Laleget Danza is an international dance company based in Mexico City which was founded by Diego Vázquez in 2005. It is dedicated to modern dance exploring themes such as immigration and women’s issues. Its repertoire consists of works by Vázquez and adaptations of classic stories. It has appeared in various theaters and festivals in Mexico including the Festival Internacional Cervantino in 2008 and 2011.
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It is a small ensemble of young dancers and choreographers from different countries, such as Japan, Portugal, the United States and Mexico based in Mexico City dedicated to modern dance and physical theater.[1][2][3] The company was founded in 2005 by its current artistic director and choreographer Diego Vázquez, and the name “Laleget” is the Hebrew word for “to go.” Their works deal with themes such as immigration and the personal and professional development of women.[2][1]
It is sponsored by Carrier, Pilates Condesa, CONACULTA and INBA .[4] Laleget Danza has presented in theaters and forums such as the Teatro de la Danza, Teatro Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Sala Miguel Covarrubias and the Foro Experimental del CENART. They have also performed at the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato in 2008 and 2011, the Festival del Desierto in San Luis Potosí and the Festival de Artes Escénicas in Mexico City, both in 2007.[5][6]
Vázquez was born in Mexico City in 1981. His first formal dance studies were under the direction of Olga Rodríguez and Gabriel Saucedo in ballet and French methodology. In 2001, the Dutch government gave him a scholarship to study at the Rotterdam Dance Academy, allowing him to learn under the resident artists at the Scapino Ballet, Forsythe Dance Company and Netherlands Dance Theater .[5][3] During this time, he created Backwards (2002) and Esch (2005). In Holland, he was part of the Djazzex dance group, performing works by Angelin Preljocaj, Jiří Kylián, Itzik Galili, Neel Verdoorn, Keith Derrick-Randolph, Anabelle Lopez Ochoa and Glenn van der Hoff. In Mexico, he has danced works by Dianne Carter, Raúl Parrao, Marco Antonio Silva, Tania Pérez Salas and Alberto de León .[5][3] In 2006, he was invited to tour with the National Ballet of Mexico .[5]
Their repertoire has include works such as Backwards, Esch, Psalm 30, Doble encuentro, Invitación, Esther, Enraptured Time, Et le vent, Clean slate, Tiempo de mariachi, The Nutcracker, Image.jpg and Petrushka.[3][5]
Enraptured Time was created by the company for the 2008 Festival Internacional Cervantino composed of three works: instrumental, voice and video. It is based on eight songs by writer and scientist Adelbert von Chamisso which deal with the life cycle of a long-term couple. For the same Festival, they also created Invitación, meant to show the reality of the modern woman who still must be somewhat submissive and dependent even if her nature is to the contrary. Tierra ajena was created to evoke feelings of melancholy, loneliness and uncertainty related to unfulfilled dreams, especially those related to immigration. The center of the stage of this production contains a polyhedral pyramid to represent the new country.[3]
Petrushka is a co production with the Ballet de Cámera del Estado de Morelos, directed by Martha Pimentel Ruiz which was developed for children.[2] The work is based on the work by Alexandre Benois and Igor Stravinsky. The music remains mostly from Stravinsky .[6] The story is about a puppet with a human heart, but whose life is tragic. In the children’s version, the story is less tragic with comic elements, with the puppet returning to life at the end. At the end of the show, children in the audience are invited on stage to dance with the company.[7] The work was originally presented at the Sala Miguel Covarrubias at UNAM, where it ran for three months. It was then presented at the Festival Internacional Cervantino in 2011 with support from the Coordinación Nacional de Desarrollo Cultural Infantil Alas y Raíces del CONACULTA, the state government of Morelos and Coordinación de Difusión Cultural UNAM.[6]