Dana dances for the DC Commission on the Arts!

Parting Thoughts

Group photo at Tati's parents home where we were treated to amazing Peruvian desserts

I arrived back to DC yesterday and it was a thought filled flight back. Our experiences in Peru were wonderful and our performances unprecedented. I was struck by so many moments in Peru from the breathtaking performances of the company in Lima to the wonderful moments interacting with my friends in Lima.


Lovely after-performance party at he Gonzales home

I want to especially thank our friends at the US Embassy, Ambassador McKinley, Linda Gonzales, Paul Dugan, Vanessa Wagner and Jose Carlos Requena for their support and thoughtful guidance. I also would like to say a special hello to Johann, Milagros and Mecho, Qui Que and Desiree, Pachi and Bibi, Vera, Olga and Juan. Perhaps one of the greatest gifts of performing abroad comes in the form of the personal friendships which are forged through the arts and which ultimately inform us as creative artists and bond us globally.


Sightseeing in Lima

I look forward to seeing everyone in Lima again next year! A huge thank you to all.

Besos,
Dana

Opening night in Lima

Poster of the festival in our hotel lobby

What a wonderful opening night!



The sold out performance was incredibly well received and the US Ambassador, His Excellency McKinley was in the front row and took time from his busy schedule to attend. The US Embassy here is so supportive and post show I sat next to Mrs. Gonzales the Cultural Attache for dinner. She is so interesting and has an amazing dedication to art and culture. She is hosting a party for us at her home this evening.

The press has been overwhelming as well!


Dana during his interview with Olin Placido Larrazabal of dance blog lacasaquebaila.com

We are teaching another masterclass tomorrow which is also completely full.




Photos from the first master class


Dancers painting baskets on the night before the opening

There is no other city like Lima for contemporary dance!

More soon!
Dana

A meeting with the US Ambassador to Peru

Dana, Connie, Sara and Laura had a wonderful meeting with Peter Michael McKinley, US Ambassador to Peru, at the US embassy. Security was tight but once inside the compound we spent about 20 relaxing minutes discussing the arts, culture and cuisine of Peru with the ambassador. Ambassador McKinley is so gracious and loves the arts. He truly understands the importance of culture as a way to build bridges between our cultures. What a joy!

Cusco Performance

Sights along the way to the theater in Cusco

Our performance in Cuzco was great!

We had a very warm, large audience that was riveted by the dances. We were in the theater all day and night setting up for the show. As the hot high Andean sun drops so does the temperature and by evening we were in a freezing theater! The dancers are such professionals and of course our tech team was a amazing! Sara, Laura, Richard and Susan worked tirelessly to make sure that our music and projections went off flawlessly. Everyone rallies and pushes through to present the very best product possible.

While sitting in the wings of the theater watching the show, I was struck by the beauty of each of our dancers and the amazing professionalism that they bring to the company. After performing some people had to run into the wings for oxygen which was dispensed from spray cans to keep going. The altitude is a challenge here. I kept thinking that the dance is so magical an experience for the audience and unless you are a dancer, one would never know the amount of work that goes into every show.

Cuzco is a magical city and the opportunity to perform and interact with Peruvian artists here has been quite wonderful.

Dana

Magnificent Machu Picchu

Katie and Sarah at Machu Picchu

From dancer Sarah Halzack:

Yesterday was the day I had been most looking forward to - our trip to Machu Picchu. First of all, it is quite a trek to get there! We left Cusco on a bus which brought us to a train station. From there, we took a four-hour train ride through the Andes. This, in itself was pretty spectacular, with massive peaks surrounding us on either side. At many points during the ride, you can't see a single sign of modern human civilization - no houses, no power lines. It was a reminder of how remote Machu Pcchi really is and how astounding it is that the Incas were able to get there and then build something so functional and beautiful without contemporary tools or machinery.

After the train dropped us off in a small village called Aguas Calientes ("Hot Springs") we took another bus to get to the ruins.

When we finally arrived, the view was breathtaking. We walked to a high peak where we could look down and see the entire sight. We saw all the winding, intricate stone and the golf-course-perfect spreads of grass, all nestled between some seriously huge and truly majestic mountains.


