Portfolio
PERU
A scene with the Vírgenes del Sol (Virgins of the Sun) who pay homage to the Inca, the sun god’s son. Freely interpreted with contemporary influence.
The Mochica, an ancient civilization who lived in northern Peru (100 AD-700 AD) practiced human sacrifice in order to render homage to their Gods and appease them. They believed in the transmigrations of souls after death.
The Señor de Sipán appears again, in his full splendour, accompanied by a priest and his servants.
COAST
This Afro-Peruvian rhythm expresses the competition between men and women, in a sensual way. The dancers try to burn paper towels that are attached to every dancer’s bottom, using a burning candle. This can only be avoided through fast hip movements.
This is the rhythm and dance of Peru’s black population. Festejo literally means „to celebrate“. It was developed by the slaves and is an example of a mixture of African, European and Creole elements. The dance is characterised by free and sensual movements that developed mainly because of the people’s joy when it comes to dancing.
As many other dances, the Festejo used to portray the workers’ joy after a long day in the field. The dancers were most probably accompanied by the rhythm of improvised percussion instruments such as fruit boxes.
Up to the present day, the cajon (box) is the heart of Afro-Peruvian percussion.
The Landó is a fusion of Peruvian elements and the Angolan Lundú. The Samba Malató choreographically illustrates the chores of black launderers.
Ruperta (Landó)
This dance piece is a choreographic interpretation of the story about a woman who suffers because of her indecisiveness when it comes to love since this leads men to turn away from her.
This dance developed during the Corpus Christi festivities in Lima. Later, however, it was rather performed during carnival time. Since during this period, people have some kind of jester’s licence and are even allowed to make jokes about the devil, the dance portrays little devils who follow their leader.
The choreography also includes steps that are similar to tap dance. The music is played by a guitar and rhythm instruments such as wooden boxes and a monkey’s jawbones.
The Viennese waltz made it from the European ballrooms to Lima’s aristocracy and soon became very popular. The urban population rapidly became familiar with this music and ended up adapting it and developing a Peruvian version of the waltz.
The Marinera portrays a flirt between a couple and looks slightly different in every region of Peru.
Lima’s Marinera is haracterized by calm and elegant movements and includes, as it is traditional for this dance, a white handkerchief that is used as a kind of romantic language.
The Marinera from north Peru is the most known and popular one. The dance shows how a man courts a woman and the flirting ends with him lying at her feet. The dancers show their virtuosity through their body expression, the use of the handkerchief, the movements of the woman’s dress and the man’s hat. The Marinera is Peru’s national dance.
This is one of the most traditional dances of Peru and it has been preserved in its original form. The dancers imitate the birds’ mating dance; the resulting sensuality of the movements goes back to Afro-Peruvian influences.
Earlier known as Mozamala, the Zamacueca is a very old music and dance style from Peru’s coast. It is the predecessor of the Chilean Zamba, the Argentinean Zamba and the Peruvian Marinera. Most of the theories link the Zamacueca with the Angolean Lundu, an old African fertility dance that was brought to the American continent by slaves.
Certain steps remind one of the Vacunao in the Afro-Cuban Rumba. It is danced in couples, whereby the man tries to seduce the woman. She provokes him but then immediately dumps him. Big handkerchiefs play an important role in this dance.
The Toro Mata (“the bull kills”) is a music and dance piece with Afro-Peruvian roots and belongs to the Landó rhythm, which is very widespread in Peru.
The message inherent to the piece is rather political. The European conquerors and their dances are parodied through the dancers’ costumes and movements. It is therefore a social protest on the part of Peru’s black population.
ANDES
This is a very popular and widespread dance from Peru’s Andean region. It has a very rural touch and is often performed on festivities. The dancers imitate the movements of sowing and harvesting, which becomes very obvious in movements where stamping is involved. Huaylarsh is usually danced by a young people of both sexes whereby the man tries to impress the woman.
