“Only mass social movements can save us now. If that happens, well, it changes everything.”
-Naomi Klein
TrashBata
TrashBata is a one-woman multidisciplinary performance that uses flamenco to confront the presence of plastic in our environment.
Rooted in flamenco—a traditional art form from Andalucía, Spain—the work draws on its expressive relationship between the dancer and the bata de cola, a long train that becomes both extension and obstacle.
A traditional bata de cola—the iconic long train skirt of flamenco—becomes a trail of plastic waste that follows the dancer with every movement, transforming the body into a site of tension between beauty, burden and accumulation.
MISSION
Plastic can take hundreds of years to decompose, yet it is designed for us to use and throw away in seconds. Microplastics are already present in our bodies, our air, and our water. The scale of the problem can feel overwhelming.
TrashBata was created to transform that feeling into awareness and agency. Rather than offering answers, the work invites audiences to sit with essential questions: What is happening? How did it get this way? What is our role within it?
Through performance, TrashBata seeks to make the presence of plastic visible, tangible, and embodied. By engaging the senses—through movement, sound, and material—the work creates space for reflection that is both personal and collective.
At its core, the project is rooted in the belief that art can play a meaningful role in social transformation. By shifting perception and fostering awareness, it opens the possibility for new ways of thinking, feeling, and acting in relation to the world around us.
Visit the TrashBata YouTube channel
The PERFORMANCE
Performance Structure
Soundscape
Underwater
Confusingly Beautiful (Belleza Misteriosa)
Saeta (Naturaleza Desnuda)
Plastic Waves (Olas de Plástico)
Old Voices (Voces Antiguas)
Written on the Water (Escrito en el Agua)
Finale: Alegrías
TrashBata unfolds as a solo multidisciplinary performance by Bárbara Martínez, occasionally joined by a flamenco musician for the closing number—an alegría (happiness), offering a moment of release and contrast. The work opens with an interactive soundscape, inviting the audience to participate from their seats and become part of the sonic environment.
The performance moves through a series of interconnected scenes. It begins with video art evoking underwater life through the movement of hands, transitioning into an idyllic natural landscape where choreography and original composition celebrate the beauty of sea creatures and birds. In this section, the artist dances with objects made from discarded materials—a shawl fashioned from a shower curtain, plastic gloves, and bottle caps.
The tone shifts as a traditional flamenco saeta, sung in English and Spanish, accompanies the artist as she entangles herself in a trailing mass of black garbage bags. This is followed by a Sisyphean sequence in which plastic utensils are repeatedly thrown and gathered, evoking cycles of consumption and accumulation.
The performance concludes with a traditional flamenco dance, offering a moment of contrast and release, while leaving the central tensions of the work unresolved, inviting reflection beyond the performance space.
Email barbaritaole@gmail.com if you are interested in bringing this program to your school, center or organization.
visual language
The visual world of TrashBata is shaped through the transformation of everyday materials into symbolic and performative elements.
This project has a symbiotic relationship with the photography of the visionary, Alejandro Durán.
PROCESS
Collaborations
TrashBata has developed through collaborations with artists across disciplines, expanding its visual, musical, and conceptual language.
Visual artists and designers have played a key role in shaping the material world of the piece, including costume designer Sally Lesser and visual artist Linda Griggs, whose work contributed to the development of the sculptural elements and visual environment.
The project is in dialogue with the photographic work of Alejandro Durán, whose images of plastic waste in natural landscapes echo and extend the environmental questions explored in performance.
Musical collaborations have also informed the work, including composer and guitarist Alfredo Lagos, whose compositions intersect with the sonic landscape of the piece.
Each collaboration contributes to the evolving nature of TrashBata, allowing the work to shift and respond to different environments and audiences.
Artwork by Clemente Ettrick
“Madre Agua” with Afro-Cuban dancer/musician Goussy Célestin.
Community & Engagement
TrashBata extends beyond the stage through participatory performance, workshops, and adaptations for younger audiences.
Audience engagement is central to the work. Through guided sound-making, participants contribute their voices to a collective sonic environment—evoking water, movement, and shared intention. These moments invite deep listening and a sense of group momentum, transforming spectators into active participants.
The project also engages directly with material reuse. Much of the plastic used in TrashBata has been collected through community involvement, including contributions from students in New York City. This process connects the work to everyday life, making visible the materials we often overlook.
By combining artistic experience with collective participation, TrashBata creates space for reflection on environmental impact while fostering awareness, connection, and creative agency.
Performance history
TrashBata was launched in 2020 with a grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and was first performed via livestream on October 30, 2021 at the studios of Creative Cultural Center, NYC thanks to a grant from New York Foundation for the Arts City Artist Corps.
April 22, 2023 was a day of art and culture at Sparkle on Stage on the Nautical Mile in Freeport, Long Island. This was a first-time collaboration with painter Clemente Ettrick and Operation SPLASH.
PAST PERFORMANCES
Aug 16, 2024 - The Baha'i center in Valley Stream, NY
Sept 12, 2024 & Sept 15, 2025 - The Great Neck Library, NY
Oct 12, 2024 - Nassau Community College, NY
April 22, 2023 - Sparkle on Stage, NY
August 7, 2022 - Gardiner Library, Gardiner, NY
July 8, 2022 - Hecksher Park, NY
October 30, 2021 - Creative Cultural Center, NY
acknowledgements
TrashBata was developed with support from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council.
The artist extends gratitude to the many collaborators, performers and community members who have contributed to the evolution of this work: Sally Lesser, Linda Griggs, Alfredo Lagos, Engin Gunaydin, photographers Alejandro Durán, Justin Hofman and Noel Guevara and grants from LMCC, NYFA, NYC Cultural Affairs.
Make a donation
Zelle (barbaritaole@gmail.com)
Your support goes toward things like transportation, outreach and artist fees and is immensely appreciated!