Artist statement
Dance as an option. A place to stand and from there speak. Yes, talk… because dance, in addition to movement, is conceived as thought. And choosing it is a decision that concerns an attitude, and as a consequence positioning.
And it is political because it affects conventional orders and calls them into question. It offers other ways of thinking about life, of relating, of belonging. And it is activism because if not, what is it?… It is done daily, from love, taking responsibility with plural ethics, causing changes. Reflecting on a par with social realities, and embraces and allows them. And it is not invisible, it is every day, it belongs to what is happening, to the now, to the gerund. It seems that it cannot be seen, but it is there, latent, unstable, in constant movement. And it’s art because art is transformative, and that’s where we are.
Lamajara are Daniel Rosado and Paloma Hurtado.
Daniel Rosado. I was born in Bollullos, a town in Huelva, in 1983 and I currently reside in Barcelona. I study Physical Activity and Sport Sciences at the University of Barcelona and the Professional Degree in Contemporary Dance at the Reina Sofía National Dance Conservatory in Granada. I begin my career as a performer in France with the company Taille Unique (2006-2007), participating in projects with different choreographic centers. I danced in the Transit Dansa company (2008-2012) and in the National Dance Production of Catalonia (2017-2018). I am awarded a scholarship by the Generalitat de Catalunya in 2016,2018 and 2020 in research and innovation of the performing arts, music and thought. I have received some awards for my work but I believe that the work goes beyond any award.
As a choreographer I like to use those social aspects that move me. Search for new references from popular culture that shoot me to new creative universes, revising what is transmitted as a consequence of the traditional and popular legacy that is usually found in the collective memory. I conceive creation in a holistic way, understanding that dance is at the service of the people because it is formed by the people and speaks of the people, which is why I bet on projects that combine exhibition, mediation and pedagogy, which is why I have been working for a few years in my own projects from a collective creation. In 2015, together with Reinaldo Ribeiro and Paloma Hurtado, we started Lamajara, a project that shares a place in constant dialogue and consensus towards a common methodology.
Paloma Hurtado. I was born in Malaga in 1987. In 2007 I obtained the Intermediate Degree in Contemporary Dance at the Royal Professional Conservatory of Dance in Madrid. I am a member of Tenerifedanzalab (resident at the Tenerife Auditorium) between 2007-2015, where I work with choreographers such as Tino Fernández (L’Explose), Edmon Russo & Shlomi Twizer (Affari Esteri), Anne Lebatarde (Ex Nihilo), White Horse Collective and Daniel Abreu. In 2014 I began my career as an independent creator, specializing my work in works for non-conventional spaces and from a reflective viewof the social-historical context. In 2016 I begin my collaboration with Lamajara, of which I am currently a member. Since 2018 I have been a dancer in the latest production of the Nómada Company (Roberto Torres) “Dulces Bestias”, a work with which I obtain the Canary Islands Replica Award for Best Performer.
In 2019 he choreographed the work “15º al Oeste” for the Lava Company (resident in Auditorio de Tenerife, directed by Daniel Abreu). In 2021 I received the Replica Award by INA for Best Dance Show and Best Lighting together with Daniel Morales and Alfredo Díez.
I think that art arises as a necessity and as a duty, to allow us to feel, think, reflect, question ourselves, share. I continually ask myself about the role of the spectator in the work of art, seeking to encourage his active place, participant, co-responsible for the scenic fact of which he is a primordial element. My work is based on responsibility towards the artistic fact, humility towards creation and the scene, the metaphor and poetics of the sign, the scene as a ritual, a strong social commitment and justice.
Lamajara is defined as an artistic structure that develops dance projects in unique formats. Our work philosophy stems from the need to value craftsmanship, small things, simplicity, that which requires study time and practice for its execution. The lines of work are: The investigation of the language of the body in movement, a communicative body that develops from the game; the articulation of mediation projects within the cultural fabric, with an opening towards new ways of conceiving the scene; pedagogical and methodological development regarding the use of the body, conceived as a means for dialogue and interaction with the world. We approach creation as a place of thought and reflection, where we accept the oddities that a body inhabits and allow them. Identity as an engine to create.