Sin Barreras Dance Day
Friday, March 22, 2019 – Federico García Lorca Center
On Friday, March 22nd, the Sin Barreras Dance Day (Without Barriers) was held in Federico García Lorca Center as part of the Danza Sin Barreras Dance Days (Dance Without Barriers). During this event, we tackled different issues related to the accessibility in the performing arts and the professionalization of dance through inclusive methods.
Thirty minutes before starting, we carried out a tactile guided tour of a part of the Del Sacromonte a Nueva York show (From Sacromonte to New York). We invited a group of twenty blind persons to come up on stage so that they familiarize themselves with their surroundings, identify the team of dancers, listen to the audio guided introduction of the choreographies, and touch some scenery objects and the dancers in different positions.
A participatory round table discussion between speakers, moderators and the public where the possibilities of professionalization and education of inclusive performing arts were highlighted. We also talked about the challenges and new paths for accessibility and the creation of networks between national and international organizations and individuals who share lines of work and can find ways to create new collaborations. This table was attended by:
- Catalina Jiménez Hurtado: Professor and investigator at the Department of Translation and Interpretation of The University of Granada (UGR) and an expert in audio description.
- Margarita Martos: Head of social services at ONCE.
- Carina Martín Castro: Coordinator of the educational project of the National Dance Company. She presented the TALLER CND EDUCA – SILENCIO SE BAILA project.
- Ana Candela: Co-director of the Simbiòtic Festival (accessible performing arts of Barcelona) and WE Act organization.
- Carmen Vilches: Choreographer and director of Cía. Danza Vinculados.
- Sara Fernández: Choreographer and co-Director of Cía. Danza Vinculados.
A partial representation of the audio described show Del Sacromonte a Nueva York produced by Cía. Danza Vinculados and its associated professional company LamatDance Company in collaboration with Útopi Social Films and Bum Creaciones. It was headed by Carmen Vilches in collaboration with Lara Balboa, Sara Fernández and Javier Viana (recently nominated for the Max Awards). This show is a tribute to the Omega album created by Enrique Morente and Lagartija Nick from Granada and written by Federico García Lorca and Leonard Cohen. This show, which includes ten contemporary and flamenco dancers with projection mapping by Útopi, was premiered with great success in the summer of 2017 at the Sacromonte Caves Museum. With this fragment, the show was brought closer to the blind audience offering the possibility of listening to the simultaneous audio description (by the performer Luisa Bernstorff) during the live performance.
Later, a discussion was held with the audience about accessibility and inclusion in the performing arts.
Photo credits: Juan Caballero