Latina Dance Theater Project was delighted to receive this letter from Reeve Love at the National Hispanic Cultural Center regarding our presentation of El Sueño de la Razón/Slumber of Reason. We loved our time there and cannot wait to return!
To Whom It May Concern:
This letter is in support of the Latina Dance Theater Project and their production of El Sueño de la Razón/Slumber of Reason, an original dance drama which was presented at the National Hispanic Cultural Center (NHCC) on March 25-26, 2011. This performance was part of Global DanceFest (GDF), a citywide season of contemporary dance from across the globe, and was presented in partnership with VSA North Fourth Art Center and New Art New Mexico, the founders and sponsors of GDF. This is the company’s second appearance at the NHCC; the world premiere of their production Coyolxauhqui ReMembers, another original dance drama, was presented at the Center in January 2006.
Slumber of Reason, inspired by Francisco de Goya’s 18th century etchings entitled Los Caprichos, creates contemporary “caprichos” presented in vignettes combining movement, spoken and sung text, and video, and highlighting the absurdity, both comic and tragic, of the social abuses afflicting our world today. Both the sheer physicality and the haunting poignancy of the work make it an extraordinary theatrical experience.
Latina Dance Theater Project founders Licia Perea, Eva Tessler, and Juanita Suárez, joined by José Garcia Davis (who created the video, masks, and set for the piece, as well as performing in it) and apprentice Gabriela Nugent (Tessler’s daughter), brought talent, wit, and passion to the NHCC stage for two memorable nights. Our patrons were transfixed, and our presenting partners delighted.
The artists in the Latina Dance Theater Project, striving to create a new Latina aesthetic in contemporary dance-theatre, have continued to add exciting multidisciplinary dimensions to their unique perspective, and I continue to recommend their work wholeheartedly to funders and to other presenters.
Sincerely,
Reeve Love, Ph.D.
Performing Arts Director
National Hispanic Cultural Center
The Latina Dance Theater Project 