The word “Valicha” is the diminutive of the name Valeria. Valeria was a beautiful young woman from Cusco who inspired a musician to compose this huayno in her honor. Thanks to the typical choreography, the beautiful music and the impressive costumes, the Valicha dance has become a symbol all over the world, not only for Cusco, but for the whole Peruvian culture.
This dance is from the district Arapa in Puno and, as all the other carnival dances from this region, it expresses the joy of young herders. They carry white flags as a symbol for peace and love.
This dance is a very particular cultural expression of the people from the Colca Valley in Arequipa. It is a historic reminder of the time, back when this region was conquered by the Incas. According to the legend, Cusco’s young ruler wanted to marry the daughter of the local chief, but in order to be able to reach her, he and his followers had to dress up like women.
Carnaval de Arequipa
The first Carnival that took place in the city of Arequipa had to be in February, March or April of 1541, that is how the Arequipa’s society criollized this pagan celebration, turning it gradually into a popular Carnival.
The dance Montonero Arequipeño is also known as the Marinera Arequipeña, a dance that dates back to the rebellions of 1867 and 1895, when the Arequipa peasants exchanged their farming tools for rifles, going out to fight, They were accompanied by single women who went out to the fight supporting the montoneros. After the war, they celebrated their triumphs with dances and one of them was this famous dance “El Montonero”.
The main theme of this dance is the falling in love among the young people of the community. During the carnival festivities, women and men go out to the squares with their best costumes and in the midst of a great hullabaloo they follow the rhythm of the music of the bandurrias and charangos interpreting popular songs. The women make use of their “warakas” to “punish” their lovers in an unspoken declaration of love. The men do it through the songs
AMAZON REGION
Movido típico
This is not exactly a prescribed dance but rather an allegory of the indigenous people from the Amazon region, wearing their traditional clothes. The women embody sensuality and joy, whereas the men embody strength and smartness.
COLOMBIA
Cumbia
The word Cumbia is of African origin and literally means “to celebrate”. In terms of choreography, the Cumbia is a dance of seduction whereby the women use burning candles to drive out pushy men. Cumbia music and the corresponding dance represent the cultural identity of many Colombians.
San Juanero
This is a very traditional and romantic dance from the region around Tolima and Huila. The couple celebrates being in love. The San Juanero is a mix out of popular rhythms as Bambuco and Joropo and is mainly performed during ceremonies that take place in honour of saints such as San Juan and San Pedro. For this occasion, women usually wear costumes of the Reinas del San Juanero (the San Juanero Queens).
Garabato
This dance highlights the contrast between life and death in a theatrical way, which is characteristic for carnival dances. The dancers illustrate the people’s fight against death.
The word Garabato derives from a hooked wooden stick that is decorated with ribbons and carried by the dancers.
Mapalé
The Mapalé is an Afro-Caribbean dance, characterised by fast, sensual and strong movements. It is also said to be a dance of frenzy; some even say it is about some kind of witchcraft that, through the drum beats, leads the dancers to loose control and fall in trance, a trance of wild and uncontrollable passion.
Joropo
The joropo is a traditional form of music and dance that fully identifies the llanero people.
Its origins date back to the mid 1700’s when the llanero peasants preferred to use the term “joropo” instead of “fandango” to refer to parties and social and family gatherings. Fandango is a term of Spanish origin, which identifies one of the most popular flamenco songs and dances.
The joropo seems to have taken from the fandango the sense of the party or dance… abandoning the amorous courtship typical of the fandango and adopting the hand-holding and the turns of the waltz… This way it is conserved until now.
VENEZUELA
Joropo
The joropo is a traditional form of music and dance that fully identifies the llanero people.
Its origins date back to the mid 1700’s when the llanero peasants preferred to use the term “joropo” instead of “fandango” to refer to parties and social and family gatherings. Fandango is a term of Spanish origin, which identifies one of the most popular flamenco songs and dances. The joropo seems to have taken from the fandango the sense of the party or dance… abandoning the amorous courtship typical of the fandango and adopting the hand-holding and the turns of the waltz… This way it is conserved until now.
