Over the past 50 years, The Music Center has become one of the largest and most highly regarded performing arts centers in the country and a cultural hub that is central to LA’s status as the “creative capital” of the world. The Music Center’s acclaimed dance series, Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center (Dance at The Music Center), is a national leader in presenting significant works by prestigious ballet and contemporary dance artists from around the world. Dance at The Music Center is also a powerful commissioning force, supporting new works and artists-in-residence projects by today’s most influential companies and choreographers.
Tania Pérez-Salas | Photo by Ricardo Trabulsi
Such is the case of México’s premiere contemporary choreographer, Tania Pérez-Salas, a México City native who felt the need to express and translate her emotions since the early age of 6; she began her career following her urge to express her feelings to an open heart audience as it was her way of translating and transmitting her emotions. By building this invisible portal with her audience she felt peace and a particular sentiment through these encounters.
This coming weekend, from May 15 to 17, The Music Center will introduce Los Angeles audiences to the extravagant theatricality, intensity and originality of one of México’s leading contemporary dance companies with the Los Angeles premiere of Tania Pérez-Salas Compañía de Danza. The company, led by Artistic and Executive Director Tania Pérez-Salas, makes its Los Angeles debut at The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre. With choreography inspired by Pérez- Salas’ passion for movies, literature, visual arts and philosophy, the engagement will introduce audiences to the exploration of emotions and human desires in EX-STASIS, as well as her new work, MADE IN MEXICO, which features a collage of musical artists and contemporary images of México that are rooted in her perspective as a Mexican female artist.
Photo by David Garces
Gypset Magazine would like to share a bit of the nature of talented Tania Pérez-Salas; we had the opportunity to speak to her and learned more of her feelings about her expression of art through dance. Tania was in the middle of a million and one arrangements to make for her journey to Los Angeles when we contacted her, her perfect Spanish and México City’s native accent made me feel at home, we talked about her accomplishments, about how is it that her career has not been easy, but full of satisfactions, how is it that she finds the balance between her career and personal life, her work, her vision, pretty much about her essence and the message she wants to transmit to the audience through her company’s performances.
But let’s go back for a bit, it was inevitable for me not to feel connected to her when she mentioned the first award she received, she received it at The Palacio de las Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts), it is the most important cultural center in México City, it brought me personal childhood memories. While talking to Tania she said “it meant a lot, it was a great accomplishment, dancing on that stage had a great meaning to me”, that would be the first recognition of many more that she has received throughout her career. But it has not been easy “It is always a struggle, it’s always complicated, and you must have true passion and a lot of discipline. In dance you depend of a lot of factors, finances, good structure, and a great team. But this career also brings me many satisfactions; being able to create a bridge between the performer and audience through emotions, brings me great satisfaction”.
Photo by David Garces
This talented dancer and choreographer shared with us details about the two of the performances she will present at The Music Center in Los Angeles this weekend, for example, she described EX-STASIS as “a creation that narrates the disconnection that we have been experiencing as society due to technology, even with ourselves, we tend to repress our feelings and emotions, everything is systematic, even breathing has become a mechanical action, the conscience of what breathing really is, has been lost”. She utilizes plastic props to make a point, at the end she just wants each and every one to feel each performance and give it their own meaning, simply make it their own. She also feels really excited to present her latest work, Hecho en México (Made in México), which is a performance that was born as a result of her nostalgy for her country’s music and culture. This is her first work that contains Mexican music and tries to express certain cultural remarks such as gender violence.
Definitely this is an opportunity that can’t be missed; Tania Pérez-Salas and her Dance Company promise to seduce you while at the same time invite you to make their performances one of your own. You are invited to be part of the magic as they make their debut in Los Angeles Debut at The Music Center’s Ahmanson Theatre this coming May 15-17, 2015.
