Jessica Mirella Luong
PANEL 1
10:30 - 12:00 (GMT+1)
The Mouth of the Gods - Indigenous dance in London
BIOGRAPHY
My first experience of dancing was at primary school. I grew up in the Northern cone of Lima, listening to traditional huaynos, a genre of popular Andean music.
In England, I co-founded the long-standing group, Baila Peru and have been able to perform at events led by The British Museum, The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology in Cambridge, Tate Modern, V&A, Somerset House and Border Crossings.
I have fond memories of dancing with local people in traditional festivals in the highlands of Peru; and dancing with the Peruvian community in large carnivals in London and Berlin.
ABSTRACT
Border Crossings has been presenting Indigenous dance within the framework of the ORIGINS Festival in London since 2009. Our new project, THE MOUTH OF THE GODS, is leading us down new pathways, as we collaborate directly with Indigenous artists from Latin America, most of whom already live in London, to create a performance based on music created in the region during the 18th century, and centring on the opera St Francisco Xavier, which was written by an anonymous Indigenous composer in the Chiquitano language.
Research on original performance practices suggests that performance of this kind was characterised by the continuous use of dance. For our production, Quechua choreographer Jessica Luong is creating new dance inspired by Indigenous traditions and styles. The process has begun through a series of workshops with dancers from London’s Latin American communities, exploring their relationship to dance, culture and Indigenous identities.
The question of decolonisation has been central to the evolving work:
What does it mean to perform Indigenous dance in a city that was itself a colonial centre?
How does the hybrid nature of the Indigenous and baroque music affect the performing body?
Is it possible to be true to Indigenous traditions in the cultural context of this contemporary performance?
In this session, choreographer Jessica Luong and director Michael Walling will share some video footage from these early workshops, and offer thoughts on the context in relation to decolonisation. We are keen to hear feedback from our peers at this stage of the process.