The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, MassArt, and Danza Orgánica Present the Danza Orgánica Company Concert:


TRUTHS OUR BODIES TELL

An Evening Where Movement Carries Memory


~~~


SHOW ORDER


I. Raíces

II. Machete

III. 1000CHNNLS

IV. Volver a Ser


— INTERMISSION —


V. This Is a Body

VI. Añoranzas

VII. Amor Ancestral


Post-show Q&A with the artists to follow.

ARTIST BIOS

~~~


PROGRAM



I. RAÍCES

An opening blessing to the four directions, rooted in Afro-Diasporic and Indigenous traditions.

Choreography
Mar Parrilla

Dancers
Claudia Varela
Dana Alsamsam
Fran de Paula
Jenny Huang
Jassi Murad
Mar Parrilla
Marcel Santiago Marcelino
Yarumi González

Music
Ianmanuel by Giovanni Hidalgo



II. MACHETE

An invocation of strength during times of trial.

Choreography
Mar Parrilla

Dancer
Fran de Paula

Music
Machete by Novalima



III. 1000CHNNLS

This ongoing creative process, inspired by Édouard Glissant’s Poetics of Relation, explores the double-edged causations of Caribbean cultural traditions through the lens of folkloric dance forms and their shared origins.

Choreography
Marcel Santiago Marcelino, in collaboration with Danza Orgánica.

Dancers
Amelia Estrada
Claudia Varela
Dana Alsamsam
Fran de Paula
Jenny Huang
Jassi Murad
Mar Parrilla
Marcel Santiago Marcelino
Simon Montalvo
Yarumi González

Music Credits
Ola de la Mar  by Viento de Agua

Music Score
Marcel Santiago Marcelino, in collaboration with Jorge Santiago Arce.



IV. VOLVER A SER

In times of uncertainty, there are those who remain with us through thick and thin bringing both care and joy along the way. Volver a Ser is a homage to enduring friendship, its shared laughter, and the healing strength of its embrace.

Choreography
Mar Parrilla and Fran de Paula

Dancers
Fran de Paula
Mar Parrilla

Music
A Step Back from the Wrong Direction V  by Josh Knowles




INTERMISSION




V. THIS IS A BODY

A corporeal meditation on the devastation of Gaza, Palestine, using the writing of Palestinian-American poet, Lisa Suhair Majaj. 

Poem: "This is a Body", by Lisa Suhair Majaj. This poem first appeared on Vox Populi on October 23, 2023. 

Concept and Creation
Juliet Salameh, in collaboration with Danza Orgánica.

Music Credits
Flight of Visibility
Doikayt
Juliet Salameh
Evan Greer


VI. AÑORANZAS

Es un privilegio buscar en el pasado para encontrar las respuestas a las preguntas de nuestro presente. Añorando ser distintas y aceptando que somos lo que somos gracias a alguien. ¿Desde cuándo aprendimos que no somos suficientes y cuál es la ancestralidad de nuestro perfeccionismo?

It is a privilege to seek in the past the answers to the questions of the present. Longing to be different while accepting that we are who we are thanks to someone.
When did we learn that we are not enough, and what is the lineage of our perfectionism?

Coreografía / Choreography
Claudia Varela, en colaboración con Danza Orgánica.
Claudia Varela, in collaboration with Danza Orgánica.

Canciones / Music
Árboles Bajo el Mar  by Vivir Quintana, Mare Advertencia.
Todo Cambia by Mercedes Sosa.

Bailarines / Dancers
Amelia Estrada
Claudia Varela
Dana Alsamsam
Fran de Paula
Jenny Huang
Jassi Murad
Mar Parrilla
Marcel Santiago Marcelino
Simon Montalvo
Yarumi González


VII. AMOR ANCESTRAL

We are living in difficult times. In this dystopian reality, we must continue to reimagine how we show up for one another to counter loneliness, fear, and disconnection.

Amor Ancestral  is a work in three acts. The first act expresses what, when the piece was created in 2019, felt like an imagined dystopian state, one we now inhabit in 2026. The second act is a call for unity and action. The third reaches outward, inviting us to support and hold one another, and to be guided collectively by our commitment to shared care and a healthy future ahead.

The work closes the evening with a call for continued blessing from our ancestors, a call for connection, mutual support, and for love to lead the way in the face of this reality.

Choreography
Mar Parrilla, in collaboration with Danza Orgánica.

Dancers
Claudia Varela
Dana Alsamsam
Fran de Paula
Jassi Murad
Mar Parrilla
Marcel Santiago Marcelino
Yarumi González

Music
Ancestral by Punku, Rawa Muñoz, Novalima
Coyurriti by Dengue Dengue Dengue
Atahualpa by Nación Ekeko



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND PRODUCTION CREDITS


  ARTIST BIOS  


Artistic Direction
Mar Parrilla

Lighting and Audio
Dylan Soulard, with the assistance of Claudia Varela.

Production Support
Mars Calderón
Fran de Paula
Mar Parrilla
Marcel Santiago Marcelino
Claudia Varela

This production is supported by The Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture, MassArt, and Danza Orgánica.



GRATITUDE


To the members of Danza Orgánica and the Danza Orgánica Fellows, you are the best.

To the Mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture and MassArt, for their continued support. 

To those who have supported us through the years, and to those joining us now on this journey. 

To our families, friends, and ancestors.

To our creative space partners, the Cultural Equity Incubator and Jo Mé Dance, this is where the magic happens.

To all of you who came here today, thank you for supporting us. We need each other now more than ever. 

To all who continue to create networks of mutual aid and support, we continue to create a better world. ¡Sí se puede!