Miss Beige and Ana Smith, pas de deux

Walking down the street with Ana Smith is like accompanying someone who is hugging a mannequin leg. People look at her. She doesn't notice. Sometimes she carries it in a big bag, it doesn't matter: it sticks out. "I don't mind. I am used to. It would be cool if we all went for a walk with more objects like this, that we were less practical. I love the absurd, that Berlanguian touch”.

This image defines this 45-year-old artist from Madrid: Ana Smith hugs the leg of Miss Beige, one of her attributes, along with her inseparable bag and hammer. In reality, she is an affectionate and unconscious way of holding, of embracing, her entire character, her self pushed to the limit, her most exaggerated alter ego of hers. Esmith had to leave the city – he lived abroad for 15 years, mainly in London – to return in 2015 and find here what he had been looking for for a long time: “I knew we had to find each other”. In this, her new/old city, Miss Beige gave air and hope to Smith and she gives life to Miss Beige. They live in a constant pas de deux (pas de deux).

They dance together. Although until now the term "dance" was not the most appropriate for any matter that had to do with Miss Beige, a hieratic, serious, observant, silent, rigid woman; with a classic appearance: straight medium length hair, parted in the middle, large glasses, a grim face, beige dress with buttons and a belt. Two medals are attached to her neck, she wears gloves, she wears shoes with some heels and as a complement and hallmark of her bag and her hammer. All in the same tone, the one that gives her her name, her brand, the non-color, one without personality, invisible, that she has made her own and resignified before nude became a trend. If you write "nude" it looks like a color for the catwalk or red carpet, the usual beige is for ladies. “Long live the ladies!”, she exclaimed last Tuesday during a rehearsal of Pas de deux, the choreography that she will premiere next Tuesday with Chevi Muraday in the Cuarta Pared room, within the framework of the Surge Madrid Festival. It is easy to differentiate when Smith speaks and when what he verbalizes are Miss Beige's thoughts, since she does not articulate a word, silence is another of her weapons. He also does not usually maintain physical contact, he does not need it, the visual is enough. Therefore, the appointments on October 26 and 27 and November 5 and 6 are going to be unique moments to see Miss Beige dance? For this, he has chosen as a partner and guide nothing less than a National Dance Award winner with a three-decade career and head of one of the most traditional companies in Spain, Losdedae, which will be 25 years old in 2022.

This is Miss Beige's present; but, where does she come from and where is this performer who is increasingly omnipresent in the city and on social networks going, hers two performance spaces of hers. It comes from Ana Gallego, who studied journalism and performing arts. In London they didn't pronounce the double l's well, so he opted for Smith as his stage name, beginning with "e", which is how it would be pronounced here. Gallego remains for the bills and the family. Now it's Smith, in the classes she teaches and her acting jobs, and Miss Beige, that really fulfills her. This timeless lady—she seems to have no past or future, she doesn't need them either—every time eats up more time than the rest, this makes the artist proud, because it is her creation and it is unique. Although, of course, you need collaborators, the photos, the videos... are the result of the informal work of family and friends. She would like someone to help her with the production, but she can't afford it.

The ideal journalist

Miss Beige, who, like an ideal journalist, is there to point out what's going on, to call attention to it, but she remains invisible. She cares about the fact and who receives it; she does not. She provokes from silence. Play with the viewer, create unexpected situations. It doesn't take anything for granted. Claim this for a society that sees bland. He does it from his assertive look, not inquisitorial. Not judging is another of their rules, not bothering for the sake of bothering, another. She sets the rules, but she takes them as far as whoever plays with her wants. Seek reflection in a society that suffers from its lack. Her motto: “Do you dare to be beige?” It could be translated into “and what do you do?, for yourself or for others”.

Tuesday I was excited. She had been inspired by the protest action of the six affected by the toxic syndrome, caused by rapeseed oil, who had displayed a banner in the Las Meninas room of the Prado Museum. “Claim from respect speaks very well of a country. Those people demonstrated intelligence. I am Pedro Sánchez and that afternoon I pick up the phone and talk to them”.

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She is not far behind, she uses the public space for what it is: for everyone. She acknowledges that she is holding back on one issue: anything related to Vox. "They have more power than they appear and I say: 'This far.' I'm not talking about that, nor was I referring to Trump during his presidency. With these principles, Arco has been touring for years with one of Glovo's cubic backpacks, pointing out the commodification of art. Photographing himself on a grave as a denunciation of male violence. It crosses desert fields of that also desert Spain. Modifies the image of the Queen of England, dresses her in beige; He also takes the Princess of Asturias and the Infanta Sofía to his land if they wear raincoats of his color. He walks around a Treasury office with a crown and a poster with a very high number, referring, perhaps, to the grandfather of the previous ones.

She writes her screenplays with tremendous coherence; so much so that in a recent photo session for Vogue magazine, she did not allow him to put on her makeup. Esmith confesses that sometimes she has to listen to Miss Beige to make decisions, "I'm more vain."

—For when a collaboration with C. Tangana?

—When he's ready.

She sets her own steps.

Changing the center of gravity

In a version of Franco Battiato's song, a lady dressed in beige has changed Chevi Muraday's center of gravity. She, Miss Beige, has also undergone changes in hers: "Music had never been a timing for me." Ana Esmith plagues the conversation with Anglicisms, her life abroad is evident. What has not been noticed is its statism. If Muraday dares to embrace her color, she endorses the movement marked by the music (timing). Pas de deux arises from an improvisation between the two artists. From that improvisation they created a video to celebrate, on April 29, Dance Day. From there, to this show that he now expects programmers to see and have continuity. They both know it's a risk. Performance and dance are not the most commercial disciplines, but they do have their audience. They have assumed it by putting themselves in uncomfortable places, in which no one had been before on stage, which makes them vulnerable. They promise surprises, even for them. Miss Beige points out that if you feel like it, dialogue is easy. He compares it with politics and with the desire that this idea (and the choreography) be taken to Congress.

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