Okay - so seriously I think I am the world's worst blogger - considering that it has been almost a year since I last wrote - and so much has happened it feels a little overwhelming to know where to start! I am really committed to doing a better job of keeping this blog going - as a company we are growing so fast - and are connecting with so many peoples all over the country - developing a new genre of movement/ dance/ performance - as an artist (and a new mother) I am discovering how to have it all - and what it means to be in this field, to continue to grow in my artistry, while also raising a family and finding time to sleep... it seems pretty important to make sure I am:

1. keeping a log of the breakthroughs and progress, the struggles and challenges and of the every day minutia that make it all real and worth it

2. keeping in touch will all of our supporters and collaborators; sharing insights, questions, ruminations of this incredible journey (and so that my children may one day have these posts as a memory of their mama...)

3. keeping myself present to how far we have come... reading back on some of my old posts  - I am astounded...

Honestly my journal writing, since my son was born, has been almost non-existent, so I plan to use this as a kind of public journaling... sharing with you all out there this wild ride I am on called life... with the hopes that it somehow makes a difference... or at least is entertaining and fun at times... but no promises :) - Much love and good night - Happy Mother's day to all!

VOTE NOW!! Transform the world through access to dance for Los Angeles youth

VOTE FOR CONTRA-TIEMPO TO WIN $10,000 WHICH WILL GO TOWARDS OUR ARTS ED PROGRAMS IN SOME OF LA's MOST UNDERFUNDED AND UNDERSERVED SCHOOLS! YOU CAN VOTE TWICE:

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Also you can VOTE TWICE if you text Pepsi at 73774 and enter our code: 107237

Showing.Telling.Creating

Today is the last day of our FULL.STILL.HUNGRY creation week! We took a few days in a row to work through the structure of the piece and continue to develop the choreography for our debut in September (the 23rd - go ahead and get your tix!!!) It’s amazing to see how my original idea and this beautiful seed has germinated. It is starting to look like an actual comprehensive body of work! Today we will do an actual run through of all the different parts!! EEK! I am excited! Two more months until September! This is insane (but the good kind). It’s great to see a project that has taken years (swirling in my brain) finally come to fruition. It’s been an incredible learning process - a lot of vulnerability - a lot of self doubt and having to remind myself to have faith in my (and the) creative process... I have learned so much - it has been challenging but also DELICIOUS! As most of you who know me know, I love learning, and I am always searching for ways to expand - gracias Mom and Dad for always encouraging this; which is why I’m perfectly content if I don’t watch an hour of television (except when ABDC is on, but that’s dance, so for me, it’s educational/research - ok and the occasional reality show - which is more like watching a train wreck and has to do with my fascination with human beings :). As much as I love learning there’s nothing like teaching. I just taught a master class at Harvard Westlake with a great

group of young women. There was great synergy in the room. (Speaking of synergy - did you hear we are now officially sponsored by Synergy - the company that makes Kombucha!! Work it Michael Butler with your fierce marketing skills! I always try to create powerful and positive energy in every class I teach (I'm also starting my UCLA class this week - fostering a new wave of empowered Salseras!), because it inspires me and it makes me a better artist.

Speaking of teaching - I’m so honored and humbled that Dance Teacher magazine (HUGE DEAL since

it’s a national one) approached me for an interview! It should be coming out next month or in August at the latest - I’m living proof that you can be a recognized artist and an equally respected arts educator. Don’t buy into the all-those-who-can’t-make-it-teach - Please! If I didn’t teach my artistic work would be empty and if I didn't create work and dance - my teaching would be lifeless... they both make each other stronger... Oh by the way CONTRA-TIEMPO is doing a showing of (in progress) FULL.STILL.HUNGRY at 7pm on July 1st - it is more of an intimate, by invite only but I know if you are reading this blog you are most likely a close fan/friend and we would love to have you there! So shoot me an email if you want the details. We’re going to share what the work is so far and ask for input - as COMMUNICATING to the audience is a huge priority - so we have been doing these showings along the way to insure clear an affective communication!

Show, tell and love what you’re creating. Remember we are the create our reality so make up one that you would love to live!

I am BACK for REAL this time!!

