F
rom a young age it was clear that Mar Aguiló was born to dance. For the young girl growing up in Mallorca, dance was a way to push away from her naturally shy personality and express herself. From the age of three she was in dancing shoes. She trained in the studio of Maria Antonia Mas, in Palma, and then went on to the Ecole Atelier Rudra Bejart academy in Lausanne Switzerland, where she studied under the well-known choreographer Maurice Béjart. She was one of 10 dancers selected from over 500 applicants. After her training she became part of the junior company of the Spanish National Dance Company, in Madrid, and after a few years was dancing for the main company, where she stayed for fourteen years. A strong connection to Mallorca always stayed with Aguiló throughout her career, as she expanded her talents into choreography as well.
Aguiló decided to return to Mallorca a few years ago, in part to see if she could contribute something more to the island’s dance community, whether through creating new opportunities or growing the support and resources to young dancers and dance companies. One of these objectives includes her role as artistic director for Palma Dansa, an annual dance festival organized by Palma’s City Hall, and the only festival in the Balearics dedicated exclusively to contemporary dance and choreography. This will be her second season overseeing the festival, which begins this year on April 26 and runs through May 4th. Because it is the only dance festival of its size in the Balearics, there is a lot of responsibility and many objectives. Aguiló wants to be sure that all facets of dance and choreography are included, and that in addition to spotlighting talent from the island, that companies from abroad are invited, bringing an opportunity for people to see new projects, create new collaborations and new connections. “I want the festival to be vanguard,” Aguiló notes. “It is important to attract a wide audience and create a dialogue between different artists and performers.”