Tambores Urbanos
The recognized dance has an origin that goes back many years ago. The Venezuelan drum is an artistic expression that African slaves established along the coasts of the country celebrated. All of them were brought by the Spanish colonizers.
Certainly, the Venezuelan drum is part of its identity. It is an artistic language that is connected to a historical past that to this day is widely practiced by Venezuelans.
ECUADOR
Sanjuanito (region Otavalo)
This is a very traditional Ecuadorian music style and has its roots in the indigenous and Mestizo culture of the province Imbabura. One of many stories about the dance’s name, assures that it was performed mainly during the ceremony in honour of San Juan Bautista (John the Baptist), which the Spanish celebrated on June 24. This happens to be the same date of the Inti Raymi celebrations that had been taking place long before the Europeans arrived. The Sanjuanito represents solidarity, identity and the relationship to mother earth for the indigenous population, whereas it is rather an expression of joy and national identity for the Mestizos.
Sanjuanito (region Zuleta)
This is a very traditional Ecuadorian music style and has its roots in the indigenous and Mestizo culture of the province Imbabura.
One of many stories about the dance’s name, assures that it was performed mainly during the ceremony in honour of San Juan Bautista (John the Baptist), which the Spanish celebrated on June 24. This happens to be the same date of the Inti Raymi celebrations that had been taking place long before the Europeans arrived.
The Sanjuanito represents solidarity, identity and the relationship to mother earth for the indigenous population, whereas it is rather an expression of joy and national identity for the Mestizos.
La Caderona
La Caderona (“the one with the big hips”) is an Afro-Ecuadorian rhythm and dance from the Esmeraldas region and was most likely inspired by African fertility rites.
The dance portrays a passionate love story about a beautiful black woman with big hips who drives the men crazy with her sensuality so that they would be even willing to leave their wives.
CHILE
Cueca
The Cueca is the Chilean national dance and therefore is the most important one in every traditional Creole celebration. The man’s posture and enthusiasm remind one of the rooster’s courtship dance. The woman, however, acts in a rather elegant and restrained way.
Destreza huasa
Destreza huasa, which is one of the choreographic variants of the cueca, where the man and the woman demonstrate all their skills and abilities of this Chilean dance.
Vals Chilote
This Chilean waltz, originating from the Chiloé island, clearly shows the European influence. The dance tells the romantic story of a young man who wanted to build a boat to get to the other side of the river, where his beloved girlfriend lived. A tornado had destroyed the bridge so they weren’t able to visit each other anymore.
Rapa Nui (Easter Island)
We have a wide repertoire of different Rapa Nui themes and dances, both ancient and traditional as well as contemporary.
MEXICO
Jalisco: Jarabe Tapatío
The Jarabe Tapatío is the most representative song from the Jalisco region. This is also the place of origin of the charros, the chinas and the mariachi that have become symbols of Mexican culture throughout the world.
Jalisco: La Negra
The Jalisco region is known for its jarabes and sones, which are popular and spontaneous melodies that people sing and dance to. Those melodies are the result of a fusion of Spanish and Indigenous music styles.
El Son de la Negra is a traditional song from south Jalisco and has become one of Mexico’s most popular melodies. What many people don’t know is that the lyrics are about a locomotive.
Jalisco: Danza de los Machetes
Another typical dance from the Jalisco region is the dance with the machetes. The men demonstrate their abilities with those big knives, which serve as weapons and as practical tools for their daily work too.
Having its origins in the Mestizo culture, this dance shows the contrast between the men’s strength and wildness and the women’s elegance and grace.
Veracruz: La Bamba
The Son Jarocho developed from a fusion of the Spanish seguidillas and fandangos and the Cuban zapateos (tap steps) and guajiros.