I told you I was really back! Yes, this is an actual New Year’s resolution I want to keep, just took me some time to get to. These past four months have been a roller coaster.

For those of you who do not know, my husband and I adopted a

beautiful baby boy at the end of December. I’m in sheer mommy bliss and I love him immensely. He makes me want to blog, reflect on my life, appreciate the smallest details and be a better person. Yes, you actually have Sid to thank for these blogs! I’m actually sleeping more with him in my life too, which still isn't much pero bueno.... He just makes me so happy and I feel so positive when I’m around him. And if you believe in the power of positivity, you’ll know that it only attracts more.

With all of this baby talk, I can’t forget my 6 year old, CONTRA-TIEMPO. I would say ‘she’ is in her crawling stage. Haha, she is a little old for crawling, but you guys know what I mean; 6 in non-profit years. CONTRA-TIEMPO is about to TAKE

OFF; ya’ll have no idea what we have in store for 2012! We are growing, growing, growing EXPONENTIALLY. Before I became a mom, there were some people who thought CONTRA-TIEMPO would fall through cracks while I was away. Naturally, I was nervous (especially pre-Gala), but I had faith. Can I just say that I love our company members and teaching artists! Extra special shout outs to Michael, Ashlee and Marina! You guys have really stepped it up. Mike took over CONTRA-TIEMPO’s marketing and secured Gala sponsorships and now is our full fledged Marketing Coordinator, Ashlee, after our first successful summer, is now co-directing CONTRA-TIEMPO’s Summer Arts Academy, while Marina coordinating our very first CONTRA-TIEMPO Futuro and has been my accountability buddy in creating FULL.STILL.HUNGRY! Always good to have someone to help you stay on track! So many ideas and new projects have arisen for CONTRA-TIEMPO’s present and its future. And guess what? I am no longer leading them ALL! It has been incredible to let go and witness so much growth and leadership emerge - I feel the company's mission in my bones and in my heart - and I know I am not the only one!! I’m so blessed to live a life that I truly love. I feel so inspired by all of the incredible people I get to work with and I feel so thankful that this vision - this baby has not been neglected in my shifting priorities but is flourishing!

Speaking of flourishing and amazing journeys... let's talk about FULL.STILL.HUNGRY is. The root of our newest epic piece is about food - FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD! I was first inspired by this subject - while over the past few years I have had a few major health challenges that had me seeing a nutritionist - and with her I began to cut out wheat, sugar, soy, dairy and all things processed... I also starting eating meat (grassfed/organic meat only) after being a straight vegetarian for 21 years!!! I began to feel like a completely new human being and fascinated by this feeling, began reading everything I could get my hands on about food, nutrition and nourishing one's body... The piece is not about nutrition but about the complexity of our lives and how food can be a metaphor for understanding ourselves as individuals and the collective chaos of life that we all think is 'normal'... Imagine: Breast milk, Moros y C

ristianos/Black beans and Rice, Bobby Matos on the congas, Energy Drinks, Carmen Miranda, Vox Femina's powerful voice, Azucar! all together on this journey.... Yes, the web is weaving this way and that, and so are the branches, (there are now MANY narratives and many voices, not just mine), but I planted the seed and it has been growing and growing and growing...

Never be afraid to dream, friends! I’m spreading my baby boy's good vibes to all of you! May you attract love, beauty, support and brilliance into

your lives - there is enough to go around!

I'm BAA-AAAACK!

Artists aren’t going anywhere, I’m not going anywhere and neither is this blog! A long overdue HAPPY NEW YEAR to every one out in the blogosphere! There’s been a whirlwind of changes this year, I’m still trying to find my footing; you should see my inbox, ayayayay. Yet, I wouldn’t change any of it. I feel SO BLESSED in all aspects of my life!

 

Change equals growth! And so do collaborations. This past March, CONTRA-TIEMPO collaborated with Vox Femina on Nuestras Voces, or Our Voices, at Zipper Concert Hall. What an incredibly surreal experience!  40 BEAUTIFUL, TALENTED and POWERFUL women sang their hearts and souls out. I couldn’t even fathom the magnitude of the evening. CONTRA-TIEMPO had been rehearsing to a recording. I can honestly say that I was BLOWN AWAY when we performed it live! A part of me wanted to join the audience at moments, so that I could soak everything in. Soak in the beauty of 40 womens’ uplifting voices. Soak in how the CONTRA-TIEMPO dancers se entregaron/ how they lent their spirits, hearts and bodies to the music; the movements were fluid, clean and graceful. Soak in the audience’s engagement, enthusiasm and energy.  This is harmony, amigos!

