TRAJECTORY
My relationship with dancing started as love at first sight, ever since I discovered the power of transmission that a moving body has and how it places you in a state of truth with yourself and with what you are doing. I have always been in love with Spanish dance, in the richness of its four branches: flamenco, stylized dancing, “bolera school” and folklore; but also with the freedom of movement and conceptuality of contemporary dancing. It took me a while to realize that these weren’t contradictory loves, that it wasn’t necessary to choose between them: they could just live with each other so I could create my own way of understanding movement. In order to get to this conclusion I inevitably had to initiate a path of search that I am still walking to this day. I am not speaking of a fusion of styles; but of coexistence, interrelation, feedback and polyphony between different styles.
I have searched (and I still do ) for my own corporality, my own way of translating all that truth I feel flamenco and folklore have into my Spanish and contemporary body. And I have found my own space. I feel flamenca in grand plie to the second or finishing up throwing myself into the ground. Barefoot and bata de cola. Marking my steps in seguiriyas (flamenco style) with jeans and sneakers, with big dresses that connect me with Gades and Martha Graham. Finding similarities between the squared tambourine of Peñaparda and the Japanese taikos or finding the power of a group that dances mixing up “contact-improvisation” concepts with Castilian steps and charro dance.
And that is how I feel more myself than ever. I had to find a name for all this, its own defining name: contemporary root dance. Just as I am: my body is contemporary but my spine is made out of soil, out of roots that deepen into the imaginary of Spanish folklore and our precious flamenco. And here I am still, searching, in that crossroads that is my ground zero. My own space, my own abyss…
SARA CANO· CV
- First Prize in Choreography (XXVII Flamenco and Spanish Dance Contest)
- First Prize in Solo Choreography (XXIII Flamenco and Spanish Dance Contest)
- Second Prize in Choreography and Award of the Public (II Contemporary Woman Contest)
- Nominated to Max Awards 2016 to Best Dance Female Interpreter, Best Choreography and Best Original Show for “A Palo Seco”.
- Nominated to Max Awards 2018 to Best Dance Female Interpreter for “Sintempo”.
- Candidate for the Max 2020 Awards for Best Dance Show and finalist for Best Choreography.
Having received an eclectic training, Sara Cano is a dancer and choreographer whose style ranges from contemporary dance to Spanish dance, Spanish folk, and Flamenco. Graduated in Choreography and Contemporary Dance Interpretation from the Superior Dance Conservatory María de Ávila in Madrid. She has directed her own company since 2014, year that got her solo career started with the short piece “A Palo Seco Redux”, that received many awards, played in national and international festivals, and was the seed of “A Palo Seco”, a work in which the choreographer establishes her own way of expression, combining flamenco and contemporary dance. As part of this quest, Sara Cano created in 2017 “Sintiempo” and in 2018, “La Espera”. In 2019 she premieres her first work in a major format, titled “Vengo!”, in which she revisits the roots of Spanish folklore from a contemporary perspective. Besides producing her own work, she has also created works for other companies, such as Ibérica de Danza (“The marriage of Figaro”, “The barber of Seville”) and Miguel Angel Rojas (“Ya no Seremos”). Furthermore, she was elected to set up the choreography of the XXII Edition of the Max Awards for Performative Arts, under the direction of Ana Zamora.
In 2019, she premiered VENGO!, her first full-length show in which she revisits the roots of Spanish folklore with a contemporary perspective, leading her to win the 2020 Max Award for Best Choreography. In 2020, she premiered Mujer de Pie, a plea for resilience and the power of reinvention. In 2021, she created Todas las Noches alongside Vanesa Aibar. In 2022, she premiered Al Son, a work created by and for women, where the creator continues to bring folklore into a contemporary context. This work made her a finalist in the 2023 Max Awards for Best Dance Show. In 2023, the planned premiere of Al Son (Invisibles) aims to further convey the message of her previous work.
In addition to her own productions, she began creating works for other companies, such as Ibérica de Danza (Fígaro, el barbero de Sevilla), Miguel Ángel Rojas (Ya no seremos), or Marea Danza (Roda). She was also responsible for choreographing the XXII Edition of the Gala of the Max Awards for Performing Arts, under the direction of Ana Zamora. Her upcoming commissioned projects as a creator will take place at the Teatro de la Zarzuela, with the choreography for La Rosa del Azafrán for the 23/24 season under the direction of Ignacio García and at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège, Belgium, with the choreography for the opera Carmen, under the direction of Marta Eguillior.