“Trajectories”
Performance on Spanish Golden Age Dance and its relation with the French Baroque Dance
(Anna Yepes and Anna Romani)
Trajectories invites us to enter into a dialogue between two choreographic universes: Spanish Golden Age Dance and French Baroque Dance. These styles, though distinct, are intertwined through history: the marriages of Louis XIII and Louis XIV to Spanish infantas reinforced the cultural bonds between the two courts, and dance became one of the most vivid expressions of this exchange.
Like a river, dances are born in a community, but soon travel, transform, grow and are nourished by encounters along the way, constantly reshaping their trajectory.
In this performance, Jaque’s Folías resonates with Pécour’s celebrated Folies d’Espagne; González’s Mariona is faithfully reconstructed from the manuscript, while the Españoleta just takes inspiration from it; Pécour’s Loure pour une femme converses with a spirited Jácara by Ana Yepes, drawn from Jaque’s manuscript; and, in a culminating moment, the strength of the Chacona de Arañés closes the journey.
Ana Yepes and Anna Romaní do not simply reconstruct history: they bring it alive. As was common in the music of the 17th century, from a given structure they weave improvisations — virtuosic variations combining steps with expressive arm movements, the rhythm of castanets, and the percussive force of zapateado.
Trajectories is a living voyage through memory and imagination, where styles, traditions, and improvisations converge in motion.
Anna Yepes, La Genevraye, France
She studied music in Madrid, The Hague and with Nadia Boulanger. She obtained an Early Dance Teacher diploma from the GSMD and a dance certificate from the Sorbonne, Paris. Among other opera productions she has choreographed for Rinaldo, Orlando, Alceste, Giulio Cesare, Ginastera’s Beatrix Cenci, King Arthur, Indes Galantes, Hippolyte et Aricie, Carmen, Massenet’s Manon and Lully’s Bourgeois Gentilhomme. She has collaborated as a dancer and choreographer with Les Arts Florissants, Ris et Danceries, Les Paladins, Elyma Ensemble and the Yepes Trio among others. She works with directors including Francisco Negrin, Alfredo Arias, Jean-Marie Villégier and Mireille Laroche. She has her own company, Donaires Ensemble, which presents baroque dance programs and contemporary dance pieces. She teaches regularly in Europe, South and North America and Japan. She is currently collaborating with with Anna Romaní on the edition of their first book on dance of the Spanish Golden Age: “Introduction to Dance in the Spanish Golden Age, its sources, and its links with French and Italian Dance”.
Anna Romani, Barcelona, Spain
Anna Romaní, born in Barcelona, graduated in Contemporary Dance and Choreography at the Institut del Teatre. She specialises in Renaissance and Baroque dance, having trained with leading international teachers. Since 2005 she has performed with French companies such as Ensemble Donaïres, L’Eventail and Outre Mesure, and collaborated with ensembles including Le Poème Harmonique, Forma Antiqva and Vespres d’Arnadí. She frequently works with the Palau de la Música in projects involving both professional and amateur choirs, as well as family programmes. Alongside her performing career, she has consistently combined artistic practice with research. She co-directs Xuriach, a company dedicated to the study and performance of historical Catalan music and dance. As an educator, she integrates body and music through the Orff approach, and has taught at various conservatories and cultural institutions.
