The choreographer and dancer Melva Olivas Durazo (Hermosillo, Sonora, 1989) was inspired by a terrifying story to create a contemporary dance proposal that alludes to forced disappearances.
With artistic direction by Irina Marcano, The last day of summer It will be presented on May 24 and 26 in the Miguel Covarrubias room at the University Cultural Center (CCU), as part of season 111, From the Roots to the New Fruits.
“The seed of this project is the story ‘Adela’s House’, by the Argentine writer, journalist and teacher Mariana Enríquez, whose protagonists are three teenagers who decide to enter an abandoned house,” Olivas explained in an interview with The Conference
“As the home generates a lot of curiosity, they begin to fantasize about what it will be like inside. In the end, on the last day of summer they decide to enter, but it never occurred to them that their life will change completely, since that night everyone enters, but only two leave.
“The writer raises two possibilities: that the house is haunted, has its own personality and paranormal activity prevails; In the second (more realistic) it is thought that it was a possible kidnapping. However, despite searching for the body around the property, it never appears.
This context is not far from the current situation in Mexico. I have the same reflection as the author: where is the missing body?
Tone and language
Olivas Durazo’s montage was created specifically for the Choreographic Workshop of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (TCUNAM). On stage, there are three dancers: Salvador Sánchez and Alfredo Tame; Nadia Ramón and Ana Laura Barragán, who alternate in roles. Teacher Isabel García served as an assistant in the rehearsals.
Each work needs a specific tone and language of movement; I worked together with the protagonists based on individual and collective premises, and they were very willing to explore new languages, coupled with the fact that they were proactive about the ideas that I shared with them.
added Melva Olivas.
“Depending on the bodies of the dancers, among other particularities, I created a specific language to bring out their potential. As the environment is dense, the movements have a lot of weight and roots towards the floor. In some scenes we use the staccato (fast technique that comes to a pause), and in others, softer choreography with ethereal qualities.
As for the dramaturgy, I tried to stay as close to the structure of the story as possible. However, the main challenge was how to translate paranormal activity into human bodies and into space.
Olivas Durazo, who has stood out on the national and international scene for her search for amorphous languages, pointed out that Irina Marcano, new artistic director of TCUNAM, was the one who invited her to collaborate in the season From the Roots to the New Fruits.
The theme of the work refers to the questions that emerge when there are injustices, forced disappearances, as well as mourning and the impact this has on the lives of the characters. It is a very visual experience that at the same time connects with the emotional from curiosity, attachment to friends, separations and fear.
he concluded.
The functions of The last day of summer They will be on May 24 and 26 at 12:30 in the Miguel Covarrubias room at the CCU (3000 Insurgentes Sur avenue, Ciudad Universitaria, Coyoacán mayor’s office).
Admission for the first date will be free and the second will cost 80 pesos, with 50 percent discounts for students and seniors.