On June 11, 2020 at 5PM (PST), the Los Angeles-based Heidi Duckler Dance (HDD) will present the Film Screening of ESCAPE followed by a Talkback with the creators via Zoom. Last November the company performed as part of the international programming at the Centro de Experimentación Escénica in Valdivia and at the LOFT International Dance Festival in Concepción, Chile. It was a time of great protests fueled by the increasing inequality between the social classes throughout that country, but despite the constant threats of violence, the festivals proceeded as scheduled.
In reaction to and inspired by this experience, Heidi Duckler, Artistic Director, and founder of Heidi Duckler Dance, decided to create the film ESCAPE with HDD dancers Tess Hewlett, Ryan-Walker Page, and Himerria Wortham in collaboration with Chilean filmmaker Felipe Díaz Galarce and dEUSeXmACHINA Films. The press release states that ESCAPE is “a powerful work that reveals the correlation between the Chilean and American experiences”.
Heidi Duckler Dance – Tess Hewlett, Ryan-Walker Page, and Himerria Wortham in ESCAPE – Photo by Heidi Duckler
Duckler has long been an advocate for civil justice and change and while traveling and filming in Valdivia, Concepción, and Los Ángeles, Chile, she and her company spent time listening to the stories of local residents while using dance as a way of expressing their own views and resistance. The theme of this film is very appropriate for the situation that we in this country currently find ourselves living through. For anyone interested in investigating these themes of inequality, fear, and the threat of an authoritarian leaning president, please tune in for Duckler’s film ESCAPE.
Himerria Wortham comes to Los Angeles via Berlin, Germany and then Detroit. She is the Associate Artistic Director of HDD as well as an Actor, dancer, and choreographer. Felipe Díaz Galarce is an actor, playwright, theater, and audiovisual creator. Director of TURBA, since 2007 more than 200 agents have participated in performance works. He is the Director at dEUSeXmÁCHINA films, and the recipient of the ‘Best Film’ award at the IMAGITARI Festival 2018 Indonesia. María Fernanda Videla Urra is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice includes theater scenography, directing and art installation, reflecting on the reciprocity between the play, the space, and the audience as the essential trinity of theater. In the present María is working under the name of “Mona Porfiada” a mental and virtual space she created to explore material performance inside a world of chaos. mariavidelaurra.com
Here are the details:
What: ESCAPE Film Screening and talk back with artists
Who: Heidi Duckler Dance
When: Thursday June 11th, 2020 @ 5PM PST
Where: Zoom
Tickets: Free with RSVP, $15 suggested donation
To watch the trailer of ESCAPE, click HERE.
To RSVP, click HERE. :
Written by Jeff Slayton, for LADC, June 4, 2020.
To learn more about Heidi Duckler Dance, click HERE.
Featured image: Heidi Duckler Dance – Tess Hewlett, Ryan-Walker Page, and Himerria Wortham in ESCAPE – Photo by Marco Altamirano
