{"id":3664,"date":"2012-07-23T14:30:17","date_gmt":"2012-07-23T18:30:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/?p=3664"},"modified":"2012-07-23T14:30:17","modified_gmt":"2012-07-23T18:30:17","slug":"latin-choreographers-festival-2012","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/latin-choreographers-festival-2012.htm","title":{"rendered":"Latin Choreographer’s Festival 2012"},"content":{"rendered":"

Latin Choreographer\u2019s Festival
\nDance New Amsterdam
\nSunday, July 15, 2012 – Program A
\nAll Photos by Rachel Neville<\/a><\/p>\n

\"2<\/a><\/p>\n

Every year at this time I open a new file and begin typing up superlatives about the Latin Choreographer\u2019s Festival.\u00a0 This year is no different.\u00a0 Once again, the festival brought a diverse program featuring numerous Latin voices in choreography, and an array of beautiful dancers to present the work.<\/p>\n

The festival, dedicated to the memory of Jose Limon, opened with a short black and white film made in Mexico about Limon\u2019s life and work.\u00a0 It covered the ways in which Limon\u2019s masculine choreography \u201celectrified the world\u201d.\u00a0 Included was a short discussion of the ways in which Limon was challenged to assimilate in America.\u00a0 Variations on this theme showed up again in some of the other dances presented at the festival.<\/p>\n

Another theme that ran through some of the pieces was the depiction of the stresses of everyday life, and the search for a way in which to move beyond them.\u00a0 Zachary Tracz danced Carolina Rivera\u2019s Bodhi with great style and expression.\u00a0 His torso contracts and his arms are thrown forward, as if he\u2019s negotiating some kind of rough terrain, and moving forward under adverse conditions.\u00a0 His hands tremble as he looks toward the heavens.\u00a0 Then his body tenses and his hands close into fists.\u00a0 The tension builds until he finds himself pressed against the floor, where he finds a very small gong.\u00a0 Once the gong is rung, the transformation into serenity begins.<\/p>\n

\"Ojala<\/a>Katia Garza and Sebastian Serra deliver emotion packed performances in the ballet Ojala, choreographed by Ana Cuellar.\u00a0 There is trouble between their two characters and based on the lovely words printed in the program, they\u2019ve either chosen to go their separate ways, or they\u2019ve been separated by death.\u00a0 Garza\u2019s movement is marked with longing and searching.\u00a0 They embrace, and then with sad faces, they drift apart.\u00a0 The choreography is punctuated with beautiful lifts and great use of counterpoint.<\/p>\n

\"Maribel<\/a><\/p>\n

Maribel Michel danced an excerpt called Paranoia from a longer piece choreographed by Miguel Angel Palmeros, titled Retratos de Locura (Portraits of Madness), an intense modern piece with excellent expressive dancing by Michel.\u00a0 In the harsh lighting, at times she seems possessed by fear or pain — and at other times she seems to be in prayer, but she moves forward nonetheless.\u00a0 Her eyes are wide, her brow furrowed, her movement defensive.\u00a0 She stays low to the ground and the industrial sounding music beeps as tension builds.\u00a0 From time to time, vignettes are played out along the back wall of the stage, by a couple dressed in gray.\u00a0 They carry out an animated argument until they go static, their fingers still waggling.<\/p>\n

I felt a real soft spot for Eloy Barragan\u2019s Tree.\u00a0 This piece addressed life in the diaspora, where the houses don\u2019t ever quite feel like home, and the landscape is constantly changing.\u00a0 Dancer Steven Gray displayed quiet strength, great musicality and seamless transitions between fast and slower motion.\u00a0 I liked the originality of this piece and its beautiful rolling movement which continuously unfolded and never seemed to stop, accompanying a yearning piece of violin music by Max Richter.<\/p>\n

\"Hidden<\/a>Ursula Verduzco\u2019s Hidden Souls, which illustrates the domination and silencing of women, has atmospheres that are at times eerie and almost medieval.\u00a0 A single woman moves along a diagonal in a ritualistic fashion to choral music by Dead Can Dance.\u00a0 She is clad in black and her head and mouth are covered.\u00a0 She struggles to get the attention, or even the mercy of an angry and domineering man who refuses to listen to her.\u00a0 A small group of dancers, each dragging a chair, pick ups on the canon of movement while the main character seems to have found her own power.\u00a0 The music changes and she begins to move with authority.\u00a0 I especially liked this passage in the piece, and the effective use of the chairs to create changes in height and level.\u00a0 The counterpoint is beautiful and haunting.\u00a0 It seemed to tell the story of the resilience of the human spirit, and it\u2019s determination to keep fighting, even if the battle is already lost.\u00a0 Then, to tell the sad story of the fate of these women, they wind up moving in unison with their overlord.\u00a0 This is a very dramatic and gripping piece.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Briones\u2019 Al Reves, explores the drama of conflicting feelings in a relationship.\u00a0\u00a0 Ursula Verduzco and Steven Gray swagger along the edges of the spotlight, eyeing each other like boxers in a ring might do right before the match.\u00a0 Their movement is confrontational, each one lifting their chest and chin.\u00a0 They embrace, they push each other away, they chatter at each other so that neither can hear what the other is saying, and despite all this, the tenderness between them keeps rolling up to the surface.\u00a0 Sometimes much is said in the absence of a movement \u2013 Verduzco falls to the floor and Gray offers her a hand up, but she remains still — reluctant to accept his kind gesture.<\/p>\n

