The University of New Mexico’s Department of Theatre and Dance will present its faculty dance concert META/PHYSICAL Friday, Feb. 28, through Sunday, March 8, in Rodey Theatre in the Center for Fine Arts on the main campus.
The program features original choreography in both contemporary dance and flamenco by international guest artists and UNM’s distinguished resident faculty and the extraordinary talents of the students for an evening of dance with innovative, insightful and inspiring theatrical elements that are. The concert displays collective, collaborative processes that heighten the choreographer point of view. Faculty and students in lighting and costume design areas co-curate alongside choreographers to enhance the production.
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META/PHYSICAL will premier 12:46 or it’s the end of the world, a contemporary work by visiting artist Miguel Gutierrez, a New York choreographer, composer, performer, singer, writer, educator, and Feldenkrais Method practitioner. He is a 2016 Doris Duke Artist.
Gutierrez describes 12:46 or it’s the end of the world as “part of an ongoing phase of work where I’m exploring the idea that ‘form’ includes messiness and that a group piece is an opportunity highlight the individuality of its members. Also, it’s part of trying to understand how to make dance in the midst of this dystopic apocalypse we’re all living through.”
Amanda Hamp is the head of the dance program at UNM. She teaches modern/contemporary technique, choreography, dance history, pedagogy, writing, and courses in the dance MA and MFA curriculum. Her scholarship examines how contemporary, experimental dance artists choreograph somatic and sociopolitical experiences for performance.
Hamp’s piece, M.E.A.D.O.W, is a trio danced by Shannon Parrales, Athena Dunleavy, and Allyssa Trujillo. One human and two accompanying presences navigate unfamiliar terrain and embody new possibilities for being in the world and with one another.
in the muddy bank ((where we lay)), by resident faculty member Jacqueline M. García is a response to the ongoing border crisis. García’s work is an offering in memoriam of the victims and a stand in solidarity with refugees and immigrants of all nations. Through striking and starkly poetic choreography, the work intimately explores the raw physicality of crossing the Rio Grande and the human toll of this perilous endeavor.
META/PHYSICAL will also feature Daniel Doña’s Suite Pre-Flamenca inspired by pre-flamenco music and the curiosity provoked by the popular choreographic language of the early 18 century. The piece was choreographed in 2017 by Doña for the UNM Department of Theatre and Dance. He is an artist and choreographer from Granada, Spain, and is considered one of the greatest current artists in Danza Española.
La Mirada También Baila is a collaboration by Mercedes Ruíz and husband Santiago Lara that exhibits the qualities that each artist brings to this contemporary yet flamenco work. This work was choreographed in 2019 by Ruíz for the Department of Theatre and Dance. Ruiz is known for her precision and the emotive quality of her dancing. Lara is one of the most important young guitarists creating work and influencing the world of flamenco today.
Predominio by La Popi features some members of Yjastros: The American Flamenco Repertory Company and is the dance company in residence of the UNM Dance Program. La Popi is an accomplished flamenco artist from Madrid, Spain. This piece was choreographed in 2019 by La Popi for the Department of Theatre and Dance.
“To be born, to overcome, to express, to feel, to live, to share, these are conditions that exert control in the lives of all of us. This choreography is dedicated to all of these life sensations, which we need in order to feel free,” she said.
Ticket prices are $15 general admission, $12 for seniors, and $10 for students and are available at the UNM Ticket Offices located at the UNM Bookstore, Central and Cornell, or the Arena (The Pit), University and Avenida Caesar Chavez, and by calling (505) 925-5858. Tickets may also be purchased online. The staged readings are admission-free. More information is available online or by calling 277-4332.