On Friday, October 25th and 26th the Bootleg Theater presented BLAKTINX Alumni Concert “Ingredientes”, which featured works by Andrea Ordaz, Founder of A. Ordaz Dance, Joshua D. Estrada-Romero, Artistic Director of FUSE Dance Company, and Alan Perez. Licia Perea, Artistic Director of BLAKTINX, led this outstanding performance in celebration of dance that exemplified the diversity of talent and creativity within the Latinx community of Southern California.
Upon walking into the theatre, the stage was set with Andrea Ordaz’s Agave Americana. In the program Ordaz stated that her work was “A poetic movement experience with live music celebrating Mexican-American femininity inspired by local identity”. From the very first movement, I understood what Ordaz meant by “poetic movement”. The performers danced the narratives of women that Ordaz has observed and took the audience on a converging ride of gentle hip ripples, swaying undulating torsos, and motion rooted in softness and power.
A. Ordaz Dance in “Agave Americana” – Photo by Rafael Hernandez.
Composer Andrew J. Tarr’s mixture of familiar and original melodies created an ambiance that was breathtaking. This was matched by the fierce dancing performed by Catalina Jackson-Urueña, Emeline Lotherington, MarieElena Martingano, Joan H. Padeo, and Samantha Scheller. Each performer surpassed technique, making this contemporary modern piece a sheer delight to watch. The dancers’ use of connectivity with each other, the music, and audience were exceptional and allowed the heart and soul of feminine energy to illuminate throughout the piece. Each dancer was fully engaged and totally committed to creating beautiful sculptured and layered moments as they conveyed the insight and deep respect that Ordaz has for the Mexican American community of women who she was paying homage to in this work. While all of the dancers were astounding, Joan Padeo was the performer to watch. She had a powerful stage presence and ability to surrender to the moment and to be fully engulfed in the music and movement. Padeo and Samantha Scheller, who also had a commanding presence on stage, shared some beautifully captivating and powerful moments. Agave Americana demonstrated the deep and loving connection women of Mexican American heritage have for community, the land, and for each other.
FUSE Dance Company – Samuel DeAngelo and Stephanie Lin in “Beyond the Body” – Photo by
The FUSE Dance Company performed Beyond the Body choreographed by Joshua D. Estrada-Romero. This dance was a tour de force set to lyrics of Joss Stone and the music of P. F. Labarbera and Rodrigo y Gabriela. Beyond the Body capsulated the joy of movement and the aesthetics of well-trained contemporary dancers. The simple costuming (biker shorts and crop tops) allowed for the intricate movement of Estrada-Romero to be seen and the physicality of the body to be appreciated.
This large ensemble work included Leann Alduenda, Samuel DeAngelo, Matthew Kindig, Kathy Duran, Stormy Gaylord, Saya Kawano, Stephanie Lin, Phillip Lu, and Edward Salas. Starting with subtle meandering, the dancers moved at first in silence then to narratives that spoke to the body and life. We were then lifted into a level of high-octane dance that included complex partnering, challenging crisp petit allegros, and reverting leaps that left impactful images in the air before moving on to the next explosive phase. Estrada-Romero’s work had intention and direction that kept me on the edge of my seat. There were several blended solos, duets, trios, quartets and quintets and each section was a testament of the dancers’ endurance and utter grit to move through canons with uncanny syncopation and synchronicity. Towards the end, when this ensemble should have been gasping for breath and growing faint, they pushed beyond the body to garner a second wind. They moved with warp speed and balanced precision that ended Beyond the Body on a phenomenal energetic high.
FUSE Dance Company -Edward Salas in “Beyond the Body” – Photo by Denise Leitner
Dismantling the grand narrative surrounding heteronormative sexuality was the focus of choreographer Alan Perez in his work For Our Existence. Perez led the audience through spaces where the LGBTQ community finds solace. The dance began as Malachi Middleton, Paige Amicon, Jose Edgardo Argueta and Alån L. Perez voguing onto the stage into a club like atmosphere. I truly enjoyed this opening but my joy was short lived. The dancers ran off stage as though they were escaping the police or surveillance, a motif seen throughout that perhaps was a metaphor for how the LGBTQ community wanted to escape censorship in and out of public spheres.
Alan Perez and company in “For Our Existence” – Photo by Jose Garcia Davis.
There were so many dynamic moments in this piece but the duet between Perez and Malachi Middleton was, however, tender and electrifying. Perez used a visual metaphor of how those in the LGBTQ community support each other through obstacles. Perez cleverly illustrated this by helping Middleton defies gravity as he walked upside down on the stage wall. As the lights went dark, a male’s voice denouncing homosexuality was heard and the stage became softly lit with images of heteronormative families. Slowly, photographs of qay men and women, the Stonewall riots, and Black Lives Matter appear on the screen while four male dancers stood upstage right shaking as if seriously ill. Convulsing and violently shaking, they struggled to move forward. As Perez came forward sweating, looking confused and afraid, he shouted unconvincingly, “I am not gay…I,I,I, like boys…I mean girls”. As he slowly removed his clothing, Perez’s breath calmed, the shaking stopped, and the fear was gone from his face. He stood naked, walked and then danced with a renewed confidence. Clearly he was no longer trying to fit into socially constructed norms and had chosen to be open with his sexuality.
Alan Perez in “For Our Existence” – Photo by Jose Garcia Davis.
Through Licia Perea’s direction, the BLAKTINX Alumni Concert “Ingredientes”, offered perspectives of Latinx dance forms from Ordaz’s ethnographic approach to Estrada-Romero’s dancing for the joy of movement, to Perez’ lived social experience. Each piece left the audience with a greater understanding of the diversity of thought and creativity that exists within the Latinx dance community.
Written by Kim Gadlin for LA Dance Chronicle, November 1, 2019.
To visit the BLAKTINX website, click here.
Featured image: A. Ordaz Dance in Agave Americana – Photo by Jose Garcia Davis.
Thank you for this beautiful article! I had the pleasure of being able to watch all the performances and your description of the show really brings it back to life!