Concept

For us, dance is the sharing of perspective—the way we see the world. Through this art, we express our own view of reality, draw inspiration, and move, influenced by the perspectives of those around us. This idea, combined with the richness and diversity of images that the city of Barcelona offers—each person forming a unique relationship with it—formed the core concept of Capaqui. 

“Capaqui” suggests presence—being in the moment and in space. It embodies movement and action while also evoking a sense of creative emptiness—a blank canvas where nothing is predetermined. Capaqui becomes a space where traditional boundaries and preconceptions dissolve, serving as a metaphor for a transformative environment that embraces both the heritage of the past and the innovative impulses of the present.

Our main objective is to promote dialogue between artists and society about our past, present, and connection to the city, transforming Barcelona’s public spaces into a democratic, vibrant, and inclusive platform for expression. This will be achieved through the creation of a collective dance piece featuring multiple dance groups from diverse backgrounds, performed as site-specific presentations and culminating in a dance festival. We call young artists or dance groups to choose a location in the city they form a special relationship with, preferably with historical or social significance and to create a site-specific dance piece inspired by that place and what it represents to them. These dance pieces will be mutually developed, resulting to a multi-site collective piece that will be performed in the selected sites of the city. The idea is to present this collective piece in the form of a dance street festival, the Capaqui Dansafest. As organisers, we will take over all the festival production process.  This organisation of the Capaqui Dancefest is a non-profit project taking its first steps in the artistic area of Barcelona. With this open call we encourage young artists and dance groups to support this attempt and join us to share their perspective and thoughts of the city. Unfortunately, we are not able to provide a fee, accommodation and transport to the participants.

How to participate:

In order to participate, send the followings to [email protected]: 

1. Brief description and title of the choreographic idea and possible technical requirements (up to 200 words).
2. The location of the city and what are the reasons for this choice (up to 200 words).
3. Participants (names).
4. Short CVs of all the participants. 
5. Audio-visual material concerning the application.

Deadline for applications: 4th May 2025 (all day).

Festival dates: 26th June – 1st July 2025

Participation limitations and criteria: Due to effort restrictions, unfortunately we might not be able to support all proposals. In this case, will apply specific criteria:

• Thematic variety and importance: We will consider to cover as many thematic areas as possible, giving weight to the significance of each theme. Controversial themes that can promote dialogue will also be considered.
• Artistic variety: Participations should represent a diverse range of themes, dance styles, and approaches, ensuring a broad artistic spectrum.
• Inclusivity: Participations will be chosen so that all societal groups are represented, with special attention given to including the voices of the most vulnerable communities.
• Site-specific relevance: Assess how well the proposed work connects with and is inspired by the historical or social significance of the chosen location.
• Feasibility and execution: Consider whether the proposed project is realistically achievable within the proposed framework.

Choreographic projects currently in development, as well as adaptations of existing works to the Capaqui concept will also be considered.

The creation process: With support from weekly meetings that include discussions and shared feedback, separate performances ranging from 10 to 30 minutes will be developed. The choreographic process will begin individually for each group, taking into consideration the provided artistic input. Participants will be motivated to rehearse at the locations where the site-specific performances will take place and to document their working process, as it may be used during the presentation days. All groups will have the freedom to apply their unique choreographic approaches to produce movement material and a choreographic structure that represents their artistic identity. Copyrights of every unique piece will belong to each artist/group who will remain free to use their work at their own will after the present project. Participants will be encouraged to experiment with innovative forms of site-specific performances through shared activities proposed by the organizational team as they develop their choreographic pieces. The organisation team will subtly introduce shared choreographic tasks aiming  to create a connective thread between the works, structuring a journey through the collective project, with different sections of the dance unfolding at different locations.

Duration: The duration of the creation period will be approximately two months (May and June 2025). Group rehearsals will be planned according to mutual arrangements. The creation process will be completed with a presentation of the collective work in the selected spots at the end of June. Further development of this work into a site specific dance festival with side events will be also planned according to artists’ availability after the summer of 2025.

Group interactions: To strengthen collaboration and cohesion, the connective thread between the works will be created collectively through group interactions as artists share their methods and approaches in combined rehearsals and activities. Site-specific shared rehearsals, common jams, structured improvisation sessions, and shared feedback discussions will begin by pairing groups of two or three at a time, eventually leading to full group meetings. Artists will be given the opportunity to apply choreographic ideas and improvisation scores to the mixed group of dancers, benefiting from the variety of movement and perspectives influencing their work.

Documentation: In parallel with the above choreographic journey, documentation of the creative process will be following the creation stages. This will highlight the challenges and the methods applied in order to combine different perspectives without disrespecting or restricting individual decisions. In addition, documentation will allow further reflection on the methodology for future development and use. Documentation material in audiovisual form can be also used to frame the project with side exhibitions at the end of the festival. This process is planned to include observation notes, interviews from participating artists, shared feedback from the groups and audience, and audiovisual material from the rehearsals and presentations in order to provide data for future research. The results of the documentation will also serve as input for the discussion of the roundtables. The feedback from all the stakeholders will be analysed to suggest new-other policy guides for the initiatives of dance-festivals for a novel type of cohesion for the inhabitants of the city. Artists will be provided with video coverage of their presentations which they can use freely after the completion of the project.