An Abundance of Awards for Dance at the Grand Night of the Max Awards

It seemed to be a tradition that the Max Awards, the most prestigious in the performing arts in Spain, organized by the General Society of Authors and Publishers (SGAE), were distributed evenly among the nominees. One had to go back to 2016 to find a ceremony where a single show received more than three awards, when Pinoxxio achieved 7. This year, at the Gayarre Theater in Pamplona, where the awards ceremony was held for the first time on Monday night, the custom was broken. And it was dance that led the way. Afanador, the superproduction of the National Ballet of Spain, directed by Marcos Morau, the most internationally recognized and sought-after choreographer in the country, triumphed with five awards. It entered the night as the most nominated show with eight nominations, three more than Natural order of things, another dance piece, which won three.

The night began with the award for best musical composition for a stage show, which went to Afanador. Later, it won for best costume design; best lighting design; the major award in its discipline for best dance show, and finally for best direction for Morau, who was absent from the ceremony.

The other major highlight of the night was Natural order of things, the show by Guy Nader and María Campos, which won three awards, although the night missed the presence of its protagonists, who were on tour with the show across the country. They received the awards for best male and female dance performer, for Alfonso Aguilar and María Campos, respectively, and best choreography for Guy Nader and María Campos. Some of the most applauded words of the night came from them. Aguilar dedicated his award to Maximiliano Corrales, a Mexican dancer and choreographer who was murdered in his country in 2023. “I danced, laughed, and was amazed at life with you. I offer you my dance as a tribute, as you were denied the right to life,” they read on behalf of the awarded dancer. Nader, in turn, also spoke through a representative, advocating for their craft, dance, “the younger sister of the performing arts, the one with the least space and the one that has to fight the most for a decent budget.” “We need more than applause,” wrote the choreographer.

Afterward, the gala fell into a long monotonous lull, with less significant award presentations and performances of dance, circus, and theater. The ceremony had begun with Aurora Beltrán on guitar and vocals performing Tomorrow, the song by Tahures Zurdos. La Factoría Teatro also performed with the voices of the Saudae Choir of Pamplona, or Iruñeco dantzariak, and a group of actors reciting texts from Spanish authors: from Lorca to Juan Mayorga, through Quevedo or María Folguera.

But almost two hours had to pass before the most emotional moment of the night arrived. Actress Petra Martínez took to the stage to receive the honorary award given by SGAE to her and her partner, Juan Margallo, who passed away in April this year, a few weeks after they learned they would be honored. Icons of Spanish independent theater, it’s hard to speak of both without linking their names. So much so that in 2022, as now, they both won the National Theater Award together. They are also the longest-standing and beloved couple on Spanish stages. And the Gayarre made sure to demonstrate this. Martínez received a double, lengthy standing ovation from an audience on its feet, which she had to pause to begin speaking. “It’s hard for me because I’m emotional. When we received the news that we were going to be given this award, Juan and I were happy. I don’t like awards much, but this one is beautiful. We are being honored for 60 years of work,” she shared. She then recounted their history, the Tábano group, the end of the Transition, and the Spanish theater they both starred in for so many years together. “Juan and I have had so much fun; theater has been our joy,” she continued. The audience let out the tears she held back when she recalled Margallo: “We were happy, content, and he has passed away. At that moment, you feel angry and curse everything. It really sucks to die, but it’s staying alive when someone so dear to you dies.” And she ended with a shout: “Long live a free Palestine!”

The theater segment arrived in the second half of the gala. Casting Lear, the theatrical experiment conceived and led by Andréa Jiménez, in which a different actor took the stage each night not knowing what they would say or do, won for best theater show and best adaptation of a play or choreography, for the text by Jiménez with the collaboration of Juan Mayorga. A live performance creation exercise in which a different actor takes to the stage each night to create character in real time, without prior knowledge and aided by an earpiece, to portray King Lear, accompanied by Jiménez herself. “Thanks to the 35 actors who have dared to jump into the abyss with me,” said the director.

