Preview: Sol Picó

Modern dance would seem to have little in common with rock 'n' roll and midlife crises, but that is exactly what Catalan choreographer Sol Picó wants you to think - so that she can prove you wrong.

One of the most exciting contemporary Catalan artists, the choreographer Picó has been best known for controversially mixing diverse music and dance styles since she founded a professional contemporary dance company bearing her name in 1994. Over the past decade and a half, Picó has created more than 20 shows and won numerous awards, including the prestigious Premio Nacional de Danza of the Generalitat of Catalunya.

Now Picó and her company are making their first visit to the Czech Republic and the New Stage, where they will introduce Picó's choreography El Llac De Les Mosques (The Lake of the Flies), which premiered in Barcelona in 2009.

El Llac De Les Mosques is focused on midlife crises and the choices we all must face as we age. Picó, who is in her mid-40s, seems to have dug into her own experiences when choreographing the piece, in which she explores and interprets her feelings through the medium of a wild rock concert.  

Accompanied by drummer Merce Ros, guitarist Jordi Pegenaute Ferri, bassist Joan Rectoret and saxophonist Mireia Tejero, who play live - and loud - rock music during the performances, Picó investigates the dramatic period of self-doubt and emotional transition that one experiences in middle age.

In the piece, she decides to make significant changes in core aspects of her day-to day life, to ignore the clock and do all the things she has always wanted to. Accompanied by one male dancer, Valentí Rocamora i Tora, Picó has created an impassioned, dynamic, and at times surreal fusion of dance, physicality and black humor, a potent mix that is a trademark for her creations.  

Picó leads the hourlong piece, which is "an accompanied solo," as she describes. She takes the role of the front man of the rock band loudly playing behind her back, the only difference being that she is not a singer, but a dancer, expressing herself through wild, energetic movements instead of lyrics. She dances rock 'n' roll, blues and the passionate dance of flamenco on red high heels, dressed in a ballet tutu and stockings, looking like a ballerina and a rocker at the same time.

The audience is involved in the show as the dancer keeps interacting with them, asking provocative questions and not giving answers, but making them think by watching her movements.

Throughout El Llac De Les Mosques, Picó wants to offer the audience insight into multiple layers and different depths of meanings. What the audience gains from the piece depends on how far they want to see, the effort they want to make and how much they identify with the piece. In order to highlight the content of the piece's movement, the stage remains bare and simple, which also contributes to the show's uniqueness.

Picó is undoubtedly one of Spain's leading creators of contemporary dance theater. El Llac De Les Mosques allows audiences to compare her feelings and interpretations of those feelings with their life experiences and to evaluate how effectively Picó's dynamic show communicates.

Johana Mücková can be reached at
features@praguepost.com