For millennia, societies have awaited a messiah, a unique saviour sent from the divine realms to free humanity from some internal or external evil. Some claim to have found him, others deny his existence, while many continue to wait. But regardless of who’s right, what’s clear is that in the face of a threat of enormous proportions, there is no known prophet who can offer a feasible salvation. But what on earth does the sardana have to do with all of this? Is there a prophecy about this ancient dance? Come and find out for yourself.

You will discover a creation conceived, composed, written, and directed by the versatile Arnau Tordera, a musician trained at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya and the Taller de Músics in Barcelona, who also holds a degree in philosophy. You may have heard him as a singer and guitarist with Obeses (another band member, by the way, is behind the translation for the staging of The Tempest at Teatre La Biblioteca during this year’s Grec Festival), and perhaps you’ve attended one of his distinctive concerts, such as a symphonic performance with the Banda Municipal de Barcelona and choir, or one featuring a cobla and mixed choir. He is also the creator of the rock opera Verdaguer, ombres i maduixes [Verdaguer, Shadows and Strawberries] and has taken the Raval district to the Gran Teatre del Liceu with his opera La gata perduda [The Lost Cat], composed as part of a community project. Arnau Tordera and his fellow Obeses bandmates performed at the Plaça de Margarida Xirgu during Grec 2015, alongside Oques Grasses and the Banda Municipal de Barcelona.

Friday, 4 July, after performances, talk "La sardana pot salvar el món?" ("Could the sardana save the world?")

With: Arnau Tordera I,  Anna Costal (musicologist) and the company.

A production by Arnau Tordera, Fira Mediterrànea de Manresa, and Teatre Kursaal de Manresa.

With the support of the ICEC - Catalan Institute of Cultural Companies (Department of Culture of the Government of Catalonia); Barcelona City Council; and INAEM - National Institute for the Performing Arts and Music (Spanish Ministry of Culture).

With funding from the European Union Next Generation Funds; the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (Government of Spain); and Next Generation Catalonia (Government of Catalonia).