 

There was something infectiously contagious about the evening. It’s so difficult to describe the sheer beauty. This has been a moment that has moved me artistically that I don’t experience everyday. A month later, the SYNERGY still makes me smile. This is what art is supposed to do; it’s what I live for! We hope to capture this synergy again when Cesar G. and I perform an abstract tango with Vox Femina this Saturday at Intercultural Conversations in Culver City; this is a free event mi gente, and it’d be great to see you all there!

 

One piece of copy about the Nuestras Voces event makes me giggle – “Who would have thunk to pair choral music with Latin dance?” (just ignore the sensual/spicy bits of the copy – that’s for another blog). Well, really, who would have?! Apart from being amazing people and supporters of CONTRA-TIEMPO, Vox Femina’s mission is completely aligned with CONTRA-TIEMPO’s. They give women VOICE through song, and we transform the world through dance by bringing to life VOICES that are not traditionally heard on the concert stage. VOILA! While our communities and audiences intersect, our mutual dedication to making our world an even better place than we found it through our art bonds us.

 

This (hopefully) long and fruitful partnership has paid off too! Apart from making me smile and grow as a person, this collaboration brought to fruition a new piece for the FULL.STILL.HUNGRY debut.  Vox Femina’s  Kasardescribes how the earth is tired. And in a piece that’s roots are in nourishment, food and consumption, Kasar is perfect! Be sure to check out Vox Femina at our Ford Amphitheatre FULL.STILL.HUNGRY debut on September 23, 2011!

 

Like I said, FULL.STILL.HUNGRY’s roots are set in the earth, but, boy, how the show’s been restructured. There are so many branches that our going this way and that, it’s so exciting! My hermanito, Cesar Alvarez, CONTRA-TIEMPO’s composer, just came into town last weekend, and he got to see the actual space. Let’s just say FULL.STILL.HUNGRGY won’t look or sound like what it did a month ago.

 

FULL.STILL.HUNGRY, CONTRA-TIEMPO and I are all growing and evolving as I write this (yes I don't have to be doing everything all the time :)! Where the tangled web we weave or branches form, nobody knows, well maybe we d, and it is going to be spectacular!!! I can't wait!

TOURING UP A STORM!

We have been touring up a storm this past month and a half - right after finishing an incredible tour to St. Paul, MN where we performed and did a week long residency at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts. We worked with middle school students, teen mothers at the AGAPE School, I lectured on Salsa and Gender for a community college class (Intercultural Communication), Arco Iris (Afro-Puerto Rican Community Center where they teach, dance and play Bomba), several master classes at Ordway and at the Performing Arts HS next door! It was a whirlwind of a week! Not to mention, we danced with the Grammy Award winning band TIEMPO LIBRE. Once we got back from this amazing experience, we stayed in LA for a week and headed back out to NYC. There we

performed for the Celia Cruz Bronx HS of Music! This is our company's first partner school in NYC! We hope to find a few more next year - and thanks to a three year grant (2010-2011 is the first year) we will be in the Bronx for the next two years! So excited to have an excuse to come back to New York. The students of Celia Cruz WORKED it and really inspired and moved us with their talent, skill, energy and SABOR! Now I am in Dallas, TX (the rest of the co. is still in LA) representing CONTRA-TIEMPO at the 25th Anniversary conference for the the NPN (National Performance Network). Already it has been an inspiring few days - to share the space with such and incredible group of artists, activists and cultural workers! I feel excited about taking on more leadership. I am committed to stepping outside of just making sure CONTRA-TIEMPO is thriving - but fighting and standing for the ARTS to THRIVE in this country. I know it can look bleak out there -but we have to believe that the arts will prevail and continue to fight for our society to get a clue... and realize that the world won't make sense without artists! And we AREN'T going anywhere!

click here!

CHECK OUT OUR NEW ARTS ED VIDEO!

Not good at this blogging thing!

