Dancer, choreographer and teacher
Pau Aran Gimeno (1981) is a Catalan creator and performer whose career has developed between Germany and Spain. He currently develops his artistic practice across Madrid, Barcelona, and the wider European context. Born in Cerdanyola del Vallès, he began dancing at the age of ten at the local Roger’s Center, where he trained in ballroom dance and jazz before later exploring classical, modern, and contemporary dance. This eclectic foundation shaped his interest in a hybrid and open-ended performance language.
After his time with Company & Company, he completed his professional training at RCPD Mariemma while continuing his studies with Francesc Bravo and Cristiane Boullosa. Later, on the recommendation of Malou Airaudo —with whom he also studied—, he joined the Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen, Germany. He holds a degree in Contemporary Dance Pedagogy from the CSD María de Ávila.
At the end of 2005, at the age of 24, he joined Tanztheater Wuppertal – Pina Bausch as a permanent company dancer, remaining there until the end of the 2019/20 season. Over the course of fifteen years, he performed in more than twenty-five works from Bausch’s repertoire, immersing himself in the richness and complexity of her theatrical language. During this period, he worked closely with key figures such as Dominique Mercy, Jean Sasportes, and Kenji Takagi, among others, deepening his understanding of detail, breath, weight, and intention as sources of meaning. Despite the technical demands of his career, Pau has always sought an honest and essential form of dance, rooted in human presence and in the body’s expressive truth.
He later continued collaborating with the company as a guest artist and is currently part of the transmission and rehearsal teams of the Pina Bausch Foundation, contributing to the preservation and continuation of the German choreographer’s legacy.
Since 2013, alongside his work with the company and the Foundation, he has developed his own artistic universe as an independent choreographer, presenting works in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Chile, and Japan. His creations include Lettre d’amour (2020), a duet co-produced by Festival Grec and premiered at the CCCB in Barcelona with Consuelo Trujillo and Alberto Conejero; Un cadavre exquis II (2021–2022), a solo co-produced by Steptext Tanzprojekt and Dansa Metropolitana, premiered at Naves del Español in Madrid and co-directed with Jose Troncoso; and Seeking the Truth (2023), a creation for the Deltebre Dansa Festival.
His most recent works are Erinnerungen an den Widerstand (2026), created for the ensemble of the Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern; MYCO (2026), co-produced by Mercat de les Flors in Barcelona and once again created with Jose Troncoso; Das Gewächshaus (2026), created for the ensemble Of Curious Nature in Bremen; and La misma diferencia (2026), co-produced by Festival Grec and Centro Danza Matadero, and premiered at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB).
In 2020, he began an artistic collaboration with Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui that continues to this day. Throughout his career, he has also worked with artists including Theo Clinkard, Alan Lucien Øyen, Antonio Ruz, Stefan Jovanović, and Jorge Puerta Armenta.
Pau is currently at a pivotal moment in his career, as his experience as a performer continues to evolve into a distinctive choreographic and pedagogical language. He combines creation with intergenerational transmission, understanding pedagogy not as a secondary activity but as a fundamental part of his artistic process. His practice explores the poetics of contemporary dance theater through genuine expression, inclusion, and a dialogue between tradition and the future. Within this framework, he promotes a deeply human practice grounded in rigor, detail, and mutual listening, and conceives of his art as a tool for personal and collective transformation.
