Silencio blanco

It was thanks to the Festival Internacional de Teatro y Artes de Calle de Valladolid that, in its 2012 edition, I was given the opportunity to realise a dream that had been on my mind for a long time. The project was ambitious, as it involved bringing together more than 80 drummers from all the musical associations in the province of Valladolid who were familiar with the processional music of Holy Week.

Thanks to the invaluable collaboration of “Sagrada Lanzada”, it was possible to conduct this impressive group, as well as to organise the rehearsals of the rhythmic composition that I proposed to them and which was to serve as the sound base for the event. In addition, we were able to convene through social networks a large group of people who would participate in the procession of looks. This is one of the most exciting performances, as the focus here was not myself, but the participants in this kind of collective inner journey.

Precisely the archetypal Prince of whom we have spoken at length in this conference, at the end of the show and in the skin of Kugu, told the audience that there is nothing more beautiful than a gesture integrated into the magic of the world.

The art is you, let’s see below the graphic video document of how on that day in a city the inhabitants separated in front of each other and looked each other in the eyes.

Why should a person’s gaze make so much sense? What information so alien to reason does a being transmit to us through it?

“SILENCIO BLANCO” (WHITE SILENCE)

With over forty-five years of theatrical life behind him, Albert Vidal, admired and recognised both in Spain and internationally for his unique contribution to contemporary stage language, returns to Valladolid once again as part of the Festival Internacional de Teatre y Arts de Carrer.

His proposal, Silencio Blanco, surprising, unheard-of, fascinating and popular, is the result of a long gestation period, as shown by his already wide and diversified productions, which never cease to impress audiences with their profound coherence. Beyond innovation, breaking with established values and conventions, Albert Vidal rediscovers with White Silence the revolutionary spirit of the avant-garde.

His idea: a call to the people of Valladolid to participate in a very special individual and collective experience, where in a simple and stimulating way the wonderful capacity we all have to become a work of art takes effect. Under the captivating baton of the veteran artist, the formation of a procession of maximum affluence is expected to seal the nucleus of social cohesion essential to begin a journey through the streets of the old city.

This itinerary aims to comply with the precise rules of the game, as in any ritual, in this case a modern, urban and civic ritual which, as such, people should dress in the same solemn way as is imposed by sacred acts.

The first rule is silence: the courtship advances silently, because nothing is more true than what is not said, because beyond words is the world before words, a world that belongs to us and that our body can receive by placing itself at the disposal of the simple movement of walking detached from the subjective experiences of everyday life.

The second rule is that participants are invited to listen to the drums which, with their beat, sound, rhythm and beats, draw the space and time of our intimate fiction: Silencio Blanco. It is they who are nurturing the collective work of art that Albert Vidal proposes to express in the last chapter of this unpublished experience, the precursor of a new concept of art, defined by the artist himself as telluric art.

This is a concept based on the idea that the energetic sources of the earth are generators of movement and form; it is an art, then, that embraces plastic and like a magical architecture, it structures itself in a world of lines, volumes, planes and colour, the infinite manifestations of life.

At the end of the journey, the walker, awake and open to himself, absorbed in the exciting surprises that his body reveals, returns to the starting point, where Albert Vidal, master of ceremonies, and all the participants, promote the voice of el Silencio Blanco: the telluric choral singing from the remote lands of our secret garden.

Thus, from the harmonic flow of our personal and unrepeatable sound, the luminous note of collective singing responds, living from those same primordial pulsations that have fertilized the most universal territories. And liberated, magnified and happy, we experience in a sublime and timeless way the dazzling and indelible fact of creation.

Maryse Badiou

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ARTISTIC DATA SHEET

Creation and direction Albert Vidal

Text advisor Maryse Badiou

Percussion consultant Pitu Andreu

Music direction Roberto Martín Martín

Coordination of cornets and drums “La Sagrada lanzada”  de Valladolid

Photographer Leopold Samsó

Video Rebecka Biró, Leopold Samsó

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INTERVIEW

How are you feeling? How’s your body in relation to your head?

In general, I feel fine. Especially if I do not neglect physical exercise and maintain a healthy diet. The performance artist must have the physical condition of an athlete and the mind of a sage. Only in this way can he face the caverns and stratospheres of the human without succumbing to his own subjectivity. I like to think in terms of paradigms. In this aspect, I think I am a man of another age, although not of a past age but of one to come. This is what I call the Way of the Prince. It is something that separates us more and more from the high percentage of DNA that we still share with apes. In this new scale of human improvement, the head and the body form a homogeneous unity that translates into high esteem and dignity.

What is your main concern and what are your current references?

The concern which is closest to my heart is not to give in to the onslaughts of standardization, which with seductive masks, can drive the creator away from his itinerary. Each of us is a unique and unrepeatable being of divine essence and there should be no valid excuse for compromising this harmony with destiny. We must always keep our spirit alert in a state of permanent revolution. Only in this way can we radiate genuine parameters of social renewal. My most vibrant references are in the depths of my being. Maybe that’s why I’ve always been fascinated by snake lethargy.

What are some of the memories you have in your head today? How do you imagine the future?

I tend to devote myself very little to the pleasant sensation of memories, but perhaps the one I find most pleasant of all is the memory of the emptiness from which we all originate. This seduces me like a supreme elixir.

I love emptiness and silence. Perhaps this is how I imagine the future and a return to this emptiness and silence. I firmly hope that the human being will continue to ascend on his path of perfection and knowledge, once he has overcome the trance of disarray, pain and confusion that humanity is going through.

