The curtain rises on the 5th Cali International Dance Biennial

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The official opening of one of the most anticipated dance events in Latin America starts Tuesday, November 9, with the presentation of the best six dance companies from Cali and winners of the contest “In Cali you dance like this” (En Cali se baila así). The fifth edition of the Cali International Dance Biennial includes performances of La Mirada del Avestruz (The Ostrich Look) by the Colombian company L’Explose, and part of a tribute to the prolific Colombian-Spanish choreographer Tino Fernández who died during the coronavirus pandemic.

For a full week (Nov 9 -15), Colombia’s capital of dance Cali – and UN designated City of Music – will host 400 artists from 11 countries with live shows. The participating guest nations for this fifth edition are Senegal, France, Spain, Uruguay, Brazil, Switzerland, India, United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. The Biennial is organized by Proartes, the Association for the Promotion of the Arts.

The inauguration will also be broadcast live on the regional network Telepacífico. The famous dance academy of the department Valle del Cauca – Incolballet – will also stage ‘Silencio’ and work by its contemporary dance faculty. “If all the arts have been severely impacted by the closures of the pandemic, dance more so, stated Juan Pablo López, the Biennial’s curator. “Dancers, who require large venues to rehearse and perform were quarantined in small rooms and separated from human touch.”

Among the many highlights of the Biennal is Volátil by the Bogotá-based dance ensemble Cortocinesis, Cartagena’s Colegio del Cuerpo with Dos volcanes y un laberinto, the professional dance company of the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo, Contragiro and Sankofa. The international slate includes the icon of Afro-contemporary dance Germaine Acogny (France-Senegal), the ‘Ella Poema’ project that connects Africa, Europe and America through women’s literature, Uruguay’s Sodre National Ballet, Hofesh Shechter (UK), Batsheva Company (Israel) and Hiroaki Umeda (Japan), among others. The Biennial will also showcase from the department of Chocó the winners of the Young Creators scholarship.

With each new edition of the Biennial, Cali consolidates its reputation as an energetic and innovative dance capital, and this year, the event aims to mend the social fabric torn by the protests of the national strike, and strive towards reconciliation and healing.

The complete line-up of productions, virtual workshops, lectures and four photographic exhibitions is available at www.bienaldanzacali.com

Follow the Biennial of Cali on Facebook (@BienalDanzaCali), Twitter (@bienaldanzacali) and Instagram (@bienaldedanzacali).

Courtesy: Biennal de Danza

 

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