Ágata Roca won best actress for her role in L’imperatiu categòric and Enric Auquer won best actor for his role in The day of Watus, his first leading role in theater. “This goes out to all the people who were on the margins during that cursed transition in this country,” the actor stated. He won over Juan Vinuesa, the favorite (who took home the Talía and Godot), who played Francisco Franco in 1936, the lengthy work that recreates some of the events of the Civil War on stage. The show from the National Dramatic Center took home six awards at the Talía and five at the Godot, including best theater show in both. Here, perhaps as a clear intention to decentralize the awards, it entered the gala with only two nominations: one for Vinuesa and another for the playwrights. It went away empty-handed. The award for best playwright went to Itziar Pascual for Pepito, marking the first time this award goes to a work aimed at family audiences. “Maybe theater doesn’t serve to change things, but it can send a message of support, care, respect, and love to children,” said Pascual.

There were few touching speeches. Almost all were routine thank-yous and some lukewarm mentions of the conflict in Gaza. The most heartfelt, perhaps, came from the protagonists of Farra, the best musical or lyrical show: “We want to celebrate the end of any form of abuse of power, the end of the genocide in Gaza,” they said, before singing a small fragment of their show: “The word went to war and managed to stop it; that’s why I’ve come to party, and this is what I want to celebrate.” The president of SGAE, Antonio Onetti, and the president of the SGAE Foundation, Juan José Solana, also spoke, delivering the usual institutional speech typical of such ceremonies. But they did so with Solana at the piano—both have been trying for years to change such a bureaucratic moment—while Onetti championed the work of artists against artificial intelligence, walking among the seats. “AI works without a soul, without imagination, and without permission. Because this is the robbery of the century! Luckily this year, AI won’t compete against the natural talent of President Solana,” said the president.

The two-hour gala ended strangely, in a tone completely opposite to that of the ceremony: with the electronic music of CastaZabal and the fleeting movements of the camera operators. Dance club-style. A good preamble, indeed, for the party that followed.

All Winners

Best Theater Show

Casting Lear (Barco Pirata, Andrea Jiménez, and Teatro de la Abadía).

Best Dance Show

Afanador (National Ballet of Spain).

Best Musical or Lyrical Show

Farra (Cía. Lucas Escobedo and National Classical Theater Company – INAEM).

Best Street Show

Fugit (Kamchàtka).

Best Show for Children, Youth, or Families

Christmas Tale (encapsulating Dickens).

Best Revelation Show

Against Ana (La Contraria).

Best Playwright

Itziar Pascual, for Pepito.

Best Revelation Playwright

Ester Guntín, for Quiso negro.

Best Adaptation or Version of a Play or Choreography

Andrea Jiménez and Juan Mayorga, for Casting Lear.

Best Musical Composition for a Stage Show

Juan Cristóbal Saavedra, Enrique Bermúdez, Jonathan Bermúdez, Gabriel Georgio González, and Roberto Vozmediano, for Afanador.

Best Choreography

Guy Nader and María Campos, for Natural order of things.

Best Production Work

La Fam Teatre, for Ambulant.

Best Direction

Marcos Morau, for Afanador.

Best Scenic Space and Video Scene Design

Víctor Peralta, for Thauma.

Best Costume Design

Sílvia Delagneau, for Afanador.

Best Lighting Design

Bernat Jansà, for Afanador.

Best Actress

Ágata Roca, for L’imperatiu categòric.

Best Actor

Enric Auquer, for The day of Watusi.

Best Female Dance Performer

María Campos, for Natural order of things.

Best Male Dance Performer

Alfonso Aguilar, for Natural order of things.

Max Fan or Social Character

Ignacio Aranguren and Vicente Galbete for their trajectory as teachers in the School Theater Workshop of the Navarro Villoslada Institute in Pamplona.

Max Audience Applause

L’alegria que passa, the latest creation from the Catalan company Dagoll Dagom.