Compañía Nacional de Danza

Why does Mar Aguiló dance?

I started dancing at three. Dance is love of life. Despite very tough times, that love has endured. When I dance, I connect with the deepest feelings.

In 2018, you graduated from the María de Ávila Conservatorio Superior de Danza, following the demonstration of your end-of-course work; the creation of the contemporary dance piece Océano mujer. Tell us a little about the piece.

When I hit 30, I was quite lost in my personal and professional life. I discovered butoh dance and it spurred me to seek a more honest way to dance; a dance that is not about technique or about the search for beauty or excellence. I felt the need for change; for transformation. I wanted to free myself of many of the more academic paradigms and of the bailarina stereotypes.

What was the creative process like?

The first step was to start developing my own artistic discussion relating the ocean—the origin of life and genetic heritage—with “woman”. So, I began trying to use the symbolic value and use that as a stage set with a range of metaphors and comparisons. From a feminine perspective, I wanted to portray a real, free woman and to normalise her body and the female nude. During the creation, I realised that, thanks to dance, it is possible to break with that idea of the woman as body-object. The sensuality of the movements comes from the need to connect with nature. And that strengthens the current feminism tendency, where the woman accepts here femininity and her maternal strength in creating an historically new body.

What does this piece represent for you?

The creation of this solo marked the beginning of a language of its own, developing an artistic dialogue through dance focused on women’s empowerment while delving into the different ways of understanding and experiencing the body, psychology, emotions and their movement.

Ever since “Jóvenes creadores CND”, you have created pieces for bespoke spaces, such as with the inauguration of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, “Francine”, Hotel Room for the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum and Afterlove for Internatonal Music Day. Do you think these spaces have made you grow in your career? In what way?

Most of those creations were commissions and these spaces have always been my point of departure. Dancing in non-conventional spaces where there is no fourth wall, where there is no smoke or mirrors, has helped me develop a way of interpreting and feeling movement in a very honest way. The closeness of the audience is very special but it also reveals how fragile dance can be, depending on the context.

You have collaborated with artists from different disciplines, such as James Mounfourt, Cortana or Mana. How do you link all that with your profession?

Ever since I started doing collaborations, I understood the importance of creating a rich fabric of networking with artists from different disciplines in order to widen my artistic scope.

What have you taken away from those experiences? Would you repeat them?

The references and inspirations from the worlds of cinema, photography, painting or fashion have all been key to generating a bespoke artistic world and discourse.

In your experience, what were the steps you took to move from CND2 to CND?  What has work been like with the different directors you have worked with.

Despite my fourteen years with the CND, I have the feeling of having been with very different companies. The changes in directorship and in the dancing team have made each period unique and valuable.

Apart from still being a part of the CND, you are also creative director at ELAMOR. How do you manage to do both? Do you think they complement each other in your professional development?

ELAMOR is a creative dance producer that fosters and nurtures artistic initiatives based on choreographic research, on live arts and on performance art. We intend for our interests and fields of action to mutate, to open and to multiply. Thanks to my being part of ELAMOR, I have got to widen my knowledge of the sector while learning different ways to approach artistic creation. Until now, it has been very easy to combine the two things and it has really enhanced my career as a dancer and as a creator for the CND.

As choreographer, you created Arriaga together with Pino Alosa and Joaquín De Luz. What was that experience like?

That creation started just after finishing confinement. It was a unique and unforgettable experience for me. I feel so thankful for that opportunity and for the trust placed in me by Joaquín. Throughout the creative process, a working atmosphere of respect and trust pervaded. To create for my wonderful colleagues was a real gift to me and being able to work in such a horizontal way with Joaquín and Pino was a total luxury. I will never forget that premier night in the Gardens of the Alhambra in Granada when the dancers buzzed so hard at enjoying their return to stage.

And to finish: if you could talk to your former self from the past, what would you say about dance?  

I would say to stay patient, to enjoy it more … and to give less importance to what others think of me.

MAR AGUILÓ – CORPS DE BALLET CND

Interview: Monse Martinez Zabaleta