To celebrate 30 years of working together, Gelabert and Azzopardi once again perform this renowned dance piece, which premiered in 1988. It is a struggle between instinct and reason, between life and death, inspired by the personality of the bullfighter Juan Belmonte (1892-1962), and a rereading and a challenge of a performance that now forms part of the repertoire of the world of contemporary dance.

Production first performed on 18/11/1988 at the Mercat de les Flors, danced by Jordi Alcaraz, Lydia Azzopardi, Jordi Cardoner, Cesc Gelabert, Toni Jodar and Uwe Wenzel in a joint production by the Gelabert Azzopardi Companyia de Dansa, the Mercat de les Flors and the Teatre Lliure.

"Belmonte is an experience in the very greatest sense of the word." (Joan Anton Benach, La Vanguardia)
"The best 'faena' by a dancer." (M. G. Otzet, Diari de Barcelona)
"A piece of work that does not deserve to die." (Miquel Jurado, El País)
"An ambitious production." (Maryse Badiou, El público)
"Emotion, power and quality." (Gonzalo Pérez de Olaguer, El Periódico)
"Sensual and wild is Gelabert’s dance." (Leonetta Bentivoglio, La Repubblica)

cast
Lydia Azzopardi (on september 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, 24 and 26) / Dani Corrales / Cesc Gelabert / Virginia Gimeno (on september 23 and 25) / Giuliano Guerrini / Toni Jodar / Jonatan de Luis Mazagatos / Salvador Masclans / Michele Mastroianni / Oscar Pérez / Alberto Pineda / Charles Washington / and the Banda Municipal de Barcelona

choregraphy and artistic direction Cesc Gelabert and Lydia Azzopardi / original music Carles Santos / set and costumes Frederic Amat / lighting Cesc Gelabert and Jordi Llongueras / musical director Xavier Piquer / orchestration Xavier Riba

choreographer assistant Toni Jodar / assistant invited Sarah Taylor / teachers A. Lacalle, E. Maycas y A. Sánchez / technical team Conxa Pons and Israel Quintero / costumes coordination César Olivar and Ángel Vilda / tailors Georgina Misser and Ana Sabina Vergara / management Maria Rosas / coordination Montse G. Otzet / accountant Núria Feliu

set up made by Josep M. Blancafort and Quim Guixà / costumes made by Goretti Puente

the teams of Gelabert Azzopardi Companyia de Dansa

and the teams of Teatre Lliure

coproduced by Teatre Lliure and Gelabert Azzopardi Companyia de Dansa

special thanks to Artemis

resident company at the Teatre Lliure
subsidied by the Departament de Cultura i Mitjans de Comunicació de la Generalitat de Catalunya, the Ministerio de Cultura and the Ajuntament de Barcelona
with the collaboration of the Institut Ramon Llull

the film projected during the performance was produced using material from the N.O.D.O. archives by Frederic Amat, Lydia Azzopardi and Cesc Gelabert in consultation with Joan Marimón.