La Mamá de mi Mamá dancers perform in the ATLAS black box theater. (Jan. 21, 2023) (Summer Aljobory/CU Independent)
The intricate multidisciplinary performance La Mamá de mi Mamá uses the human body, live music and high-tech bracelets as instruments.
Performers presented their eccentric display in the ATLAS black box theater on Jan. 21, 2023. The performance featured aspects of technology, design, and art such as motion capture systems, ambisonic sound systems and sound arrays.
Jesús Muñoz is an MFA Dance candidate at CU Boulder who focuses on Latinx-centered spaces to “highlight the wisdom of its vernacular/cultural dance & music as a decolonizing practice.”
The performers used their bodies as instruments manipulating sound and light using motion capture systems in the form of bracelets worn by the dancers, creating dynamic lighting and sound effects, dancing along.
“I have a whole set of research as an MFA student in the dance department in regard to my training,” said Muñoz about the performance.
According to his website, Muñoz is trained in Mexican Folkloric, Afro-Cuban, Cuban Folkloric, Cuban Popular, Cuban Contemporary, Ballet, Modern, Jazz Dance and Latin Percussion.
“I’m implementing everything in terms of respecting the past and trying to bring the social community aspect into performances,” he said.
Four dancers surrounded Muñoz during the performance, using their bodies to dance, move, sing, jump, stomp and even simply lay down and breathe.
Three of the dancers are undergraduate dance students at CU Boulder. Natasha Tia is the only professional performer: a mambo artist and yoga instructor.
“I was very present and in the moment during the performance,” said Tia. “I really relate to the concept of time, space, vibration and sensation. For me, those are all interrelated in my day-to-day routine.”
The performance was set in the ATLAS Black Box room, where there was ample space for the dancers to roam without the stage atmosphere, leaving the audience inches away from the performance. The unique setup of the Black Box space paved the way for the dancers to interact with the audience throughout the performance.
Meriweather McLean, a second-year dance student at CU Boulder, usually does ballet but worked with Muñoz on La Mamá de mi Mamá as a dancer.
“This is very different. [Muñoz] called it the beast because it has such an uncontrollable energy to it,” said McLean. “I’ve never been in a performance where you interact with the audience. It was very unique.”
Muñoz worked closely with composer and accompanist Victor Mestas on the musical aspect of the performance.
“I wrote a lot of the lyrics and I had the melody and he amazingly transcribed everything I gave him,” he said.
A special characteristic of La Mamá de mi Mamá, one that sets it apart from other productions, was the brilliant use of technology. The dancers wore motion capture bracelets that manipulated lighting and sound, in addition to the Black Box room’s ambisonic quality. This transformed physical distance into something which can be heard and seen.
Whenever two dancers wearing bracelets got together, the music became clearer, and the further apart they were, the more distorted the sound and light became.
The dancer and choreographer Muñoz has one other performance as a part of his thesis at CU Boulder coming up in May. Muñoz says he is planning to dig a hole in Norlin Quad to “showcase the difference between land acknowledgment and land back,” he said.
“I’m a part of the Arapaho tribe, and that’s going to be my final project,” he said.
A livestream of the performance can be found here.
Contact CU Independent Arts & Entertainment Editor Summer Aljobory at sana.aljobory@colorado.edu.
