Birmingham Dance Hub Commissions Pons Guerra's Madame Butterfly

Birmingham Dance Hub has announced its recent round of artist commissions, which includes Carlos Pons Guerra’s Mariposa: a Transgender Tragedy Inspired by Puccini’s Madame Butterfly, which he will create for DeNada Dance Theatre.

Set in post-revolution Cuba, this new full length ballet will transport Puccini’s orientalist libretto to a distant Caribbean port, where a young rent boy sacrifices his gender in hopes that a Spanish sailor will offer him a better life out of the island. Highly dramatic, poignant and tainted with that dark comedy, the work will be a tragedy about the sacrifices we are ready to do to be accepted.

Carlos will work with composer Luis Miguel Cobo to create an original score which will take inspiration from Puccini’s music but will also be highly influenced by the sounds of the Caribbean, and with writer Karthika Nair to develop a new libretto. Costume and set design will be by long-standing collaborator Ryan Dawson Laight, and lighting will be by Barnaby Booth.

Mariposa, which has also been commissioned by Spin Arts and will be produced with support from DanceXchange, Birmingham, will premiere in Birmingham in March 2020 before embarking on a national UK tour.

Please visit www.denada-dance.com for more information.