La Jornada: “We are responsible for our bodies and we must raise awareness”

The dance will take the National Center for the Arts (Cenart) today and tomorrow to remember that “the body is a territory for which we are responsible, so we must raise awareness, because we live on the edge of the abyss and life is a precious gift,” said the dancer and choreographer Eugenia Vargas, who together with Raissa Pomposo, curated the programming with which the International Dance Day will be celebrated, which has been commemorated every April 29 since 1982.

With the motto From enjoyment to resistance, this celebration conceives dance as a profound manifestation of human existence, a practice where the body reveals itself impacted by history, culture and emotions.

The meeting brings together tapatío syrup, ballet, flamenco rumba, hip hop, contemporary dance, butoh and performance, among other dance expressions. More than a sum of genres, the programming raises a question: what do we celebrate when we dance and what do we resist when doing so?

Vargas indicated to The Day The motto arises from the fact that dance is an extraordinary language that overwhelms the body and moves it. “The festival once again reclaims our presence in the world as part of the totality of the universe and its splendor. Also reminding us that life is not this constant production that has led us to acceleration, individualism, superficiality and consumption, but that dance and art in general return us to our bodies.”

Reabren Black Box

Among the scheduled highlights is the reopening of Black Box, a forum of the National School of Classical and Contemporary Dance that has remained closed since the pandemic due to a flood. “It is a beautiful space, with an experimental spirit. Having it again is something to be celebrated,” said Vargas.

The inauguration of International Dance Day. From enjoyment to resistance will be on Saturday today at 11 a.m. at the Teatro de las Artes; The activities will begin with the work in progress of the work Ariadne, an infinite path, from the Academy of Mexican Dance.

Subsequently, attendees will be able to enjoy a wide variety of shows such as sutured vicera, at the Salvador Novo theater; a choreography by Itzal Beltrán, who is part of the Cultural and Social Interaction Program (PICS) of the System of Support for Creation and Cultural Projects; Omens, from the Social Body Theater company, in the Plaza de las Artes, and Heart Sutra, by Spartaco Martínez, at the Teatro de las Artes.

Tomorrow the pieces will be presented NAKED, work in progress of the Mexican Dance Academy; Overturns: Intimate cartography, of Flesh and Bone Society, and Umbria, of the Ritual Dance Theater Stage Laboratory, directed by Eugenia Vargas, also from PICS, at the Black Box Experimental Forum; Dignified rage, joyful rebellion, from the company Otra Danza Es Posible, in the Plaza de las Artes, and Of the human, by INTERflamenca, at the Teatro de las Artes.

The conversation will also be held today Dance-performance research in the 21st century. InveC-Labs Seminar, with the participation of Hilda Islas, Citlali Rojas and Raissa Pomposo. Meanwhile on Sunday the talk will be offered Dancing corporeality as a decolonial, cosmic and rebellious manifestation, with Teresa Carlos, Juan Carlos Palma and Eugenia Vargas, both activities in the Magna José Vasconcelos classroom.

Companies such as Leviatán Dance Project, the Ballet Ensemble of Mexico, Flamencalli, the National School of Classical and Contemporary Dance, the Choreographic Workshop of the UNAM, Danzariega, the Company of the National School of Folkloric Dance, the Contemporary Dance Production Center, Moebius Danza, will participate in this Cenart commemoration (79 Río Churubusco Avenue, corner of the Tlalpan road). Sensodanza, Barro Rojo Performing Arts, Alma Cimarrona, ABADÁ Capoeira, Stage Dance, Hip Folk and Fuga, Dance for Groups with Mixed Abilities, among others.

Art in motion at UNAM

On Sunday, May 3, the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) will also celebrate the art of dance with a program of 11 continuous hours with 181 activities in 11 forums; 25 thousand people are expected to attend.

The agenda, which ranges from traditional, folkloric and indigenous dances to ballet, contemporary, jazz and urban dance, will take place from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. at the University Cultural Center (Insurgentes Sur 3000, Ciudad Universitaria).

The university meeting has the motto We dance to find ourselves, and proposes to understand dance as an experience of deep recognition.

“Dancing is an act of freedom and joy. It is also a collective practice where the body is recognized as a territory of identity and belonging, and where movement becomes a way of inhabiting the world,” Danza UNAM shares.

Among the activities is the interactive Danzódromo that will take place in the Juan Luis de Alarcón Garden, where the public will learn basic steps of rhythms such as salsa, bachata, reggaeton and k-pop in 20-minute sessions.

The presentations highlight the TCUNAM Contemporary Gala, the work Root that does not die and the closing with a file and sound activation on the Espiga esplanade. The complete program can be consulted at https://www.danza.unam.mx/did26.

All activities on the occasion of International Dance Day are free of charge.