Our tour guide explained to us that Machu Picchu was never a place for ordinary Incan families. It was solely inhabited by elite members of society, including high priests and priestesses. And that seemed to make sense walking around the site, you can really feel something spiritual and other worldly about it.

With the exception of the thatched roofs which have long since deteriorated we learned that nothing at Machu Picchu is restored or refurbished. I thought that was pretty impressive! It really speaks to the ingenuity and craftsmanship of the Inca people. I also thought that channels for running water and the terraced farming plains were interesting to see.

Then it was back to Cusco to rest up for our show! I think all the dancers agree the lack of oxygen at this high altitude will be our biggest challenge. Still, I know we will do our best and put on a great show.

Sara

Florian makes friends with one of the llamas that roam the ruins


Miyako and Shu-Chen strike a ballet pose

Arrival in Cusco

Hi Everyone!!

We arrived in Cuzco Tuesday, after a 20 hour trip from door to door of our hotel. With slight weather delays and tight security checks, I seemed to always be the last one on all our planes! Luckily we all made it here to Cuzco.

The high altitude here allows for clarity of distance and beautiful Andean views. It is warm in the day and very cool at night, much like the high desert I grew up in as a child in NM. But Cusco is almost double in altitude, so for the first day I thought I would just sit and not move everytime I tried to walk up a hill. It takes days to adjust.

After beginning to acclimate to the high altitude which affects the amount of strenuous dancing you can do as well, we taught a wonderful master-class to local dancer, actors and acrobats at the Kusikay Theatre. They were great movers, very engaged and interested in new forms of movement. Their physicality was awesome! Many people were from a local show that I am going to check out their show Monday night after our show on Sunday.

Yesterday we rehearsed in the theatre and Sarah, Laura, Richard and Susan began work with our DVD projection needs and tweaked the music into the wee hours of the night. They are tireless in their commitment!! Thank you!!!

Our light designer on tour is my old friend Qui Que who I met in Lima years ago. He is bilingual and so talented in staying calm and getting the job done. He begins work late tonight focusing lights.
Yesterday Renzo our host helped us buy baskets as props for one of our dances from a great lady at the local market. Renzo has been great to take care of us as we manuever from rehearsals thru the city. He is a very good dancer and artist as well.

Today many of our group are going to Macchu Picchu. They just left the hotel and now I am going to run to get ready to go to the Sacred Inca Valley with Kelly. It is one of my favorite places in the world, especially the open market at Pisac.

More soon, tomorrow is a long day!

Dana

DTSB&Co heads to Peru

Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. are off again to distant lands! This time they are headed to Peru. The first stop will be the city of Cusco, the historic capital of the Inca Empire sitting 11,000 ft above sea level in the Andes.

On June 9 the company will head to Lima to open the 21st International Festival of Dance at the North American Institute of Peruvian Culture in Lima. The company will perform the highly-acclaimed Hyphen and Chino Latino on June 10-12, 2009. The festival is one of the biggest celebrations of art and movement in Peru. This tour is supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the US State Department.

Follow along as the company teaches, performs and sightsees in the land of Inca warriors and Spanish conquistadors.

Heartfelt Thanks

Yesterday at the Ballet San Marcos we had a wonderful showing of dance technique and 5 choreographic works. The dancers were really wonderful and the audience very interested. One audience member said that he felt a very liberated and free feeling from viewing the the work which was different than what he had seen before. The company presented works from Chino Latino, a new work and also a work I created for them 2 years ago. It was so interesting for me to see the work years later and to recall where I was creatively and emotionally then. It was like an amazing time capsule. I want to thank all the dancers, Vera Stasny and Henri Harman for all their support! Warmest, Dana

New Training Techniques

Rehearsals continue and much improvement is occurring! The dancers have learned a group work, two duets and one solo now. We have a showing on Friday at 12 noon of the dances at the San Marcos Casona. We will also demonstrate how we are training in class as well. Because the dance classes are quite different from what we are learning in my class, I decided to slow down today and tackle specific issues of body alignment in a special workshop. It was great to take a moment to explore in duos, specific issues of alignment. We will apply what we discovered tomorrow in our daily technique class tomorrow morning. It is great to have several weeks to really go in-depth with the work.

