The Latina Dance Project will be at UTEP to conduct a workshop for any students, faculty and staff who are interested in multidisciplinary projects.
The project titled Latinos Over the Top Collaborative Arts will be held Nov. 8 and 9. The company will perform their highly regarded performance, “Slumber of Reasons,” which was ranked as one of the top 10 performances in Dallas, Texas in 2011.
“Slumber of Reasons” is based on a series of vignettes inspired by Francisco de Goya’s “Los Caprichos.” This performance is open to the public and will be held at 7 p.m. in the Fox Fine Arts Center in room A452.
According to their website, the production is a contemporary take on an old work of literary art, using powerful images to create a new set of modern day “Caprichos” and exploring contemporary demons that affect our world. It will range from the darkest to the most absurdly humorous, including immigration, environmental degradation, racism and technological alienation.
The Latina Dance Project brandishes humor as a tool of social criticism. A series of 10 vignettes explore contemporary superstitions and social abuses using movement, texts—spoken and sung—and haunting video.
The core members of the Latina Dance Project are Eluza Santos, Eva Tessler, Licia Perea and Juanita Suarez.
Andrea Vazquez, visiting assistant professor of theater and dance at UTEP, has helped with the coordination of bringing this workshop and performance to the university. Vazquez holds a personal connection with the performers such as Suarez, an associate professor at State University of New York at the College at Brockport who was her mentor when she attended SUNY Brockport.
Vazquez said she hopes that the community will take advantage of this opportunity that brings together accomplished performers to spread the wealth of the arts.
“They bring a lot of experience as professors, as performers, as mentors and as artists, so it is very interesting,” Vazquez said. “The four of them get together and gather their ideas and invite composers and visual artists and other performers. They will share their journey and how others can become engaged in multidisciplinary work.”
Vazquez shared a collaborative project that would be based on the knowledge that will be shared during the workshop and performance. The project would be for the spring of 2014 and would involve UTEP students from all art backgrounds.
“Under my guidance or my colleagues’ guidance, we can guide the students in the spring to follow through with the ideas that could bloom out of this workshop,” Vazquez said.
Gabriela Moreno, sophomore dance major said she will be attending the workshop to expand her knowledge in contemporary dance.
“This is a great opportunity for aspiring dancers,” Moreno said. “Not only will I get a chance to learn choreography and technque, but we I can ask questions at a professional level.”
For more information about the Latina Dance Project visit latinadanceproject.com.
Amanda Guillen may be reached at [email protected].