So something I have learned this year is... I am not a good Blogger... I think about blogging a lot - but I never seem to actually sit down and write (online) about what is happening... moving through my mind... I feel like I am in a constant state of sharing what I/we/CONTRA-TIEMPO does with the world - through our performances, workshops, newsletters, emails, facebook, personal conversations and phone calls -but it would be great for folks to get an inside look - and also for me to flush out ideas, thoughts and movings - through this forum... it is a thought - something to work towards. Bill T. Jones is so good at it - I love reading his ideas and thoughts and have gained so much from how generously he shares himself... So thank you Bill T. - you are inspiring me to share myself more!

So much has happened since I last wrote! Over a year and a half ago!! We performed at Lincoln Center and Jacob's Pillow in August 2009; shared our work with 1000's of screaming (with joy) teenagers at Royce Hall (UCLA) and ASU Gammage (outside of Phoenix); we took our second delegation of artists to Cuba (our third one will be in 2012 - stay tuned for more info on that!); we were invited to be a part of the Performing Diaspora Festival in CounterPULSE, to begin creating new work that will be debuted in its' entirety next year 2011.

I have been reading, thinking, writing, and moving around this idea of consumption versus nourishment - our relationship to food as a metaphor for how dissatisfied we are as human beings - always searching for something to fulfill us - answer inside of us... and how this desire to be full and complete is so connected to gender, to globalization, oppression of others and to societal control over nature... the piece has finally called forth a title: FULL.STILL.HUNGRY

I am thrilled and inspired to be working on this new work and am dreaming choreography an staging ideas at night! This is always my sign that I am moving in the right direction! My family (immediate family) went to Cuba - my father - after 50 years returned to his patria - which was one of the most moving and beautiful experiences of my life. To be a part of this homecoming - but also to make sense of my affinity with this incredibly rich and complex pais...

Last year we celebrated 5 years of being a company at a hugely successful 5th year anniversary Gala at the Los Angeles Theater Complex (LATC) downtown. We raised almost $12,000 to complete two full residencies at 186th Street Elementary and the Foshay Learning Center in South LA -both schools who are committed to working with us but don't have the funding - and now they do! We had the pleasure of performing in Reston, VA and at Dance Place in Washington, DC through a NPN residency. We immediately felt at home at Dance Place and look forward to going back in 2011 to share FULL.STILL.HUNGRY

There is so much more to tell - This fall we completed one of the most moving and inspiring residencies we have done until now at UNC Wilmington. We will also be returning there with FULL.STILL.HUNGRY - Cesar G. and I were there for two weeks and ran workshops, master classes, panel discussions around issues of immigration, race and gender politics. We also worked intensely with a group of students at Bradley Creek Elementary School - teaching them Casino Rueda - and using dance as a tool to build community and empower them as individuals! During the last week the entire company flew out and we completed the residency with a packed performance! Click HERE for a review of the performance! This residency really actualized our potential as community artists - allowing us to do what we do best - connecting with various different and dispersed communities and bringing them together - truly building community where it is needed most!

In the midst of all of this touring success our arts education programs have been SOARING! We have 24 schools currently with CONTRA-TIEMPO Arts Ed programs this year in Los Angeles County, and we are working with the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music in NY - expanding our programs to the east coast! Next week we will be at the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts in Saint Paul, MN and will be heading back to the east coast (NYC) in December!

I promise - I give you my word - that I will write more often - meaning at least once a month... there is so much happening and all happening so fast that I will regret not having a blow by blow account for future reference -and I really am committed to sharing this amazing journey with the world! Nos vemos!

commitment...

We just had the first day of a professional development retreat for the company... doing some vision building for the future - it was a great day... a lot came up and my mind is racing... now entering into our fifth year as a dance company... yes HALF A DECADE! I am finding myself thinking about what the idea of commitment means really. I have always had a pretty easy time committing and actually enjoy it... my solid eleven year relationship with my husband is definitely an example of that... commitment to me occurs as an opportunity not a hindrance... Commitment as in a way of being. For me it is about integrity, about follow through, about devotion, about being so inspired by someone or something that your obligation fulfills you. In the dictionary definition of the word, you can easily see how, depending on your perspective, it can be something really incredibly liberating and inspiring or something like a ball and chain that stifles you and weighs you down.... it is all in your perspective.