On another note to stay in shape, I have been going to a gym around the corner and have been exchanging ideas on training with several trainers there who are interested in the work I do to stay in shape that Connie taught me using the gymnastic ball.

I am off to have dinner with Tati's sister Pachi now. She is a wonderful dancer as well and is a judge on a very popular TV Show here similar to the US show Dancing with the Stars.

Dana

Lima City Life

I just finished my first full week in Lima. What a fabulous city. Lima is a complete juxtaposition of old and new. I always feel at home here. There is a strange calm within all the calamity of everyday life in Lima. There is an incredible traffic problem here right now due to a new bus route that is being built. So the traffic is crazy. Once I get to downtown, I teach for 2 hours, rehearse for 4 with a small break and tackle the traffic to get back to my hotel. The weather has been sunny for this winter season. I have been connecting with old friends and having dinner at many of Lima's amazing restaurants. Lima has the best restaurants I have ever eaten in.

The Ballet San Marcos dancers have been great and I am setting 4 short pieces on them. We will have a work in progress showing next Friday! Vera Stasny, the director of the Ballet San Marcos, is working on a new fully accredited degree program and we speak daily about structure and process. Looking forward to seeing Elvi, Ralph and Kathy again tonight who are back from Cuzco.

More soon!

Dana

Wonderful Days and Nights in Lima

Kelly and I have been working very hard with the Ballet San Marcos. They are a wonderful company. I teach for almost 2 hours each morning and then we rehearse for several more hours. They are doing very well and it is always a pleasure to work and catch up with the dance community here in Peru.  Every morning I leave the hotel at 8am and begin teaching at 9am.  I leave the historic downtown area around 3pm daily and take in the streets and energy of Lima in the afternoons and evenings.  There is no other city in the world like it. Lima spans the old and new and there are many juxtapositions of imagery to consider daily. For the last 2 nights I have had wonderful dinners with Elvi Moore, Ralph Meyer and Kathy. They are on their way to Cuzco and Machu Picchu today.  I am always amazed by how small the world is and how important good friends are.  More soon!

Dana

Kelly's POV: Amazing Lima!

Lima is such an exciting city! My first Peruvian experiences include amazing cuisine, artisan markets that are overwhelmingly beautiful, a 4 hour parade displaying such a wonderful sense of community and culture in addition to many beautiful folk dances from across the country, a minor earthquake, and great interactions with the dancers from the Ballet de San Marco. I wish I could stay longer to assist Dana in his work, but I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to travel to Mexico and Peru. My experiences are unforgettable!

Kelly

On to Peru

Our performance in Guadalajara was incredibly well received and it was so difficult to leave our new dance friends in Mexico. We hope to return very soon!

I arrived in Lima very early yesterday. I am just re-adjusting to the climate now. I have gone from extreme heat in Colima to rain in Guadalajara to winter in Lima. It is like moving through the seasons of the year in just a few weeks. I am looking forward to getting to work Monday with the Ballet San Marcos. I had a wonderful meeting with Vera Stasny the Director of the Ballet San Marcos at the San Marcos University yesterday. We are very excited to have the program begin. Lima is always full of evergy, interesting artists, great food and colorful sights.

Elvi Moore is in town and we are going to see the Wong Parade together. Wong was a Chinese Peruvian who started a huge supermarket chain. Every year he traditionally had a parade for his employees. Having seen it before, it is quite an amazing event. Dances from all over Peru and bands will flood the streets.

The dance begins! ;)
Dana

Sarah's POV: Hola!

Hola! It's hard to believe we have already been in Mexico for a week. The time seems to be passing so quickly!

