In the last days, Maria Pages (Seville, 1963) lives in a duality: in addition to attending to the tasks inherent to the management of the Matadero Dance Center, has spent the mornings with his dancing shoes on in the same center to rehearse From Scheherazade, the play she presents at this same venue on Friday, September 26th, and which can be seen until October 5th. This is the price she paid for accepting the challenge of directing Spain's first municipal theater dedicated exclusively to dance while maintaining her career as a performer.
The Sevillian dancer and choreographer, National Dance Award winner and Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, had built her own creative ecosystem in Fuenlabrada with her partner, The Arbi The Harti, where it has a theater in which the María Pagés Choreographic Center, but when Madrid City Council asked him to lead this ambitious project, he couldn't refuse. Now, seven months after its opening, the Center has already accumulated several sold-outs and is preparing for a new phase that will include artist residencies, the presentation of an associated company, and a series of new creators that will become a fundamental pillar of its programming.
From Scheherazade, created together with El Harti and premiered at the Liceu in Barcelona in 2022, comes to Madrid in its complete format: 18 performers on stage exploring the mythical character of Arabian NightsA work that, according to its creator, takes on special relevance in a difficult social moment.
Pagés is warm and generous in conversation. She listens to expoflamenco by phone at the end of one of the rehearsals to explain some of the ins and outs of the work and the public center he runs.
– What is the play like three years after its premiere?
– All works have their own life, and as you perform them, they also have their own demands. But there's something very important that's sometimes overlooked, and that's the adaptations to the places you go to. Not all theaters are the same, not all have the same size, not all have the same temperature... Here at the Centro Danza Matadero, we're going to perform the original version in terms of format. But it's true that works like these, which are so structured, so carefully crafted in the dramaturgy and structure, with music that's been specially composed for the occasion, all that in-depth work can't be broken, even though each performance is different. There are nights when Ana's [Ramón Muñoz, singer] voice suddenly does something it's never done before, and who knows why. With live music, suddenly there's a musical suggestion and we can use it, or I see a dancer who has contributed something that day, so it becomes part of the work as well. There's an internal breathing that never stops.
– There will be six performances of the play. How does your body prepare for so many nights in a row?
– What we're doing when a project takes more than four days is splitting it into two weeks. And it must be said that From Scheherazade He was previously at the Teatros del Canal in sold-out And we realized I had to return to Madrid. This is also part of our contribution to the Matadero Dance Center, because all artistic directors at Madrid's municipal theaters also have to fulfill the role of being creators and bringing our own works to the stage, because most of us are creative artistic directors.
"The character is a woman who uses words to save the world. She stops a murderer from continuing to annihilate women. (…) It's important to remember that despite everything, human beings have that fantastic tool: words, and the development that has made words from their origins to the present."
– One of the messages of Of Scheherazade It's the word as a tool for dialogue, understanding, and comprehension of humanity. Is it important to value it in the current moment?
– This play is a co-creation with El Arbi [El Harti, co-creator, co-director, playwright, and lyricist], and when we create a play, the first thing we always think about is what message we want to convey. That's like a starting point, because it serves as a guide. In this play, which premiered in 2022 and dates back much earlier, the character is a woman who uses words to save the world. She prevents a murderer from continuing to annihilate women. This woman, through words, through listening—so important—and through understanding, managed to change this. It's true that it's important, it's not easy, but it's important to remember that despite everything, human beings have that fantastic tool: words, and the development that words have made from their origins until now.
– Music also incorporates references from different cultures, doesn’t it?
– We wanted there to be some echo from the beginning that would help us locate and situate this character who comes from the East and who approaches, entering into that journey to Greece, to the entire Mediterranean. That's why we turn to and listen so much about the music of the Maghreb, even the East. There's that version of To Filila Ulila that we have, that Lole made a wonderful version, but that she was inspired by the original by Um Kulthum, the great Egyptian singer who sang these Thousand and One Nights. Suddenly Rimsky-Korsakov comes along, who was very inspired by Spanish music, what he understood as Spanish music. We have introduced a Scheherzade his in a soleá.
– What responsibility do you feel as an artist today to highlight this interculturality, at a time when there is so much hatred toward others?
– Honestly, I now see things I've never seen, I hear things I've never heard. I think we all have some deep concern, although sometimes we're not even able to express it because we live in a short-term world that absorbs us. We're living in a complicated world, don't you think? I remember when I was at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in New York, an American gentleman sent an email after a performance saying: "I came away so comforted that I want to be a better father and a better person." That's the best thing anyone can tell you, the meaning of the things we do. Beyond dance being your livelihood, you have a responsibility because you share it with other people who come to see you. You can't just say anything; as artists, we have a responsibility to make sure the message you convey reaches everyone.
– How is the Matadero Dance Center evolving in this first season?
– We start with soldouts: the Ballet Flamenco from Andalusia, eight performances, we continue with IT Danza, also two soldouts. Then there have been others like Martha Graham, Yerbabuena, we are on the way to also making a soldout…We've only been here seven months, and the teams are still being built. This is an incredible commitment by Madrid City Council, determined to say "let's go all out." We know this is a great opportunity and we can't waste it. A project of this magnitude must be here to stay and grow.
"Beyond dance being your livelihood, you have a responsibility because you share it with other people who come to see you. You can't just say anything. As artists, we have a responsibility to make sure the message you convey gets across."
– What role does the Center play as a national reference?
– We have the responsibility to be a national reference, because if this step has already been taken, others can be taken. If it's been achieved in Madrid, it can be achieved elsewhere. This should be the beginning of other theaters dedicated to dance in our country. Centro de Danza Matadero must strengthen and consolidate itself; it must bear fruit and grow so that Spain can have a powerful structure dedicated to dance, one that nurtures high-quality programming, generates an audience that enjoys and supports it, and is a place where the great talent this country possesses can flourish.
– What are the next steps in this regard?
– I think we've created a solid program in this first year. The new creators' cycle will be presented in October or November because it's part of the editorial line of this project, which will be repeated every year. Now, the creative residencies for next year will be launched, along with the associated artists. We also need to launch the dance-themed activities soon, to build a community. And we also want to present the entire program for the entire next year in November, which is already fully finalized. But as you can see, this project is much more than its theater. The dance house has many rooms. ♦
