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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'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!

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...