Mariposa: Carlos Pons Guerra’s Radical Reimagining of Madama Butterfly Arrives in London

---

For choreographer Carlos Pons Guerra, the journey to Mariposa has been a long one—six years, in fact. The production, which is now set to make its London debut at The Place, is an audacious reimagining of Madama Butterfly, weaving in elements of colonial history, queer identity, and gender transformation. It is, as Pons Guerra puts it, a ballet without words, where bodies tell a story of love, betrayal, and hope.

“I fell in love with Madama Butterfly when I was a child,” he recalls. “My grandmother took me to see it back home in Gran Canaria. It probably wasn’t the best choice for a nine-year-old—it’s a very dramatic story—but I became obsessed with it. Later, she would tell me the story as a bedtime tale, which probably explains why I turned out so dramatic as an adult! Then I came across Miss Saigon and became even more obsessed. I always wanted to make my own version.”

As a young choreographer, Pons Guerra saw a ballet adaptation of Puccini’s opera, but something about it unsettled him. “I started feeling uncomfortable with how the story was being told, and I thought, ‘What would I do with this?’” That question became the foundation of Mariposa, which took shape as a recontextualised version of the opera, now set in the Caribbean.

The Caribbean Influence

Pons Guerra’s version of Madama Butterfly found its voice while he was working in the Dominican Republic. There, he encountered male sex work on a scale that was both visible and widely accepted—something that exists in the UK but is often hidden. “I saw a lot of colonial influence in it—white European tourists coming to the island for that specific reason,” he explains. “It made me think about how the Caribbean still has these relationships with the West. That was when the story started to develop.”

The production’s aesthetic reflects this setting, drawing on influences from Havana’s historic docklands, queer nightlife, and the resourcefulness of drag culture under Cuba’s trade embargo. “There’s a faded, tropical quality to everything,” Pons Guerra says. “I was inspired by how drag queens in Havana in the 1980s would make wigs out of ropes and heels out of cans. Mariposa’s aesthetic is like flotsam and jetsam that’s washed up at the harbour—reclaimed and reimagined.”

Marrying Dance Disciplines and Finding the Right Score

Bringing Mariposa to life required more than just a reimagined narrative—it demanded a careful blend of dance styles and an entirely new approach to the music. “There’s classical ballet, but also very earthy contemporary movement and performative character work,” Pons Guerra explains. “The dancers have to be triple threats—able to bridge these styles seamlessly.”

Originally, he had intended to use Puccini’s score, but the realities of integrating it into his vision soon became apparent. “I love Puccini’s music—it’s stunning—but when we tried it, it didn’t fit. It’s very Orientalist, reflecting a Western fantasy of Asia, and that didn’t make sense in Cuba. Plus, it was hard to find orchestral versions without vocals, and I was constantly fighting with the music.”

Instead, Pons Guerra collaborated with composer Luis Miguel Cobos to craft a new score that reflected the textures of the Caribbean. “We thought about what the Docklands sound like—metal, dirty water, machinery. We also looked at Dominican and Cuban musical influences, incorporating merengue and salsa, but in ways that fit the story. The Puccini still appears, but only at key moments, as a symbol of Western fantasy but also as a beautiful representation of hope.”

Casting Challenges

Casting Mariposa required more than technical excellence—it demanded dancers who could embody characters with deep emotional nuance. “It’s like casting a film,” Pons Guerra says. “The hardest role to cast was Mariposa because it’s a male-presenting dancer who dances on pointe. Men traditionally haven’t been trained in pointe work, though that’s changing now. Harry Alexander, who will perform in London, is incredible—he was the original Mariposa and has a unique skill set.”

The role of Preston, the sailor, also posed a challenge. “He needed to have a specific kind of masculinity—dark and ominous,” Pons Guerra explains. “And beyond that, all the dancers had to be triple threats—proficient in classical ballet, contemporary dance, and strong character performers.”

The Power of Tragedy

Pons Guerra believes the enduring appeal of Madama Butterfly comes down to the universality of its themes. “It’s about absolute hope and absolute betrayal,” he says. “The protagonist waits by the harbour every night for her sailor to return, and then the devastating realisation comes that he never will.”

For the LGBTQ+ community, in particular, this narrative is deeply relatable. “So many of us have had to sacrifice family, friends, or parts of our identity to be with the person we love,” he notes. “I’ll never forget a man in the Canary Islands who told me after a show that Mariposa was his story—he had sacrificed everything for love, only to be abandoned.”

This emotional impact has been felt across different cultures and communities. “We had a moment in the Canary Islands where a man, a migrant from North Africa, came to see the show. He was in floods of tears because he said it was his story. He had left everything behind for a man who then left him for a woman. That sense of loss and betrayal is universal.”

Bringing Mariposa to London

Now, as Mariposa prepares for its London debut, Pons Guerra reflects on what it means to return to The Place, where he first presented his professional work in 2013. “There’s a real sense of coming full circle,” he says. “London has always been very special. And I feel like Mariposa will speak to a lot of people here, especially in the queer and migrant communities.”

Despite being based in the north of England, Pons Guerra acknowledges the significance of performing in the capital. “I’ve been in the UK for 20 years now,” he says, “and honestly, I feel more like I’m from Leeds than I do from Spain at this point. The north has given me more creative space than I could have found there, but London has always been an important part of my career.”

For Pons Guerra, the ultimate measure of success isn’t just full houses, but emotional connection. “I want audiences to feel something,” he says. “If they leave the theatre moved, if they cry or feel seen, then we’ve succeeded.”

As Mariposa takes flight in London, it marks not just the culmination of six years of work, but an affirmation of Pons Guerra’s vision—a bold, narrative-driven dance theatre that refuses to shy away from history, queerness, and the complexities of love and sacrifice. And as for what comes next? “We’re developing an adaptation of Edward II—another narrative dance piece, about a medieval king who was gay. It’s a continuation of the work I love to do: telling stories that have been hidden or misrepresented. And I don’t intend to stop anytime soon.”

Featured Image: DeNada Dance Theatre’s Mariposa, dancers Elle Fierce+Harry Alexander, photo Nacho Gonzalez

---

---

Mariposa will run at The Place, London, from 21–24 February 2025, before continuing its UK tour until 26 February 2025. For tickets and information, click here.

---