Ballet Nepantla crosses geographical and artistic borders
BY TAMMY SCILEPPI
She’s from the Texas/
Mexico border; the daughter of
Mexican immigrants.
Andrea Guajardo’s dance
troupe represents different
ethnic and artistic backgrounds:
three company members
come from Mexico, two from
California, two from Florida,
a few from New York City, one
from Tokyo, Japan. And three
dancers currently reside in
Queens. The musicians come
from Mexico, Costa Rica, and
across the U.S.
After teaming up with
another dancer, Martin
Rodríguez, Guajardo helped
launch Ballet Nepantla (“the
in-between space”), a unique
mix of dance forms. The
amazing result? Sin Fronteras,
a synergistic celebration that
symbolizes the notion of living
between cultures.
With elaborate costumes,
scenery and lighting, this dance
spectacle allows audiences to
experience a slice of authentic
Mexico right here in Queens.
“Ballet Nepantla crosses
artistic borders by infusing
contemporary ballet and West
African forms into a traditional
Mexican folklorico framework.
It pushes the boundaries of
folklorico artistic expression,
just as it takes that expression
across the border into a broader
audience,” Guajardo said.
The dance company returns
to Queens Theatre, for one show
only, on March 2 at 8 pm.
“I was born and raised in
Edinburg, Texas, a Texas/
Mexico border town along
the southern-most tip of the
state. I come from a Mexican
American family with parents
who always taught me the
importance of embracing my
culture and heritage, and
always supported my dream
to become a professional
dancer,” said Guajardo, who
at 17 moved to New York City
with a scholarship to study
at The Ailey School, and in
2013, graduated with a BFA
in dance.
“In my final days of school, I
auditioned for MOMIX and was
lucky to begin working with
them right away. While with
MOMIX, I learned the discipline
of being a professional dancer
Ballet Nepantla (started by a former MOMIX dancer) graces the
stage at Queens Theatre for an exclusive one-time show.
Photo by Eddy Fernandez and Luis Guajardo
while getting to travel the world.
It was an incredible experience.
After touring with MOMIX
for three years, I transitioned
to working NYC-based jobs,”
she recalled.
Guajardo was a teaching
artist for Dance Theater of
Harlem, Ballet Hispanico,
and performed part-time with
a New York-based folklorico
group. She came to appreciate
that style of dance and felt it
was something that needed to
be seen by wider audiences.
“Folklorico shares such a
beautiful side of the Mexican
culture that so many people
don’t know about, and in my
mind this needed to change,”
she said.
Her vision? Fusing
traditional dances of Mexico
with what so many would
consider “familiar” ballet.
“When you grow up along
the Texas-Mexico border, you
exist in a space that is not
quite Mexican, and not quite
American. It is a state of inbetween
ness that is cultural,
geographical, but it also speaks
to the challenge of personal
identity that someone like
myself experiences in life,”
Guajardo explained.
“I believe Ballet Nepantla
invites dialogue regarding
living between cultures. This
is complex, but we believe the
beauty, the ambiguity, and
the inspiration audiences can
find in artistic expression can
inspire deeper reflection and
conversation,” she added. “They
will experience something new,
beautiful, and evocative, and we
hope something inspirational.”
“We are thrilled Ballet
Nepantla’s Sin Fronteras is part
of our 30th anniversary season.
This exciting company fuses
contemporary and folkorico
dance to create something that
is both familiar and fresh at
the same time,” said Queens
Theatre’s Executive Director
Taryn Sacramone.
Tickets start at $20 and are
available at the Queens Theatre
Box Office. Call (718) 760-0064
or visit www.queenstheatre.
org for tickets and more
information.
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