Tierras en danza
Basic information
Project Title
Full project title
Category
Project Description
Tierras en danza is a contemporary dance project designed for rural areas with two different approaches. On the one hand, a summer intensive for professional dancers which brings people all over the world to improve their dance experience, learn about sports science, practice sports and enjoy nature. On the other hand, a free contemporary dance festival with shows, exhibitions, workshops, videodance projections...all of them planned fot the citizens to get to know this kind of art.
Project Region
EU Programme or fund
Description of the project
Summary
Tierras en danza is a contemporary dance project based in natural and rural locations of Cáceres, Extremadura. The project had its first edition in 2020, controlled and restricted by the COVID prevention measures, and this year will have its second edition, extended in time and venues. It is splitted in two main areas:
-A summer intensive for professional and amateur dancers where they can train and practice with expert teachers. The event is held in the International Centre of Sports Innovation in Nature "El Anillo". Technique, improvisation and creation are the main disciplines developed in the morning and afternoon workshops, indoors or outdoors. In the evening, the schedule is completed with sport activities in natural scenarios, as a complement for their daily training. Sport is considered and the distinctive pillar of this intensive, as it si used as a tool for the dancers to improve their phisique, enjoy their physicality in a new and different way and discover a science field where they can learn new and healthy habits as performers. As well, the main villages and cultural attractions of the region were visited and used as inspiration for creation and performance.
-A free dance festival for all the visitors. The venue of the festival was Baños de Montemayor, a 800 inhabitants, next to Salamanca province border. The programme of the festival has a wide variety of activitities to encourage the participation with different approaches. Contemporary dance workshops for begginers, to live the real dancing experience; videdance projections with the explanations of the creator; a lecture with projections and videos of the Spanish and European contemporary dance history; shows in outdoor locations of the village; a live creation workshops, where the attendees of the summer intensive followed improvisations task to adapt to the space and surroundings; and a tandem lecture-performance delived by a psichologyst and a dancer about the loss
Key objectives for sustainability
The sustainability of Tierras en danza, as the project itself, has two main features.
In our summer intensive we try to promote the discoverment of nature as a suitable option by the practice of sports without a negative impact in the environment. The increment in the appreciation of nature leads to a higher conciusness about its care and possible threats, and a more proactive attitude. In addition, all the main services for the attendees are contracted in the nearby area to create a postive impact in the populations and enterpreneurs that surround El Anillo. By this investment on the local economy, the carbon footprint of the event is reduced. Moreover, the mobility of the event during the activities tends to use the bus everytime it is possible to reduce the use of individual cars. Last but not least, the main attractions and advantages of rural areas are shown to the attendees, who come from different regions of Spain and Europe.
On the other hand, the festival puts the emphasis in culture as a source for social sustainability. The promotion of the arts and cultural activity act as a key inducement for populations to remain on their home territory, as well as to come back. Besides, it can create an audience that demands more art as a form of leisure or self expression: regular clases, shows, events... All kind of activitites that increase the attractive of the villages and towns as a place to visit, stay or even move. As a matter of fact, the festival brought respectful tourism interested in dance from different urban areas far bigger that the venue.
Key objectives for aesthetics and quality
Luckily for us, Tierras en danza count with the support of El Anillo, a unique sport centre in nature with amazing facilities. A huge glass and metal ring in a peninsulae, surrounded by Gabriel y Galan reservoir, with a modern and functional architecture. Moreover, the extremely beautiful landscape is used as a source for inspiration and creation, as many of the workshops are located outdoors. The blend between nature and architecture becomes real throught the interaction of the dancers with the space in an immersive experience. This unusually creative atmosphere is possible thanks to the isolation of the centre, the facilitation of the teachers and the limited enrollment places of the intensive course. These exclusive features intensify the interaction among the participants.
As a project based in art, aesthetics is an essential part of it. Contemporary dance embraces this idea not only through a traditional conception of beauty, but also taking into consideration emotion, interaction, contemplation and living of the present moment. In contrast, in the most technical and biomechanical part, beauty is found in the movement by chasing the functionally of the motion, searching for the flow of forces and the sensation of minimun effort.
Regarding the festival, the discovery of the pleasure of dancing by the citizens is one of the most satisfying aspects. This work increases the sensitivity of the participants as audience and their demands of art classes in their communities, leading to new forms of self expression and creation of beauty. Furthermore, live performances took place in common locations of the village. This new interpretation of habitual publics spaces has a poetic impact in the public who observes as the rutinary becomes extraordinary for a few minutes, and how a new perspective turns mundane into special (an ability we all can reach).
