LaCerda is a contemporary dance company that emerged with the intention of exploring the concept of ritual and the mysteries it entails on stage. Through dance, LaCerda works on creating poetic universes related to the unknown and the unfamiliar. It works from experience, sensation, and visceral energy with the aim of reaching the primary nature of Dance, which precedes both word and concept. Founded in 2013 in the city of Barcelona by María Carbonell and Edward Tamayo Ruiz. Since 2019, the artistic direction of the company has been in the hands of three Latin American artists: Edward Tamayo Ruiz, Johann Pérez Viera, and Valentina Azzati. Since 2021, the dancer and choreographer Aina Lanas has joined the team as a performer, and Júlia Vernet has taken on the role of production and conceptualization.
LaCerda has presented its works at various festivals and fairs across Europe and Latin America, including the Festival Internacional de Danza en la Ciudad de Bogotá (Colombia), Minifest in Bariloche (Argentina), Feria de Huesca, Certamen Coreográfico de Madrid, International Festival of Pula (Croatia), International Performance Festival of Mainz (Germany), Trópico Infierno Festival in Bogotá (Colombia), and Essencia Festival at Cuarta Pared Madrid, among others.
LaCerda has also organized workshops in Barcelona since 2017 with teachers who have inspired them and serve as references for their research, fostering multicultural environments for the practice of contemporary dance, creation, and physical training. To date, they have invited teachers such as David Zambrano, Edivaldo Ernesto, Horacio Macuacua, Sita Ostheimer, and Julyen Hamilton. They also developed their own workshop format, FULLDANCE Improvisation Workshop, based on the company, creative tools, which was taught from 2018 to 2021.
LaCerda has managed to carve out a place within the contemporary dance scene in Barcelona through entirely self-managed and independent work. The company is characterized by a strong aesthetic imprint linked to the nature of ritual dances and the poetic dimension of dance.
LaCerda premiered Dolorosa de los Llanos at Sala Hiroshima, one of nine co- productions of the 2021 Quinzena de Dansa Metropolitana in Barcelona. This piece was presented at the Endoa Festival in Benimaclet (Valencia) and the International Festival of Pula (Croatia) in the summer of 2021. From this performance came Dos Solos Juntos: Dolorosa & Flornecia, a retrospective diptych of the company focusing on two characters from their artistic universe, premiered at Sala Versus Glòries in Barcelona in April 2023, which also traveled to Croatia. The solo Flornecia has also been presented in various contexts, such as the fifth anniversary of the Tictac Arts Center in Brussels.
After passing through the BDC Spring 2024 with a 30-minute version, LaCerda premiered the full version of El Baile de la Zurda at SAT! Sant Andreu Teatre in April 2024. It is a piece centered on dancing in Latin American culture, which won the ACT Festival award to be presented in Korea and is included in the DanzaEscena 2024 Recommended Shows Catalogue. The short street version has been part of the Acieloabierto 2023 circuit, Tardor en Dansa 2024, DanzaEscena Catalogue 2025, and has been performed over twenty times at festivals such as MásDanza, Trayectos, Danseu, Deltebre, and market events like Especial Dansa, Espai de Carrer, and the Feria de Huesca. It has been part of the Dansa Metropolitana and Dansa València 2025 program.
Edward Tamayo, Bogotá 1986
Founder, Artistic Director, and Performer
Born in Mesitas del Colegio (Colombia), Edward is the co-director and founder of the dance company LaCerda, based in Barcelona. With this company, he has directed, performed, and created pieces such as Tango, Un Solo Ciego, Warm Up, Paiopony, and Flornecia, which have been showcased in various venues, including the International Performance Festival PAD in Mainz (Germany), the PUF Festival in Pula (Croatia), and the Madrid Choreographic Competition (Spain). Recently, the solo Flornecia was performed at the 5th Anniversary of the TIC TAC Art Centre in Brussels (2023) and at the Trópico Infierno festival in Bogotá (2024). Recently, he directed LaCerda’s latest creation: El Baile de la Zurda, a tribute to dance and the Latin American roots of the company’s directors, which has been presented in both theater and street versions over thirty times.