Com-mit-ment; n: Something that takes up time or energy, especially an obligation (an example of the ball and chain perspective)

Devotion or dedication for example to a cause, person or relationship (an example of an inspiring paradigm)

Not to say one is more accurate than the other - but one perspective will have you jumping out of bed in the morning where as the other will have you experiencing your 'commitment' like a chore... and I don't think that any of us ever feel 100% one or the other, but the beauty of being a human being is that we can stop, step back and examine how we are being in our commitments and decide to shift it... we can CREATE being inspired by our commitments. We can find the essence, the root, the context of what originally inspired us about the initial commitment and let that reinvigorate our relationship with it...

I am committed to live in a world where human beings understand their own creative power, treat each other with respect and where everyone has a voice. I deeply believe that dance has the power to create such a world. I am constantly learning more about how to BE with other people through my teaching of partner dancing. I am fascinated with how much we can learn about ourselves - about what is and what isn't working in our life - through dancing with another human being... that partnership is the greatest teacher we will ever know...

I am committed to develop a new genre - Urban Latin Dance Theater - that speaks to the commitments of others - that connects people - that inspires others to speak out and find their creative voice.

I am committed to live a life that inspires.

I am committed to treating the people inside and outside of CONTRA-TIEMPO with love and respect.

I am committed to not be a part of the 'starving artist story' - and to undermine it in my actions and in every part of my being!

I am committed to pushing myself and putting myself in situations where I am challenged physically and artistically.

I am committed to listen and to learn from those around me - to know that everyone has something to share and contribute

I am commited learn and grow for the rest of my life.

CONTRA-TIEMPO in LOS ANGELES - DON'T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY!

Life has been moving so fast these days - I am barely having time to soak in all of the beauty. So I am committed to stop and enjoy the fruits of our labor... I am putting it out there for the world to hear/read so that it actually happens.

We have an amazing month ahead of us! June is going to be a month of culminations (many of our classes and school based projects are ending) and beginnings (we are sharing our work for the first time on the EAST SIDE of LA - yeah!! and will be gearing up for a summer of touring and sharing our work for TONS of new people)! The IVY Substation (where we performed in May - our first show back in LA for almost TWO YEARS!) sold out both nights - we are looking forward to an AMAZING show on the 13th of June - if you missed the IVY - either because you couldn't get tickets or you just missed it - PLEASE COME TO OUR JUNE SHOW at the NEW LATC - AND if you came to our May show - STILL COME TO OUR JUNE SHOW - get your tickets HERE - we are doing a few new pieces and we will have two new company members - Batyah Freedman and Erica Bowen - who will be joining us for their CT debut! As you all know the work shifts and grows with each new voice/individual that joins the company... so come be a part of this shift!

We are also having a CUBA FUNDRAISER PARTY at IDA (our home studio) in Hollywood - get your tickets to this and come party with us on Saturday - it is going to be amazing!

I am so present to the incredible power live dance more and more everyday - we can talk about our work and share with people about what we do (in words) - watch videos, see snippets here and there - but there is nothing like the exchange that happens in the theater during one of our full evenings of work - when the lights go down and the performers open their bodies and hearts to a room full of people (many times who they have never met) - giving of themselves - not holding back a thing - vulnerable - and that vulnerability is enveloped and celebrated by this room of strangers. Through this experience, this room of people (who are sharing themselves by being present, listening, engaging) begin to feel understood, heard and celebrated - they begin to feel part of a conversation - like the performers are talking to THEM... this might not be the experience in every live dance performance - but I know it is what we strive to achieve at a CONTRA-TIEMPO show... before we get on stage we set our intention - what do we want the people who come here tonight, to get out of this experience - what are we committed to have them walk away with... and that is what becomes our fire our fuel for the performance - that commitment to YOU - to THEM to US... this back and forth that is intentional yet always full of surprises - it is communication at its best... and it is the essence of SALSA.

