Melania Olcina seems on the verge of breaking down, but she is always capable of surpassing the limits of humanity. This contemporary dancer makes unusual contortions and subjects her body to a harsh discipline from which she extracts all the evocative power of poetry. … Now she is immersed in rehearsals to perform ‘Halo’, a short piece that she will perform this Sunday in front of the wall of Madrid, in one of the rooms of the Royal Collections Gallery, which is celebrating its first year of operation.
To celebrate, the museum has invited two national dance prizewinners – Daniel Abreu, who won in 2014, and Olcina, who received the award last year – to show their work in the archaeological space. The centre, which has been visited by 600,000 people since June last year, will incorporate other artistic manifestations these days, such as cinema, theatre and contemporary art, to provide feedback to diverse audiences and encourage creativity.
Room B of the Royal Collections, a space closed to visitors and where remains of the Arab fortification are displayed, will host Daniel Abreu’s dance today. The choreographer has prepared a piece, ‘Dalet’, which hides several meanings. It is the fourth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and alludes to the door. “It refers to those places of passage, to those moments of transition that each one has. The idea arose with the pandemic crisis, when we were wondering what comes next. The work is rich in symbols and content. When we present it here it will take on another dimension, given that many people passed through this place to enter or leave the city. Visually it is wonderful,” says Abreu, who has directed the evolutions of five dancers who take advantage of the potential of “light and sound space.”
‘Dalet’, choreography by Daniel Andreu.
Virginia Carrasco
Olcina will premiere a short piece, ‘Halo’, in which the dancer will dance to the rhythm of the voice of the singer and actress Fátima Cué. «It is based on vocal improvisation. We will imagine that the body is a musical instrument, as if it were a resonator tube or a talking reed. “Elena will sing a breathed poem and I will try to listen to that poem and dance,” she explains.
Expectations met
For Antonio Sánchez Luengo, deputy general director of the Gallery of Royal Collections, the expectations that the museum team set at the time of the inauguration have been met. «In surveys, public satisfaction is close to 4.9 out of 5. That in one year of existence foreign visitors represent 41%, when it has not been possible to do foreign promotion nor do we appear in the guides, is a success. Through our pieces the visitor can learn about the evolution of art and fashion,” emphasizes the deputy director.
Melania Olcina is delighted to perform in the archaeological space. «I think it is very important that dance is integrated into museums and that it is another jewel, like a painting or a sculpture. I am very pleased that dance, a discipline that is still ephemeral, interacts with art that remains. “It’s a way to connect the past with the future.”
The Hebrew alphabet has a connection with the mystical and the existentialist, a circumstance that the choreographer tries to exploit to connect emotionally with the viewer. “When we go to see dance we are always trying to give meaning to everything, but life often has no meaning, it has meaning.”
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