Magical Theys
2024Performance
Costume by: Noina Espinos
Movement by: Guillem Jiménez
Exhibited in:
2024 Un paisatge reverberant, laberíntic, fangós, dens i estrellat. Curated by amor rumor (blanca arias & edu r. pineda). Sala d’Art Jove, La Caldera. Barcelona. SP
2024 I swear that I will become a prince. Jedna Dva Try Gallery, Prague, CZ
2024 Artefacte Festival. Fabra i Coats Contemporary Art Center. Barcelona. SP
2024 Hangar Obert. Hangar Center of art production and research. Barcelona. SP.
Magical Theys is a project that reimagines the classical archetype of the knight from a queer and non-binary perspective. Drawing on the recovery of historical figures—such as Joan of Arc, Catalina/Antonio de Erauso and Lady of Arintero—and inspired by the Magical Girl and Shōjo genres of manga and anime—which are filled with non-binary and sapphic characters—it constructs a mythology of magical dissident speculation.
In Magical Girl and Shōjo, stories that challenge traditional gender roles and celebrate vulnerability as a revolutionary weapon are common. Examples include Princess Knight (1953), The Rose of Versailles (1972), Sailor Moon (1992), and Revolutionary Girl Utena (1997). These narratives often featu- re special outfits that magically appear through a ritualized transformation called Henshin. This performative act linked to clothing serves as a mecha- nism for identity construction, tied to the creation of queer imaginaries and embodiments. Building on this idea of transformation, I draw parallels with medieval poems such as the anonymous 15th-century romance La Donce- lla Guerrera, which tells the story of someone assigned female at birth who undergoes a series of bodily changes to become a knight.
The performance, like a Henshin, follows a logic of transformation through clothing. This transformation, stretched over time, unfolds in different phases, exploring masculine, femme, and in-between performativities. Ali performs choreographies based on fencing dance and incorporates bodily modifications through clothing (binder, chainmail, corsets, and vulnerable armor). The protagonist is the Rose Prince, a character who aspires to become a prince and is therefore in a constant state of transformation. This character not only drives the action but also acts as a narrator, guiding the audience through their attire and panoply.
They have developed a movement methodology inspired by characters from Magical Girl anime, guiding a bodily reflection on action based on the book Women’s Somatic Training in Early Modern Spanish Theater (Women and Gender in the Early Modern World) by Elizabeth Marie Cruz Petersen. The book discusses the somatic training of actresses in Baroque theater. The performance draws a connection between the choreography of sword-fighting movements and the guidelines given to actresses for performing a masculine identity on stage. The script for the piece is a collage of original texts and fragments from wor- ks such as Orlando by Virginia Woolf, The Book of the Order of Chivalry by Ramon Llull, Sota el Signe del Drac by Maria-Mercè Marçal, and Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg.
Stills from a video by: Pablo ReleaseYourInnerChild