Public and free sample dates
A collaborative project featuring the Synapsis initiative, inclusive dance and performative arts will be presented by Alicante Museum of Contemporary Art and Las Cigarreras cultural space on the 31st. The program, guided by Marisa Brugarolas with Alicia Esteve and Luis Martínez, is coordinated with the Ministry of Culture of Alicante, Las Cigarreras, and MACA, with support from the Art of Change program from the La Caixa Foundation.
The calendar runs from January through June, offering dance workshops and performing arts experiences that invite participation from people with and without functional diversity. The aim is to share space, exchange ideas, and become part of the cultural conversation. A head of culture explains that the project includes a series of public exhibitions where workshops occur, including traveling exhibitions at MACA and landscape exhibits at Las Cigarreras Cultural Space.
Manresa notes that the process yields tangible findings from the creative sessions. Two distinctive performative works emerged from the materials produced in the workshops, reflecting the participants’ creativity and their expressed experiences through body movement and gesture. The collaboration uses an interdisciplinary language where contemporary dance intersects with visual arts, music, and performance.
In this participatory and inclusive activity, functionally diverse individuals become creative agents within culture rather than mere participants, fostering a lasting social transformation through empowerment.
Public presentation dates and venues
Public sessions will take place at the Las Cigarreras Cultural Center on May 31 at 11:00 a.m., and on June 1 at 8:00 p.m., followed by sessions on June 9 at 11:30 a.m. and June 10 at 6:00 p.m. at MACA.
After the exhibitions, a closing ceremony will be hosted at Las Cigarreras Cultural Center. It remains open to participating institutions, associations, workshop attendees, and the general public. The event will feature reflections on the process and a screening of a video documenting the entire project, along with active public participation in the rituals of engagement.
A team of professionals in the relevant fields will guide public workshops and interdisciplinary exhibitions, welcoming a diverse audience and encouraging inclusive participation.
artistic team
Marisa Brugarolas serves as artistic director and teacher for the Synapsis project. She is a choreographer, educator, and researcher involved in interdisciplinary inclusive pedagogy. Ruedapies Inclusive Dance Director, she has led numerous choreographic works since 2005 that blend artistic creation with educational aims.
Her practice combines studies in educational research with landscape-inspired creation. She has presented work at festivals and venues for contemporary art in Spain, the United States, Italy, the Netherlands, Costa Rica, and El Salvador. She is the director of the inclusive dance project Corpo at Divenire, associated with the Spanish Royal Academy in Rome.
Currently she balances her involvement with Ruedapies alongside a Bachelor’s specialization in Dance Pedagogy at a premier Alicante dance conservatory. She is also a research member of Rediart XXI, a group at the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid.
Alice Esteve is a teacher and graduate of the Synapsis project from Valencia. She earned Erasmus and Leonardo fellowships in Venice, Italy, where she refined her practice in anatomy-informed art. Her work includes numerous solo and group exhibitions and has earned recognition in venues across Spain and internationally, including Venice, New York and Miami.
Luis Martinez works as a teacher within the Synapsis project. Trained as a Classical Ballet dancer at the Novelda Professional Dance Conservatory, he pursued advanced studies in Contemporary Dance Pedagogy. His scholarship includes an Erasmus exchange at the Alicante Superior Dance Conservatory and at the Escola Superior de Dança de Lisboa.