The railing of La Concha once again served as a support for more than a thousand dancers of all ages. /
More than 1,300 dancers of all ages have performed their choreographies next to the railing of the bay, after two years of absence due to the pandemic
Almost 1,400 dancers – specifically, 1,399, according to the organization – of all ages returned this morning to the railing of La Concha to show that dance is still very much alive, despite these two years of pandemic break. Under considerable cold, although without the dreaded drizzle, the participants executed their bar movements, divided into three time groups by age: the little ones between eight and twelve years old began, the adolescents continued and the adults finished.
The initiative, framed within the programming of the Dance Month and organized by the Association of Professionals in the sector, again aroused the interest of thousands of people two years later who followed the evolution of the participants from a respectful distance, whom Thirty teachers from 23 training centers in Donostia, Errenteria, Pasaia or Andoain, among other towns in Gipuzkoa, joined in, in addition to those from Ondarroa and Lekeitio. And as explained by María José Jaramago, president of the Association, the intention is that in future editions schools from outside the Basque Country that have already requested it will join.
If Donostia woke up with light rains, the sun made its way throughout the morning, until shining in all its splendor over La Concha Bay around noon. Before, at 11:00 am, the youngest students danced next to the railing, at their leisure, but already showing manners. Later, the adolescents did it and the adults closed the show, among whom it was possible to see from twenty-somethings to dancers in their sixties. The spectacle extended from the Nautical club to something beyond the zone of the clocks.
Between greetings and photos, the dancer Lucía Lacarra was one of the ‘stars’ of the morning since the dancer from Zumaia joined the railing for the first time. Lacarra, who greeted the Mayor of Donostia, Eneko Goia, and the Councilor for Culture, Jon Insausti, was happy with the return of this initiative and the public’s response.
“It is a great joy to see this precious image again, which shows the work behind it, after two years in which we have lost so many things,” said Goia, who also congratulated “for the fact that time has accompanied”. In the opinion of the mayor of San Sebastian, the passion for dance “emerges again as soon as possible, despite this time in which the schools have not been able to work or have had to do so with restrictions.” At this point, he recalled that the training centers «provide first-rate students because we have people from San Sebastian dancing around the world who are a benchmark. This act is a tribute to all that, in a way.
Insausti, for his part, had an impact on the same aspect. «The academies have managed as best they could during these two years to give classes, even ‘online’, which is not the most appropriate, and they have managed to save that time. However, it is true that there was a desire to go out. Yesterday (for Saturday) we saw with Dantza Kalean that there was a lot of desire to show the work done». The Councilor for Culture stressed that “from the amateur to the professional, the city offers you a training itinerary and it is in sight.”
The dance show at the Barandilla de La Concha has been held since 1997 and although this year it should have celebrated its 25th edition, in 2012 it was suspended due to cyclogenesis and in the last two years the cancellation was forced by the sanitary conditions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, he returns with a vocation to stay.