CaixaForum Madrid celebrates summer with themed nights of magic, swing, circus and dance
Concerts, performing arts and workshops will fill all the spaces at CaixaForum Madrid on Thursday 26 June and 3, 10 and 17 July from 7.30 pm. The programme includes dynamic, accessible and participatory cultural activities, such as the inclusive show by the Psico Ballet Maite León Foundation, a workshop by the dancer Leonor Leal, music by Omar Sosa & Gustavo Ovalles, swing by Enric Peidró, juggling by the Gandini Juggling company and aerial acrobatics by La Gata Japonesa, among other offerings.
- 26 June: Night of Magic and Objects, the art of creating illusions
- 3 July: Swing Night to travel to Harlem and dance
- 10 July: Circus night and games with lots of fantasy
- 17 July: Night of dance and rhythm with body percussion
- A multidisciplinary programme for all audiences
CaixaForum Madrid's Summer Nights are an opportunity to enjoy the most diverse culture in a wide variety of formats, such as workshops, shows, performing arts and concerts.
This unique and innovative programme in the city, which will take place in different spaces at CaixaForum Madrid, complements the centre's exhibition programme, featuring Los mundos de Alicia (Alice's Worlds) and Voces del Pacífico (Voices of the Pacific), on display until 3 August and 14 September, respectively. Both exhibitions will also offer a mediation service provided by a team of educators.
In the case of Voices of the Pacific, the exhibition can be visited during these Summer Nights in a special way through the proposal ‘Sound Chromaticism. Music for an exhibition’, a new way of exploring it with headphones to listen to a suggestive musical selection prepared for the occasion. Participants, in relation to different elements of nature, will be able to choose their preferred sound chromaticism: Water, for a more introspective playlist; Fire, for a more energetic one; or Earth, with a more exploratory spirit. The initiative, in the style of a silent disco, will connect all visitors as they discover the exhibition to shared rhythms, while transforming the personal experience of the visit.
During the four Summer Nights scheduled, CaixaForum Madrid will remain open until midnight, including its shop and café, which will offer a special menu for these nights.
26 June: Night of Magic and Objects, the art of creating illusions
The premiere of CaixaForum Madrid's Summer Nights will be on Thursday 26 June with the ‘Night of Magic and Objects’, an evening aimed at families, where magic will combine with object theatre and the play of light and shadow on different stages where anything is possible. To get closer to this universe, attendees will be able to see the show Heka, by the prestigious international company Gandini Juggling, in the cultural centre's auditorium. Inspired by the complex connection between juggling and magic, Heka (the Egyptian goddess of magic) invites spectators on a journey in which objects appear and disappear, levitate and transform before their eyes, a fascinating world where reality merges with illusion, presented for the first time in Spain.
To enjoy magic up close, illusionists Paco Agrado and Dania Díaz will surprise the audience with tricks performed just a few centimetres from their eyes using cards, coins and everyday objects that defy logic to create an experience of wonder and complicity.
For her part, with the participatory show Magia... INÉSplicable, illusionist Inés la Maga will show off her most entertaining tricks. Her magic is characterised by elegance, clarity and the apparent simplicity of her tricks, which are full of humour and interaction with the audience.
Another of the performances planned for that night is the family show Normalmente o viceversa (Normally or Vice Versa) by the Tercio Incluso company. This show immerses us in the inexhaustible world of the memory of objects and features touches of clean, absurd humour based on everyday situations with which every member of the audience can identify and laugh at both the characters and themselves.
The centre will also host the family workshop La magia del theremin (The Magic of the Theremin), where, with no prior musical knowledge, just curiosity and a desire to experiment, participants will be able to discover what the theremin is, a mysterious instrument that is played in the air, without contact. They will delve into its history, from its origins in the twenties of the last century to its use in science fiction films, and will be able to generate sounds to see how electricity is converted into music.
Music is also a magical vehicle that can transport visitors to incredible places. This will be the mission of The Jazz on Five: their repertoire, with its enveloping magic, intimacy and surprises, takes you to the most expressive corners of jazz with performances that invite you to let yourself go.
To complete the musical offering on this magical night, there will be a micro-concert by Óleo, a dynamic and versatile trio formed by Andrea Pleite, Juan Pablo Áñez and J. Richi. Their sound fuses energy and musical quality in versions that span genres such as jazz, pop, flamenco, soul and rock, and a repertoire that includes songs by artists such as James Brown, Rosalía, Alicia Keys, Amy Winehouse, Camarón and La Oreja de Van Gogh. This is a local act selected in the latest edition of CaixaForum Madrid's Microconciertos.
3 July: Swing Night to travel to Harlem and dance
On Thursday 3 July, we will travel to 1930s Harlem from CaixaForum Madrid. On Swing Night, which returns after last year's great reception, the audience will have the opportunity to dance, listen and reconnect with the joyful spirit that lit up the streets and the best dance clubs of those wonderful years through the power of swing songs and melodies performed by Enric Peidró Swingtet. Recognised as one of the most interesting saxophonists on the current scene, Peidró expresses himself in a style strongly influenced by the language of the great specialists of the swing era, such as Leon ‘Chu’ Berry and Coleman Hawkins.
The cultural centre will thus become the epicentre of swing, featuring local artists offering activities related to this fascinating world, such as solo jazz and tap dance workshops, where participants will learn to dance like the authentic dancers of yesteryear.
