Javier Ferrer, contemporary dance dancer, was born 41 years ago in Lanzarote and spent his childhood in Caleta de Famara. Although at first dancing was not something that caught his attention, he soon began to become interested in it. So much so that it has become his way of life and a part of his being.
"I saw it as something distant because I come from a humble family and it was not in my thoughts to leave Lanzarote, but once I observed some classical dance classes that were being taught at Pancho Lasso where I studied and as I saw how well they were having and the good vibes there were, the teacher invited me to a class and I started to like it," says Ferrer. The stories of this teacher's professional career captivated the dancer as if they were talking about "the tour of a rock star."
There, he realized what he really wanted to do. "At the same time that I was taking classes, I saw that my body was adapting to this new technique, rhythms and forms, I felt comfortable even though I had no idea what I was doing," he recalls. For the Lanzarote native, going to dance classes was his favorite pastime. Seeing this passion, his teacher pushed him to go to Madrid and there he studied at a dance school.
Starting with classical dance and then moving on to contemporary dance helped the dancer a lot, as it gave him a firm foundation and a very strong technique. "Dance is a technique that has to be practiced and is perfected through practice but when I was at the Real Conservatorio Profesional de Danza where I had contemporary dance classes with a teacher, my body exploded in all possible directions, there I realized that that was what I really wanted to do," he declares.
From there, he gradually climbed, performing choreographies and worked with a company, which led him to have to leave the conservatory due to lack of time. Contemporary dance has led him to live and travel to different parts of Spain and the world, such as Tenerife, Barcelona, Paris, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico and Berlin where he spent eight years. However, his connection with Lanzarote and the islands has made him want to return to settle here again and "contribute his grain of sand" to the artistic scene.
Dance, an extension of his body
For Javier Ferrer dance is more than just the movement of the body because, as he says, "it is a part of his being." "It is a part of me and my profession that I love and hate so much sometimes at the same time but, above all, it is part of my person because dancers dedicate so much time and pamper our profession so much that it becomes part of our person," he expresses.
"You never finish working, your work accompanies you home and you keep stretching and taking care of your body, and for a long time you are not aware of it because it is your work tool and any injury or any bad movement becomes like a nightmare," he says. In this sense, he states that today, "Javier Ferrer is like this thanks to being a dancer for so many years."
Lanzarote is a good art processor
Contemporary dance can be complex for an audience that may be more accustomed to other types of more commercial dance such as urban dance. However, contemporary dance, as Javier Ferrer explains, "is not to be understood, but to be felt and to fill your eye." "I compare it a lot with painting because a classical painting or a classical dance comes all in a spoon, you understand very well the technique used, but with contemporary dance it leads you to ask yourself what is this but there is a technique behind it, although it is much more abstract and gives rise to the interpretation of each one," he declares.
As for inspiration, for the dancer "Lanzarote is a good art processor that educates your eye in some way because there is beauty wherever you look." For example, in "the visual poetry that exists in the brutality of the volcanic badlands or in the waves that break against the stone, but also in the sunsets, in the wind or in our white houses," he details. The island becomes an engine to help inspiration and creativity flourish.
On the other hand, when it comes to getting inspired to compose, Ferrer does it through more wild and punkis things. In addition, he emphasizes that he is "a very political person", so he likes to "criticize the political situation in which we find ourselves."
MóVéré, a proposal with which the public interacts
This performative installation proposal is already available at El Almacén until April 26 and is a movement laboratory with open doors. During the hours that Javier Ferrer is in this space, he is creating and experimenting with new techniques and new languages but not randomly.
However, this changes if the visitor wants to and intervenes. During this session, the dancer is active to a greater or lesser extent. "I wait for the visitor to propose movements, directions or a scene, which has happened to me because they have asked me to reinterpret in the form of dance the feelings of something very personal that has happened to them in their day to day," he explains.
In this way, the public ends up being part of this performance and makes anyone can become choreographers or movement directors. But visitors do not have to interact, but can simply observe the show and enjoy it for as long as they want.