What happens inside you when you are standing in front of a work of art?

I try to recreate it in my body. To resonate the energetic DNA of its creator. To become a baroque muse, Renaissance angel, prehistoric stone or any other sublimation of the spirit, but resonating in truth is something very common that I share with others and it helps me to unravel the mysteries of existence

Which of the different artistic disciplines causes the most emotion amongst the audience and which one moves you the most?

The emotion caused by the different artistic disciplines to the public depends on the sounding board that this very public present in front of them. I think it is a difficult question to answer objectively because it will depend on education, social condition, age, the socio-political time, etc. The artist should be at the service of his work and allow his work to become a bridge that transmits truths which surpass him I am personally more seduced by the arts which do not go through the description so much and which do not hold the spirit too tightly. But I would not distinguish between means of expression but rather concomitantly or not with a universal feeling.

What is dramaturgy?

The art of putting human feelings, passions and emotions in order in an apparent consequentiality that allows us to reflect ourselves in the stories of others.

What does light mean?

Once again, for me it is the bipolar complement of darkness without which I would have no reason to exist.

How did you feel about the theatre the day you suspended the performance?

That particular day, my suspension was actually caused by a deep respect for theatre. Since I could no longer afford to deceive the viewers, I was completely misaligned and incongruent. Perhaps that abandonment was one of the purest and most honest acts I have ever committed.

What are your feelings about names like: Jefe Cochís, Caballo Loco or Toro Sentado?

hese names produce in me a certain nostalgia something that human beings have been losing throughout history and I hope that one day we will be able to recover those values. history and I hope that one day we will be able to recover those values, but transcended to a transcended to a reading level of cosmic dimension.

Are you afraid of death and of being born again?

No fear, all my life I have conducted my existence in such a way that on the day existence so that the day death embraces me I can receive it with love. To be born again is for me a longing rather than a worry, since I consider myself a good man. Y therefore I believe that my spirit will be housed in a beautiful and elevated physical and circumstantial support. Speaking of death, however, in my epitaph anyway in my epitaph I want you to pray the following: next time please the same.

Why do you look forward to the tribute??

The respect and consideration you show me before my itinerary soothes my soul.

What does Valladolid smell like?

I associate Valladolid with nobility and chivalry. It seems to me in general like a city with an elegant spirit. And I am not saying this to make myself look good. It is like that.

What things disgust you and how many of your lives would you give for something?

Above all, daring ignorance.

What is that something?

That something is my ultimate aspiration; not to lose my confidence and love for the human.

How old would you like to be and who would you choose by your side?

I think we should always celebrate the age we are. For life itself is a melting pot of presents that shines through all along the way. I would choose by my side the one who is already with me.

What is homelessness?

The homeless are dark princes of freedom.

Which music and which authors appear inside you in the solitude of the mountain?

I think that good authors and composers are the ones who have led me to appreciate the silence in the solitude of the mountain.

What things frighten you?

I hope I don’t sound haughty if I tell you that I consider myself quite alien to the sensation of fear. I try in general not to empathize with works or circumstances that encourage it, and this is a piece of advice I give to all of you.

Who are you?

You know that better than I do.

Who am I to you?

I will tell you when I have looked you in the eye.

What is your place after so many places?

I always try to make my place where I am and my reality where I live at the moment. But we already know that that is not so easy, maybe that is why there is change, yearning and imbalance, perhaps that is why every morning dawns in us the sensation of continuing to exist in a mutant reality that will find the supreme peace and serenity with the omnipotent abandonment of death.

Javier Martínez

Director of the International Festival of Theater and Street Arts of Valladolid.

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PRESS

A “telluric event” co-produced by the Festival that had its absolute premiere yesterday. A “secular procession”… Almost 200 people, under the watchful eye of Vidal, walked through streets shaken by the pounding of drums…

The citizen turned into a participant and, at the same time, into the very object of the artwork “El Silencio Blanco” (“The White Silence”). A silence broken by the beats of the drum and with the light yet audible pulse of a march that would stop to invite contemplation of the street, the other, and oneself. A silence finally broken by a choral “song” in the museum’s cloister.

DIARIO DE VALLADOLID. J.T /Valladolid. 27.05.2012

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“When you trust in humanity, everything flows.” Albert Vidal expressed this after the final apotheosis in the form of a vocal cathartic act of collective liberation orchestrated by an impressive drumline that put the final touch on “Silencio Blanco.”

“Face to face, between birth and death, aware of being present in this world,” said Vidal, giving instructions to the improvised performers.

EL NORTE DE CASTILLA. Virginia T.Fernández.16.03.2012

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With forty-five years of theatrical experience, admired and recognized both in Spain and internationally for his unique contribution to contemporary stagecraft, Albert Vidal returns once again to Valladolid as part of the International Festival of Theatre and Street Arts. His latest proposal, “El Silencio Blanco,” surprising, unheard-of, fascinating, and popular, is the result of a long gestation process, as evidenced by his already extensive and diverse productions that continue to impress with their deep coherence.

Beyond innovation, breaking with established values and conventions, Albert Vidal rediscovers with “El Silencio Blanco” the revolutionary spirit of the avant-garde. His idea: a call to the people of Valladolid to participate in a very unique individual and collective experience, where, in a simple and stimulating way, the wonderful ability we all have to become a work of art becomes a reality.

EL COMEDIANTE. Programa del Festival de Teatro. Valladolid. 27.05.2012

(Translated by GPT chat)