Esther, fíjate en la lima. paquete importante 2023
This work focuses on folk dances and their significance as forms of culture survival, resistance to colonization and the strengthening of lineages. I have chosen to center this piece on the Mexican Danza de los Viejitos, or the Dance of the Old Wo/Men. La Danza de los Viejitos is said to have originated in the Mexican state of Michoacan in the Purépecha region and was a pre-Hispanic ritual to honor the old god for good harvest and communication with spirits. I’ve adapted this traditional dance and conceptualized this durational movement piece using the Danza as the foundation. Through bodily movement, I honor our Elders; those who no longer have the youth to move their bodies freely and comfortably, those who have used their bodies to support our futures, and those that no longer inhabit bodies in this realm. This is an offering to all who have come before us; those we carry with us in our hearts and minds.
Performed over the course of six hours in Seattle, WA at Base: Experimental Art + Space. Each hour dedicated to one of the six stages of life: Childhood, Adolescence, Early Adulthood, Middle Adulthood, Late Adulthood and Eldership.
Photographs by Jim Coleman
©2023