DANZA Y FRONTERA
“This work is dedicated to those that have the courage to move, to those who’s bodies carry borders.” — Amanda Piña
DANZA Y FRONTERA is the latest work in the series Endangered Human Movements and it is based on a dance that arises at the border between Mexico and the US. The dance from the neighbourhood of El Ejido Veinte of Matamoros, Tamaulipas (Mexico), is performed today in a context of extreme violence related to a border where narcotraffic, militarization, and cheap labour industries meet. The dance has its roots in an ancient pre-hispanic dance form that was later used by the Spanish Crown (Casa de Austria/Habsburg) to develop the conquest of Mexico as a “danza de conquista”, a conquest dance. It continued to transform itself till today and it can be understood as a form of resistance to colonial and later neoliberal forces. A contemporary pop-cultural appropriation in which indigenous practices, colonial narratives, Hip Hop culture and indigenous mysticism resonate.
DANZA Y FRONTERA explores this border choreography and brings its protagonists to Vienna in the context of the advancement of “Fortress Europe”. As border subjects, the performers inhabit a place in between, understanding its power and limitations, moving beyond all notions of borders be they cultural, national or aesthetic.
is a Mexican-Chilean-Austrian choreographer, dancer and cultural worker living in Vienna. Her choreographic work is concerned with the decolonization of art, focusing on the political and social power of movement, introducing non-western references and perspectives in contemporary performance.
Amanda Piña is interested in making art beyond the idea of a product and in developing new frameworks for the creation of and encounter with artistic aesthetic experiences. She dances among other in pieces by DD Dorvillier or Christine Gaigg.
Credits
With support from the Municipal Department of Cultural Affairs, Vienna, the Austrian Chancellory (BKA), ImPulsTanz – Vienna International Dance Festival, Austrian Embassy in Mexico, Mexican Embassy in Austria, Escuela Nacional De Danza Folklorica de Mexico, Diplomado Como Encender un Fosforo – Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (INBA), Museo Universitario de Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), Museo Universitario del Chopo.
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DANZA Y FRONTERA: Bodies, Movement and Decoloniality