News

FIRATÀRREGA EMPHASIZES ITS INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITY

Eduard — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:15:43 +0100

In recent weeks those responsible for the artistic and professional departments have been present at several international meetings and events. The festival, Santiago a Mil (Chile), the Kulturbörse of Freiburg (Germany), the meeting of the European project TransAC-Meridians in Dublin (Ireland) and the Subtopia Centre of Stockholm (Sweden) are the benchmarks of this activity designed to strengthen the presence of FiraTàrrega and international exchanges, with the aim of strengthening its role in mediating the export of Catalan art projects.

La Patriótico Interesante, one of the companies attending the Vitrina Iberoamericana 2011

An international strategy is a pillar of FiraTàrrega, not only regarding the dissemination of this event but especially the fact of promoting co-productions and artistic exchanges that allow presenting the work of Catalan companies around the world as well as putting them in touch with other spheres, especially in everything related to street arts.

The international performing arts festival Santiago a Mil in Santiago, Chile is one of the largest in Latin America. Apart from offering the best selection of new street and hall performances, it programmes a series of activities that fosters professional exchange and a deepening of the current South American theatrical reality, a market with many opportunities for collaboration. The presence of Jordi Duran, the artistic director of FiraTàrrega, at the festival has served among other things, to explore the possibilities of carrying out a co-production in 2013.

Taking advantage of the International Kulturbörse de Freiburg, one of the main fairs for performing arts in Germany and which was dedicated to Catalonia and the Balearic Islands this year, FiraTàrrega participated in the delegation jointly organized by the Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies and the Ramon Llull Institute through Catalan Arts. FiraTàrrega presented the 2012 edition with a joint stand with the Mercat de Música Viva of Vic and the Fira Mediterrània of Manresa in an unprecedented international joint initiative of the three performance fairs in Catalonia.

On the other hand, on 7 and 8 February the head of the Professional Department participated in the project evaluation meeting in Dublin TransAC/Meridians to close the actions of transnational co-production made in the context of this show production project in unconventional spaces led by FiraTàrrega. 2012 is the second year of cooperative action that brings together nine European street performance festivals funded by the European Commission Culture Programme. In the framework of TransAC the Italian production De plaga cordis by the company Un ’ottima lettera, will be presented at FiraTàrrega, coproduced by the Inteatro Festival, FiraTàrrega and MiramirO Gent.

Finally, last week, Jordi Duran attended the Nordic circus fair Subcase in Stockholm and visited Subtopia, a training, creation and residence centre that is one of the most active, innovative and pioneering in the new circus field in Scandinavia and throughout Europe. On the other hand, it has a significant number of Catalan artists and is starting to generate a fruitful exchange of synergy between Sweden and Catalonia. Duran's visit has served to define what will be the Nordic Showcase in the 2012 edition of FiraTàrrega that, among other things, will guarantee the presence of several Scandinavian companies in the programme, one of which will be a coproduction.

Servei de Premsa FT

FIRATÀRREGA PARTICIPATES IN THE PERFORMING ARTS MARKET IN SEOUL

Eduard — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 09:36:23 +0100

The Fira participates in the performing arts market in Seoul as an organisation associated to the Korea Arts Management Service (KAMS) and collaborates with the Ramon Llull Institute to open new business lines in the Asian market for Catalan performing arts companies.

Last October, FiraTàrrega attended the PAMS (Performing Arts Market in Seoul) with a stand that it shared with the Ramon Llull Institute to present the performing arts of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands to the Asian market. This Catalan delegation is the result of the agreement signed in 2011 between FiraTàrrega and the KAMS to promote mutual knowledge and the exchange of professionals between Catalonia and South Korea.

PAMS is one of the most dynamic performing arts markets worldwide, thanks to the driving force of the Korean economy and the decisive support policies by the government to performing arts in the country. FiraTàrrega participated at this encounter for the first time within the framework of a collaboration agreement with the KAMS, with the aim of maintaining it and extending it over forthcoming years. Thanks to this agreement, at the last edition of the Fira, 20 professionals from 10 Korean organisations and a company that was selected in the official programme participated.

The main objective of attending the PAMS in Seoul was to present the Fira as a performing arts market from Catalonia and the south of Europe, in order to open new artistic routes for professionals interested in extending their international market.

In addition, the collaboration of the Ramon Llull Institute allowed the objectives of the delegation to be extended to guarantee that the agreements allow for the increase of the Catalan and Balearic presence at festivals and programmes in Korea, Asia and other international festivals. There are currently conversations under way with companies programmed at FiraTàrrega 2011 to participate in four Korean street arts festivals in 2012. Contacts are also being established with Asian projects to guarantee the presence of Catalan creators in the international cooperation programmes presented at the PAMS, conversations have been initiated with the Australian Arts Council and with the Tokyo Performing Arts Market in Yokohama for their presence at the forthcoming edition of FiraTàrrega and contacts have been made with festivals and cultural centres of reference in Seoul for possible Catalan focuses in Korea.

