Project Archive

Abstract:

I am a Salvadoran-American dance theater artist and educator who creates dance works through the lens of Butoh, a Japanese dance theater practice founded in the 1950s by Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno. My works are also influenced by many past and current artists including Mexican choreographer, José Limón, German Neo-Expressionist, Pina Bausch, and Israeli choreographer, Ohad Naharin. It is important to me to celebrate my queer-Salvadoran identity particularly in spaces where it might not be welcomed. “La Verdad de mis Mentiras”, is a dance that tells the story of grappling with my closeted queerness through different memories from childhood to adulthood. The dance will explore my projections about how I imagine dealing with my queerness as I age, thereby forgoing a path to the full expression of my identity, and thereby fulfilling my intention to navigate the passage through death with authenticity and power. To achieve this, I will be creating movement through a fusion of Butoh aesthetics and Salvadoran traditions while experimenting with the projected emotions of memories that have not yet been formed. Furthermore, I will be investigating my closeted queerness with the intention of acknowledging others who feel a similar conflict over not being seen and accepted as they truly are.

PROGRAM NOTES: “La Verdad de mis Mentiras” will exude discomfort, sorrow, and hope, and will be danced in five sections with music by Michael Wall: 1. El bebe, reminiscing about my childhood. 2. El adolescente, the realizations of my adolescent years. 3. El adulto, solidifying who I am as a person. 4. El viejo, what I will be like as I age. 5. La muerte, how I will navigate the passage through death with power and dignity.