national theatre of catalonia

Cesc Gelabert, a dancer and choreographer from Barcelona, premieres Foot-Ball on 22 January at the National Theatre of Catalonia. This show features seven dancers including Gelabert who express the way FC Barcelona play on stage. Foot-ball features costume by Lydia Azzopardi and audiovisual creations by Jordi Morató. The choreography will be a dialogue with these audiovisuals that will show the best moments from the Barça of Frank Rijkaard, Pep Guardiola and Tito Vilanova. Gelabert wants to honour his club with this performance. “Barça's football is particularly aesthetic and choreographic because it is based on combinations and not on force”, he said. 

Emin Capital will buy Barcelona’s Torre Agbar, designed by Jean Nouvel, for €150 million. North-American Hyatt will invest a further €35 million to transform the 145-metre-tall building into one of its grand luxe hotels. Grand Hyatt hotels – the US company’s luxury brand – tend to occupy iconic buildings in the world’s main business cities. The Agbar Tower has become one of the most emblematic buildings of the Catalan capital, with its blue and red lightening and bullet shape imitating a flame. Nouvel’s tower was unveiled in 2005 to host the main headquarters of the water distribution multinational Agbar. The Catalan multinational, which owns the 50,000-square-metre tower, will now look for another building in Barcelona to place the 700 people working in its central offices.

Despite having a balanced budget in 2012, the National Theatre of Catalonia has decided to close the most alternative auditorium of the three it has since it will have smaller funds in 2013. The theatre expects a reduction in the occupancy rate due to the economic recession and therefore selling fewer tickets, resulting in a 28% reduction in its own resources. The institution has readjusted the 2012/2013 season by cancelling the spectacle ‘Panorama’ by Philippe Decouflé and by eliminating 70 performances of other plays in the other theatre rooms.

'Come & See', or the International Stage Arts Market, is a showcase of Catalan theatre and dance for professionals of the international theatre scene. Some of the most internationally recognised Catalan performers participate.