Vero Cendoya claims the beauty of imperfection
A brilliant imperfection (or death of a pianist)the new creation of the dance company of Vero Cendoya, can be seen from January 16 to February 1, 2026 at the Teatre Nacional de Catalunya. Written and directed by Cendoya herself, with dramaturgy shared with Israel Solathe piece combines contemporary dance, text theater, documentary material and physical humor. A scenic device that directly questions the way society looks at—and interprets—disability.
The show is inspired by the essay Brilliant Imperfectionof the activist and writer Eli Clarea key work that challenges the narrative of “care” and the social desire to repair bodies that deviate from the norm. From this point of departure, the show is constructed as a celebration of difference and as a radical stance against stigma, but also as a direct reflection on the social gaze and constant judgment towards people with disabilities.
The trap of good intentions
Starting from humor, tenderness and irreverence, Cendoya and Solà focus on the so-called decapational pornographyconcept denounced by Stella Youngwhich turns people with functional diversity into inspirational figures at the service of the moral comfort of others. The work dismantles this paternalistic gaze, often masked with good intentions, and confronts it from an uncompromising artistic and political position.
The same choreographer points out that even today the public’s reaction to a good performance is surprising when it comes from a neurodivergent person or a person with Down syndrome. As he explains, this surprise is not innocent: the scenarios remain poor in the real representation of the social spectrum. In all good faith – he admits – we often get carried away in praise and end up falling into condescending or paternalistic attitudes, a “whirlpool of sensations” which, in his opinion, is born from a feeling of superiority that is difficult to recognize.
This critical thread is enriched by other voices that appear explicitly in the show. Cendoya recovers the reflection of the activist Alexandre Jollienwhen he affirms that pity is “the most destructive weapon towards an individual”, or the cutting phrase ofunusualinfluencer with cerebral palsy, who warns: “The next time she calls me champion, I’ll stab her.” Statements that lead to a central question: where did we learn that the art of communicating, whether through dance or theater, is incompatible with neurodivergence?
The answer to the piece is clear. As long as there is talent or work, everyone has the right to take the stage and be looked at and admired. And this is precisely what he wants to talk about A brilliant imperfection (or death of a pianist). As Cendoya defends, it is necessary to normalize disability once and for all, to do it with penetrating humor and without any compassion towards condescension, but “with all the affection”.
This speech takes shape with a choral cast of neurodivergent and neurotypical performers, reaffirming one of the company’s most characteristic lines of work: professional scenic inclusion, away from the framework of the social or welfare project. The show verbalizes it bluntly from the stage: “We are not here to inspire you”. They are not there to reassure consciences or to serve as a moral mirror, but to deactivate expectations and claim the right to exist without having to justify themselves.
with music byAdele Madau i Rai Jimenezlighting design of Cube.bz and wardrobe of Pau Aulíthe piece unfolds a very recognizable visual and sensory universe within the poetics of Cendoya. A scenic journey that is both celebration, revenge and liberation, and that claims imperfection not as a lack, but as a legitimate, powerful and beautiful way of inhabiting the world.
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