De Scheherezade is a flamenco creation by María Pagés Compañía, devised and directed by María Pagés and El Arbi El Harti. Conceived for a large ensemble, it builds a single protagonist out of many bodies: Scheherezade becomes “one woman, all women,” articulated through solos and densely layered group writing. The dramaturgy proposes twelve choreographic scenes that compress the logic of the thousand-and-one-night tale into a cycle of suspended time: eleven nights of active waiting, with tension resolving at the dawn of the twelfth day. Within this frame, mythic and literary figures—Scheherezade, Carmen, Medea, Wallada, Sappho, Yerma, Blimunda, Úrsula Iguarán—coexist as facets of feminine experience rather than as narrative characters. 

Pagés’ choreography works by contraposition: harmony and symmetry are established, broken, and recomposed, so the ensemble continually moves between individual singularity and collective force. El Harti’s text-and-lyric layer insists on the ethical stakes of speech: the word as a tool for demystification and for refusing violence. Music extends the work’s choral logic. Original composition (Rubén Levaniegos, Sergio Menem, David Moñiz, and Pagés) unfolds in dialogue with classical and popular references and an explicit investigation of Moroccan sonorities. Live performance features strings and percussion alongside Arabic vocals and flamenco singing, creating a sonic field where palos and timbres migrate across traditions. 

Visually, the staging frames the feminine imaginary with desert and palace imagery—spaces that test knowledge, sensitivity, and desire—supported by Olga García’s lighting and Pagés’ costume design. First created for the Gran Teatre del Liceu (Barcelona) and the Abu Dhabi Music & Arts Foundation, the work continues the company’s inquiry begun with Yo, Carmen (2015): how to choreograph women’s plurality as both lived reality and moral commitment. 

Top photo: Courtesy the artist