The dancers of Peter London Global Dance Company in "Caribbean Suite," choreography by Peter London that closes the program "Rebellion & Resilience" to be presented on Sunday, June 23, at the Sanctuary of the Arts in Coral Gables. (Photo by Gregory Reed, courtesy of PLGDC).
Peter London Global Dance Company brings summer dance to the Sanctuary of the Arts with a new performance on Saturday, June 23, "Rebellion & Resilience" featuring a new company production of "Carmen," choreographed by London.
The dancers of Peter London Global Dance Company in "Steppe Tango," choreography by Armando Gonzalez. (Photo by Gregory Reed, courtesy of PLGDC)
With the world premiere by London, the contemporary dance is fused with stylistic movements and gestures of flamenco, performed by a woman and two men. It is an extrapolation of the story of Carmen, as created in George Bizet's Opera, and from a film titled "Carmen."
The lead character's seductive game on the men who pursued her and whom she pursued and her audacity to take control with the intoxicating power of her infatuation ultimately caused her demise, as they fought for her love and attention.
Flamenco music is used as a background soundscape. The music offers the audience a second-level dimension to the imagination of what Carmen might have heard during her life; in that of Spain: taverns, open-air markets, festivals, and flamenco shows.
The program also includes “I am my brother’s keeper” by Vitolio Jeune, a leading Haitian-American dancer and choreographer, the dance is a memorial to the victims of the Haitian earthquake. It speaks to the love and support among the people during this critical time.
LEFT: Performers in Peter London's "Carmen," from left, Carlos Realegeno, Yanil Pabon, and Camilo Toro. (Photo by Clinton Harris, courtesy of PLGDC). RIGHT: Yanil Pabon is the protagonist of Peter London's new "Carmen." (Photo by Clinton Harris, courtesy of PLGDC)
"Frosties" with choreography by Justin Rapaport, a former dancer with Ballet BC, Vancouver, Canada, is an abstract contemporary jazz satire of a cabaret dancer.
London's "The Witness" laments and remembers of the loss of Black lives to violence.
“Steppe Tango” by Armando Gonzalez, principal dancer with Grand Ballet de Geneve, Switzerland, is a duet that explores with contemporary dance the traditional roots of tango.
The dancers of Peter London Global Dance Company in "Steppe Tango," choreography by Armando Gonzalez. (Photo by Gregory Reed, courtesy of PLGDC)
"Azucar" celebrates the retention and fusion of West African secular and sacred dances, creating a new contemporary form of social dances performed as Rumba, Salsa and other popular social dances found throughout South America and the Caribbean where the transatlantic slave traders established their institutions. Choreography is by London.
Another of London's pieces, “Caribbean Suite," which closes out the program is a vibrant explosion of contemporary and Afro Diaspora dances from the Caribbean; rich with the spiritual power of dance and music from Haiti, Cuba, Trinidad and Tobago, Puerto Rico, Colombia and wherever the West African dance and music culture was retained as part of their rebellion, resistance and resilience.
If You Go:
- What: Peter London Global Dance Company in “Rebellion & Resilience.”
- When: 4 p.m., Sunday, June 23
- Where: Sanctuary of the Arts, 410 Andalusia Ave., Coral Gables
- Tickets: $45, $15 for students.
- Information: 786-362-5132 or sanctuaryofthearts.org
