H.A.R.L.E.M
Choreographed and performed by Carla Segovia and Guillermo Aguilar
Sound design and original composition by Aristóteles Benítez
Lightning design and technical direction by Jésica Elizondo
Costume design by Carla Segovia and Guillermo Aguilar
Costume made by Mauricio Ascencio and Miguel Gamero
H.A.R.L.E.M is a contemporary dance duet that borrows elements from old school voguing and mixes them with Mexican folklore footwork. The dialogue between these forms of movement works as a powerful and over stylized contemporary proposal that injects sick beats and crazy sound dynamics into the already stuffed dancing sequences. Going back to our roots and exploring the ways we moved before we became professional dancers made us reflect on how there was almost nothing tangible in our bodies from our Mexican culture but instead we were full of information from other ways of conceiving a dancing body.
We both grew up in different parts of Mexico but were connected by pop music, choreographies from famous pop singers and dancing styles that we knew because the globalized culture we lived in. We were closer to global commercial performers like Madonna and Britney Spears than to our Mexican musical and dancing heritage.
H.A.R.L.E.M is our way of confronting what our bodies lacked while growing up with the tools we got while watching MTV in our living rooms and finally with our style and knowledge as contemporary dancers. Music and sounds from these two universes were the primary material to work on while constructing the duet. Every step and dancing sequence was inspired by pop, hip hop and folkloric Mexican songs. We worked -as usual- with music sheets and scores to achieve the choreographic complexity we wanted to showcase in this exploration. Polyrhythm, a lot of dynamic changes, different melodies and musical styles served as the soundtrack for the choreographic adventure we were getting ourselves into.
BIO
Carla Segovia and Guillermo Aguilar began collaborating in 2017 after discovering their creative affinity while working as members of Colectivo Querido Venado. They premiered their first duet titled One Hit Wonder in Mexico but soon traveled abroad when they won “SóLODOS en Danza” in Costa Rica in 2018. This award gave them the opportunity to showcase their artistic vision at some of the most important street summer festivals in Spain. One Hit Wonder has become a regular in prestigious Mexican festivals and has been shown in different communities in Costa Rica and Guatemala. In 2020 they began working on H.A.R.L.E.M which became a finalist at “4×4 TJ Nights”, one of the most important contemporary dance contests in Mexico. They toured Europe in the summer of 2022 with this new piece and worked on ATONAL, their latest scenic effort as participants of two artistic residencies in Spain.
Istagram: @guillermoxcarla
