Todo por ti (All for you) – A period of research and creation
Todo por ti (All for you) investigates domestic violence from the perspective of children. Inspired by Lacan’s idea that “the most violent psychic wounds always arise within collectives seemingly subjected to the greatest normality,” the project explores how a home, which should be a haven, can transform into a space of fear and threat when one person, usually a woman, is subjected to abuse.
The creative and research process is based on laboratories conducted throughout 2024 and 2025. This initiative brings together artists, women survivors of domestic violence, and trauma specialists. It has been made possible thanks to the support of the Royal Flemish Theatre in Brussels (KVS), the Ana Bella Foundation, and the Vice-Rectorate of Culture at the Pablo de Olavide University. Additionally, it has been supported by grants from the 2024 BECA Crea program of the Barcelona City Council and the 2024 Thought Grant (Beca de Pensament) from the Generalitat de Catalunya.
In both residencies, the body is established as the central axis of the creative and research process. Through somatic tools and physical and sonic explorations, the project examines the role of the body, questioning the limits of normative behaviour based on the idea that society reflects our internal processes. This approach highlights the body as a space of memory, resistance, and transformation, where the personal and the social engage in dialogue to generate new dramaturgical and narrative languages.
ROYAL FLEMISH THEATRE, BRUSSELS
The work is built upon research and reflections archived during the laboratory conducted in Seville by Nuria Legarda, who expanded this vision during the residency at the KVS with invited artists Yi Chun Li, Rosabel Huguet, and sound designer and dramaturge Sam Gillett.
Planned work during the residency:
- Explore the body as the genesis of dramaturgical foundations in collaboration with invited artists Rosabel Huguet and Yi Chun Liu. The physicality of the material will be used as an entry point to scenic writing within Nuria Legarda’s methodology.
- Collaborate with Sam Gillett on sound creation, developing soundscapes in response to the bodies in the scenic space, and fostering dialogue to build the proposed narrative.
- Define the dramaturgical lines of the piece based on the sonic and physical work.
Objectives for this residency:
- Establish the study foundations for the topic, aiming to create a space for reflection and a shared imagination to question and explore physical, visual, sonic, and textual languages.
- Create a safe space for exploration, fostering physical and mental freedom and comfort.
- Examine relational parameters linked to domestic violence by inhabiting them through the body, and using images, sounds, testimonies, and scenic roles.
- Define key elements derived from sonic sketches and physical work as starting points for developing dramaturgical foundations.
- Generate dialogue about the project’s perspectives through conversations with De Cock (Director of the KVS) and Núria Bultà (Director of the ICEC in Brussels).
Artistic Team
Conception, creation, and direction Nuria Legarda
Collaborating artists Rosabel Huguet, Yi Chun Liu
Sound design Sam Gillett
PABLO DE OLAVIDE UNIVERSITY, SEVILLE
The first workshop, conducted in Seville with women connected to the Ana Bella Foundation, who are survivors of violence and have experienced abuse as daughters, mothers, or partners, focused on somatic tools and bodily perception. To protect their experiences, Nuria Legarda deliberately avoided working from personal narratives, focusing instead on physical exercises through which participants recorded sensations, images, thoughts, and emotions, and deepened their training in body awareness.
The workshop’s fundamental premises were to:
- Create a safe space centred on bodily work.
- Promote self-care and deep listening.
- Incorporate body awareness techniques such as yoga, movement anatomy, Chinese medicine, the Alexander Technique, and mindfulness.
- Facilitate somatic work that respects the uniqueness of each experience.
Over three days, participants explored their bodies, moving from states of tension and blockage to greater openness and balance. They experienced significant changes, such as relaxation, improved sleep, and enhanced emotional regulation. At the end of the workshop, they shared how the bodily work allowed them to release tension, reconnect with their emotions, and transform their physical and emotional well-being, leaving behind their attachment to past experiences.
These changes benefited each participant individually and strengthened a collective care network: “Self-care becomes a revolutionary act in a society marked by isolation and fragmentation.” In contrast to the paradigm of domination inherent in capitalism, Todo por ti proposes a leadership model based on active listening and collaboration, where the individual and collective body nurture and strengthen each other.
Artistic Team
Conception, creation and direction Nuria Legarda
With women linked to the Ana Bella Foundation in Seville.
Vice-rectorate of Culture of the Pablo de Olavide University, Seville.
Space supported by
Royal Flemish Theatre in Brussels (KVS).
Vice-Rectorate of Culture at Pablo de Olavide University, Seville.
Ana Bella Foundation.
Recipient of the BECA Crea 2024 from the Barcelona City Council and the Beca de Pensament 2024 from the Generalitat of Catalonia.