These actions are part of FiraTàrrega’s internationalisation plan, which started in 2002, with the aim of promoting contacts between Catalonia and the international market, which take place at the annual meeting in Tàrrega during the second weekend in September.

THE “INTERNATIONAL RAMON ROCA BONCOMPTE FOR CULTURAL STUDIES AWARD” IS NOW OPEN FOR SUBMISSIONS

Premsa — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 12:00:16 +0200

From this week on, anyone interested can enter their research in cultural studies for this award promoted by FiraTàrrega and Ros Roca with a first prize of €6,000

From now until the 1st of April 2012 deadline, anyone interested in taking part in the “International Ramon Roca Boncompte Cultural Studies Award” can submit their research work.

The subject of the studies must refer to the analysis of or research into the field of cultural management, such as case studies, the impact on the territory, comparative studies, co-operation, cultural policies, analysis of organisations, typologies of professionals and audiences, R+D, sponsorship and patronage, etc.

The work must be previously unpublished and may be written in Catalan, Spanish or English, with a minimum length of 60 DIN A-4 pages (not including annexes). Originals must be sent as attached PDF documents by e-mail to lafiraencurs@firatarrega.com

The jury who will decide the winner will be presided over by Maria Dolors Enrich (Ros Roca Group) and the members will be Pau Llacuna (FiraTàrrega), Joan Biscarri (University of Lleida), Lluís Bonet (University of Barcelona), Elisenda Figueras (Pompeu Fabra University) and Alba Colombo (Open University of Catalonia).

If you wish to know more about this award and its norms you can visit the web of La Fira (http://www.firatarrega.cat/en/activitats/premis) where you will also find the registration form.

This is the second edition of the award with a prize of €6,000 for the winning work, and is aimed to be a useful tool in the field of cultural studies research, being one of very few such awards in this field at the international and European level. It is jointly organised by FiraTàrrega and the Ros Roca Group.

FiraTàrrega, SUPPORT THE CREATION AND SCENIC epicenter of the activity INTERNATIONAL

Premsa — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 19:46:50 +0200

Tarrega has enjoyed from 8 to 11 September the 31st edition of FiraTàrrega. A total of 97 companies with 87 different shows have come to Tarrega. The Fira has to be developed normally in escenarios annd streets, and without relevant incidencies.

The present Fira, which the new artistic direction of Jordi Duran, has been developed around two major facts: the motivation for the internationalization of the companies and the stimulus to creation.

The 31st edition of FiraTàrrega have been presencied for 761 professionals, from 384 different institutions. In reference to the public street, the box offices have issued, until Saturday night, 9198 tickets until the night of Saturday. Until last night, the camping has guided a total of 4118 users.

FiraTàrrega has contracted a "Study on the Impact of internationalization" to CERES. The specific study says that 6 of 10 international institutions contracted a spanish show. In addition, each entit signed a media of 2.7 shows and 6.1 representations.

THE STREETS OF TÀRREGA ARE FULL OF SPECTATORS

Premsa — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 13:40:05 +0200

Different scenarios Street recorded a full house, just as the show room, selling tickets which continues apace.

Until yesterday it had sold 7.426 tickets. Moreover, the street shows have gathered thousands of people who have filled squares and streets of the city during the performances.

Viewers FiraTàrrega (Foto: Jesús Vilamajó)

EVERYTHING READY FORT THE 31st FIRATÀRREGA

Premsa — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 19:35:54 +0200

Tomorrow Los Galindos will offer the opening show of a venue that counts with the presence of ninety-seven companies and sixteen national and international premieres.

Everything is ready in Tàrrega to host the 31st edition of FiraTàrrega tomorrow. During four days, the streets are transformed in one big stage and in a busy performing arts market. More than ninety national and international companies – between the Official Programme and the Company Venue – will take part in this edition of the Fira and will bring their latest street and auditorium shows to Tàrrega. The venue will recieve sixteen premieres in the official promramme , with shows that embrace different stage disciplines, such as dancing ,clown, miltidisciplinary plays or circus.

OFFICIAL PROGRAM FIRATÀRREGA 2011

Premsa — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 12:12:40 +0200

The official program of FiraTàrrega 2011 is already available in the web, with information of all the shows that will be presented in this edition. You can download the program from the download area of the web of FiraTàrrega or in this link:

http://www.firatarrega.cat/en/descarrega#programapdf

FIRATÀRREGA 2011, ON THE FRONT LINE OF CATALAN CIRCUS

Premsa — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:59:49 +0200

La Fira: a showcase for the diversity of languages the circus englobes

The circus “made in Catalonia” has a special place in the programme of FiraTàrrega 2011. Circus that plays, searches and experiments with different artistic expressions to open itself to new approaches. Dance, music, body language or text theatre converge in different works whose main ingredient is circus. La Fira becomes a showcase for the good creative situation of the circus in Catalonia, with creations at a high level, which have crossed frontiers and are acknowledged internationally.

