FROM OUR ARTISTIC DIRECTOR : Pelat
Every year, the international programme of outdoor arts at Bell Square includes shows from Catalonia in north-east Spain. This Saturday, Joan Catala comes to Hounslow for the first time with his performance, Pelat.
Catalonia is one of the world’s most established regions for outdoor arts and produces generation after generation of extraordinary artists. It has a strong regional identity and culture is a huge part of this. Even though this identity has been built over thousands of years, just think of some of the more recent cultural icons from this region. The art and design from Joan Miro and Salvador Dali. The highly distinctive architecture of Antoni Gaudi which makes Barcelona the city it is.
It's also about outdoor arts and performance, ancient and modern. The famous La Patum, the grand festival of fire during which mythical and symbolic animals dance and jump to a constant rhythm, surrounded by smoke and fire, sweat and heat, music and shouting. Or the ‘castells’ - the human towers - where people stand on each others’ shoulders, up to 10 people high. With this heritage, it is unsurprising that Catalonia is host to some of the most interesting outdoor arts festivals in Europe – Fira Tarrega is renowned, others such as Sismograf and Trapezi are world-leaders in their fields of outdoor dance and circus, respectively. These festivals continue local traditions but also support new artists to develop and present their work.
Joan Catala, performing at Bell Square this Saturday, is a typical example of this supportive, outdoor arts environment. He was born and grew up in Barcelona, the region’s capital city. From the age of 16, he attended specialist art school and college there, before subsequently undertaking further training in Madrid and Moscow. He has studied dance, physical theatre, acrobatics and clown and his work now is a complex and satisfying mix of all these artforms.
Having then performed with many high-profile companies in Catalonia and further afield, he started to develop his own work in 2012. He was especially interested in the street and urban landscapes and his first work was Pelat. It was supported in his home region and had its premiere performance at Fira Tarrega, the festival I mentioned earlier. I saw that performance and I was completely taken by how supportive and appreciative that local audience was, too.
The show has now been touring for 10 years, which is a sign of a very strong show. This year alone, it has already toured around Spain and visited France, Italy, Portugal and Lithuania before it comes to Bell Square this weekend.
Importantly and perhaps unsurprisingly, heritage and cultural identity plays a strong role in Joan Catala’s work, including Pelat. In a review by Dance Art Journal (1 October 2023), he discusses ‘his relationship to the lineage of craftsmanship in his family and how it informs his work’. He also shared: ‘My great-grandfather, my father and my brother are blacksmiths. I learnt the trade out of obligation and without much enthusiasm. When I started with the performing arts, I realised that my way of understanding physical dialogue and my relationship to everything that appeared on stage (objects, people, environment) was always with a curious and artisanal look. Craftsmanship is the layer that colours my work.’
Indeed, with each new location he visits to perform Pelat, he asks for a long piece of wood to be ready for him the day before the performance. He then spends hours carefully, meticulously, carving and shaping the wood into the handcrafted pole which you will see is the central object in the show.
Come and see Pelat at Bell Square on Saturday. The performance is at 2.00 pm. As always, it’s free, no need to book, and everybody’s welcome.
Hope to see you there!