We've had many memorable experiences so far in both Colima and Guadalajara, but one that was particularly unique was appearing with Dana on a television news program in Colima to talk about our performance. I studied Spanish in high school and college, but my mastery of the language is far from perfect. Therefore, I spent a lot of time the night before the appearance trying to brush up on my speaking and anticipate the types of questions that would be asked. But, alas, the anchors didn't end up asking me any of the questions I thought they would! I struggled through the interview, but I just smiled and did my best. I think it was a good example of how important it is to just roll with the punches and keep a sense of humor about things when you're in an unfamiliar culture.

Nevertheless, Dana and I had a great time visiting the television station and observing how similar it was to local television stations in the States.

We arrived in Guadalajara yesterday. The first thing I noticed is that the temperature is much cooler than in Colima. The cool evening breeze feels refreshing and relaxing.

Today we visited a market called San Juan a Dios. It was a bustling and interesting place that was packed with locals and tourists alike. Aisle after aisle was filled with a broad assortment of items; some shops peddled souvenirs and tourist trinkets, while others featured raw pig's feet or wheel barrels brimming with peanuts, spices, or even dog food! It was a great way to see and buy a little slice of Mexican culture.



In addition the all the fun we're having dancing and being immersed in another culture, I think this trip (like all of our other tours) has been a great chance for the company members to bond and build camaradie. Touring is a real pleasure because the company is comprised of people who are warm, caring and always make me laugh!

Sarah

Miyako checks in

Today was so much FUN! Some of us went to the beach this afternon in Manzanillo, which is about 1 hour and 15 min away from Colima. The water was so warm and the sand was black..due to the natural volcanic rock of the region. The tide was very massaging for our sore muscles and the sand was a great exfoliant for our skin! After about an hour in the sun we drove to the center of town were we looked through some shops and had lunch by the ocean! It was a well deserved afternoon of relaxation!

After returning to Colima, we had the opportunity to watch the professional company from the university rehearse for a major concert in Mexico City late July. Some of the dancers also took Dana's workshop, so it was amazing to see how diverse their movement vocabulary is! They are such wonderful and talented individuals!

Miyako

Update from Kelly

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

The company had it's debut performance in Colima this evening! The show went so well and was a big hit with the audience! The dancers from Colima performed the Paper Section from Images from the Embers, and were absolutely brilliant! We are so proud of them and also very excited to perform with them again next week in Guadalajara!

Tomorrow is a day of rest and relaxation for the company...we travel to Guadalajara Sunday afternoon!

Colima Performance

The performance last night was gorgeous!

The company looked great and the Colima dancers whom we set Images from the Embers on were amazing! Such a special evening with a warm large audience! The work looked amazing on the large stage and Maja did a great lighting job while Kevin ran our DVD projections flawlessly. I was especially moved by watching Fractures, Khaybet and Hyphen last night. It is such a gift to be able to watch the company from the wings, they are all so generous to each other and so professional.

After the show a dance scholar and I had a wonderful conversation about Michio Ito's work in Tiajuana with the Japanese community there in the 1930's. It was a wonderfully unexpected connection.

Lynn Roche who put this whole project together, attended the performance all the way from Guadalajara. She made all the dancers feel welcome. She also eloquently reinforced the fact that dance has the capacity to bridge communities all over the world. We are deeply moved by the fine artists we met in Colima and we will undoubtedly have lasting ties to this vibrant community.

Off to Gaudalara in the morning, but happily we attend a folkloric dance rehearsal this evening and we will be able to say goodbye to many of our new friends there.
More soon!
Dana

Kelly's POV: The dancers have arrived!

All of the DTSB&CO dancers made it to Mexico safe and sound! We are having such a wonderful time here. Colima is such a beautiful city, the dancers at the university are amazing, and the people of Colima are so warm and friendly.

It is Thursday, and the university students had their final rehearsal with Dana this morning. They have been learning the Paper Section from Images from the Embers over the past 4 days. Throughout this process the dancers have demonstrated how intelligent and talented they are. This section is not easy, yet they have managed to not only learn the movement and timing, etc...but also the subtle nuances and character elements within the work. Everyone in the company is so proud of them!

Today is the tech-in for the concert. Maja, our technical director, has been working in the theatre all week with her tech crew, prepping for the concert tomorrow night. The theatre is a new and beautiful contemporary building. We are all very excited to perform in Colima with the university students!

