The Bull and the Moon: National Tour Announced

Following a successful outdoor tour across the UK and Spain, choreographer Carlos Pons Guerra and his DeNada Dance Theatre bring its family friendly production, The Bull and the Moon, to theatres across the UK. This endearing story told through contemporary dance, flamenco and theatre breaks gender stereotypes while celebrating and supporting young people who identify as trans or non-binary.

Premiered in Bradford in July 2021, The Bull and the Moon will tour through spring and summer 2023, with autumn dates to be announced soon.

The Bull and the Moon tells the story of Lolo, a little Spanish bull that doesn’t feel like the other bulls in the farm. He doesn’t like playing rough with other bulls and he is scared of the big loud bullfights. Instead, every night he secretly watches the dazzling Moon, who teaches him how to dance, and soon Lolo realizes that deep inside, he dreams of being Lola: a famous flamenco dancing cow!

Choreographed in collaboration with flamenco artist Ana García, this joyous, comical, and dynamic flamenco dance theatre production celebrates anyone who dances to their own tune. The work, which is Inspired by traditional Spanish song, La Luna y el Toro (The Bull and the Moon), as well as Munro Leaf’s 1936 iconic children’s book, The Story of Ferdinand, invites children 3+ and their adults to reflect on and celebrate gender diversity and inclusion.

The production is set to a delectable salsa of Spanish and Latinx music, including traditional flamenco, songs by Spanish diva Lola Flores, pasodobles, mambo, mariachi and tango, constituting a true Hispanic cultural offering for all audiences. Ryan Laight (who recently designed Blak Whyte Gray for the Olivier award-winning Boy Blue Entertainment) has created costumes and set, which are inspired by traditional flamenco outfits and 1930’s Spanish fairgrounds. Lighting design will be by Barnaby Booth, with dramaturgical advice by Sue Buckmaster, artistic director of Theatre-Rites.

Partially created during lockdown, the work is a response to the particularly difficult situation experienced by many young trans people during the pandemic, when isolation, school and support group closures, as well as intolerant homes made realizing nonnormative identities very difficult. Throughout the process and its outdoor tour, Pons Guerra and the company worked closely with international charities that support families with young trans people to ensure honest representation.

Nicknamed “the Pedro Almodóvar of dance” by the BBC, Carlos Pons Guerra is one of the UK’s leading emerging queer voices in contemporary ballet. Hailing from Gran Canaria, since founding his company, DeNada Dance Theatre, in 2012, he has created a wealth of exciting works for both adults and children internationally. His previous family production, Penguins, co-created with Paul McEneaney, told the real-life story of two male penguins who form a family, and was the subject of BBC 4 documentary, Prejudice and Passion. Airing in May 2018, the film followed Carlos’ own story of bullying and homophobia as a child and how dance has been such a healing force for him and many.

Carlos Pons Guerra said:

“After brining lots of queer joy and flamenco fun to parks across England and Spain, it’s so exciting to reimagine The Bull and the Moon for indoor venues. It’s wonderful to remind ourselves of what magic a theatre can create. As a queer child myself, the theatre was a place where you could be anything you wanted- which I think is what is at the heart of this show.

“We made the work in 2021 because all of us, whatever our gender identity, have at some point felt constrained by societal expectations on gender. But more importantly, we made it for a beautiful group of children that never get represented onstage and deserve all our love and admiration. As the discourse of diversity and inclusion is so contested these days, I hope the production can bring empathy and joy, which I think the world really needs right now.””

A new cast of dancers joins the production. Ruby Portus, former Sadler’s Wells Young Associate, joins in the role of the Moon / Rosario the Matador, and Louis Partridge, former apprentice with tanzmainz and who has recently completed a world tour of Akram Khan’s Outwitting the Devil, will dance the role of Lolo/Lola, the bull. They will alternate casts with original dancers Dominic Coffey (who performed Pons Guerra and Paul MacEneaney’s Penguins and whose other credits include Gary Clarke Company, Joss Arnott Dance, Fallen Angels Dance Theatre) and Anna Álvarez (former apprentice with Dança Deborah Colker and whose professional credits include Vincent Dance Theatre, Ella Mesma Company, Noa Zuk and Vertigo Dance Company.

Alongside its touring activity, DeNada has created a digital version of the production which will soon be available for distribution to primary schools alongside a comprehensive and intersectional resource pack for educators and social/community workers, through which to explore the production’s themes of gender diversity and inclusion in the classroom. The company also offers an exciting range of educational activities, both for young people and continued professional development for educators, to accompany its tour.

The Bull and the Moon has been commissioned by Bradford Producing Hub, FABRIC, the Canarian Institute for Cultural Development and the Tenerife Auditorium, with further support from Arts Council England, Kala Sangam Arts Centre and Mind the Gap. Produced by Spin Arts.

Tour Dates:

Manchester: 18th March / The Cervantes Institute / 12:00 pm / Tickets

Sheffield: 6th April / The Drama Studio / 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM / Tickets

London: 7th April / The Place / 11:00 AM, 1:30 PM, 4:00 PM / Tickets

Harlow: 8th April / Harlow Playhouse / 1:00 PM / Tickets

Cambridge: 23 April / Cambridge Junction / 11:30 AM and 2:30 PM / Tickets

Wolverhampton: 29 April / Arena Theatre / 11:0 AM and 2:00 PM / Tickets

Leeds: 4 June / Stanley and Audrey Burton Theatre / 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM / Tickets

Didcot: 10 June / Cornerstone Arts Centre / 11:00 AM, 1:00 PM and 3:00 PM / Outdoors

The company will be announcing further summer and autumn dates soon. Watch this space!