guitar: Jesús Torres
Live flamenco singing: Gema Caballero
Electronic Music: Juanfre Pérez | Javi Rubio
Sound space: Pablo Martín Jones
Lighting and set design: Gloria Montesinos (A.a.i)
Live sound space design: Ángel Olalla
Machinery Miguel Ángel Guisado
Costume Design: Belén de Quintana
Costume Making: Pepa Carrasco | Sol Curiel | Belén de la Quintana
Photography and Video: Beatriz Molnar
Graphic and web design: Goyo Ucle
Executive Production: Alejandro Salade
A Production by Rafaela Carrasco
Distribution: Emilia Yagüe Producciones
French speaking countries: Daniela Lazari
Special Supporter: Shanghai International Dance Center Development Foundation