Lali Ayguadé Farró
Lali Ayguadé was born in Barcelona in 1980. She trained at the Conservatori del Liceu and later at the Institut del Teatre in Barcelona before continuing her studies at PARTS (Belgium). During her fourth year, she created the solo “Silence” under the guidance of Wim Vandekeybus.
After completing her studies, she joined Publik Eye Company in Denmark, directed at that time by Carmen Mehnert. In 2003, she became a full-time member of Akram Khan Company, where she created and performed in productions such as “Kaash”, “Ma”, “Bahok” (with the National Ballet of China), “Vertical Road” and “Confluence”, collaborating with artists including Nitin Sawhney and Ricardo Nova.
She has also worked with Roberto Olivan / Enclave Dance Company in “Homeland”, with Hofesh Shechter in “In Your Rooms”, “Cult” and “The Art of Not Looking Back”, and with Marcos Morau / La Veronal in “Portland”. She collaborated with the contemporary circus company Baró d’Evel, performing in “Mazùt” and “Bestias”.
In 2005, she co-created “Twice Read” with Slovak dancer and choreographer Anton Lachky. Between 2007 and 2009, she developed several short works with acrobat and clown Joan Ramon Graell. In 2012, she created the trio “Little Me” with Young Jin Kim and Joan Català for the Salmon Festival at Mercat de les Flors in Barcelona, and “Encontre” for the Ramon Llull anniversary celebration. In 2013, she created the short duets “Incognito” and “Saba”.
Since 2013, Lali has directed her own company, creating site-specific works, street performances and full-length productions that move between reality and imagination, blending theatricality and dance. Her creations include “Kokoro” (2015), “iU an Mi”, “Hidden”, “Runa” and “Inestable”.
Alongside her own creations, she has collaborated with artists such as Joana Gomila, Guilhem Chatir, Joan Ramon Graell and Akira Yoshida, among others. She has also created works for international companies including Tanz Bielefeld in Germany, Korean National Contemporary Dance Company, Bodhi Project in Salzburg and MIR Dance Company.
Her work has received important recognition over the years. In 2010, she was nominated as Exceptional Dancer at the London Critics’ Awards, and in 2016 as Best Dancer at the Barcelona Critics’ Awards. “iU an Mi” was nominated for the Premis Butaca 2018. “Hidden” received the award for Best Choreography at the Premis Butaca 2021, and won Best Choreography and Best Male Performer (Lisard Tranis) at the Premis Dansacat 2022. “Runa” received the Max Awards 2022 for Best Choreography and Best Female Performer (Lali Ayguadé), and was also nominated for Best Male Performer (Lisard Tranis). The production was later nominated at the Teatre Barcelona Awards in 2023.
Lali starred in the short film “Timecode”, directed by Juanjo Giménez, which received the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, the Goya Award and the Gaudí Award, and was nominated for the Academy Awards.
Alongside her artistic career, Lali regularly teaches workshops internationally, sharing the physical language and creative research developed through her work.
I base my work on exploring the abstraction of dance or movement and I place it into a concrete situation which converts into something more conceptual. It enables me to emphasize feelings and emotions of people on stage. Movement may seem very abstract, but as humans, we are using something very tangible, which is our body. The link between the realness and the unrealistic side of things is fundamental in my investigation. As performers, we have the opportunity to play with this thin line where nothing is completely one or another, so I create it in the bodies, but also spatially. Our bodies end up being small in the space after all, but our imagination gives us the chance to go above the physical boundaries and make everything limitless. Our mind has a underestimate power and it’s a precious tool that makes everything you connect with your body become another path to research and reach virtuosity. But it takes time to achieve and actually, the concept time is also something I like to play with. I feel a lot of adrenaline whenever I see speed because as a performer, I can feel the effort and the complexity of the path that leads to it. But it has to be well managed so you do not disappear in it: to emphasize it, you need to bring the silence and the slowness in the body which is even more powerful and difficult to accept and achieve. As a creator and an artist, when you find a concept that you like to play with, it’s always important to play with its opposite. It will give you a wider range of opportunities and let your body and your mind showing the beauty of it through the most simple gesture.
— Lali Ayguadé
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