Gabriel Mata. Photo by Estefania Mitre.
It’s more than a little surprising that the Inaugural Latinx Movement Festival is just that—inaugural. It was well-curated by local dancer and choreographer,, Gabriel Mata, following a tried and true format featuring workshops, guest artists, panel discussions and performances. A performance which, at least on Sunday’s iteration, nearly sold out Dance Place in North East DC.
…the Inaugural Latinx Movement Festival…was well-curated by local dancer and choreographer, Gabriel Mata…
The dances themselves covered a huge amount of visual, technical, and thematic ground. When patrons entered the theater, they were greates with an open curtain and soft lighting on the well-designed small apartment set for Angel Ramirez and Tabata Vara’s “Cafe Con Pan.” With triangular corner shelves, artificial plants in large vases, and familiar, gray-and-white-patterned stuffed chairs across a small table, it felt like a living room you could walk into at any moment. The slight asymmetry of the set was nicely balanced by the asymmetrical counterpoint between Ramirez and Vara’s movement. There was also a particularly nice interplay of horizontal surfaces between the table and the stage, as the stage became a more choreographic unpacking of the relationship that existed across the table.
“Cafe Con Pan” was followed by Mata and Amelia Estrada’s “Salsa sin Salsa.” As a choreographer, the ideas of queer and bi-national identity and sensuality are not new topics for Mata. While “Salsa sin Salsa” (an excerpt from a larger work in progress) is unmistakably a Mata dance, it also feels like a shift. The work began with Mata and Estrada posing in black leather pants and mesh tops against the Dance Place’s white brick back wall. The low lights across the surface of the brick left a dramatic pattern of shadows as Mata and Estrada eyed each other. Then, as the other left, each performer had a solo dancing with a voice over. Estrada used a layered and distorted recording of poet Clarissa Macaya’s “Brujeria” while Mata used an original script, written before the choreography and recorded in his own voice.
Running through much of Mata’s previous work have been two recurring themes: labor—specifically the labor of movement and embodied identity—and a struggle for control. Whether that is a dancer confronted with the disembodied voice of a director in the theater, donning a wrestling mask, or the rehearsal of disco dances juxtaposed with the AIDS crisis, Mata’s work has explored movement as something labored over and rehearsed, something where the act of moving through the world itself is conflicted. “Salsa sin Salsa” flips that paradigm. The movement was raw and organic, but controlled and intentional without looking over-rehearsed. Both solos toyed with an invitation to objectification of the performers, but it was an invitation that performed a subject-object-agency switch, mediated by desire. As Mata tossed, rolled, preened, and teased, and as Estrada stomped, gyrated, and stared down the audience, it became clear that here, movement was a site for the expression of power and identity, rather than one at which power intervenes.
The final work on the first half of the program was “Nepantla: Magia Ancestral,” choreographed by Julio Medina, and Salome Nieto. “Nepantla” was an exploration of transformation and magic in pre-Hispanic Mexican folklore and a longing for ancestral guidance, juxtaposed with the othering of being labeled a witch. Performed by Nieto, a butoh dancer, “Nepantla” was spectral, with a ritual intentionality. It also made excellent use of props, with a long dress, candles, and flower petals which invoked an ancient formality. During the talkback, Nieto explained that the work had begun as a duet, but Medina had been unable to perform due to illness and she had reworked several sections for an individual performance. It’s possible those last minute adaptations made the work feel even more haunted. There was, so to speak, a ghost in the choreography.
The second half of the evening featured work by Xochipilli Dance Company’s Héctor Jaime with Carmina Márquez, both based in California; Carne Viva Dance Theater, a Miami-based collective founded by Chachi Perez; and LA-based Premera Feneración Dance Collective.
Jaime and Márquez’s “Insecta” probed the world of insect consciousness inspired by gynandromorphism—organisms that exhibit both male and female characteristics. Both performers described it as spiritual, shamanistic experience during the post-show panel. Panel moderator, Professor Manuel R. Cuellar of George Washington University, described it as influenced by “Indigenous imaginaries,” speaking both of “Insecta” and “Nepantla.”
“Dame La Receta!” from Carne Viva was driven by the music featuring the evening’s only live performance by drummer David Velazco. During the panel, Velazco talked about how important collaborating with the dancers was and how they played off of each other in rehearsal. “Dame La Recita” was one of the most celebratory works of the evening.
The evening closed with “NOStalgia POP” from Primera Generación Dance Collective. It was a choreographically dense, multi-media performance that was both joyful and complicated. An excerpt of a larger work, “NOStalgia POP,” exposes ‘el desmadre’ (the messiness) that is the [choreographers’] first-generation, Mexican American experience.” It began with an almost over-the-top level of energy as solos and soap operas whipped by on the stage and screen. As the work began to wind down to what felt like a conclusion, the vibe changed. The projected visuals now told the story of a dystopian history of political violence, strikes, protests, and trauma. As the projection faded out, a single dancer remained, dancing percussively in bare feet in a fading pool of light.
Although I am surprised that this was the Inaugural Latinx Movement Festival, I would be more surprised if it were the last. It will be an event to plan for in years to come.
Running Time: Approximately two hours, with one 15-minute intermission.
“The Inaugural Latinx Movement Festival” ran August 3-4, 2024 at Dance Place 3225 8th St NE, Washington, DC 20017. More information about the Latinx Movement Festival is available through Gabriel Mata’s website. For more information and to purchase tickets for future events at Dance Place go online.