In fact, the circus is the star of the opening show at La Fira. Entròpic is the name of the montage by the Catalan company Los Galindos. It is a large-format street circus show, with three stages, 20 performers and live music. Acrobatics, trapeze, balancing, tightrope walking, risk, play, technique, proximity, emotion, poetry... all at the service of a proposal where the audience is arrayed along both sides of a catwalk over forty metres long, creating a shared collective space. A montage with its own style and where circus techniques are put to the service of the dramatic play.

Los Galindos with 'Entròpic'

The circus programme includes projects by restless artists. This is the case of the company Enfila’t and their piece Plecs, which won the 2010 National Circus Prize. A show with circus, humour and live music on a paper stage, where an artefact with elliptical wheels tilts between four acrobats, who spin and balance. A proposal for all ages, directed by Manolo Alcántara, Enric Ases and Karl Stets and that has also been awarded the FAD – Sebastià Gasch d’Arts Parateatrals prizes.

L’Ateneu Popular 9 Barris come to Tàrrega with Circumstàncies, 15è Circ d’Hivern, a contemporary circus proposal for all ages directed by the Chilean, Ricardo Gallardo. The show talks with humour and poetry about the opportunities that life offers and the circumstances that determine these. A circus and dance show, with dynamic staging and a high technical level. The central balancing number won an award in the 2011 Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain.

Ateneu Popular 9 Barris with 'Circumstàncies, 15è Circ d'Hivern'

Also in a closed venue, the company Call me María present their show by the same name. Directed by Adrian Schvarzstein and Sergi Estebanell, it is a circus and theatre show with live rock ’n ’roll music, and ten actors and acrobats on the stage. It recreates the atmosphere under Franco’s dictatorship in a bar in the Raval district of Barcelona in the 1950s, which is revolutionised by the chance arrival of two American sailors. First performed at the Festival Grec 2011 in Barcelona to acclaim from the audiences.

In the street, you can see three pieces that all work in a small format to experiment with innovative proposals and the mixing of techniques. Thus, the street is the scenario for L’home que perdia els botons, the latest show by Circ Pànic with assessment by Piero Steinner and Claire Ducreux. An innovative and very visual proposal that mixes circus technique with music and body language.

Mumusic Circus present Roda, món, a contemporary circus show with music, dance and physical theatre that takes place around a main stage element: the wheel. A mobile structure that turns, moves, tumbles and divides the space. All together to build a reflection about the evolution of the world and the universe.

Also in the street, the Cia ES brings Déjàsenti to Tàrrega, a show for all ages where a man dressed as a woman and a woman in man’s clothing act in a multiform space based on Chinese tangram puzzles. A show where circus feats and the spontaneity of street theatre converge.

These are only some of the shows you can see at FiraTàrrega 2011. In addition, the programme of La Fira, which takes place between the 8th and 11th of September, includes other stage disciplines, both in the street and closed venues, by over 80 national and international companies (between the Official Programme and the Company Venues)

DANCE GOES UP IN VALUE AT FIRATÀRREGA 2011

Premsa — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:46:12 +0200

Dance in all its many facets is one of the leading aspects of this edition

FiraTàrrega 2011 pays special attention to dance, and does so from an unusual angle, understanding it from a new point of view to reclaim its presence on the street. Dance that breathes fresh air into the panorama and that will show its many faces in Tàrrega. From the most codified and technical creations to the more intimate dance, passing through theatrical dance and combining the creations by new companies and emerging talents with established names in the current artistic panorama.

La Veronal, who came to La Fira last year with Finlàndia, are back with the montage Pájaros muertos, a street choreography set in the universe of Pablo Picasso. The show has been created in Tàrrega, in the Support for Creation programme. To do so, there are the 15 dancers who participated in the workshop the company gave and who will perform in the show. A montage where the Xaranga ‘Va i Ve’ and the Banda Municipal, both formations from Bellpuig, will also take part.

La Veronal with 'Pájaros muertos'.

Increpación Danza comes to Tàrrega with Las salvajes, a montage designed to be performed in a specific venue, in this case, the Plaça Major. It narrates the odyssey of a review company in deepest Spain in the 1960s. To create this, the company also participated in the Support for Creation programme.

A stage exercise to dissect the creative process is what the company Senza Tempo propose in Anatomía de un sueño. The piece combines dance, theatre, video-creation and music to put the spectator in the artists’ shoes during the process of creating a show.

