Video by Laura Sposato
Dancers will perform under the lights of Roosevelt Row Saturday on the A.R.T.S. Market lot for the sixth annual Expresiones Seis dance festival.
The show is an attempt to bring dance to new audiences by presenting outside of a typical theater, said Candy Jimenez, artistic director of Dulce Dance Company and cofounder of Expresiones.
“Usually your audience tends to think it’s a special sort of audience for dance, and I want to take away that notion,” Jimenez said.
The festival will be free in order to attract a varied audience, from poets to downtown workers, said Liliana Gomez, Expresiones cofounder and Dulce Dance Company associate artistic director.
Gomez and Jimenez were discussing where to hold the festival when they walked past the A.R.T.S. lot on Roosevelt Street between Third and Fifth streets, Gomez said. They paused to examine the empty space and thought it would be a good place to hold the event.
Since its founding in 2007, the festival has set a challenge for dancers and choreographers, Jimenez said.
Jimenez said Expresiones was inspired by a concept in Spain that she wanted to bring to Phoenix.
“I’ve always wanted things to happen in the center of the city,” Jimenez said. “It just makes sense. And I think just because it’s the city I live in, I’m a little more passionate about that.”
Jimenez said the most difficult aspect of performing outside would be the lighting and sound of the lot. However, she said this could positively affect the atmosphere of the festival.
Gomez expressed similar concerns about the lot.
“It’s so urban, and you can see all the construction and development happening around,” Gomez said. “That’s also a part of why we’re doing it down here in an empty lot. So I think it’ll be okay.”
Dulce Dance Company dancer Whitney Waugh will perform in three dances choreographed by Jimenez, Gomez and Waugh herself. She said the lack of boundaries outdoors would cause difficulties for the dancers’ spacing.
“I haven’t put on a show out in the middle of a parking lot or an empty lot under the stars. So I think it’s going to be fun and challenging all at the same time,” Waugh said. “I feel more at one with myself when I’m in nature and looking at the stars, even through the haze of Phoenix.”
Waugh said her piece, “The Passerbys,” represents her feelings toward society and her place in it. The dance will focus on losing one’s individuality, with dancers wearing masks during the show.
“It takes a lot of strength and courage to take that mask off and see what is actually possible for you,” Waugh said.
Waugh has performed in the festival three times, initially with ASU dancers and twice with Dulce Dance Company. She is currently a Master’s dance student at ASU.
Jimenez choreographed a contemporary piece to traditional Mexican music, she said. As a Mexican-American dancer, Jimenez said she was frequently asked if she performed folkloric dance.
“I actually do contemporary work and I want people to be aware of that,” Jimenez said. “No matter what the ethnicity is, I don’t want that to relate to what kind of art I would practice.”
Gomez choreographed a contemporary abstract piece to Prince’s “Darling Nikki,” she said.
This is the festival’s third venue in Phoenix. Previous locations include the Herberger Theater and Playhouse on the Park, she said.
The festival was initially organized in conjunction with the First Friday Art Walk but was then postponed to a Saturday performance.
“It was an attractive thing to be a part of First Friday, but then I was afraid that because we were a part of it, the whole idea of our festival would get lost,” Jimenez said.
Jimenez said an area containing part of the dance floor will be roped off for First Friday with a sign stating, “Art installation in progress. Come back for tomorrow’s performance.”
Expresiones Seis is free and performances will be family friendly, she said.
Contact the reporter at danika.worthington@asu.edu
