EL SANTUARIO
A sexy and emotive show, El Santuario toys between the lines of mystical surrealism and raw humanism. It explores themes like reconciliation of the light/shadow within, ancestral grief, suspension of time, and surrender.
Together – through costuming, dance, improvisation, live music, manipulated soundscape, self love letter writing/burning, potion sipping, shared breath, and vocalizing, we created an experience that deeply transformed all who were present.
An Interactive Performance Ritual
2021, Zoncuantla, Veracruz, Mexico
This show came together after a year and a half of living in a place that I called “El Santuario” or The Sanctuary. The Sanctuary was an abandoned sculpture artist’s workshop that I converted into my movement/creative studio and home. It had windows for walls; little space between myself and the dense cloud forest surrounding me. I was immersed in the exuberant nature, intense humidity, wild biodiversity, and bathed in the river flowing through my garden every morning. I burnt candles upon candles; dancing, praying, crying, and going deep into the information that came through from long periods of silence and listening to my body.
Translating this deep inner experience into a show was magic. It was a work stemming from feeling and executed with discipline and attention to detail. The characters I created, while abstract and open for interpretation, were based on entities and beings I felt held by in my time at the Sanctuary. Most of the dances were created with scores as opposed to choreography. I invited the performers I felt most drawn to working with based on the energy I knew they would bring to their role, regardless of their histories as dancers or performers. The only dance that was choreographed was the dance between the “light” and “dark” parts of myself (a dance between myself and Joshua Echaverria). This choreographic exploration felt like a fundamental part of my artist journey and reaching the goal of my embodied transformation.
Through the realization of this project, I became confident that the more raw, honest, and vulnerable I can be with my art, the more impact it will have in the lives of those witnessing it.
El Santuario was also a comment and reflection on what had been happening globally in the pandemic – humans experiencing isolation, loneliness, and being confronted with their own shadows. While the show was deeply personal, it was a ritual for us all.
Direction: Candi X
Performers: Candi X , Joshua Echeverria, Fernanda Huerta, Muriel Escalera, Aisha Serrano
Auxiliary Characters: Allie Silver, Monica Gasperin, Arturo Martinez
Original Music: Gibrana Cervantes, Concepcion Huerta and Lory Cherry Pie
Costumes: Candi X, Corbin LaMont
Graphic Design: Corbin LaMont
Video Registration - Camaras: Indra Vieyra, Farah VillafanEditors: Candi X and Indra Vieyra
