A lone woman stands on a quiet stage, covered almost entirely in blue. She wears a flowing blue skirt and bandeau, with matching paint saturating the skin of her face and entire body. The impression of an unending azure is broken only by the appearance of five yellow flowers: one painted on each hand, one on her forehead, one on her upper chest and one on her stomach. Unmoving, she is a statue made of flesh and bones.
Suddenly, soothing music begins to play and the living statue begins to move. The flowers on her hands seem to be floating as the woman moves her arms, the music providing the perfect backdrop for her slow, fluid gestures. The music contains the voice of a woman, whose narration speaks of philosophical questions: "¿Qué es la existencia? No está escondida bajo ninguna roca… eso es obvio." (What is existence? It is not hidden under any rock… that is obvious.) The performance has a meditative quality to it, as eyes and ears process the message of tranquility being projected from the stage and onto the audience below.
As the living statue's performance comes to an end, four dancers slowly ascend the stage, each cloaked in brightly colored costumes, their faces replaced by otherworldly looking masks. They are accompanied by calming music, sans lyrics, which infuses the performance with an air of serenity that matches the graceful movements of the dancers. Their agile bodies, marked with mysterious symbols, swirl and glide in an intricate choreography.
And what of the cryptic symbols painted on the dancers? They are integral to the performance, as they give a deeper insight into what the dance signifies. The presentation "is a piece about time," according to choreographer Manny López, who created the dance especially for the Día Fuera del Tiempo / Día Mundial de La Paz (Day Out of Time / Global Peace Day) event at which it was performed by dance group Arteroo Danza.
The event, which occurred on July 25th in Cancun, Quintana Roo, transformed the city's Parque las Palapas into a celebratory space in which artists, residents and tourists gathered to honor art, peace and time. The particular date of the event is significant, as it is actually considered a "day out of time" or nonexistent day marking the start of a new year in the 13-moon calendar, a measure of time that combines elements of calendars from the Maya culture and other ancient civilizations.
The dance, therefore, tied in directly to the theme of the celebration. As López explains, the piece is an interpretation of elements that are conveyed through the 13-moon calendar. Dancer Vanessa Arcega of Arteroo Danza elaborates, explaining that each performer represents a different seal of the calendar. The symbols painted on their bodies for the presentation, as well as the colors of their costumes, denote what seal each dancer embodies.
For example, Arcega, who was dressed in a yellow costume for the show, says that she symbolized the star seal. Patricia Madero, dancer and director of Arteroo Danza, wore blue and represented the hand seal. With white as her costume color, dancer Fernanda Gomez personified the worldbridger seal. Wearing red, dancer Marco Antonio Ramirez embodied the moon seal.
The seals are associated with different properties, much like the zodiac signs. For example, the star has art as its essence, the hand: healing, the worldbridger: opportunity and the moon: flow. The seals are used repetitively throughout the 13-moon calendar, thus identifying a specific characteristic for each day of the year.
Since this calendar is based on the cycles of the moon (it has 28 days in each of its 13 months), supporters say it can put humanity back in harmony with nature and on the path to peace, by keeping us in tune with the rhythm shared by the universe as a whole. As López points out, the cycles of the universe are in tune with the natural rhythm of each human being. In this way, we are intrinsically tied to the universe or, as López says, "all pertain to each thing."
The universe was the central theme of a photographic presentation at the event, as artist Edna Vite's slideshow offered a glimpse of the cosmos through the use of an ancient art form. Pulsing with life, her works feature photos of people woven into intricate geometric designs known as mandalas, which have been used for centuries to symbolize the universe. In addition to their symbolic significance, "mandalas are transmitters of energy," Vite explains, adding that they can be used for meditation purposes and also to convert negative energy into positive energy. Vite's slideshow was reminiscent of looking through a kaleidoscope lens, as mandala after dazzling mandala exploded onto the screen, their mesmerizing designs formed of photos of ordinary humans transformed into vibrantly colored beings. . .
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