Antón Reixa: from being in a coma to becoming a dancer
- Nov 11, 2025
- 3 min read
On the stage of Cicatriz, dancer and choreographer Kirenia Martínez Acosta and poet—now also dancer—Antón Reixa meet. She brings over 25 years of turns and leaps on stage, along with injuries she navigates in every performance to keep moving forward. He learns each day to cope with the aftermath of a traffic accident that left him with a 65% physical disability after several days in a coma.
The eyes follow the lines of their bodies, and the mind wonders how this could be Reixa’s first time committing to a structured choreography. “Contemporary dance was a code I couldn’t understand,” he admits.
The first emotional lesson came with Afectos—a co-production by Kirenia Danza and the Galician Choreographic Center—where dance and Reixa’s verses first intersected. At that time, he was simply an “enchanted” spectator.
The second lesson arrived when Kirenia Martínez asked the singer of Os Resentidos to write an entire poetry collection for a new piece. The result was 500 verses about desire. “They all begin with the word ‘I want’,” Reixa notes.
Then came another step. “She told me I had to be on stage with her. I thought that meant reciting. The surprise was that I had to dance,” he confesses.
Dancing at 68, after a coma
That’s when an “accelerated four-month training” began. “First I had to get my body in shape, because I have a 65% physical disability after my last traffic accident,” the artist explains.
“I’m 68, not the best age to start dancing. But I did. I relied—Antón Reixa says—on videos and books. I’ll present the result this Friday at the Municipal Auditorium of Vigo at eight in the evening.”
The show—co-produced by the Galician Choreographic Center—has an inclusive character. “It challenges physical disabilities and also ageism,” he summarizes.
Reixa’s main aftereffect is neuropathy, “a constant, permanent pain in my legs. But with dance and exercise I’ve improved a lot. I’ve come to know my body better. I learned how essential breathing is.”
The codes of contemporary dance
Beyond adding physical exercise—something Reixa had never done before—the new dancer embraced the codes of contemporary dance, especially solidarity: “You have to give your weight and support the other person’s weight.”
Above all, the former president of SGAE and director of the film adaptation of The Carpenter’s Pencil by Manuel Rivas emphasizes that he had to overcome his own prejudices about contemporary dance. “It’s not acrobatics; it’s deeply connected to emotion and visual expression. That’s why I was able to move forward in the process,” he concludes.
Galicia, Huesca, Bavaria, and America
“What I thought would be just a premiere turned into a tour that even took me to a festival in Bavaria, Germany, and will soon take me to America next year. It connects with what I’ve been doing for years—performance and staged poetry. I feel very comfortable and satisfied, because if we keep going, it’s because the show resonates everywhere it goes,” he says.
The aim is to add more dates across Spain. Hope grew after attending the International Theatre and Dance Fair in Huesca weeks ago, where Reixa and Kirenia M. Acosta connected with several cultural programmers.
A reflection on desire and aspirations
Regarding the meaning of the piece, Reixa highlights that “it’s a reflection on desire—and on the desire to desire. Without desire, life becomes tedious and depressing.” This idea unfolds through 500 verses, voiced offstage by actress Antela Cid (his daughter), delivered as spoken word to “create a sound atmosphere,” accompanied by digital music from Marcos Payno and Bruno Baw.
The desires in the piece point to “motivation to keep living. Some relate to the body; others are social—linked to politics or environmental conservation.” For the author, “the sum of desires should shape a better society and a more livable life for everyone.”
Given this hopeful vision, why include bars on stage? Are the protagonists trapped? Reixa replies: “No. It’s a scenic element symbolizing the territory of life—spaces we enter and exit. The bars are movable across the stage.”
The poetry book Cicatriz to be published by Elvira
Another question concerns the title Cicatriz (“Scar”). “Because desire has consequences; it leaves scars along the way,” the poet sums up.
Two new paths now open. On one hand, the publication of the performance text: the poetry book will soon be released by Elvira Publishing. On the other, ongoing physical practice: “I used to be an absolute enemy of sport. Here I exercise with purpose, in service of the performance. I get to know my body better and feel better. The days I perform this work are days I’m grateful for.”