Recently I have been reflecting on all the contradictions of the form we primarily use (Salsa), our image to the public and the difficulty in reflecting to people what exactly we do in our work... I find myself describing our work as Salsa based - yet I know that people come to our shows and see/experience so much more than that... It doesn't do us justice to describe what we do as Salsa based - when I begin describing the elements of what goes into our performance work it sometimes sounds impossible that there could be that many forms - integrated together to create something comprehensive and powerful... the only answer I can ever find is - "you just have to see it for yourself". If you have a way to describe our work I am always interested to hear what folks who are looking in see... I am so engrossed in it that I find I sometimes don't have that perspective I need... What I DO know is I love it and I love to share it! I also know that slowing down and breathing will allow me space to really savor this time of sharing... making me love it even more and making it a richer experience for everyone involved...

COME TO CUBA WITH US!!!!!! JULY 2009

CONTRA-TIEMPO is going BACK to CUBA for our second annual dance and music research trip! Don't miss out on this amazing opportunity to DANCE, STUDY and TOUR in Cuba with the company in 2009!

The trip will be from JULY 6th - JULY 20th - 2009 - It is a 14 day professional development and research tour where CONTRA-TIEMPO and I will present our work in La Habana and Santigago and a delegation of non company members (along side the company) will be taking DAILY master classes with amazing Cuban Master artists in Rumba, Afro-Cuba Foklorico (Gaga, Macuta etc), Casino, Rueda and Salsa on the CONTRA-TIEMPO, Son and Cuban Contemporary Dance! Like I said before (and I know from last October's trip) this is will be an LIFE ALTERING experience to be touring for 14 days straight with a rigorous schedule of training, dancing, traveling and building alliances with Cuban Artists and people! Part of the trip is to also learn about Cuban culture and how arts functions in a socialist system - which is fascinating and completely different than our reality in the US. The trip is NOT a vacation - but an amazing opportunity to have our art and the relationships we build there, begin to create future collaborations in both of our countries to further the connection and opening relations between Cuba and the US - We are going legally (with a general research license) through an organization called GLOBAL EXCHANGE http://www.globalexchange.org/. Since this is a professional development trip for artists - all delegates who come on the trip must bring documentation of what they do for a living. I will send more info on this when you contact me about registering.

During the 14 days, we will study intensively with two companies Narciso Medina's and Cutumba . Both are AMAZING companies who I first danced with in the 90's, then again in 2001 and we worked with them this past October! The first week we will be working with Narcisco Medina Danza Contemporania en La Habana (who has an incredible take on Cuban contemporary technique - Modern dance infused with a Cuban sabor!) and the second week we will be working with Cutumba Baile Foklorico de Santiago de Cuba (they do more traditional work like the Cuban social dances and Cuban sacred dances) The price for the two weeks is $3700 plus airfare to Cancun and worth every PENNY!! The price includes almost everything: travel, room and board (2 meals a day), and all of the classes and cultural experiences, a translator, ground transportation throughout the trip and the air fare to Cuba and between La Habana and Santiago.

We have a limited number of spots - TEN to be exact -and we want to have those spots filled by the end of February (or ideally even before then!). If you are interested in coming, please contact us IMMEDIATELY - and we will send you all of the details. Email contra1tiempo@gmail.com. And feel free to share this opportunity to anyone and everyone who you think might want to participate. This is an opportunity of a lifetime! I hope to hear from you soon!

CUBA! This is just the beginning...

So this will be my first posting about Cuba - I need to process a bit more and spend some time really articulating the depth of what I (and the 21 artists we took to Cuba) got from this tour. It was truly amazing. But I didn't want to wait too long before posting some of our photos on the blog! We are going back with in the next year (July 2009) so please contact us immediately if you would like to be a part of the trip! Stay tuned for more!

WE LOVE AND MISS YOU TATIANA!!

San Francisco & Seattle - CT hits the WEST COAST

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind - five states in a month - but no complaints - the shining faces in our audiences, brand new people to connect with, discussions, questions and new perspectives on the work - it is what we LIVE for! San Francisco was a blast. CounterPULSE is a funky cool space - we learned our lesson not to perform on Labor Day weekend next time (since most of the people I know in the bay go out of town then) - but we still had great audiences who were responsive, engaged and really excited about the work! We would love to come back to CounterPULSE - Patrick Simms was AMAZING - he helped Erik with all the Tech aspects of the show - and was a wonderful soul who made the weekend a breeze! I think the lights on the women's piece were some of my absolute FAVORITES - nice job Erik - the man's got talent that is for sure!!

