Proyect
Artistic Direction: MARÍA PAGÉS AND EL ARBI EL HARTI.
Centro Danza Matadero – CDM – is the home of dance, with Madrid as its welcoming host city. As an organic, open, plural, inclusive, and cross-cutting cultural project, it draws its lifeblood from the city’s deep-rooted tradition of all dance forms created in Spain and from the universality that serves as its fundamental source of inspiration.
With a dialectic that harmoniously combines the I and the We, the centre and the periphery, the neighbourhood and the world, Centro Danza Matadero – CDM – interacts with its surroundings and draws nourishment from its cultural heritage and innovations, proactively responding to all aesthetic trends and languages.
Centro Danza Matadero – CDM – seeks to contribute to the fusion of Madrid and Dance within a shared sphere of meaning, and to have Matadero Madrid identified with Dance, linking its cultural work with choreutic centres and integrating citizens into its evolution as both a creative asset and a subject of creation.
Through the fusion of a municipal cultural policy, a history, an environment, a space, and a convergent and syncretic artistic vision and programme, at Centro Danza Matadero – CDM – we seek to transform the “Madridness” that underpins our uniqueness and universal potential into ethical and aesthetic values. Dance at Matadero Madrid is the creation of creators who, on the one hand, are attentive to the professionals devoted to the noble and necessary task of creating beauty and meaning, and, on the other, to the needs of the various groups within society.
Strategic Lines
- Artistic programming focused on dance.
- Artistic residencies for dance.
- Co-productions for the development of national and international performances.
- Cooperation, collaboration, and artistic exchange with national and international theatres, companies, and choreographic centres with shared values.
- Workshops and masterclasses in the dance arts (performance, choreography, stage direction, etc.).
- Outreach on the relationship between dance and fields such as science, health, education, sports, ageing, disability, urban planning, and multiculturalism.
- Seminars, experiences, and activities aimed at introducing dance to all audiences.
Artistic Direction
Maria Pagés is a choreographer and stage director. Of Catalan heritage, born in Seville and adopted by Madrid, this iconoclastic creator has brought Spanish culture to the world’s most prestigious theatres, combining dance with social commitment. She is internationally renowned for her unique aesthetic approach to flamenco dance, which she interprets as an organic cultural paradigm that best expresses the artistic contemporaneity of Spain. She has secured a distinct place in the global dance scene, using the fundamental codes of flamenco while exploring both within and beyond its boundaries.
What most defines her multifaceted creativity is her deeply rooted ethical view of culture. María Pagés is the recipient of the 2022 Princess of Asturias Award for the Arts, Spain’s National Dance Award (Creation), the Gold Medal for Merit in the Fine Arts, the Culture Award of the Community of Madrid, and the Medal of the City of Seville. Her ten Giraldillo Awards from the Seville Flamenco Biennial affirm her status as an essential Spanish choreographer. Her choreographic works transcend stereotypes and cultural differences, promoting dialogue between artistic languages. She has created more than 30 stage works, including El perro andaluz. Burlerías, La tirana, Flamenco Republic, Canciones, antes de una guerra, Autorretrato, Flamenco Republik, Sevilla, Dunas, Utopía, Yo, Carmen, Óyeme con los ojos, Una oda al tiempo, Paraíso de los negros, and De Scheherazade.
El Arbi El Harti es hispanista, dramaturgo, catedrático de la Universidad Mohamed V de Rabat. Ha publicado Después de Tánger (2003), Utopía del buen lugar (2012), Utopía del desierto (2015), Memoria en movimiento (2020), El norte ya no es posible (2022). Ha creado y dirigido varios festivales interculturales en Marruecos y España. Ha dirigido el departamento de cultura del Instituto Cervantes de Casablanca. Con María Pagés ha creado Utopía, Alegría de los niños (2013), Siete golpes y un camino (2014), Yo, Carmen (2014), Óyeme con los ojos (2014), No dejes que termine el día (2015), Danza de los corazones (2017), Una oda al tiempo (2018), Fronteras (2019), Paraíso de los negros (2020), Tribulaciones de Simbad el Marino (2021), De Scheherazade (2021), Amor de Dios (2023) y Tierra prometida (2023).