“Beveryone likes it, it is an instinct inherent in the human being. It has always been a way to celebrate life, joyful events. But today, in Western culture, the custom has been lost. Many shy away: “Oh no, I’m not capable”… We have to bring people back to dance! ». Et voilà, you are all invited by Blanca Li in person a Le bal de Parisat the Spoleto Festival until 10 July or at Venice Biennale Danza from 23 to 31 July.
Blanca Li (photo Lalo Cortes).
Golden Lion
«I wanted it to be a fun collective experience, where to go with children aged 12 and up, with grandparents, with friends, in total relaxation. People look at virtual reality with fear, they think it’s something difficult or strange, “he adds the Spanish dancer and choreographer, who has made eclecticism her signature: she moves from the Paris Opera and the New York Metropolitan to videos by Paul McCartney, Daft Punk and Beyoncé to films by Pedro Almodóvar and Jean-Jacques Annaud; she is a director, multimedia artist, collaborator of stylists.
First person in history elected to the French Académie des Beaux-Arts to represent the choreography sector, in 2021 it was awarded the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival in the “Venice VR Expanded” section for the online version onlynot interactive, of this The bal. Yes, because the appointment is not with a traditional show, but with an “immersive show in augmented reality”.
Where did you get your inspiration from?
I had already discovered the potential of the virtual reality in the past and I had used it in 2014 for a short film, 360, with 20 dancers. And there I came up with the initial idea, because what was missing was the contact between people. I said to myself: what a pity, we are together in the virtual world but we cannot touch! It took a few years to figure out how to make it, there was still no adequate technology… Which today, finally, has arrived: the dancers touch you, you can interact.
Why did you choose animal heads for the participants’ avatars?
An avatar with a human face? Mhmmm, it didn’t convince me. When you go to a carnival party, you wear a mask – being someone else makes spectators more free to enjoy the experience.
So one imagines living the “Bal de Paris” thanks to augmented reality.
Spectators who are co-stars. Isn’t there a risk, in this way, of pleasing egocentrism and amateurism, evils that are very current? Wouldn’t it be better to sit quietly for two hours admiring true talent?
(laughs) Ah, for sure today we all want to be stars, thanks to Instagram, to other social networks. But a virtual or immersive project will certainly not replace theater or ballet: it is just a new form, an unprecedented way of telling a story. I am the artistic director of Teatros del Canal in Madrid and, I assure you, I see the rooms full.
How did you choose the setting?
I allowed myself what I could never afford in a show: sumptuous sets, hundreds of dancers everywhere, scene changes. We sail on a lake, we arrive on an island through a labyrinth, we take a train and we find ourselves in a cafe chantant.
The title of the Biennale Danza 2022 looks perfect for her: Boundary-Less, without borders / limits. She has measured herself in every field and with every style: her latest production is The nutcracker by Tchaikovsky in a hip hop key …
I am looking for challenges, I love to do unprecedented things.
But is there a common thread in your creations or does the approach change according to the areas?
Ultimately, the common thread is dance. My constant link with any aspect of life is movement. I dance every day for at least an hour and a half: I need to feel my body “in action”, I can’t stop. And I need training to work with my company. Will I be back on stage? It happened right up until the pandemic (memorable in 2017 in Goddesses & Demonesses in New York with the Bolshoi dancer Maria Alexandrova, ed), unfortunately at some point you are no longer young enough, you have to move more slowly. Maybe I will find a formula that mixes dance and theater, it would be fun!
The participants “behind the scenes” of the “Bal de Paris” (photo Justine Cannarella).
Blanca Li and the Spanish national team
How long has the dance been with you?
Since I was six and seeing a dancer for the first time, I immediately understood that this was my calling. Speak a universal language without the need for words. But nothing came to fruition until the age of 12: to create a team of gymnasts, they auditioned in many schools in Madrid. So, until I was 15 I was in the Spanish national team, only then did I start with the actual dance studies.
Do you remember the debut in the choreography?
Perfectly. At 13, at school. The gym teacher was expecting a baby and asked me to help her with the end-of-year essay. And the second at 18, when I was attending Martha Graham’s classes in New York.
Why did he choose America in particular?
In Spain it was not possible to study modern dance at a good level and modern dance was what I dreamed of: finding my way of dancing, imagining something and bringing it to life.
Blanca Li and Maria Alexandrova in “Goddesses and Demonesses” in 2017 in New York (photo Getty Images)
You grew up in a significant historical moment: post-Franco Spain, Madrid’s nightlife was exploding.
It had a strong influence on me. A period of total freedom, of madness. An unbridled, savage period: the end of the dictatorship had put so much energy into circulation … And I moved to America when the eighties were going wild, with the liberation from any bridle and an irrepressible creativity. All this allowed me to accumulate a very rich baggage for the rest of my life.
Blanca Li (photo Nico Bustos).
Soul of the night
Back in Spain, she became the soul of the Madrid nights.
In New York I used to go to a bar which, in the evening, hosted performances: from there came the idea of El Calentito. We organized flamenco shows, cabaret: I often performed myself, something always happened and everyone passed by the club. Really gorgeous.
Why, then, did she move to Paris?
Where, moreover, I replicated the same model on Thursday evening with Le Narcisse, in Pigalle (which has become an international attraction with Madonna-like frequenters, ed). I had already founded my company and the French government supports art, it is easier to get help than in Spain.
How did Blanca Li manage to reconcile the “creativity demon” with two children?
When I decided to become a mother (the husband is the French-Korean mathematician Etienne Li, ed) I knew I couldn’t give up on my job. My family has learned to adapt to my type of life. Not only that, they love that I am an artist: they accompany me, they trust me, they respect me. And this is extraordinary: it allowed me not to feel guilty if I wasn’t there, if I was traveling, if I put energy into work.
In 2023 the thirtieth anniversary of his dance company will be celebrated. Will it be an opportunity to take stock?
I don’t think I’ll have time for a budget, I’m too busy (laughs).
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