"Nepantla: Magia Ancestral" Studio Showing with Salomé Nieto & Julio Medina

Description

Discover the magical world of Mexican folklore with Nepantla: Magia Ancestral. This studio showing takes you on a journey through ancient traditions and the mystical stories passed down through generations. Through this work, artists Julio Medina and Salome Nieto share a metaphysical world rooted in tradition and popular culture as they unveil embodied memories through the power of performance. 

After the performance, join us for a talk and Q&A session with the dancers, led by Peter Dickinson. It's a chance to learn more about the themes of the show, how it was created, and the cultural stories behind this special performance.

Date: Sunday, October 6, 2024

Time: 4:00 pm - 5:15 pm

Location: The NEST (Third floor - 1398 Cartwright St, Vancouver, BC, V6H3R8)

Nepantla: Magia Ancestral explores transformation and magic in Mexican folklore rooted in pre-Hispanic knowledge. Nepantla means liminality or "in-between-ness" in Nahuatl. It reflects the saying, "ni de aqui ni de alla," "Neither from here nor there." The performers liken the experience of being a Mexican descendant in the United States and Canada to being a witch: othered and demonized, out of place, and punished for being one with nature instead of conquering it. This dance shares a longing for ancestral guidance, creating a revitalization ritual and highlighting the sacred connection with our body as a form of power, growth, and love.

About the Artists

Mexican-born Salome Nieto is a Vancouver-based dance artist known for her transformative works and evocative performances. Highly influenced by butoh, the cultural syncretism of Mexico and intersectional feminism, her research considers the significance of ritual and ceremony during process and performance in contemporary dance. The exploration of these intersections led her to the inception and creation of her solo work Camino al Tepeyac in 2011 and subsequently co-founding pataSola dance in 2013. 

In 2017, Nieto was awarded the Vancouver International Dance Festival Choreographic Award in recognition of her contribution to the art of contemporary dance as a solo artist. She has performed her work in Argentina, Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua and Thailand.

As an interpreter and collaborator, Nieto has worked prominently with Vancouver-based Kokoro Dance, Donna Redlick Dance and Raven Spirit Dance. She recently completed her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts in the School for Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University.

Julio Medina is an indigenous Mexican American artist from LA now based in Atlanta. His work focuses on the metaphysics of dance, considering resilience, connection, and restoration. Medina is an Assistant Professor of Dance at Emory University in Atlanta.

Medina’s work has been presented at The New Dance Alliance Performance Mix Festival in Brooklyn (2017), the ConderDance Festival in Tempe, AZ (2018), and the American Dance Festival Alumni Concert (2018). Medina earned his MFA at UCLA's Department of World Arts & Cultures/Dance. Medina toured with David Rousséve/ REALITY, in the evening-length work Halfway to Dawn. Julio’s current research explores his Mexica roots, taking inspiration from Mexica cosmology and mythology. When not teaching or performing, Medina practices yoga, boxing, and gardening.

About the Facilitator

Peter Dickinson is a Professor at the School for the Contemporary Arts at Simon Fraser University and the founding editor of Performance Matters. Peter has published extensively on theatre, dance, film, and live art and is the author, editor, or co-editor of fifteen books and special journal issues, including World Stages. Local Audiences: Essays on Performance, Place, and Politics (2010), Mega-Event Cities: Art/Audiences/Aftermaths (2016), Q2Q: Queer Canadian Theatre and Performance (2018), My Vancouver Dance History: Story, Movement, Community (2020), and Performing Practice-Based Research (2023). Also a playwright, Peter’s most recent audio drama is At the Speed of Light (Pi Theatre, 2022).

Host or Publisher VLACC