The melody is played by a harp that enhances the piece with harmony and a touch of son music. The most known version is La Bamba, also known as the hymn of Veracruz. It is just as representative for Mexican culture and music as the Jarabe Tapatío.
The dance represents a couple who, using their feet, tie a ribbon into a bow while they dance.
Veracruz: La Bruja
“La Bruja” is a Son Jarocho, one of the best known of Veracruz.
It is one of many legends, which is perhaps the Mexican equivalent of the Dracula of Romania. It is a sinister creature, in the form of a woman, who needs to suck blood. La Bruja is frightening, but at the same time plays with a masochistic erotic fantasy, the lines between these two aspects become blurred, which reflects well the double standard so typical of that region.
So La Bruja comes to represent a spinster woman who goes out in search of men, to trap them and make them hers.
Chihuahua: Polka
The roots of this Polka from north Mexico clearly lead back to the European Polka. Nevertheless, it is obvious that this is a highly “mexicanised” interpretation of Polka.
BOLIVIA
Caporales
The roots of the Caporales dance go back to the Saya, an Afro-Bolivian rhythm from the region of the Yungas and in the Tundiques, where the indigenous Aymaras imitated the Saya. In the course of this, the so-called Caporales, who were colonial foremen, appeared and became the basic element for this popular dance. Due to the dance’s young age, it is open to changes and different interpretations. As en example, the costumes are continuously modernized and tend to follow fashion trends.
Tobas
This dance has developed from war dances of the indigenous population from the region called Gran Chaco, which is the homeland of the ethnic community Tobas. They were known for their fearlessness in war. The dance appeared for the first time in the 20th century at the carnival of Oruro and rapidly became very popular.
Caporales-Machas
The well-known dance of Los Caporales, performed by women who have appropriated the costumes, movements and name of the male character (Macho Caporal). Given the gender structure established in the Caporales – represented by the couple Macho Caporal and Cholita (female character) – the appearance of the new role of the Macha Caporal in the dance has led to a social questioning of the identity of the women who dance as Machas Caporales. This questioning triggered a whole movement of female empowerment and solidarity, as well as that of the LGBTQ community.
Cueca Tarijeña
While it is true that the Cueca is the national dance of Chile, it is danced in other regions of South America as well, acquiring the characteristics of each place. The main message is still the love of a couple, the courtship through dance. The Cueca Tarijeña has been consolidating between the years 1930 – 1938, also known as Cueca Chapaca, is cheerful, fast and the first to use the violin, giving it a peculiar and unique sound.
La Chovena
The Chovena is a typical dance of the departments of Santa Cruz, Beni and Pando, a region with tropical climate, which shines in the carnival festivities. It is a native musical genre belonging to the Guarani culture, with a long history dating back to pre-Columbian times. It had no lyrics, and violins were included to achieve a greater cadence and sonority.
Saya
The Saya is an Afro-Bolivian dance, born in Los Yungas of Bolivia, one of the places where African communities settled after the enslavement process. The music and dance as part of their life also traveled with them to these territories, maintaining a certain independence that promoted their distancing from the Aimaras and other populations. The music and dance of the Saya is not the same as that of the Caporales, although there is often confusion between these two dances, as the latter is a mestizo and urban dance inspired by the original Saya.
BRAZIL
Samba
Originally, Samba was the collective name for several dance styles, introduced by slaves from the Congo, western Sudan and Angola into their new homeland, Brazil, in the 19th century.
Being one of the most significant expressions of Brazilian folk culture, Samba has turned into a symbol of national identity. The Samba de Roda from Bahia, declared heritage of humanity by UNESCO in 2005, formed the basis for the development of the Samba Carioca (from Rio de Janeiro).
Capoeira
Capoeira is an Afro-Brazilian cultural practice that combines fighting and dancing . It is assumed that it was an invention of the African settlers enslaved in Brazil in the 16th century, coming from Angola, Congo and Mozambique.