In addition to learning to dance, lovers of this musical style will be able to get in touch with the world of swing with a vintage fashion show and a workshop on how to fold (and wear) the handkerchiefs and ties that are part of this outfit. They will also have the opportunity to learn to play the washboard, an unusual percussion instrument that was used to accompany street bands in New Orleans.
10 July: Circus night and games with lots of fantasy
Summer Nights continue on Thursday 10 July with 'Circus Night and Games', an art form that brings together action, freedom, poetry, balance, prose, fragility, dreams and cooperation. CaixaForum Madrid will offer a shared, diverse and exciting experience with shows, concerts and workshops where you can put your balance, coordination, dexterity, flexibility and aim to the test. This evening is aimed at families.
In this context, Los viajes de Bowa (Bowa's Journeys), by the company La Gata Japonesa, is one of the most poetic and daring circus performances on the programme. The show, which combines different artistic disciplines, tells the story of Bowa, a nomad with no roots or dreams who, upon finding a mysterious bottle on the seashore, embarks on an obsessive quest.
This show will be joined by Concorda, a Portuguese duo presenting their show for the first time in Spain. It is a commitment to contemporary circus that takes the audience on a journey through movement and rope manipulation, using this element as a symbol of connection, bond and union; and Una maraña de hilos (A tangle of threads), a poetic and visual travelling show by the clown Pau Palaus, where humour becomes the best tool for untangling internal knots.
Another activity for this circus night is Città infinita, a participatory, playful and sustainable performance in which families can build an ideal city using reused industrial materials, mainly wood.
To liven up the evening, the centre will offer itinerant music with Barba Dixie Band and their elegant, emotional and entertaining traditional jazz, performed by a cast of great professionals from the national jazz scene. They distil old melodies, moving ballads and frenetic adrenaline rushes in a playful and intimate setting.
The music continues with a micro-concert by Ian Paris and Sheila Paz ft. Arreza, a trio of versatile and accomplished artists who fuse talent, sensitivity and a strong stage presence. Their intimate performance, which combines original songs and covers, takes the audience on a journey through memories, love and Andalusian and Caribbean roots.
And members of the public who want to experience the world of the circus first-hand can try out open workshops in different circus disciplines, run by the contemporary circus company Noletia, which will take place outside and in the foyer of the cultural centre.
17 July: Night of dance and rhythm with body percussion
The themed nights at CaixaForum Madrid will close on Thursday 17 July with 'Night of dance and rhythm', the artistic discipline that brings body and soul into dialogue.
On this night, the Fundación Psico Ballet Maite León, dedicated to the comprehensive stage training of people with physical, intellectual or developmental disabilities, presents 1+1=3, a choreographic encounter that celebrates the symbiosis between two people and the strength that arises from their differences, performed by Ana Mencía and Adrián Sáez.
Music will also be present at the centre on this last summer evening. On the one hand, Omar Sosa, a Cuban composer, percussionist, producer and jazz pianist, and one of the most versatile artists on the current scene, will present his fusion of world music and elements of contemporary electronic music. He will be joined on stage by Gustavo Ovalles, a virtuoso percussionist on hollow bamboo and maracas.
The centre will also host a micro-concert by Ankaa Flamenco Jazz, a duo formed by Dani Hernández (flamenco guitar) and Sergio Rodríguez (flute and saxophone), with performances ranging from the flamenco roots of Paco de Lucía and Tomatito to the great jazz classics of Chick Corea and Miles Davis, as well as works by Albéniz and Falla, as well as their own compositions and versions of universal popular songs.
Those who come to the cultural centre that night will also be able to feel the rhythm of the music in their bodies with the workshop ‘Manual de flamenco’ (Flamenco Manual), led by the dancer Leonor Leal and the percussionist Antonio Moreno, who will offer a first contact with this musical imaginary through collective participation.
Continuing with the music, this night of rhythm also features the street show Topa Nou Street Show, a co-production by Kukai Dantza and Brodas Bros in which four young people meet in a random square and start dancing to the music. Some follow traditional Basque music and others do hip hop, but they all use the street as their living space.
Para finalizar, el centro cultural también presenta el taller de percusión corporal de Enric Pizà, que pretende desarrollar la coordinación, la capacidad de concentración y la creatividad a partir del reconocimiento de nuestro cuerpo como instrumento.
Finally, the cultural centre is also presenting Enric Pizà's body percussion workshop, which aims to develop coordination, concentration and creativity through the recognition of our bodies as instruments.
A multidisciplinary programme for all audiences
The ‘la Caixa’ Foundation has programmed this multidisciplinary initiative, which includes themed nights in June and July and will be held throughout the CaixaForum network of centres in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Valencia, Zaragoza, Palma, Girona, Tarragona and Lleida.
This edition of Summer Nights will feature more than 80 national and international companies, which will put on some 170 activities throughout the country, thrilling everyone in attendance.
Micro-concerts will also form part of the network's Summer Nights. These are short concerts by artists selected in the latest Micro-concerts competition, an initiative that this year received 1,587 proposals and aims to bring local talent to the public in each city.
For its part, the CosmoCaixa Science Museum will host four CosmoNits this year, which will bring adults and families closer to the mathematics of infinity through workshops, shows, film screenings and themed visits.
This initiative reinforces the ‘la Caixa’ Foundation's commitment to revitalising the cultural sector and encouraging the participation of all audiences by promoting meaningful and transformative experiences.