Triptych is the generic title Gelabert’s new program of solos composed of three parts: Suite Santos, Domènech and Cesc Gelabert interprets Vicente Escudero.

Triptych is the generic title Gelabert’s new program of solos composed of three parts: Suite Santos, Domènech  and Cesc Gelabert interprets Vicente Escudero.

The Santos Suite is a collection of four pieces by Cesc Gelabert with music by Carles Santos which are given a fresh airing for this occasion. The first piece formed part of Concert for piano, dance and voice, a work from 1982. Created and performed by Gelabert and Santos, it was first seen in the Teatre Prado in Sitges.

The other three pieces formed part of the production Preludis, created with Frederic Amat and featuring music by various composers. It was performed for the first time in 2002, during the first season of the Teatre Lliure on Montjuïc.

Domènech is a compilation of 12 short videos made and performed by Cesc Gelabert halfway through 2013, in reaction to the closure of the studio on carrer Domènech, which had been home to the company for 27 years.

Recorded with an iPhone and edited by Gelabert himself, the videos were posted on the internet as they were created. On this occasion, they are presented for the first time in sequence, without interruption.

Cesc Gelabert interprets Vicente Escudero . In 2013, Cesc Gelabert took up the proposal made by the La Seca to create a piece that pays homage to Vicente Escudero. It was first presented at the Museu Picasso as part of the Festival BarriBrossa that same year. Now it will receive its official premiere as one of the components of “Triptych” in the Teatre de la Seca itself.

Vicente Escudero, born in Valladolid but an adopted citizen of Barcelona, was a unique, multifaceted figure, who with his avant-garde, highly personal style of performing transformed flamenco dance. A friend of Miró and the Surrealists, as a dancer he emphasised the geometry and verticality of the body, combining cubism with flamenco and tradition with modernity. He danced the noise of an engine or of a train, giving another dimension to the music of the dance itself.

I remember the strong impression he made on me when, as an adolescent, I saw him dance on a Spanish television programme; he was like a pencil drawing in black and white on the screen. This image has always resonated in my imagination; I could feel the strength of his hands, the electric current running through his body, the tragic expression on his face. Cesc Gelabert