The bay feels like home in a funny way. I have never lived there but you just feel the energy of the city in a way that makes me absolutely love it! It feels like NY on the west coast! We stayed with Marina's familia - who were absolutely the most loving and gracious hosts ever! Their home was a Brazilian oasis of relaxation and rejuvenation in Orinda! WHO KNEW!?

We then headed up to Seattle for a marathon tech, dress and performance for our WAA (Western Arts Alliance) LACA (Los Angeles Choreographer Alliance) Showcase! Don't you love all of our various acronyms!? We shared the show with Kujo and Amy and their crews (Lux Aterna and Antics Performance). A lot of fun - it felt like we were one big 20 person company! I danced and got down with Amy and CT's agent, Sophie, (we LOVE HER!) and some other friends from the conference the night after the showcase. The company left to return home and I stayed to schmooze and network! All in all the tour was a great success and now I am ready to start seriously gearing up for CUBA! I can't believe it is a month away!

Getting down in the Bronx with CONTRA-TIEMPO - back to the home of Salsa!

It has been WAY too long - I haven't made the time to update this blog in a while - but I am committed to keeping this conversation going - sharing the incredible journey of creating and building CONTRA-TIEMPO! There is a lot to catch you up on - but tonight will just be a quick hello - and I will be back with more meaty entries in the next week! It has been an AMAZING year - and we are just about to end the summer - entering into our third fiscal year as a non-profit - fourth year as a company. Two amazing tours under our belt - NYC and DC - Both were tours where we learned a tremendous amount about ourselves, each other. Each day I was reminded of why I am so absolutely honored and in awe with every opportunity we/I have to share this work and to share dance and the transformative power of movement with others! Below I included a little home video link of an impromptu jam session - we were walking by some congeros at St. Mary's park after our show that afternoon - and the music nos llamo' - wooo did it ever- It felt SO good to just get down with people in the neighborhood - to the sound of salsa blasting over loud speakers with congas and timbales as back up - and remember why it is that we work so hard - so that we can DANCE for a living!



Tomorrow night we will be having our yearly BENEFIT FIESTA at the Electric Lodge - all of you out there in LA LA land - please join us! I would love to have you there - it is going to be a good time for a good cause! http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/40165 and then we are off to SAN FRANCISCO and SEATTLE! I am so excited - as we are being to create a new piece now and after these tours are over we will begin really getting down with our new work - to be
debuted in 2009! Yeah! Bueno - good night - boa noite - hope to see you on the dance floor! - Ana Maria

Celebrate Dance! SOLD OUT the ALEX THEATER in GLENDALE!

These past few months have been an amazing whirlwind of opportunity, change and growth - we have over tripled our programming and budget from our first year as a non-profit! Our artist-in-residency programs in Alhambra, CA were a huge success. Through these residency programs we were able to support teachers to integrate dance with core curricular subject areas, as well as provide students with exposure to a high quality standards-based arts program. We will expand the programs next year to include schools in Los Angeles Unified School District, as well as complete a number of shorter residencies during our tours for 2008-2009! Speaking of touring… this July we are sending the men of CT to Puerto Rico, to debut the new work Brackish Water in a Dance Festival there, then we will all head to the east coast in mid August (GET READY NEW YORK - we're baaaaack!). We have two performances New York City as part of the NYC Parks Foundation Summerstage program, and will be sharing our work in a couple other cities on that coast (Check www.contra-tiempo.org for details in the end of May). In late August we will be heading up to San Francisco, Eugene and Seattle. We are planning a number of tours, collaborations and residencies for the following year.
We are currently creating a professional development trip for the company and for other professional dancers and performers - this coming October 2008 - to tour Cuba! The trip is being organized through a non profit organization in the Bay Area called Global Exchange. We will have an opportunity to share CONTRA-TIEMPO’s performance work and master classes with Cuban audiences, and study Rueda, Afro-Cuban, Rumba and Contemporary dance with renowned artists in La Habana and Santiago. Last month we moved into a beautiful new office space in downtown Los Angeles! For this summer, we have been given a LA County Arts Grant, to employ a full time Administrative assistant – a huge leap forward in our commitment to build infrastructure for CT! Stay tuned - I promise to be a better blogger in the days/months/years to come!

