There are chance encounters that change the course of an artistic creation. For the flamenco dancer Lucia Campillo (Murcia, 1987), it was an unexpected visit to the Basilica of Santa Maria ai Monti in Rome, which led her to rethink the figure of Mary from a deeply human perspective. Blessed are you, the work that was born from that moment of contemplation, arrived this Tuesday, September 16 at the black room of the Teatros del Canal (Madrid) within the cycle dance channel as an absolute premiere (after having a residency at the theater), completely filling its 180 seats on a night that the audience said goodbye to with great applause.
For the Murcian dancer, it is the next work with her own name after premiering A bright star at the Jerez Festival in 2023. Campillo now dares to pose a considerable challenge: to descend from the divine to the earthly to to find in Mary not only the mother of Christ, but the woman who could have shared universally feminine experiences.
As she explains in her reflection on the work, she wants to "bring it down to earth and converse with it from a human perspective." This noble and daring intention permeates the entire stage, from the seemingly simple set design—a triangular band of red fabric hanging from the ceiling—to the vocal polyphony performed by the singer. Aroa Fernandez and the soprano PaloMy spy.
Moments of inspiration
The show starts with a notable success: the prominence of Campillo's hands, one of his most distinctive elements as a performer, with a length and plasticity –also of arms– that immediately connect with one of his teachers, Maria PagesThe beam of light that crosses the stage horizontally, isolating them and making them the center of attention, creates a moment of true theatrical magic, almost cinematic in its conception. It's an image that remains in your memory and anticipates the quality of what this show could have been.
The vocal polyphony between Fernández and Paloma Espí is especially successful. Both performers demonstrate excellent technical proficiency and achieve moments of genuine sonic harmony that enrich the performance. This fusion of vocal registers brings an interesting sonic dimension to the show and suggests expressive possibilities that are not always exploited and, above all, justified.
Technically, Campillo demonstrates a solid command of the language flamenco traditional, respecting the classic structures of the palos –soleá, tangos, guajira, etc.– which he intersperses with more lyrical transitions that reveal his broader dance training. His interpretation is precise and committed, although at times the dramatic intensity loses its balance and its justification in the stage development is lost. In the flamenco You have to be careful with the dose of intensity: too much drama without the narrative justifying it can fall into histrionics, or what in the jargon flamenco It's called ojana.
"Campillo demonstrates a solid command of the language flamenco traditional, respecting the classic structures of the palos –soleá, tangos, guajira, etc.– which he intersperses with more lyrical transitions that reveal his broader dance training.
Searches in progress
Blessed are you presents elements that seem to be still in the process of maturation. The structure of the piece, which moves from the palos solemn to the revelers, suggests an emotional journey that is not evident to the viewer. The transitions between both parts, the changes of register, the dramaturgical decisions seem to respond more to artistic intuitions than to a solid narrative architecture.
The most natural and authentic moment comes when the three performers play with the syllables of "Bendita tú" ("Come you," "come," "say," "say you"), creating an atmosphere of complicity that connects directly with the audience: it's the moment of greatest authenticity and naturalness. In isolation, the scene works. There's complicity between the three women on stage, and the naturalness is palpable. It's something almost all the dancers have been trying to achieve since it broke ground a few years ago. Rocío Molina (and perhaps also before Israel Galvan, otherwise): that on stage, in addition to dancing, there are wordsThat's fine, but it has to be justified. And in this work, the elements that make up the scenes feel disjointed, disjointed.
In the scene, perhaps the most luminous of the work, there is a nod to the Vertical anthem de Rocio Marquez –who appears in the credits as the lyricist and musical advisor– in lyrics that here move from soleá to guajira. It is in these moments that the work breathes naturally and finds its most authentic voice, but remains detached from everything that came before.
The costumes, designed by Campillo herself together with PaloMa de Alba, seeks to serve the narrative, although at times the functionality of the movement is compromised by aesthetic decisions that are not entirely justified. It is particularly notable the sequence with the train of dresses, where a feminist symbolism is sensed that I could dialogue with Marian iconographies reinterpreted from a contemporary perspective which connects with the ancestral fertility cult, but which is not developed with the necessary clarity. This could be the case, but it could not be. No other element supports this interpretation.
Blessed are you It is, above all, the testimony of an artist in the process of searching. The work suffers from a conceptual dispersion that prevents its best moments—which it has, and they are notable—from achieving the force they deserve. The ambition of the proposal, laudable in itself, is hampered by a dramaturgy that fails to coherently weave the different elements that comprise it.
In any case, the public responded enthusiastically to a proposal that, regardless of its less resolved areas, demonstrates artistic courage and personal commitment.
Credits
Blessed are you, by Lucía Campillo
Canal Baila Cycle. Canal Theatres, Madrid
16th September 2025
Original idea, choreography and performance: Lucía Campillo
Stage direction and dramaturgy: María Jáimez
Musical composition and performance: The Movie
Advice and composition of lyrics: Rocío Márquez
Flamenco voice and arrangements: Aroa Fernández
Lyric voice: PaloMy spy
Choreographic collaboration: Aleix Mañé
