Raúl Tamez is awarded the Bessie Award for choreography Migrant Mother/Migrant Mother
The dancer and choreographer Raúl Tamez was recently distinguished with the Bessie Award, one of the most important awards given to the dance community in the United States.
The award to Tamez was for the choreography Migrant Mother/Madre Migrantea proposal on migration that alludes to marginalized voices and pays tribute to the majesty of the pre-Hispanic heritage, which was premiered last April by the Limon Dance Company at the Joyce Theater in New York.
The jury of the Bessie Awards expressed in the minutes that it awarded that award to the Mexican choreographer for creating a tribute to the immense pain that migrants who head to the United States go through every day. For creating a technically complex choreography, using bodies that sculpt in space and catch the eye; generating a deep somatic experience
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On the symbolism that this distinction represents, Tamez explains: It is the most important award I have received so far, since it has been won by the greatest choreographers of recent times. He represents the work of a 17-year career as a dancer and choreographer. It is a great incentive to continue doing my artistic work
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It is the most important award I have received so far.
assured the dancer and choreographer Raúl Tamez.Photo courtesy of the artist
From the point of view of the choreographer, who is also a sociologist from UNAM, this award represents a platform for internationalization and gives visibility to his name and legacy. At the same time, he believes that the award will surely pave the way for other choreographers and generations in the future.
The winner of the 2016 Guillermo Arriaga National Dance Award believes that winning the Bessie Awards obliges him to continue representing Mexico abroad because surely this will open the doors of other important companies in the world; to continue preserving the quality and research in my work
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Tamez is convinced of the importance that his choreography will have Migrant Mother/Madre Migrante. At the moment, a tour of Germany and Europe is already planned in March 2023.
The Bessie Awards for choreography have been awarded to important dance figures such as William Forsythe, Alonzo King, Billy T. Jones, Robert Wilson, Édouard Lock, Win Vandekeybus, Angeline Preljocaj, Jerome Bel and Ana Teressa de Keermarker.