Key objectives for inclusion
In terms of inclusion, the summer intensive had a clear line of thought; we did not want anyone with an appropiate dance level to by excluded by economic reasons. That is why in our first edition, organised in COVID times and with no previous events in the area to be known for, there were two attendees with reduced registration fees. We also put an special emphasys in facilitating the access to artist from the region, as there have not been events like this before in the area and people usually must travel to take professional workshops.
In respect of the festival, most activities were opened for everyone but adapted to the people who came. Dance classes were planned for adults or children separate in different sessions, so the concepts are worked according to their specific needs. However, no other criteria was used for selection, and everyone who register was included in the workshops. What's more, people were encouraged to participe in all the activities and to contact the organisation for future classes or enquiries.
The main objective of the contemporary dance classes of the festival is to enjoy the movement, even make a hobbie out of it and create a community of citizens who practice exercise and consider art as part of their lifes. Keeping this in mind, everyone is welcome to the festival, whatever their degree of implication.
Results in relation to category
Currently we are working on the second edition and have already seem some results; some local dance artists with difficulties to perform in the local spaces have already asked for support and visibility, and the festival wants to become a meeting point for these performers to meet and find new alliances. The festival itself was widely appreciated by the audience last year, and this year there will be more venues in other rural villages where worshops and shows will be held. In spite of performing in a village with less than 1000 citizens where contemporary dance was never seen before, the shows created high expectation and people have demanded a second edtition.
There are many towns and villages which could programme dance shows with a large discount in the cache (even 70% subsidized by the regional government). However, contemporary dance is not familiar to the citizens in rural areas, and local goverments do not consider, not to say dare, to include this kind of performances in the cultural programming of the year. After contacting many of the cultural politicians in charge, we have got that they ask us for our dance shows to be included in this subsidized catalogue in order to include the in the local programme for 2021 and 2022.
As for the summer intensive, many people from Spain and other countries in Europe are showing interest and joining the courses. The event makes people from all over the world move to a place thay might have never travelled. As a result, Extremadura is more often heard in professional contemporary dance circuits, and the region is becoming better known for its cultural activity, its landscapes and other touristic attractives.
How Citizens benefit
As a result of the COVID situation, the collaboration with associations and different entities was reduced. People were reluctant to meet in person and talk about the project, not to mention participate in the organisation. As there is a wide elderly group in the village, the communication through the social media was not possible as an alternative. However, many citizens came to the shows outdoors, and ask for the local governmento to bring the festival to Baños de Montemayor again in 2021. During the different activities people from nearby villages came to take part in the workshops and watch the shows, and encouraged us to contact their local governments and organise a festival with more venues in 2021. As a result of this involvement, this year the festival will have at least 3 venues, and a few more are to confirm.
Tierras en danza, as was said before, promotes the exercise and the responsible and active tourism. As a result, some of the local active tourism companies are currently helping us to reach local governments, and their services will be offered to all the people of the festival to enjoy more sport activities.
Part of the audience of last year came from dance academies of urban areas as Salamanca or Cáceres which we contacted beforehand. The teachers of these academies have started to consider dance as an opportunity in rural areas, and this 2021 a dance summer camp will take place in another village organised by one of this schools.
As a new NGO we insist on something; we are just a group of motivated people willing to change things. The rural areas in which we intervene is full of talented citizens who only need to meet the right people to start improving their environment.
Innovative character
For us, the most innovative character of the project is the feedback and relation between the two main lines. A self financed summer intensive for professional dancers, who usually work and live in urban areas. The attendees come mainly from other regions and countries, and their investment has a touristic impact in the region and cultural impact in themselves and the citizens of the area. In contrast, the area has a festival accesible for everyone, where some of the performers are the attendees, and enjoy new and stimulanting activities for a few weeks.
In the planning of the project there was sumecing crucial: our wide perspective of dance and its benefits. First of all, the consideration of dance as a high physical demand activity equiparable to sport, which encouraged us to apply for a unique sports facility as El Anillo to be our main venue for the summer intensive. This way we fight for the dancers to have all medical and training support they need to have a long and rich career, as many sportspeople do. Whereas, we try to spread knowledge about injury prevention and healthy habits as a theoretical part of the summer intensive in short lectures.
We also consider dance as a way of self expression suitable for everyone, no matter the age or physical conditions. Of course, high skills requiere frequent and intense training, but every person can enjoy amateur dance in its own way. The singular mix of dance as an art, form os self expression and phisical activity make of it a strongly recommendable form of exercise.
Finally, it is important to consider dance as art, and so, it has the ability to create communities, break walls and open minds.
