Project Debut: a shame-training practice with Johann Pérez, weekly sessions with the 8th-grade group at the Domènech i Montaner Secondary School in the Marina de Port neighborhood. With the collaboration of teacher Ada Vázquez, within the Activart course.
“I draw inspiration from one of my favorite film genres: coming-of-age. This genre is characterized by portraying an individual’s process of personal maturation, highlighting themes such as identity formation, the transition from one stage to another, the search for independence, the discovery of desire, and the confrontation with one’s surroundings. Debut focuses on the empowerment of shame, one of the most characteristic feelings of adolescence. In the same way a dancer trains the muscles of their body to become stronger and more resilient, we can understand shame as another muscle: if we train it, it allows us to be firmer and more confident when revealing our inner world and our vulnerability. How would you dance your shame? What rhythm would it have? What shape does it take? What lines does it contain? What musicality? Is it silent or loud? What image does it have? Does it move or is it still?”
Johann Pérez is a Venezuelan-born dancer and audiovisual filmmaker who has been based in Barcelona for more than fifteen years. He began both of his careers in Caracas, Venezuela, and in 2009 he emigrated to Barcelona, where he trained in documentary film at ESCAC and in dance and choreography with various teachers from across Europe. He has continued studying with choreographers, dancers, and pedagogues such as Julyen Hamilton, David Zambrano, Sita Ostheimer, Cecília Colacrai, Horacio Macuacua, Antón Lachky, Peter Jasko, Thomas Hauert, among many others.
Since 2016, he has been part of the creative team of the company LaCerda, whose works have been presented at various festivals in Europe and Latin America, including the Quinzena Metropolitana de Dansa de Barcelona with the piece Dolorosa de los Llanos —his second work as a dancer and choreographer— and the Festival de Danza en la Ciudad in Bogotá, Colombia, with his first choreographic proposal WINA. His latest work as a dancer with LaCerda, El Baile de la Zurda, premiered at SAT! in April 2024 and is currently on tour with its street version.
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