Blanca Li: "Many men find it difficult for women to be the boss"

The final interviewUpdated

The dancer, choreographer and artistic director of the Teatros del Canal in Madrid, Blanca Li, has received the award for Best Virtual Reality Experience at the Venice Festival for Le Bal de Paris.

The award-winning show combines dance with virtual reality.

It's all been crazy. It is an immersive project where dancers and the public interact in the same space. But when I began to consider it, the technological means did not exist to be able to do it. I spent a year talking to the studios and everyone told me it was impossible.

In the end you got it.

I did manage to contact a French studio that embarked on this madness, but it's a very expensive experience because it's almost like an animated movie. We had to develop the technology and prove that it was possible to put 10 people together in a virtual space with the dancers. It has been an obstacle course, but we have had the help of many European institutions and brands such as Chanel, which has produced the collection of clothes worn by the public.

What have you contributed as a director to the Theaters of the Chanel?

I love diversifying and that the Canal is a meeting and exchange space. I wanted to give it an energy like the Barbican in London. I am programming very different projects for children and adults, not only plays and dance, but, for example, Sundays with the family or performances on the Canal

Did Albert Boadella, one of your friends, give you any advice? predecessors in office?

I spoke with him and also with Ariel Goldenberg, who just passed away. They told me to enjoy a lot and to try to do what I felt. I am enjoying it a lot because I love meeting the artists and, seeing them, I see myself because I remember the times I have entered a theater to present my project.

What are you like as a boss?

That should be asked of the people who work with me. I still ask for a lot of things because I have a lot of energy. And they start laughing and say: "Don't tell Blanca that, she's going to have another idea." I try to have a good energy and a good atmosphere to enjoy.

How do you raise the morale of the troop when there are bad reviews?

I take them to have a drink. After a premiere, you're emotionally drained. When a bad review comes, you are not ready to receive it. I don't read them. I stopped reading them when I was young because it affected me. The second day of the premiere there is usually a downturn because you have already premiered. When I get to the theater and see my team, I already know if we've had a bad review because of the atmosphere there. So, I see them tired and I tell them: "Let's go have a drink in the theater cafeteria". I play jokes to cheer them up and we do a fun rehearsal.

Your time in 'La Resistencia' caused quite a few reproaches. Many did not understand why the director of the Teatros del Canal would throw herself down the stairs.

I am a super clown. Those who criticize me are those who don't know me. I love humor and many of my shows have been super funny. I have made videos on Youtube with my children, a woman who wants to be divine exercising and uses her children to lift weights. I have also been doing cabarets for almost 20 years, which are the worst in the world.

David Broncano said interviewing you was like interviewing a lynx.

I have a great time being a hooligan. I arrive at La Resistencia and I'm in my element because that's like a little cabaret.

In fact, your bar, 'El calentito', was one of the epicenters of the Movida.

< dd>It was too crazy. I can't even believe what happened there. It was the most incredible bar in Madrid.

Your mother ran a company with 500 workers when conciliation did not exist. How did you do it?

My mother was extraordinary because not only was there no conciliation, but there were no women directors of companies. Men came to his office who were not used to meeting a female director. They were trying to flirt because she was very pretty and it was very difficult for them to take her seriously. So, he decided to put the photo of his seven children on the desk because that's how he cut them off. We always laughed when he told us.

How did he raise you?

He took the office under the house, called us on the phone and dictated the recipes: "Put on the pot, when the whistle comes down... .". We were 10 at home. It was very crazy because it was a very open house and it was always full of friends. We have dated a lot of artists. My brother Tao is a composer and makes the music for my ballets and Chus Gutiérrez is a film director.

Organizing food by phone now would be impossible in these times of overprotection.

I do it to my children too. The other day I was traveling and my son sent me a recipe for an omelette that he had just made. They have to learn those things because knowing how to cook gives you a lot of independence.

Have we made much progress in conciliation?

It depends on what types of men and women. I see many young women who sacrifice their careers and continue to do everything in couples where the man does nothing and I see other couples who divide the tasks and organize themselves so that each one can do their work and their life. It is still very hard for all mothers who are alone. There is still a bit of injustice.

What battle do women still have to win?

That we be treated equally. It shows when you have positions of responsibility. There are men who find it very difficult for women to be the boss.

At this point?

Yes, and there are many.

How do you grades? Is it difficult for them to follow orders?

It costs them everything. There are men who can't. He is stronger than them. There are other wonderful men who are co-workers with whom everything is normal. But there are still men who can't handle the idea of ​​a woman bossing them around. It's a handicap for all female managers because they're questioning your authority all the time.

You've worked with great artists and divas like Beyoncé.

When you spend five, six or eight hours rehearsing with them, in the end, you forget that she is a diva. When you close the door and start giving instructions, the diva is no longer a diva, but a worker who is there to work. It is a moment that I have of intimacy in which the diva is not a diva. I forget that it's Beyoncé and that has happened to me with many artists.

Are they obedient?

The more divas, the more hard workers. Beyoncé was a super worker and if a step had to be repeated 50 times, she did it. I did three shoots with her and in one of them, there was sand, it got in her eyes, but she didn't complain. He was very perfectionist. Sometimes the lesser known artists are more difficult. The most famous ones are more effective and very professional. It's a great pleasure working with them.

In France you have received the Legion of Honor and are part of the Academy of Fine Arts. In Spain, do you have the recognition you deserve?

Yes. Being here in this theater has been a great recognition. I also received the Medal of Fine Arts and they have always treated me with great affection. I have felt very loved.

Will life ever go back to the way it used to be?

No. We will return to a different normal. When 9/11 happened, the world was never the same again. The Covid passport or the questionnaires in which you have to say your whole life are going to stay. Your medical data may no longer be private. There is something in privacy that will be lost forever.

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