DanzAbierta [videorecording] : Chorus perpetuus.

Summary: Video documentation of DanzAbiertas performance Chorus Perpetuus presented as a part of the 2nd Encuentro of the Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, celebrated in June of 2001 in Monterrey, Mexico under the title Memory, Atrocity and Resistance. Chorus Perpetuus is a fascinatingly comic, playful, but also sad reflection on freedom, collectivity, and the necessity of responsible action. DanzAbierta sings and winds itself wordlessly through Gershwin, Mozart, Pergolesi, and Simons and only interrupts itself as one or the other dancer breaks out of the line, fails to meet the tone and steps into action individually. To the repeated question ¿Por qué te vas? (Why are you leaving?), this choreographic work explores the tightrope balancing acts between the individual and the collective, their affects and perils, their complex ethical and political implications. Founded in 1988 by Marianela Boán, the Cuban dance company DanzAbierta has presented internationally at festivals and on tours in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. The award winning dance company is known for its unique style mixing artistic expressions of theater, the visual arts, and singing. Marianela Boán graduated from the National School of Dance in 1971 and received a degree in Hispanic Literature and Language from Havana University in 1981. For 15 years she worked as a dancer and choreographer for the dance company, Contemporary Dance of Cuba, which toured internationally. In 1988, she founded DanzAbierta where she has created a signature style mixing visual arts, theater, singing and music with dance to work through harsh contemporary conflicts. She calls her style 'danza contaminada' (polluted dance). Her other choreography works have included the Cuban National Ballet, Venezia Balleto, and film works in Cuba, Canada, and Spain.

Credits: DanzAbierta, creator, producer ; Alejandro Aquilar, producer ; Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics, producer ; Marianela Boán, director, choreographer ; Nadia Baram, videographer.

Credits: Julio César Manfugás Foster, Marilyn Castillo Laffita, Urialya Hernández Bancada, José Antonio Hevia Carrero, Odwen Beovides González, dancers.