Highlighting women’s role in society on stage

The role of women in Spanish dance has evolved in parallel to the way it has evolved in our society. And our repertoire perfectly reflects this social change, through the roles women have played in both history and the collective imagination. There are works with plots where women play a traditional role: women who are not masters of their own destiny, whose lives are conditioned by the prescriptions of social customs and male authority, as in El Rango, Bodas de sangre and El amor brujo. And others in which women struggle to make decisions, placing themselves on the margins of society, such as La Celestina, or challenging the social order, such as Carmen. Self-made women who have broken with convention to try to write their own life stories, like La Bella Otero. All of these works date from or are set in periods prior to 1970, long before the fight against gender inequality joined the mainstream political agenda.

Since then, the way female characters are written has been approached from new perspectives more in line with current sentiment, with more and more characters exercising autonomy and agency. These are plots where relationships are built on dialogue with the other rather than on domination. Mareas, Silencio Tornado, Mujeres and Jacaranda are examples of these contemporary reflections on relationships and femininity in the repertoire of Ballet Nacional de España.

There are also timeless works that address universal themes whose message transcends cultures and historical context, and consequently still resonate with today's audiences. This is the case with Medea, Electra, and Fuenteovejuna, with the iconic character of Laurencia. These are pieces that address the complexity of power relations between genders, forcing us to reflect on realities that, unfortunately, remain relevant today, such as the use of violence.

On the other hand, until recently, as in other areas of dance, the creation of new Spanish dance pieces has been restricted by the very codification of the language of dance, with patterns of expression clearly differentiated by gender. These limitations are fading – and today, they only apply to performances of historical pieces. An example of this is our latest production, Afanador. In it, we reflect with complete artistic freedom on the traditional imagery of flamenco – through the eyes of photographer Ruven Afanador – deconstructing the codes attributed to the feminine and the masculine to find new forms of expression.

Society and art go hand in hand, and at Ballet Nacional de España, as performers and custodians of a particularly rich dance heritage, we are committed to highlighting – through our performances – the evolution of Spanish society through dance. Remembering how we were, showing how we are, and imagining new realities that bring us demonstrably closer to total equality.