La Chachi

Mª del Mar Suárez, also known as *La Chachi*, was born in Málaga in 1980. An actress and flamenco dancer, she earned degrees in both disciplines in her hometown. After specializing in flamenco with La Lupi and training in mime, new dramaturgies, and contemporary dance, she discovered her true passion: the fusion of all these art forms. In 2008, she began to distort flamenco and gesture in various pieces, establishing a unique language that first emerged in *Ph8* by Miguel Palacios for the OFF Avignon Festival in 2011. This sparked a profound hunger in her to explore this hybridization further. In February 2017, she premiered her first solo work, *La gramática de los mamíferos*, a resident production at Teatro Cánovas, Junta de Andalucía. The piece, which explores themes like mating, addiction, and territory, won three 2017 PAD Awards for Best Show, Best Performer, and Best Non-Subsidized Show. In 2018, she also received the Lorca Award for Best Female Contemporary Dance Performer. Her second work, *La Espera*, a flamenco-rave-convent hybrid, was produced as part of the 2019 Research Residencies at Teatros del Canal, Comunidad de Madrid, and was scheduled for the 2020/21 season at Sala B of the Teatro Central in Seville. The piece won the 2019 Ateneo Award for Best Dance Show. In 2021, her third work, *Los inescalables Alpes, buscando a Currito*, premiered at the 39th Festival de Otoño in Madrid. It won the 2022 Godot Award for Best Dance Show and was included in the 15th *Cuaderno de Recomendaciones* by the dance commission of Redescena (May 2022). The piece has toured nationally, supported by Danza a Escena 2023, and appeared at international festivals such as TNT Noves Tendencies in Terrassa and DDD in Porto. Her latest piece, *Taranto Aleatorio*, premiered in Madrid in 2022, featuring singer Lola Dolores, and delves into the traditional flamenco style of *tablao*. The work has been featured at festivals such as Meetyou, Dansa Valencia, Aerowaves Europe, Fabbrica Europa (Florence), Derida Danza (Bulgaria), Dance Festival Malta, and Inspiration Festival Moscow, among others. It also received a Special Mention from the Jury at the 40th Feria de Artes Escénicas de Andalucía.