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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2011 > May > 23 > Entry
Review: Aztlan Dance’s ‘The Enchilda Western’
The tagline for Aztlan Dance Company’s “The Enchilada Western” at the Santa Cruz Center for Culture last weekend — “Borders are meant to be crossed” — can describe the choreographic and music choices for the production just as easily as it refers to its thematic elements. Divided into four segments performed by 10 dancers, the evening depicted macho desperados and attitude-laden señoritas fighting for survival at la frontera, but not without the help of a special vision-inducing agave tonic and the regular shouting of gritos — words of the encouragement — to fellow strugglers.
Artistic director Roé n Salinas’ choreography really does take a big bite out of the whole enchilada; traces of everything from classical forms and folk dances to contemporary styles could be recognized. The first half of the evening, in which the women mostly donned black pant-and-vest outfits and high-heeled boots, was especially laden with modern dance and jazz repertoire.
Leg extensions (and swift kicks, in the feistier moments) and classic modern floor rolls were intermingled with the stomping footwork of Mexican folkló orico. Toreador stances, with hips thrust forward, added a Spanish flair, especially in conjunction with the music of Chambao, a flamenco-electronic group known for their “flamenco chill” albums. In the sweeter sections, the borderland ladies danced barefoot wearing white ruffled dresses, twirling pink and orange serapes through the air, to mariachi music with an eastern influence.
While it’s clear Aztlan Dance Company doesn’t want to be labeled as a single-genre troupe, some of the more inspiring moments came when the choreography directed the dancers to express one particular style. The final portion of the show featured traditional Mexican folklorico that had audiences shouting out their own gritos in support. Three men wielded fire engine red handkerchiefs while creating booming rhythms with their feet; the twirling of the women’s skirts was like an undulating force of immeasurable power. Here, the evening reached a crescendo, built upon the attitude, pride and will to survive present in earlier sections.
The performers’ passion was evident through their vivid facial expressions, their dance style as one-of-a-kind as the music to which they moved: Los Lobos, Mariachi El Bronx, Macaco, Bomba Estereo — all bands for which one-word descriptions of the music are hardly sufficient. To see an Aztlan performance, though at times dizzying, is to see something unique.
Claire Christine Spera is an American-Statesman freelance arts critic.
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