ALICANTE ARNICHES THEATER
***
From Maria Muñoz, the creative force behind Badness, a company known for its fearless exploration of movement and narrative. The ensemble draws on a shared history of collaboration and curiosity, weaving intricate textures of body, breath, and space to create performances that linger in memory long after the curtain falls.
Hair. Interpreter: Federica Porello
The award-winning production has traveled far beyond its origin, bringing together audiences across borders since 2004. Bach, a contemporary dance solo, centers on the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, inviting spectators into a dialogue between sound and motion. It is a performance that respects tradition while daring to reinterpret it through a modern lens, inviting viewers to hear with their bodies as much as with their ears.
The program unfolds with a selection of preludes and fugues drawn from the two books of The Well-Tempered Clavier, placed in the early stages of the 20th century as a study in musical theory and expressive potential. While many pieces invite deep listening, this work encourages active engagement—solos that reward attentive practice as much as attentive spectators. It is a choreography of notes that invites the body to respond to tonal shifts, semitones, and tonal color in a way that feels immediate and human.
A study of pure movement and simplicity, the show centers on the partnership between the dancer and an accompanying piano voice. The performance forges an intimate dialogue between performer and instrument, where each gesture can read as a sentence and every pause as a breath held just long enough to shape meaning. The pantomimic sensibility is clear, with each section underscoring the integrity of the body and the precision of line. The result is a performance that is at once delicate and precise, precise enough to feel inevitable yet alive with discovery.
María Muñoz’s 50-minute creation, performed with Italian artist Federica Porello, offers a rhythmically driven experience that guides the audience through a sequence of plastic poses that evolve as the music unfolds. The piece relies on the cadence of movement and the storytelling power of silence, shaping a tempo that feels both intimate and expansive. The dancers’ gaze, the order of movements, and the tiny shifts in posture all combine to build a cohesive narrative that is felt as much as seen.
Based in Girona and active since 1989, Mal Pelo has long pursued experimental choreography and the development of a distinct artistic voice. The company has revisited baroque material in new contexts, enriching performances with word dance and expressive transitions that alternate between introspection and exuberance. The result is a richly textured evolving language that balances tenderness, vitality, and warmth in the visual field. This approach allows the music to breathe and the body to respond with nuance, inviting the audience into a shared space of exploration.
Mysterious sounds are paired with both simplicity and technical complexity, creating a sonic landscape that underlines the core movement. The dancer’s propulsion and the momentum of the piece carry color into every moment, with rhythmic repetition shaping a legible pattern that feels both calming and energizing. The performance carries a quiet authority, a tactile sense of movement that invites close attention and rewards repeated viewings.
As a note, Prelude and Fugue No. 1 from Volume Two also carries a story beyond the stage. It became part of a broader cultural milestone when that same music was included on the golden record carried by the Voyager I spacecraft in 1977, sent beyond our solar system in the hope of connecting with other civilizations. The Alicante Teatre Arniches audience acknowledged this moment with a warmth that reflected a deep appreciation for both music and its ability to transcend time and space.