Unique venues of all kinds ready for annual dance festival in Barcelona area

Old factories, community centers, theaters, sports venues, squares, parks, gardens, and even metro stations are getting ready to host a myriad of dance shows over two weeks between March 9 and 26 as part of the Dansa Metropolitana festival.

Over 330 activities across Barcelona's metropolitan area, including 118 shows, have been scheduled in the sixth edition of the event, which is a meeting point for all sorts of styles.

Classic and neoclassic dance will include world-class names such as the Acosta Danza and the Béjart Ballet Lausanne groups, as well as Montreal Ballet Jazz and Marseille's Ballet National.

Yet, urban dance, flamenco and contemporary dance will also perform, with a significant presence of Latin American productions.

Performances will be held in a dozen municipalities, such as Barcelona and some of its neighboring towns, including Badalona, Cornellà de Llobregat, El Prat de Llobregat, Esplugues de Llobregat, Granollers, L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Sabadell, Sant Cugat del Vallès, Santa Coloma de Gramenet, Terrassa and Viladecans.

Pere Faura, Sol Picó, Gaston Core, Sonia Gómez, Guy Nader, and Maria Campos will be just some of the local artists set to perform.

Almost half of the shows will be free, and some of them in very unique places.

For instance, Zona Universitària L9 metro station will host an urban dance production starring Brodas Bros, Boggie Tunes and Happy Dancers on March 23 at 6pm.

Badalona's old factory CACI will see contemporary dancers Cia Marroch go on stage on March 11 at noon, and they will perform again at student housing ETSAV, in Sant Cugat del Vallès, exactly a week later.