Five companies that have passed through the Festival Z and are doing very well
18.06.25
As you probably already know, Festival Z does not only want to be a space for the exhibition of shows by companies and artists under thirty years old, but also a springboard that allows projects that pass through our house to take a leap and have a long life. Today we present five companies and artists who have gone through some of the editions of Festival Z and who are doing great!
MARIONA JAUME AND MAYA TRIAY
These two Mallorcan dancers are already part of the Festival Z family. In 2023, they presented a project in the creation phase. This first show, they explain, was «a great opportunity to meet other artists and cultural agents», which helped them to move the proposal forward to the point of being able to present the finished show, a year later, at the festival, under the title S’albufera. «It was very exciting to return to the festival with the finished work, after having presented the germ the previous year», they say.
What they like most about Festival Z? The atmosphere, the good vibes and the activities, which make «people get to know each other in a genuine and fun way». A spirit that, they say, they try to take with them when they go to other venues or festivals.
As a result of its passage through the Z, S’albufera has been programmed in various festivals and fairs, and soon we will be able to see it in FiraTàrrega, Dans’illot, Menorca en Dansa, FIET or the Festival Perifèria Cultural, among others. In addition, Mariona and Maya have also premiered El verd també era, and they are already embarking on a new creation, NUS, which will be premiered in 2026. We can’t wait to see it!
CIA. JORDI FONT
Lately, Jordi Font and Nina Solà Carbonell, with their different hats (either Cia. Jordi Font or the company Mambo Project), do not stop. A couple of years ago they created a new space for creation and artistic residencies in Ribes de Freser, La Cremallera, and this year they have still had time to be part of the program of the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya, with the show Iaia, by Mambo Project.
Although, at Festival Z, they came in 2023, with a performance of Ells i jo, o aquella sensació que els arbres et miren. They explain that doing so was «a great showcase» that allowed them to make the play known and tour several venues in Catalonia and Spain: they have been in Inca, Banyoles, Viladecans, Utebo, Santa Perpètua, Madrid, the FETEN Festival… It’s easy to say!
In addition, Jordi and Nina visit the festival whenever they can as an audience, even if they are not part of the programme. «We met wonderful people with whom we have been meeting again and with whom we share views and synergies», some of them, they say, have already passed through their space, La Cremallera, to do residencies!
In September they will premiere Jovent, with Mambo Project, «a loudspeaker for testimonies of young people between the ages of fifteen and eighteen who reflect on the future».
COL·LECTIU DESASOSIEGO
Few companies have been so many times in Festival Z as Col·lectiu Desasosiego, formed by Camille Latron, Àlex Solsona, Carla Coll and Pau Caselles. And few, like them, can say that they were part of the 0 edition of the Festival, when we were still in beta phase, in 2020. Then, they presented a first sample of Un segundo bajo la arena, the show that they would bring back to the festival a year later, in an almost finished format, and that later would make them win the Moritz Award of FiraTàrrega, the Novaveu Critics Award, the Audience Award of Alcarràs, and thousands of applauses in more than 100 performances all over the state. What is called a success with audiences!
In 2023 they returned to Festival Z to present a new project, then in pre-production, Breu visita a la gola del llop, which they premiered this year at the El Maldà theater in Barcelona, and which will now begin touring. In addition, they are also touring a street installation, Com qui sent ploure.
Desasosiego try to come to the festival every year, whether they are programmed or not, as they always find attractive proposals and it helps them to «make connections with facilities and other companies», which they consider essential. «The company would not be what it is without their participation in Festival Z», they say, and surely Festival Z would not be the same without them!
LA DONA CALBA
A young, self-described troupe that makes adult puppetry about a grandmother who remembers her past through objects? Although La Dona Calba admit that it is difficult, it is possible! They have proved it with the show Caterina, which could be seen last year at Festival Z.
Despite the difficulties of distributing a show of these characteristics, the Calbes collected a few gigs from their performance in Girona. And they left their mark: «from time to time, there is still someone who tells us: ”I saw you at the Z and you made me fall in love with you”», they say. In addition, through the festival, they traveled to Pamplona, to the Latxa Meetings, as representatives of the Festival. Better represented, impossible!
Beyond the gigs, the festival helped them to meet companies and artists in the same situation as them, as well as programmers and professionals from whom they have received support. Some of them, they recognize, have turned out to be «referents», and they invite them to the shows and performances they do.
While they work to consolidate the structure of the company (something very important, and little is said about it), they continue to move Caterina, which will tour Argentina for a month, and they are preparing their second piece, Entresòl 1a, about the housing problem. Follow them closely!
ELAINE GRAYLING
Anyone who knows Elaine knows that the energy of closeness and familiarity of her shows extends to all aspects of her life and persona. That’s why she feels «at home» in the Festival Z networking environment. She retains a human bond with each of the people she has met, and believes that it is precisely «this tissue of complicity and mutual support» that is the most valuable thing about the festival.
In 2023 we had her at the festival with Man mano, il tempo scorre, a solo that invites us to reflect on family memory by cooking (and eating) gnocchi according to the traditional Neapolitan recipe of Elaine’s family. After its passage through the festival, the show has filled the bellies and hearts of audiences at Fira Mediterrània, El Maldà, the Límbic Festival, the Escena Poblenou Festival or the Casa Encendida in Madrid, and has received a nomination for the Revelation Award at the Premis de la Crítica 2024.
Looking forward to new projects, Elaine is in no hurry, and wants to continue investigating following the premise of the title of her show, Man mano, which literally means «little by little».
In addition to her personal project, Elaine is part of L’Última Merda Col·lectiu, which agitates and activates cultural spaces of all kinds, such as Festival Z, where they have participated in three editions, in the last of which they were in charge of the opening show. Being part of L’Ultima Merda has made her return on many occasions to the festival, and this makes her feel that she is still part of this ever-growing family. «The link with the Z is still alive, even if it’s from another place», she says, and we love it!
