Save the Last Dance for Me promotes the Chinese polka tradition in El Chopo

The Italian choreographer Alessandro Sciarroni, with his work Save the Last Dance for Meinspired by the Chinese polka, a courtship dance typically performed by men, seeks to promote and revive that tradition, whose presence has decreased in recent years.

The piece, which is part of the TONO Festival programming, is presented today at 1 p.m. at the Chopo University Museum.

Sciarroni, who since 2007 has designed productions that fuse the performing and visual arts, told The Day that the inspiration to create Save the Last Dance for Me “It comes from my meeting with Giancarlo Stagni, a ballroom dance teacher who, over the years, rediscovered this folk dance thanks to some archival videos and made it known by teaching it to new dancers.”

In the once popular Chinata polka, which is part of the cultural heritage, men embrace and spin in a continuous motion while bending their knees until they reach the ground. The dancers performed it at social dances.

In the words of Sciarroni, the chinata “was a way to show an almost acrobatic dance in the hope of impressing the girls present at an event.”

The contemporary reinterpretation carried out by the choreographer is a duet in which the steps are the same as in the original dance. “We tried to respect it as much as possible. In our version, we modified the duration by lengthening it and, of course, we worked on the music. By changing the soundscape, it is possible to highlight certain aspects that might otherwise go unnoticed,” Sciarroni explained.

In his proposals, the choreographer adopts a conceptual and theatrical approach, incorporating techniques and practices derived from dance and related disciplines. For the creator, fusing tradition with the contemporary is a process that he always carries out in collaboration with the dancers, the composers, and in the case of Save the Last Dance for Mewith the people who guard the Chinese polka tradition.

“What interests me is that those who see it can be part of an experience. A dance only disappears if it falls into oblivion. As long as its memory continues to be transmitted, the dance will have the strength to survive,” he said.

In addition to the work, Sciarroni has promoted a series of workshops taught by Gianmaria Borzillo and Giovanfrancesco Giannini that do not aim to train participants to become expert Chinata polka dancers, but rather to create a sense of community and transmit the technique to as many people as possible with the aim of preserving it.

“The objective of the workshop is to make this dance known and prevent it from falling into oblivion. It is also an opportunity for participants to dance as a couple and come into contact with another person. For this reason, the workshop is open to everyone, not just professional dancers.”

The show Save the Last Dance for Meby Alessandro Sciarroni, is presented today at 1:00 p.m. in the Arnold Belkin room of the Chopo University Museum, located at 10 Dr. Enrique González Martínez Street, Santa María la Ribera neighborhood, Mexico City.