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
Aaron Samuel Davis • Adam Kaasa • Adrián Figueroa • Afshin Varjavandi • Agustín Aranda • Ainhoa Chocano • Akash Dixit • Alain Elorza • Alberto Conejero • Alessandra Valeri • Alex Airaudo • Alex Carrillo • Alex Martínez • Alexandre Castres • Ana Conde • Anke Euler • Ana Laguna • Anne Martin • Andrea Bou Othmane • Andrea Mendez • Andreas Bayer • Andrés Waksman • Andoni García • Ángela Bello • Angela Fegers • Ángela Fernández • Angela Müllenbach-Michel • Angie Pasiecznik • Anna Marmol • Anne Marie Benatti • Anne Martin • Anto Astudillo • Antonio Ruz • Arnold Pasquier • Artur Piatka • Austin Rial Eshelman • Azusa Seyama • Beatriz Argüello • Begoña Quiñones • Beli Rotela • Blanca Noguerol • Bojana Mladenovic • Calde Ramírez • Carlos Lainez • Carmen Fumero • Carmen Romero • Carvento • Cathy Levy • Cecilia Monacelli • Cecilia Ojeda • Cesc Casadesús • Charo Arconada • Chantal Kohlmeyer • Charlie Cattrall • Charo Trillo • Christine Biedermann • Christine Kono • Chrystel Guillebaud • Claudia Irman • Claudia Lavista • Claudia Morgana • Claudia Solano • Clémentine Deluy • Consuelo Trujillo • Cristian Martín Cano • Cristiana Morganti • Cristiane Boullosa • Cristiano Marcelli • Cristina García • Cristóbal Garrido • Cristóbal Santamaría • Daniel Doña • Daniel Mariblanca • Daniela Gatica • Darwin Elso Mora Urrutia • Daphnis Kokkinos • Darwin Díaz • Dayan Akhmedgaliev • Diana Bonilla • Dominique Mercy • Dorotea Saykaly • Ed Kortland • Edurne Sanz Satrústegui • El Arbi El Harti • Elena Gil Más • Eli Estella • Èlia Genís • Èlia López • Elisa Marschall • Emma Romeo • Encarna Cárdenas • Ernesta Corvino • Esmeralda Maycas • Ester Froment • Eva Ribero • Eva López Crevillén • Eva Martínez • Evangelos Poulinas • Evelyn Campbell • Fabien Prioville • Felicitas Willems • Fernando Jacon • Fernando Montanares • Fernando Suels • Fernando Zugno • Fidel Fernández • Francesc Bravo • Franck Chartier • Frank Herfeld • Gabriel Galíndez Cruz • Gabriela Carrizo • Gemma Pellicer • Gert Van Overloop • Gesine Paulus • Giorgia Maddamma • Gisela Creus • Godlive Lawani • Gonzalo Zaragoza • Grigori Chakhov • Guency Armenta • Hanna Bosbach • Hansel Nezza • Helena Olmedo • Helena Pikon • Helge Letonja • Hervé Costa • Iban Salgado • Inbal Yacobi • Isabel González • Isabel Peña • Ismael Dia • Ivana Campos Melguizo • Ivana Linares • Jadranka Vrsalovic-Carevic • Jaime Martínez • Janet Panetta • Jaume Nieto • Javier Bustamante • Jean-Laurent Sasportes • Jesús Caramés • Jo Ann Endicott • Joan Figueres • Joaquín Fernández • Johannes Wieland • Jonatan Díaz • Jone San Martín • Jorge Puerta Armenta • Jorge Usón • José Aran Gracia • Jose Bustos • Juan Ignacio Herrero • Jose Lainez • Jose Mármol • Jose Troncoso • Jou Serra • Juan Gabriel Harcha • Juan J. Ochoa • Juan Kruz Díaz de Garaio Esnaola • Juan Rico • Juan Sebastian Domínguez Morillo • Judith Kuckart • Julia Estévez • Julián Lazzaro • Juliana Reyes • Julie Anne Stanzak • Julie Shanahan • Jutta Polić • Karemia Moreno • Katharina Bauer • Katharina Von Wilcke • Kazutomi „Tsuki“ Kozuki • Keith Morino • Kenji Takagi • Kerstin Hardt • Kike Doatis • Laia Montoya • Lars Boot • Laura Barceló • Laura Cuxart • Leah Marojević • Léo Lerus • Leonardo Bottaioli • Leslie A. Boyce • Leticia Martín • Leti L. Karamazana • Leo Castro • Linn Englund • Lluís Homar • Lorena Castell • Lorenzo Papagallo • Lucas Condro • Lucho Fasciolo • Lucyanna Pettengill • Luger Müller • Luís Gadea • Luisa Camacho • Luisa María Arias • Luisa Sancho • Lutz Förster • Luz Arcas • Ma Luisa Ramos • Maggie Salice • Magí Serra • Maite Jáuregui • Malou