CORAZÓN ABRIENDO (HEART OPENING)
transports audiences to vibrant environment of Chiapas, Mexico

Atlanta—July 17, 2006—Several Dancers Core presents CORE Performance Company in the U.S. premiere of Corazón Abriendo (Heart Opening). Corazón Abriendo (Heart Opening) is a portal that transports the audience into the vivid, lush atmosphere of the highlands and rainforests of Chiapas, Mexico through a multimedia “cloth” of dance, sculpture, video, and music skillfully woven together. Echoes of ancient civilizations overlap with the energy of modern life as the artistic sensibilities of contemporary dancers meld with the traditional weaving arts of the Mayan people.

Weaving is culturally important for the Maya, and the theme of weaving, its movements and sounds, its significance historically and spiritually, as well as its new resurgence as a part of the Chiapas economy give Corazón Abriendo (Heart Opening) its shape. Traditional Mayan “huiples” are shirts woven by hand on a backstrap loom in recognizable patterns and colors that represent each village in the area. Designs drawn from the heart of Mayan culture and mythology are woven into the fabric as it is created. The dance will weave together layers of visual imagery, cultural memory, personal expression, innovation, physical rhythm and color to create a richly textured multimedia piece.

CORE Performance Company artistic director, Sue Schroeder, and co-director Susan M. Prins of Teatro en la Selva, Palenque, Mexico wove together the elements of this unique work. In addition to the dance, mobile set pieces were designed by anthropologist and visual artist, Walter “Chip” Morris Jr. and master Mayan weaver, Lucia Hernández López, both based in San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, Mexico. New music was composed and will be performed live by Terrence Karn, and video of the sights and sounds of Chiapas were recorded and shaped by Maya Ciarrocchi.

Corazón Abriendo (Heart Opening) is a work with deep connections to the people and places in Chiapas. An introductory journey by Sue Schroeder to Chiapas to make community connections and to experience the sights and sounds of the rainforest took place in October 2003. The next step was a series of “immersion” residencies in Chiapas with Schroeder, CORE Performance Company, and composer, Terrance Karn, beginning in January 2005. The full-length piece premieres in several cities in Mexico in October 2006, followed by these performances at 7 Stages, which are the U.S. premiere.

Several Dancers Core achieves its highest artistic synergy when collaborating with other artists, from working with musical groups within the United States to creating works outside the U.S. with visual artists in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia and choreographers in Germany.

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CORE Performance Company, the professional touring company of Several Dancers Core, focuses on the ongoing development of the artistic process through the creation of new work. Made up of individual artists, the company performs new choreography that evolves through an intentional collaboration of experimentation and improvisation with artists from different mediums.

Committed for 26 years to innovation, risk and collaboration, Several Dancers Core (SDC), a nonprofit dance organization, creates, performs, and presents contemporary dance. SDC promotes dance awareness and education through performances, presentations, workshops, and classes in contemporary approaches to movement and is dedicated to opening new channels of communication between artists and the community. For more information about Several Dancers Core, please call 404-373-4154 or visit www.severaldancerscore.org.

This program is funded by the generous support of Alternate ROOTS and the Ford Foundation, Woodruff Arts Center’s Celebrate Diversity through the Arts, the Pattillo Foundation, Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. GCA is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

Photo URL: http://www.severaldancerscore.org/press/photos/corazonjuana.jpg

Note: For interview requests, contact Claire Horn, 404-373-4154 or claireh at severaldancerscore.org.