In 1997, the young company IT Dansa was created as an educational project of the Institut del Teatre de Barcelona to encourage the improvement and professionalisation of young dancers. They performed for the first time the following year, in 1998, twenty-five years ago. That same year, they also premiered at the Grec Festival in Barcelona, performing the choreographies Jardí Tancat, Violeta II, Passo Mezzo and Via Durga at the CCCB (the ticket cost 2,000 pesetas at the time). A quarter of a century later, the company has performed a dozen times at the Grec. For the thirteenth edition, they will be celebrating the anniversary of their early days and returning to the Festival, performing three works by choreographers linked to IT Dansa since the beginnings of the young company. Twenty-eight thousand waves, a choreography by Cayetano Soto (one of the first graduates from IT Dansa and now an internationally renowned choreographer), conveys the strength and energy of the waves of the sea. Next, the company's dancers will perform Lo que no se ve, an intimate creation by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano conceived in 2021 exclusively for IT Dansa, focusing on couple relationships. The programme closes with Minus 16, by Ohad Naharin, a key piece in the repertoire of contemporary dance and one of the company's greatest successes, which proposes a journey through different states of mind, from despair in solitude to fun in a group to the rhythm of cha-cha-cha, mambo or popular songs from Israel.
IT Dansa was born to build bridges between choreographic teaching and the stage through stage practice. It operates as a two-year postgraduate course for professionalising and improving young dancers and currently enjoys great national and international recognition. At the same time, IT Dansa also works to disseminate dance through various choreographies, allowing a broad range of audiences to enjoy dance. From its beginnings to the present day, the artistic direction of IT Dansa has been the responsibility of Catherine Allard, who trained as a dancer at the Nederlands Dans Theater and the National Dance Company.
A production by IT Dansa.
Artistic direction: Catherine Allard. Dancers: Jasmine Achtari, Carlota Batalla, Sky Bebbington, Martí Blanco, Francesca Cova, Queralt Farran, Eduardo Ignacio Fizona, Joan Jansana, Kora Leiva Gnonnas, Luis Martínez, Patricia Pazo, Gabriel Parra, Laia Serra, Iwase Towa, Isaac Verdura, Yarden Zana. Student on work experience: Hugo Real. Repeaters: Nora Sitges-Sardà, Mathilde van de Meerendonk. Classical teachers: Ingve Grove, Sandra Marín, Jeanne Solan, Natalia Tkachenko, Zoran Markovic, Rodolfo Castellano. Contemporary teacher: Maxime Iannarelli. Performance teacher: Ferran Audí. Costumes: Sorne Blasi. Pianist: Carlos Silva. Technical coordination: Pablo Huerres. Lighting technician: Albert Glas. Sound technician: Marta Aguado. Production director: Raül Perales Haro. Executive producer: Juan Carlos Garzón and technic team of Cultural Services of Institut del Teatre. Produced by: Institut del Teatre de la Diputació de Barcelona
Choreographer: Cayetano Soto. Music: I Lie, from the album The little match girl passion by David Lang, performed by Theatre of Voices - Ars Nova Copenhagen; Aheym, by Bryce Dessner, performed by Kronos Quartet. Lighting design: Cayetano Soto. Costume design: Cayetano Soto. Photography: Natia Tutisani.
Duration: 20 minutes
Choreographer: Gustavo Ramírez Sansano. Music: Franz Schubert (Trio for Piano and Strings No. 2 in E-Flat Major, D 929, Op. 100: Andante Con Moto, Stuttgart Piano Trio y Notturno for Piano and Strings in E-Flat Major, D 897, Op. 148: Adagio, Stuttgart Piano Trio). Set and lighting design: Luis Crespo, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano. Costume design: Gustavo Ramírez Sansano. Photography: Anna Fàbrega.
Duration: 18 minutes
Choreographer: Ohad Naharin. Choreography assistance: Matan David and Erez Zohar. Music: Album “Cha-Cha De Amor,” a folk song arranged by Dick Dale, the traditional song “Echad Mi Yodea” by The Tractor's Revenge and Ohad Naharin, Nisi Dominus (Psalm 126), R.608 – 4 by Vivaldi, James Bowman, Chopin. Lighting design: Avi Yona “Bambi” Bueno. Costume design: Ohad Naharin and Rakefet Levy. Photography: Ros Ribas
Duration: 40 minutes
A co-production of the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the Grec 2009 Festival de Barcelona and the Institut del Teatre.
