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"Carmen & Frida" presented by Peninsula Ballet at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center, CA, US
08 March 2023
This two one-act dance works will be presented April 1 and 2 at the San Mateo Performing Arts Center. "Two stories of women, one fictional, one real but both immortalized, told through dance and music that will spark your passion, touch your heart and inspire your courage." said PBT Executive and Producing Director Christine Leslie.
Carmen Suite, the premiere of PBT Artistic Director Gregory Amato’s ballet about the notorious Iberian gypsy and femme fatale -- set to the fiery musical score of Russian (Soviet) iconoclast composer, Rodion Shchedrin; and The Paintings of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in Movement, a highly colorful dance interpretation of some of the great artworks of the two Mexican painters, as conceived and choreographed by revered ethnologist and Ensambles Ballet Folklórico de San Francisco Artistic Director, Zenón Barrón. This performance, which was originally presented in 2012 but has been shortened into a single act, examines the works of renowned husband-and-wife artists Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo and reveals aspects of Mexican culture that are strongly based in class disparities. Director Zenón Barrón transforms these into the language of dance in this selection of traditionally based choreographies by focusing on specific elements within the paintings.
The lives of Rivera and Kahlo, who were iconic figures in Mexico's political evolution during the early to mid-20th century, have sparked the creativity and development of this work. While Kahlo's numerous self-portraits and paintings are representative of her life experiences and have been praised as perceptive and controversial, Rivera's work is notable for expressing the political revolution of that era and is differentiated by his commissioned murals. The selected dances highlight some of these artworks that best capture the couple's experiences while living in the United States, notably San Francisco from 1930 to 1934.
Dancers from the two companies will be appearing in both works.
For more info follow the link below.