Puerto Rico!

I have been a very bad blogger - I'm so sorry to all of our fans - you have been deprived of the amazing adventures of contra-tiempo over the past year. But I am back - and give you my word to keep you posted with exciting news, ideas, questions, ruminations and aventuras - so stay tuned! So much has happened - even since this summer - I don't know where to begin. We have made some incredible progress in a very short time - including a life altering and memorable tour to Puerto Rico - where we all were reminded of the reason we create and share our work! We had the pleasure of working and becoming life long friends with Javier and Waldo (who we found out was the godfather of dance in Puerto Rico!)of Dramadanza - who opened their hearts to us from the beginning. We shared lot of frijoles, arroz and mufongo with them over the week and a half on the island and are looking forward to another tour there in May - fingers crossed that we work it all out!

We also had the absolute pleasure of dancing with Tata and Cepeda Familia - known for putting BOMBA (the amazingly regal and beautiful Afro-Puerto Rican dance form) on the map! Having her and her family in the audience our last night on stage - at el Teatro Francisco Arrivi - was a dream come true! We are clear that this is just the beginning of a very long relationship between contra-tiempo and all our new amigos en Puerto Rico - there are pieces to be made, collaborations to be created, music to be learned, and dances and connections and relationships to be further built - we'll be back!

Dealing with ideas of immigration was so interesting in a territory that is US dominated - yet not completely 'owned' and run by the US - our conversations on immigration there were quite distinct from our conversations on the US/Mexico frontera (border) last October. We are committed to continuing to complicate the discussions and explorations of what 'immigrant' means and what it means to be 'American' in the context of this continually growing global world we live in! I love how the piece shifts and the meanings grown and develop with each new audience we share with! It keeps us on our toes! We love you Puerto Rico - nos vemos pronto

Pre-SUMMER update!

It has been way too long! Where to start!? This past year - since February has been a whirlwind! More press coverage, booking gigs left and right, more international touring , booking tours to Costa Rica, North Carolina, Puerto Rico and New York - with tours pending in Arizona, San Francisco, San Diego, Mexico, China and New Mexico! We've been given grants from Culver City Cultural Affairs, LA County Arts, Puffin Foundation, Durfee Foundation and we will be getting a lot more over the next several months! We are also continuing to make amazing connections with the LA community (education, arts, political and entertainment) - we found an AMAZING new space - so CT finally has an official home - stay tuned for more on that!

We have five new members who are taking our work to an even higher level - the company right now is fierce and I feel proud to share what we are doing with everyone! I really get that whatever we create - a long as it is aligned with our commitment to make an impact and inspire - it HAPPENS! Please come check us out at the Unknown Theatre in July - the show will SELL OUT for sure - so get your tickets early!

*Cesar, Omar, Lisa and I just got back from a great trip to Grand Cayman - we performed (not as contra-tiempo) but in some of Lisa's fierce choreography - it was an amazing trip - we met lots of fabulous artists/musicians - see a couple fotos below!

SOLD OUT THREE NIGHTS IN A ROW!!!

Last weekend was amazing - we SOLD OUT (actually OVER SOLD - with lines around the block!) three shows in a row at Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica. It was our first 'solo' LA show - meaning we weren't sharing the stage with anyone else - And we presented the first draft of our new work "I Dream America". Thank you to everyone who came - and those of you who didn't - make sure you are on our list (email me if you aren't) and come to our next two week run in July 2007 at the Unknown in Hollywood!

We are in such an exciting place right now - an amazing cast of performers (looking for a couple more!) - a great team of people contributing to our work: composers, videographers, costume designers and production people! We are pushing ourselves to create new work - and it doesn't even feel like pushing - we've got more ideas than ever! 2007 has already been a great year and it is continuing to surprise and delight me!

a year to remember 2006!

This is a year we will remember - a year building a strong ground work for the future! 2006 was the year our non-profit status was created, the year we toured internationally, the year we received our first publicly funded grant, the year that we began working on our second large production piece, the year that our first documentary was made, the year we began working in the LA public schools – AND the year we started a BLOG!!