Madrid-based choreographer and dancer Marta Izquierdo Muñoz studied Psychology before entering the professional world of dance with a genuine hunger for all kinds of movement: she trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary dance, flamenco, club dancing… Since 2007, based in France, she has been creating under the label of her own company, [lodudo], which stands out for its female figures oscillating between marginality and mass culture.
After works such as Imago-go and Geérilleres, Izquierdo Muñoz continues with the theme of struggle, albeit channelled through an artistic simulation. This struggle gave birth to forms of expression such as Capoeira and hip-hop battles, which Izquierdo herself organised with her partner in the outlying neighbourhoods of Toulouse under the title Rise your Krump (2017). Her latest piece, ROLL, delves into the world of roller skating, inspired by the tumultuous world of roller derby, a sport that transcends all boundaries of urbanity and has experienced a renaissance since the early 2000s.
ROLL is also an exploration of community, resistance and self-expression through movement. We find female warriors on wheels battling in an infinite whirlpool and exploring altered states of consciousness. It is also a work of physical endurance that reinforces a vision of skating as an act of freedom and resistance. In fact, after the pandemic and thanks to digital platforms such as TikTok, roller skating has experienced a global renaissance, as a nostalgic symbol of public spaces as places of gathering and celebration. In this way, her work reminds us that, beyond any technique or discipline, the human desire for expression, freedom and connection is what really moves us.
Bàrbara Raubert
