Proa (2017)
Delfos Danza Contemporánea + Ensemble Dal Niente
Choreography: Claudia Lavista
Music: Tomás Gueglio
Dancers: Claudia Lavista, Xitlali Piña Poujol, Roseli Arias, Renato Gonzalez
Harp: Ben Melsky

Presented as part of Ensemble Dal Niente ‘Staged’ Series.

Proa (‘Prow’) is the cornerstone of a larger exchange between Delfos Danza and Ensemble Dal Niente and their respective home cities of Mazatlán and Chicago. Choreography and music revolve around ideas of voyage and displacement, incorporating related imagery such as water, circle, and mirror.

The prepared piano mirrors the harp. Its preparation involves a device –built out of cell phone motors– that activates the strings of the piano to produce sounds uncharacteristic of the instrument. All these sounds are performed “live”.

Dance and music portray different yet complementary realities. The choreography employs both emotionally and politically charged symbols. The music, on the other hand, is cold, distant and somewhat indifferent. The sound surrounds the dancers immersing them in a multilayered texture while the movement of the dancers lends the music a rhythmic frenzy it does not possess on its own.