Human Landscapes

By: Written by Coral López

We're celebrating our birthday with Alicia Soto and the Hojarasca Danza company, which premiered Paisajes Humanos (Human Landscapes) at the Teatro Calderón in Valladolid on September 30th. Not a single emotion, quality, vice, or human flaw is missing in this work that Hojarasca has given us on its 30th birthday. For three decades, it has remained on the bill with exceptional artistic and human quality within the contemporary universe. Pieces of the soul with a common thread, a gigantic fabric carefully chosen by its stage and costume designer, Elisa Sanz, already established in the art of fulfilling and sustaining dreams and realities. It's no small matter that she also works for Mónica Runde's 10 & 10 Company, which also recently celebrated its 35th anniversary on stage. This immense curtain has sometimes provided refuge and shelter; other times, it is the scars of life that we carry with us, feelings hidden or proclaimed to the four winds. In each scene, desire, hope, disappointment, violence are shown and although Alicia and the dramaturgy team, Dina Figueiredo, Julio Martín Da Fonseca and Alicia herself have put a lot of effort into ensuring that the scenes are treated in a very poetic way, it is sometimes difficult to keep your eyes on the dancers without becoming disturbed and shrinking during the violent scenes, where the dark side of human beings is starkly shown. Life as a journey, an allegory of the sails with the fabrics, crossing the River Styx, when Charon awaits us or the sea when a better life or death awaits us. The inevitable death, sometimes in life due to loneliness, other times due to hopelessness. Libido, passion, pain, violence, harassment, love, sex, ... A cyclone of emotions and pain that is not revealed, a silent scream and a constant reference to water, to rain, reminds us that we are water ... and that we are immersed in a sea of emotions and feelings. We pursue the unattainable, and where dancers support each other to achieve their desires. All this and much more is Human Landscapes. After the ovation and recognition of these magnificent dancers/performers, we spoke with Alicia Soto, director of the company and a pioneer in introducing technology into her projects, to reflect on its relationship with movement and dance on stage and in educational activities for the dissemination of dance, both within and outside our borders, betting on bringing dance to rural environments: Sasamón in Burgos (1994-1998) and Serrada in Valladolid (2005-2024).