Based in Los Angeles and Riverside, Primera Generación Dance Collective (PGDC) is a collaborative group formed by four very talented performers and choreographers Alfonso Cervera, Rosa Rodriguez-Frazier, Irvin Manuel Gonzalez, and Patricia “Patty” Huerta. As part of its Winter/Spring 2024 season, REDCAT will present this wonderful company performing their most recent evening-length multimedia dance work NOStalgia POP on June 28 and 29, 2024 in English and Spanish without surtitles. The program includes a post-performance talk on June 29th, moderated by Dr. Jose L. Reynoso. Tickets are on sale now.
Primera Generación Dance Collective – Photo by Jonathan Godoy.
“With eclectic, multilingual, Latinx aesthetics, Los Angeles and Riverside-based Primera Generación Dance Collective exposes “el desmadre” (the messiness) that is their first-generation Mexican American experience. Rooted in popular Latine music, movement, and moments, their newest evening-length multimedia dance work, NOStalgia POP, pays homage and cheeky critique to the recuerdos romanticos (romantic memories) that link Latine bodies together. A collage of ‘80s pop en Español, the “Latin Explosion” of the ‘90s, and millennial Mexican core weave together with media depictions of gente Latina. Four captivating dancers tell the story of how messy, fruitful, joyful, and painful the development of an ever-growing Latin Pop culture memory has been and the ways in which mainstream media shapes and is (re)shaped by Latine nostalgia.” – REDCAT press release.
Primera Generación Dance Collective – Photo by Steve Rosa.
“PGDC focuses on the visibilization of Mexican American corporeality, joy, and loss through movement-based exploration, process, and performance. The collective grounds their works in rasquache (tacky) play and resourcefulness, generating work that speaks to their Latine, working-class experiences. Utilizing a hybridization of text, satire, song, and movement, the collective fuses together their eclectic aesthetics to expose “el desmadre” (messiness) that is embedded in being first-generation Mexican Americans, reclaiming iconography and “low-brow” art to spark brown futurity. PGDC has performed at REDCAT, HomeLA, FLACC Festival, Mission Dance Theater, Highways Performance Space, El Teatro Campesino, Human Resources LA, BlakTinx Dance Festival in Arizona and LA, and NAVEL. In 2020, the collective took over leadership for Show Box LA, a non-profit organization that works to center and manifest trans-communal collaborations, creations, and networks between QTBIPOC artmakers in the LA region and beyond. Collectively, they build platforms that aim to generate resources for first-generation students of color. Over the years, PGDC has produced the (de) Color-Es festival, partnerships with AB Miller High School and The Wooden Floor, and organized events meant to highlight dance as viable career options for first-gen high school students.” – PGDC press release
Primera Generación Dance Collective – Photo by Steve Rosa.
WHAT: Primera Generación Dance Collective presents NOStalgia POP
WHEN: In-person: June 28 & 29, 2024 at 8:30 PM – Streamed: Saturday, June 29 at 8:30 pm (PT). Runtime: Approximately 60 minutes, no intermission.
WHERE: REDCAT, 631 W 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90012
TICKETS: $27 – For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit the REDCAT website. To purchase a live-stream ticket click HERE.
Please note: NOStalgia POP contains strobe lights.
For more information about Primera Generación Dance Collective, please visit their website.
Compiled by Jeff Slayton for LA Dance Chronicle from information provided by REDCAT press release.
Featured image: Primera Generación Dance Collective – Photo by Jonathan Godoy.
