Podcast Summary

Podcast: Hoy por Hoy (SER Podcast)
Host: Àngels Barceló (with participation by Ángel)
Guest: Janet Novás, Premio Nacional de Danza 2025, Goya a Mejor Actriz Revelación 2024
Episode: La charla | Janet Novás, premio Nacional de Danza: "El cuerpo me ha contado la vida entera"
Date: December 3, 2025
Language: Spanish

Episode Overview

This episode features an in-depth conversation between Ángel and Janet Novás, renowned gallega artist, dancer, choreographer, and recent recipient of Spain’s Premio Nacional de Danza in Interpretation (2025) and a Goya for Best New Actress (2024). The interview explores the central role of the body in art and life, the origins and challenges of pursuing a career in dance, the transmission of memory and knowledge through physicality, struggles for recognition in contemporary dance, and the cross-pollination between stage and screen.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Significance of Origin and Identity

• Janet reflects on how her upbringing in rural Galicia shapes her artistic sensibility and bodily expression.
• Quote:

  "Con los años le das más valor venir de donde vienes. Cuando eres niña quieres salir de este lugar... y cuando sales y viajas, vas bebiendo con unas ganas impresionantes."
  — Janet Novás (00:20)

• She credits her land, culture, and local landscapes for contributing to her creative depth and intensity.

2. The Body as a Source of Knowledge

• Janet sees the body as a vessel of history, memory, and truth—often more so than language.
• Quote:

  "El cuerpo contiene la música, la interpretación, la danza. Eso es todo... la belleza de la danza atiende al conocimiento puro del cuerpo."
  — Janet Novás (01:01)

• She describes her relationship with dance as an intuitive process of excavation and connection:

  "El cuerpo me lo ha contado todo... me ha permitido hacer una especie de excavación sobre el conocimiento del cuerpo."
  — Janet Novás (03:12–03:24)

• For Janet, the body "says everything about us" and reconnecting with it is an urgent need today.

3. Transmission and Ancestry

• The guest emphasizes that bodily knowledge and dance are inherited assets, both personal and collective:

  "La danza me trae un conocimiento de atrás, un conocimiento ancestral que lo tenemos todos."
  — Janet Novás (03:48)

• She views the body as a living archive, particularly important in communities where older generations lacked full access to formal education.

4. Emotional Communication in Art

• Janet seeks to reach audiences—especially those from backgrounds like her own—through emotional resonance before intellectual understanding.

  "Para mí viene primero la emoción, que es la que activa algo, que organiza todo lo demás..."
  — Janet Novás (08:41)

• She deliberately crafts her artistic language to be accessible, aiming to connect regardless of people's prior relationship with the arts.

5. Early Experiences and the Role of Family

• Janet began her movement journey in rhythmic gymnastics and traditional Galician dance, initially through neighborhood exposure.
• Her family supported her in childhood, but were more hesitant when she wanted to pursue dance professionally.
• She cites her parents as an important audience filter and as inspiration for creating work that is emotionally and culturally resonant. (07:28–08:29)

6. Challenges and Precarity in Professional Dance

• Janet outlines the systemic difficulties facing dancers: limited opportunities (often only a single show), lack of institutional support, and minimal media visibility.
• Quote:

  "Lo normal es una función. Entonces no nos dejan ni generar público..."
  — Janet Novás (10:53)

• She laments the contradiction between society’s love for dance on platforms (TikTok, music videos) and the lack of stable infrastructure for contemporary performance.
• The responsibility of media in increasing visibility and changing perceptions is repeatedly underlined:

  "Yo creo que si nos dierais más cobertura sería un paso grande."
  — Janet Novás (12:22)

7. Media Recognition and Shift with Cinema

• While participation in the film "Ocorno" and winning the Goya raised her profile, Janet notes it hasn't translated directly into more opportunities for programming in dance.
• She discusses the artistic and personal transition to film, including the story of how director Hayón cast her for her animalistic physicality seen years before on stage.
• Quote:

  "Siempre digo que la danza me lo ha dado hasta... Me ha quitado mucho, pero más en lo personal, pero me ha dado mucho también."
  — Janet Novás (15:41)

8. The Paradox of Artistic Freedom

• Film provided some relief from the exhausting demands of constant self-direction in dance.

  "Ser libre es muy agotador también... Cuando llevas 20 años... es agotador."
  — Janet Novás (16:20, 16:26)

• Janet admits considering leaving dance due to its precarity but found new energy through collaborative projects like film.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "El cuerpo dice muchísimo, muchísimo [de nosotros]."
  — Janet Novás (04:30)
• "Volver al cuerpo es una urgencia."
  — Janet Novás (04:36)
• "El cuerpo no miente. Con la palabra se miente, el cuerpo no miente."
  — Ángel / Janet Novás (09:14–09:18)
• "La danza contemporánea no se entiende, está un poco este discurso..."
  — Janet Novás (11:25)
• On her mother’s pride after a performance in an abandoned factory, due to media coverage:

  "Cómo pueden cambiar los medios de comunicación y generar otro pensamiento sobre esa presentación... de pronto, ay, quedó precioso."
  — Janet Novás (12:41–13:56)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:20–01:10 — On the meaning and impact of her origins and the body in art
• 03:05–03:44 — On intuition, bodily connection, and “letting the body tell”
• 04:30–05:07 — On the body as memory and the importance of reconnecting
• 06:17–07:17 — Childhood experiences, family support and entering dance
• 08:29–08:53 — Audience connection: emotion before comprehension
• 09:14–09:57 — Truth in the body vs. language; emotion and voice in performance
• 10:06–11:41 — Precariousness of the dance profession and public barriers
• 12:22–13:56 — The impact of media visibility and personal anecdotes
• 15:00–15:58 — Pathway from dance to cinema and impact of those experiences
• 16:20–17:21 — Artistic exhaustion, freedom, and the benefit of new challenges

Conclusion

This conversation with Janet Novás vibrantly illustrates how dance, body, and memory intertwine to shape not only artistic identity, but also how we interact with and communicate our experiences. Janet’s honesty about precariousness, her advocacy for broad accessibility, and anecdotes straddling Galicia, stage, and screen, offer a nuanced look at artistic life in contemporary Spain: passionate, demanding, often under-recognized, but always deeply felt.