He has experience as a teacher of the Flying Low and Passing Through techniques, but has recently developed and teaches his own choreographic system called “Mantra.” This choreographic composition approach focuses on the relationship between bodies, space, the group, and musicality. It is based on short sequences involving the feet and pelvis, with an exhaustive use of rhythm and repetition in a loop (the Mantra). The performance El Baile de la Zurda uses Mantras as its choreographic foundation.
He has taught at schools in Barcelona such as the Institut del Teatre, AREA, IAB, and La Caldera, as well as in other cities across Spain. He has also taught multiple times in Colombia at venues such as La Casona de la Danza, CENDA, Trópico Infierno, among others. He will be sharing the Mantra system in October 2024 at the TIC TAC Art Centre in Brussels.
Johann Pérez Viera, Caracas 1984
Artistic Director and Performer
A dancer and audiovisual creator of Venezuelan origin, Johann has been based in Barcelona for over 15 years. He begins both of his careers in Caracas, Venezuela, and in 2009 he emigrates to Barcelona, where he trains in documentary film at ESCAC and in dance and choreography with various teachers from across Europe. He continues to study with choreographers, dancers, and pedagogues such as Julyen Hamilton, David Zambrano, Sita Ostheimer, Cecília Colacrai, Horacio Macuacua, Antón Lachky, Peter Jazco, Thomas Hauert, among many others.
Since 2016, he has been part of the creative team of the company LaCerda, whose pieces have been showcased at various festivals across Europe and Latin America, including the Quinzena Metropolitana de Barcelona with the piece Dolorosa de los Llanos, his second work as a dancer and choreographer, and the Dance Festival in the City of 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 touring with the street version.
Obsequio is his first solo proposal, which already won a development award at the Madrid Choreographic Competition through its support program Me Myself and I 2022.
He has also developed his pedagogical work as a collaborative choreographer for the Sudansa project, which works on creating choreographic projects in schools in the metropolitan area of Barcelona and presents its works annually at the MAC hall of the Mercat de les Flors.
Additionally, he has extensive experience in video production, with which he has had the opportunity to work on numerous projects and companies in the local scene of Barcelona and Madrid.
Valentina Azzati, Buenos Aires 1992
Artistic Director and Performer
Dancer and art director. She trains between Argentina and Europe. Alongside her dance studies, she delves into lighting and costume design, combining it with her choreographic work, both in live performance and audiovisual contexts.
Cofounder and co-artistic director of Si Los Martes Fueran Viernes (SLMFV), a house of scenic improvisation that produces pieces of real-time composition since 2018 in Barcelona. She has produced over 30 pieces, collaborating with more than 180 artists, including a coproduction with the Mercat de les Flors supported by the Generalitat de Catalunya. They received a special mention at the 2023 Catalan Critics Awards for their festival Enemigos Íntimos.
Since 2019, she has co-directed the company LaCerda alongside Edward Tamayo Ruiz and Johann Pérez Viera, three Latin American and Euro-resident artists exploring choreographic rituals and folk culture from their homelands. In 2021, she served as the general director of a medium-format piece titled Dolorosa de los Llanos, coproduced by Sala Hiroshima and the Quinzena Metropolitana de la Danza Festival in Barcelona. She participates as a dancer and assistant director in the theater version of LaCerda's latest piece: El Baile de la Zurda, which premiered at SAT! in April 2024 and continues on tour in the street version.
She has designed the lighting for Gastón Core's latest piece and regularly works as a stage manager for his national and international tours. She also performs and serves as the technical director for the company LosInformalls since 2019, created and directed by Luis García and Pere Joseph Vilaplana.
She regularly works as a stylist and art director for the audiovisual production company Restarts Studio and as the image director for the brand Aurea Fibras Nativas.
PHOTOGRAPHIC CREDITS:
Marta Arjona @marjonablasco
Marta Aschenbecher @marta_aschenbecher
Marta Vilardell @marta_vilardell
Magui Pichinini @maguipichinini