Choreographer and dancer Felix Cruz gave a compelling and emotional performance of Other Side of Someday, giving voice to life\u2019s frustrations and the wish to navigate past stormy seas into calmer waters.\u00a0 Cruz stands stoically even as he is being attacked.\u00a0 His hair is pulled and he\u2019s slammed to the floor, but he recovers and maintains an impassive stare.\u00a0 When he is finally punched in the face, he takes on the role of the attacker and turns the violence on himself.\u00a0 He slaps himself.\u00a0 The soundtrack becomes menacing as he flails about, falling very heavily again and again, his body tense and stricken.\u00a0 He recovers as the strains of Judy Garland\u2019s Over the Rainbow play, and he lip synchs the lyrics with surprising emotion, sensitivity and yearning.\u00a0 This was a very touching performance.<\/p>\n

\"Bitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Ferdinand DeJesus\u2019 Bitter Earth was danced by Asha Davis to the Dinah Washington classic about the sorrows of love and loss.\u00a0 She is dressed in white and despite the blues atmosphere created by the music, she appears to be rising up and moving ahead in hope.\u00a0 The movement was at times reminiscent of Ailey\u2019s early work, and Davis delivered a genuine and unpretentious performance.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/a>Manuel Vignouelle\u2019s edgy and ambitious In A Box was one of the festival\u2019s highlights.\u00a0 It dealt with matters that have been weighing heavily on me recently \u2013 specifically how compartmentalized and \u201cboxed in\u201d we can become in a place like New York City.\u00a0 Parent wears an arresting expression of innocence and searching — there is an originality to her dancing that I just adored.\u00a0 As the dance opens, her movement is very confined \u2013 she pushes at the invisible walls which have her trapped and she does not travel.\u00a0 It\u2019s only when Vignouelle joins her that the movement becomes a bit more expansive.\u00a0 They may shake and vibrate, but the energy is then released.\u00a0 There were some interesting and original canons in this piece, along with a few towering lifts which were resolved with\u00a0 dramatic falls.\u00a0 Vignouelle took risks with this piece and they paid off.<\/p>\n

\"Beethover<\/a><\/p>\n

The evening closed with David Fernandez\u2019s Beethoven Sonatas, a playful ballet piece full of good humor.\u00a0 At times the body directly mimics the music \u2013 small fast movement of the feet will echo a trill on the piano.\u00a0 A dancer’s hands will fall on an imaginary piano keyboard, miming as if they were playing the closing chord of the music.\u00a0 The dancers tug on the lapels of their tux jackets, or wag their fingers while doing neck isolations as if to say, \u201cOh no you didn\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 It was a very sweet piece, danced beautifully by Dorrie Garland, Karina Teran, Laura DiOrio and Roberto Lara<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Latin Choreographer\u2019s Festival Dance New Amsterdam Sunday, July 15, 2012 – Program A All Photos by Rachel Neville Every year at this time I open a new file and begin typing up superlatives about the Latin Choreographer\u2019s Festival.\u00a0 This year … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,20],"tags":[422,427,305,419,392,307,425,426,420,301,429,428,423,424,421,311,302,418],"class_list":["post-3664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dance","category-karen","tag-ana-cuellar","tag-asha-davis","tag-benjamin-briones","tag-carolina-rivera","tag-david-fernandez","tag-eloy-barragan","tag-felix-cruz","tag-ferdinand-dejesus","tag-katia-garza","tag-latin-choreographers-festival","tag-manon-parent","tag-manuel-vignouelle","tag-maribel-michel","tag-miguel-angel-palmeros","tag-sebastian-serra","tag-steven-gray","tag-ursula-verduzco","tag-zachary-tracz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3664","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3664"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3664\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3688,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3664\/revisions\/3688"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3664"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3664"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/irasperipheralvisions.com\/WetPaint\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3664"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}