Elba Hevia y Vaca, Artistic Director and founder of Pasión y Arte (PyA), and Tina Plokarz, independent curator and member at Vox Populi are pleased to present Marcando el Terreno —Flamenco and Feminism, a weekend-long exploration into the art of Flamenco through the lenses of feminism and womanhood. This two-evening celebration at Vox Populi features the first showing of La Bolivianita, a new work-in-progress solo performance by Hevia y Vaca, followed by a conversation with the artist, and the screening of the award-winning documentary Impulso (2017) which illuminates the life and art of brilliant queer feminist flamenco dancer and choreographer Rocίo Molina (Spain), followed by a panel discussion with Philadelphia based dance artists. This two-day event will be held on April 6 and 7 at Vox Populi, 319 N. 11th Street. Tickets $8-12.
In her new solo performance La Bolivianita, dancer and choreographer Elba Hevia y Vaca explores her lifelong artistic journey with Flamenco. First introduced to Flamenco through her family’s pride in their Spanish heritage, La Bolivianita delves into the artist’s emotional and changing relationship with her beloved art form. As the artist ages and comes to term with her recent discovery that she is primarily descended from the indigenous Andean rather than the Spaniards, La Bolivianita poses the question: Are we what we inherit? Says Hevia y Vaca, “I have come to realize that Flamenco will always be in my life and that we are inextricably intertwined. The work I’ve made in the past came from a Flamenco body and mind formed by many years of training, conditioning, and obeying rules which I have sought to challenge and decode. Now I’m focusing on embracing these codes and restrictions of Flamenco as elements to use and subvert, rather than as a tyranny to either follow or protest. In my new work, I’m examining this changed relationship while delving into my personal history and identity.”
La Bolivianita incorporates spoken word, the de-construction of modern Flamenco choreography, and culminates in an interactive dialogue with the audience. La Bolivianita is directed by world-renowned Flamenco innovator, choreographer, and feminist artist Belen Maya (Spain), and will premier in its entirety in the Fall of 2019 at the Fringe Festival. A conversation exploring dance, race, identity, and current experimental practices in contemporary Flamenco dance will follow the performance.
In the feature-long award-winning documentary film Impulso (2017) director Emilio Belmonte sheds light on the creative process of an acclaimed queer flamenco dancer and choreographer Rocίo Molina (Spain), whose performances equitably combine astonishing improvisation and traditional technique. The documentary follows Molina as she conceives of and prepares for her innovative new show Caída del Cielo, which premiered at Paris’ Chaillot National Theater in 2016. According to The Guardian, “It’s said of many flamenco artists that they have reinvented the form, but few have taken their reinvention as far as Rocío Molina. Flamenco has always proposed fierce and proud femininity, but as embodied by Molina in Fallen from Heaven (Caída del Cielo), it becomes a feminist scream, an elemental cri de coeur.” A panel discussion about improvisation and experimentation in contemporary dance will contextualize the film screening.
The two-day exploration into contemporary Flamenco dance is co-presented with Vox Populi.”Elba’s ongoing experiments with and vision for Flamenco reflect the spirit of the art collective that supports challenging and innovative artistic practices for now 30 years. I’m excited to showcase Elba’s first in-progress presentation of La Bolivianita at Vox,” says member Tina Plokarz.
Marcando el Terreno
Saturday, April 6 at 7 pm
Vox Populi, 319 N 11th Street, Philadelphia
Performance + dialogue – La Bolivianita, work-in-progress by Elba Hevia y Vaca and directed by Belen Maya
Tickets: $12
Sunday, April 7 at 6 pm
Vox Populi, 319 N 11th Street, Philadelphia
Film screening + panel discussion – documentary film Impulso by Emilio Belmonte
Tickets: $8
Tickets available online: https://marcandoelterreno.brownpapertickets.com or via the Pasión y Arte website at pasionyarteflamenco.org.