The young urban dance formation Kulbik present Cube, where they explore the possibilities of gestural language and combine hip hop with electronic music, funk and trip hop staged through the most characteristics styles of street dance and other disciplines such as contemporary and gestural theatre.

Kukai Dantza Konpainia reach Tàrrega after recently being awarded the Premi Umore Azoka 2011 for the best Basque company. An explosion of force and virility is what they offer in Karrikan, a street dance show for six dancers and a DJ, in which such leading choreographers as Daminán Muñoz, Virginia Garcia, Pantxika Telleria and Iker Gómez have collaborated.

Kukai Dantza Konpainia with 'Karrikan'.

Also from the País Basc, Natxo Montero will present Carni di prima qualità, a duet that talks about life, pain and death in a man-woman couple. The montage has received numerous awards, such as the first prize from the Jurat Choreoroam or second place in the XXIII Certamen Coreográfico in Madrid, in 2009.

From Aragon, La Mov present Dos, a programme of two contrasting choreographies that deal with the world of sentiments. On the other hand, Cîteaux is the fifth work by Proyecto D-Ruses, also an aragonese initiative of choreographic creation undertaken by Jordi Vilaseca and Toño Monzón. This is a brief piece for a duo of dancers, in collaboration with Mickael Marso from the British Company, Decalage.

Also from the national scene, the choreographer installed in Madrid, Sharon Fridman comes to La Fira with Hasta dónde, the latest montage by her company Projects in Movement. A choreography for two dancers that delves into the physical language.

From the Balearic Islands, the Cia. de Dansa del Teatre d’Alaró present Moja Bieda, a street choreography that has an open dialogue with the elements of the street furniture and that talks about misfortune in love.

La Fira also has international dance companies. From the Netherlands, the young theatre dance company Tragic will surprise the audience with their new work NetNietNiets, a street piece for three dancers, a musician and various elements, that traces the story of three women. A work that is both simple and entertaining.

A touch of colour is supplied by the British Lucid Productions, with their work Sink dancing, a small format piece in which two dancers delight the audience with their dance technique, their costume changes and the striking revolving stage.

These are only some of the shows that can be seen at FiraTàrrega 2011. In addition, the programme of La Fira, which takes place between the 8th and 11th of September, includes performances of other stage disciplines, both in the street and closed venues, by over 80 national and international companies (between the Official Programme and the Company Venues)

THE “RAMON ROCA BONCOMPTE INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR CULTURAL MANAGEMENT STUDIES”

Eduard — Tue, 10 May 2011 14:11:14 +0200

The work "The social return of cultural politics: how to measure the public value of culture?" won this award sponsored by FiraTàrrega and Ros Roca with a prize of 6,000 euros.

A joint work of several researchers, teachers and consultants in the field of cultural policy and management has been awarded the "RAMON ROCA BONCOMPTE INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR CULTURAL MANAGEMENT STUDIES" which was sponsored for the first time by FiraTàrrega and the company, Ros Roca.

This research entitled "The social return of cultural politics: how to measure the public value of culture?" is a work by scholars Nicolás Barbieri, Xavier Fina, Eva Merino, Adriana Partal and Joan Subirats. The work deals with different aspects of management and cultural policy, analysing "its value and the benefits it produces for the public." The proposal was that cultural management "has acquired a fundamental role in territorial development that seeks to integrate an economy of knowledge with social cohesion, governance and sustainability."

For the first year of the award worth 6,000 euros, 25 papers were presented from different parts of Catalonia and the rest of Spain, but also researchers from France, Holland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Chile and the United States.

The authors of the research
The authors are research scientists, professors and consultants in the field of cultural policies and management and have worked together at the Institute of Government and Public Policy (IGOP) of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Nicolás Barbieri is a researcher and professor for the IGOP at UAB; Xavier Fina is a professor and director for ICC cultural consultants; Joan Subirats is a professor of Political Science at the Autonomous University of Barcelona; and Adriana Partal and Eva Merino are independent researchers.

The jury
The jury was chaired by Mrs. Maria Dolors Enrich (Ros Roca Group) and it was comprised of Mr. Pau Llacuna (FiraTàrrega); Mr. Jaume Barrull (University of Lleida); Mr.Lluís Bonet (University of Barcelona); Mrs. Elisenda Figueras (Pompeu Fabra University) and Mrs. Alba Colombo (Open University of Catalonia).

The prize
This award, one-of-a-kind in Catalonia, is endowed with 6,000 euros. It is one of the largest funded awards in Europe for this type of field. This award aims to contribute to the development of the dissemination of research in the field of cultural management in Europe. This is another step for the Fair to consolidate its policy of establishing research-training programs throughout the year around the world of culture.

The award will be presented at an event that is taking place on 3 June at the University of Lleida.