Then Judith realised that she had to open the seventh door.
Some time ago, the man with the blue beard began to seem not so horrible and strange to her, and she married him.
She promised to do exactly what he had ordered her to do.
But Judith, in fact, gradually began to feel a great desire for her husband to leave so that she could be left alone, visit all the rooms in the lower gallery and open the door to the forbidden room in the castle.
And so she did.
The Judith of Taiat Dansa presents a woman with many layers, with different edges and, therefore, a multiplication of Judiths converging into one. And with a firm decision: to be free.
Judith makes the decision to face fear, the unknown, to discover what lies behind the last door. Actually, behind that door alone, and therefore most importantly, lies her freedom.
Just like the Victorian women represented by the Danish painter Vilhelm Hammershoi, female figures that deeply inspire the choreographers Meritxell Barberá and Inma García to present their Judith in this work, all the women who appear in this operatic metaphor of Taiat Dansa appear stealthy, vigilant and in an apparent fictitious calm. The tension of their silence will dismember their true objective, to reach the end, to take courage and to open, even with a trembling pulse, the forbidden door (as if it were Eve’s forbidden apple).
The famous moral of fairy tales becomes quite different in this dancing tale. The punishment of the curious woman, which is repeated throughout history (since Adam and Eve) here has a very different reading: Judith’s boldness, daring, rebelliousness (which characterise the male protagonists of the classic fairy tales) turns her into a free woman, with the power of decision and access to knowledge.
Concept and direction by Taiat Dansa
Choreography by Meritxell Barberá & Inma García in collaborations with dancers
Principal dancers: Clàudia Bosch, Julia Cambra, Yéssica Castellón, Silvia Galleti, Laura G. Carrasco, Natalia García, Diana Huertas, Mariona Jaume, Elina Medoeva, Lara Misó, Wilma Puentes, Elena Puchol and Ana Tejero
Choreographic direction assistance: Mauricio Pérez
Student dancers of the Oskar-von-Miller-Schule: Sophie Sengle, Franziska Ullrich and Katja Ferger
Student dancers from the Conservatori Professional de Dansa València:
Esther Campos Tortajada, Triana del Carmen Lázaro Mohedano, Carla Martínez Forja, Irene Morales Prades, Aitana Pérez Piera, Eva Barberà Agustí, Daphne Bárcenas Fernández, Carmela Gema Borrás Fullana, Lucía Clemente Vicente, Andrea Gallego de Miguel, Ángela Montenegro Hernández, Aitana Sorlí Requena, Alba Sutil García, Yolanda Badia Devís, Daniela Baixauli Llácer, Ángela Borredá Soldado, Irene Gabaldón Cano, Carla Martinez Martinez, Eduard Talens Talens, Ana Velencoso Hernández, Elena Mei Vicent Campos, Carmen Vila Castelló, Alba Vilar Gallego, Belén Fushou Villena Alabarce, Irta Ballester i Rodríguez, Rocío Baños García, Elena Calderón Debón, Aitana Domenech Alabort, Natalia Ferrandis Ajenjo, Inés Linares Lafarga, Irenia Morillas Garrido, Nuria Ortega Mariscal, Judith Sánchez Talavera, Paula Torrent Pellicer, Blanca Villegas Pérez, Jon Arrieta Falcón, Aitana Audivert Bonet, Andrea Balaguer Chuliá, Maria Calabuig Gonzalez, Lola Esteve Arocas, Sara Fernández Balaguer, Claudia León Clavel, Candela Martín de Vidales Osset, Mar Montón Apuy, Empar Navarro Dolz, Júlia Navarro i Pellicer, Amelie Pérez Pérez Pérez, Jimena Rangel Rodríguez, Cristina Romero García and Candela Través Collado
Dramaturgical Advisor: Roberto Fratini
Original music by David Barberá (Caldo)
Choirs: A cau d’Orella and Demeter’s Project
Narrator: Sonia Ferrer
Live musical performance with students from the José Iturbi Conservatory of Valencia.
Violin: Àngels Oltra Villanueva
Violoncello: Aitana Cortés Fenollosa
Viola: Cecilia Herrera Martín
Double bass: Alicia Tarazona Salina
Bassoon: Elia Garcia Sáez
Flute: Aitana Hurtado
Stage manager: Ana Cembrero, Sara Bacigalupe and Alba Parejo
Set design concept by Taiat Dansa and David Orrico
Site specific design by David Orrico
Set design assistant: Miranda Fernández
Technical assistant: Andrés Tamarit
Technical manager: Nacho Roland
Site specific production: Sara Bacigalupe
R&D: Carlos de la Fuente
Set design execution: Los Reyes de Mambo
Costumes by Estudio Savage
Photography and visual editing: Juanmi Ponce
Executive production: Ana Cembrero
Direction and distribution assistance: Marta Fernández
Graphic design: Pilar Estrada
Communication: Inventa
Production and residency space: Monasterio de San Miguel de los Reyes, València
In collaboration with Espai La Granja
A production of the General Directorate of Culture and Heritage of the Generalitat de Catalunya.