Airaudo • Manel Estella • Manel Rodríguez • Mar Ortiz • María Jáimez • María Muñoz • María Pagés • Mariana Giustina • Mariko Aoyama • Marisa Ulloa • Martha Hincapié • Martin Inthamoussu • Maryna Kushchova Ashotivna • Mathieu Rouvière • Mathilde Van de Meerendonk • Matthias Burkett • Maureen López Lembo • Máximo Hita • Melissa Medina • Mercedes Boronat • Meri Checa Esteban • Miguel Zomas • Milagros Gamarra • Milos Sofrenović • Minuit De Lacroix • Miquel Missé • Miquel Serrat • Misako Kato • Montse Gardó • Montse Llopis • Montse Roig • Moreno Bernardi • Nadine Freisleben • Naomi Brito • Nayat Kaid Ferron • Nazareth Panadero • Nieves Gimeno López • Nissa Nishikawa • Núria Aguiló • Núria Fernández • Núria Ramis • Odín Maldonado • Olga Baeza • Olga Fraile • Olivia Ancona • Omar Sangare • Orlando J. Rodríguez • Pablo Callejo • Pablo Messiez • Paca Silvestre • Paco Padilla • Pam Pietro • Pascal Merighi • Pascale Franco • Patrick Williams Seebacher (TwoFace) • Paul White • Pedro Goucha • Penny Cherns • Pep Ramis • Pepe Gungolo • Peter Bellinghausen • Petra Mijanović • Pia Mazuela • Rainer Behr • Raquel Cano • Ricardo Franco • Robbie Moore • Robert Sturm • Roberto Olivan • Rosa Casas • Roxane D’Orléans • Ruby Smith • Ruth Amarante • Sandra Ballbé • Sandra González • Sanja Maier-Hasagic • Sara Fernández • Sara Sanguino • Sara Tibau • Scott Jennings • Sean Patrick Mombruno • Seba Breton • Sergi Amoros • Sergio Roca • Sergio Roccatti • Shantala Shivalingappa • Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui • Silvana Ranaudo • Sílvia Farias • Simona Ficosecco • Sira Hernández • Slavek Michalsky • Sol Bilbao • Sol Picó • Solen Drake • Stefan Jovanović • Stephan Laks • Stephanie Troyak • Teresa Lasheras • Teresa Llargués • Teresa Nieto • Theo Clinkard • Thusnelda Mercy • Tim Kienecker • Tom Sochas • Tomás Cabané • Tomás Pozzi • Tsai-Chin Yu • Ulrich Klier • Ursula Popp • Valentina Morales • Valeria Cosi • Valeria Oviedo • Vanessa Aran • Vanessa Calderón • Vassilissa Airaudo • Verónica Garzón • Verónica Santiago • Verónica Toro • Víctor González López • Vicens Mayans • Vicky Aran • Virginia de la Cruz • Virginia Valero • Viviana Escalé • Xuria Cristóbal • Yasna Hauri • Yi Chun Liu • Zoltan Jo
With the support of…
The development of Pau’s pedagogical proposal in 2021, as well as the preparation and website design in 2023, were financed and supported by the Federal Government for Culture and Media (BKM), the special programme ‘Neustart Kultur’ and the Dachverband Tanz Deutschland.
Photo credits
@alejopuertok • @castaneda.photo.art • Andreas J. Etter • Alex Guri • Alexandros Sarakasidis • Andrés Amorós • Anorexio Fotoshoot • Beatrix Molnar • Camilla Greenwell • Celia Suárez • Chris Nash • Chuchi Guerra • Clara Bes • Claudio Bolognini • Daniel Doña • Daniel Novoa • Edmund Kurenia • Evangelos Rodoulis • Felicitas Willems • Fernando Suels • Filip Van Roe • Francesco Carbone • Gregory Batardon • Ignacio Urrutia • Jochen Viehoff • Jordi Vidal • Judith Espada • Kentaro Takahashi • Klaus Christ • Laszlo Szito • Laura de la Isla • Laurent Philippe • Luisa Valares • Maarten Vanden Abeele • Magali Dougados • Marta Vilardell • Mats Bäcker • Mika Kitamura • Milan Nowoitnick Kampfer • Moad Mushabi • Monica Carbosiero • Nayat Kaid Ferron • Pablo Lorente • Patrick Ley • Paula Lamamié de Clairac • Rachel Papo • Ralf Kokemüller • Renzo Luna Chima • Robert Stefanski • Sergio Celebrowsky • Sigo Sauerzapfe • Sofia Campos • Stella Rahola Matutes • Stephanie Berger • Stephen Wright • Tobias Frei • Tristram Kenton • Ulli Weiss • Urbanfakirfilms • Ursula Kaufmann • Xavi Oribe • Yuima Nakazato