From 26th to 31st of May 2025, the Swedish contemporary dance company ilDance visited Mérida for two co-creation workshops within the Dancing Histor(y)ies project.

The workshops were organized by the Mérida International Classical Theatre Festival, in collaboration with Emeritos del Patrimonio, TAPTC Theater School, Ascensión Ramos Dance Studio, local poets, literary creators, and community associations.

The program opened on May 26th with a guided visit to Los Milagros aqueduct, where heritage experts shared the monument’s history and construction while actors read a poem by Isabel María Méndez dedicated to the site. The day continued with sessions at the Elder’s Center Reyes Huertas and TAPTC? Theater School, where amateur actors performed poetry and explored the transformation of texts into emotions and scenes.

On May 27th, the company visited San Lázaro aqueduct, accompanied by a reading of a poem by Suso Díaz, before meeting the Tuesday adult group of TAPTC to explore ways of turning poems and songs into theatrical scenes.

The third day, May 28th, included visits to various monuments on Mérida’s archaeological route, including Diana’s Temple, where the final performance will be staged. In the evening, ilDance led an open dance workshop at C.C. Nueva Ciudad, giving theatre and dance students from local schools the opportunity to experience their methods and potentially join the final performance.

The following days expanded these encounters with poetic experiences, roundtables, workshops blending dance and poetry at Ascensión Ramos Studio, and collaborations with both teenagers and adults from TAPTC Theater School.

Through these activities, ilDance wove together archaeological heritage, poetry, and community-based theatre, creating a unique co-creation process deeply embedded in Mérida’s cultural fabric