Argentina
Chacarera
The Chacarera is a traditional rhythm and dance of Argentina, mainly from the province of Santiago del Estero, but danced throughout Argentina, and in southern Bolivia. It is a picaresque dance, with an agile rhythm and a very cheerful and festive character. It is a lively dance that, like most Argentine folk dances, is danced in couples. It is loose as the dancers do not touch each other.
Tango
Tango is a manifestation that emerged in the 19th century from the fusion of Afro-American, Creole and European immigration. The Argentine and Uruguayan tradition of tango, today known throughout the world, was born in the basin of the Rio de la Plata, among the popular classes of the cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo.
Central America
Costa Rica “Tambito”
Tambito is a musical, folkloric rhythm of Costa Rica. It is, along with the punto guanacasteco, one of the most recognizable musical genres of the folklore of this Central American country. Its name derives from the tambo, a type of ranch that was built on cattle ranches for the workers to sleep in. Its origin is unknown, although it is believed to be derived from the Spanish dance. Many of Costa Rica’s folk songs and dances are Tambitos.
Honduras “La Punta”
On the Caribbean coast of Honduras, there is a culture called “Garífuna”, descendants of Africans of Africans and Caribbean natives from the Arahaucos tribe. At their festivals, they dance to a rhythm typical of the region, called PUNTA, because everything is danced on tiptoe. Originally an expression to celebrate fertility, this dance is an dance is an integral part of Honduran folklore.
This rhythm gave rise to a piece of music that became a huge hit throughout Latin America at the end of the 80s, the “Sopa de Caracol”. The lyrics are a mixture of Spanish, English and the Garífuna language.
Panamá “El Gallo y la Gallina”
A kind of courtship dance in which the couple pretends to be the hen and the rooster by imitating the movements of these birds. This dance is characteristic of the Herrera province.
Nicaragua “Tululu”
It is a dance that is performed to close the Fiestas de Mayo. The celebration and dance of the Palo de Mayo in the South Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, specifically in the city of Bluefields, has its origins from the time of the English colonization and the arrival of black slaves to the Caribbean Coast.
It is a rite in homage to the sowing to achieve a rich and abundant production, as well as to the fertility of the women of the community.
CUBA
Conga
The Conga is a popular Cuban dance of African origin that has a syncopated rhythm and is accompanied by drums. It serves as accompaniment for the carnival troupes and originated in the festivities carried out by the black slaves.
It is a danceable and singable genre, which highlights the joy, rhythm and flavor of Cuban music.
Salsa
Salsa is a musical genre that arises from the mixture of Latin rhythms as well known as chachachá, mambo and son, among others, with the use of American instruments and styles.
Although its roots are mainly from Cuba, salsa as a dance originated in the Spanish neighborhood of New York, the “Spanish Harlem”, where the main colony of Latin Americans settled in the city. From there it began to expand and make its way to other cities in and out of the United States.
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Merengue
Merengue is a Caribbean musical genre that originated in the mid-nineteenth century in the Dominican Republic and has transcended borders because although it is danced throughout the Americas, it is also popular in different parts of Europe. The cradle of Merengue is located in the north of the Dominican Republic and is considered an integral part of the national identity of the Dominican community.
Palo Dominicano
The palos or atabales are the most important folkloric and cultural manifestation of the Dominican Republic, because it is the only one that is celebrated in all the national geography. The palos or atabales are played and danced in all kinds of festive, religious and ceremonial manifestations. They are associated with Afro-Dominican brotherhoods, with roots in the Congo region of Central Africa, which were initially composed of men, but over time women began to enter them.
Bachata
Bachata is a dance music genre that was born in the Dominican Republic in the early 60’s, immediately after the end of the Trujillo dictatorship, who for more than 30 years maintained a strong censorship regime in the Dominican Republic.
The term Bachata referred to any party or gathering where popular music was played. In its beginnings it was socially considered rather marginal.