Tati's POV

Here I am Sunday night 11:45 pm waiting for the first group of the DTSBCO dancers to arrive to Hotel America where we are staying. It is a warm tropical night with the characteristic soothing sounds of frogs and crickets.

I can not believe that almost a week has gone by since our arrival to Lindo Colima Mexico!! It has been a fabulous week in every way, the perfect combination of work and having a great time. Dana's classes have been so well received by this very warm, talented, energetic and beautiful dance community of the University of Colima that it makes us very happy. Three days in a row we have seen dances performed and created by the Colima artists contemporary and folkloric and I will live to remember so much of what I have seen these days. Their happiness and good attitude to work is contagious and I am so glad for that and also grateful to Dana for having me as his assistant in this project.

Mexico in a way seems a little like home to me a Peruvian, both the language language and the body language is very similar that I feel absolutely adapted to the environment. There is a plus that is that Colima not being a big city has an unstressed pace making everything easier - 10 minutes at most to get anywhere.

I can not write much longer today but do not want to leave without mentioning some highlights and special people of this trip:
-- The amazing thunderstorm on our second day while in class

-- Walking out to the balcony of my hotel room every morning and looking for the great Colima Volcano and seeing it magnificent on clear skied days.


-- The beautiful ceramic precolumbian dogs seen in every museum and the replicas in every store.

-- The numerous plazas with mango trees and many other trees, paradise of refreshing shade in the hot day walks around the city.

-- The 6:30 am bells of the neighboring churches.

-- The huge and great obscene figure sculpture by Jose Luis Cueva in the roundabout near the University theater.

-- The vast and wonderful sprung floor in dance studio number 9 where we work under an incredible Zamarripa sculpture of a crucified man.


-- Having free food at the portales of the small town of Comala as long as you order any beverage.


-- The Ex Hacienda Nogueras home to a famous Colima painter Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo and now a museum , a very prolific and influential artist in this area. I will never forget the angels and children he portrays

-- Having time for long conversations with Dana.

-- Our host Deni who picks us up everyday and helps us out with many things

-- Meeting Mr. Rafael Zamarripa, an amazing person that has been very special to us, with his conversation and questions and opening himself to us by inviting us to his home.


Tati

Vibrant Arts Scene

Last night we saw a wonderful performance by the Colima University Dance students. It was quite diverse and technically quite fine. Tati and I spent the day in Comala a small city near Colima sightseeing and walking through the small streets. There seems to be a mango tree and orange tree on every corner here. We are off to attend 2 dance concerts this evening. The arts community is quite vibrant here.

Dana

Lunch with the Maestro

Tati and I love working with the Colima modern dance community! What gorgeous dancers! Setting Images from the Embers on 8 of the dancers is going very well. It is as if our company has twins in Colima. It is a very interesting process for me to see the repertoire transfered to another community. We had a beautiful lunch after class and rehearsal today with Maestro Zamarripas, the director of the Colima Folkloric Ballet. He is an amazing teacher and artist. He has a beautiful home and sculpture studio. What a wonderful conversationalist, I was quite inspired by him. Such a gifted man. We are so glad to have had the opportunity to spend the day with the Maestro. Off the theatre to see the dance students of the University perform, many of their teachers are taking our classes currently.

Dana

Already in full swing!

Tati and I arrived 3 days ago in Colima, Mexico and have been teaching and setting my work Images from the Embers on modern dancers here.  We have been so impressed by the quality of the dancers.  They have beautiful alignment and training.  Their training facility at the University of Colima is gorgeous, large sprung wood floor studios with 2 story tall ceilings.  The theatre in which we will perform when the company arrives seats 1000 and was built 2 years ago. It has state of the art lighting and sound systems.  It is quite grand in size!  Tati and I teach in the mornings, rehearse and teach again in the afternoon. The city is quite colorful with tropical gardens and plazas full of people.  The early evenings are when a cool breeze sweeps through the hot streets and people sit for coffee and drinks at sidewalk cafes. Life in Colima has a pace which feels very natural and alive.  Off to class! 

Dana