“...creatures
of the air, as well as from the earth…”
The New York Times
Dzul Dance fuses dance with aerial arts as a
means to communicate indigenous pre-Hispanic and Mexican culture and create
dialogue between contemporary art and historical heritage. By transforming
bodies into earthbound and airborne forces of nature Dzul breaks physical,
cultural and political boundaries. This daring and unique company connects the
bridges between the ancient and the modern in order to illuminate the vast array
of drama and beauty inherent to the universal human condition and the natural
world.
Dzul Dance’s vast dramatic and creative appeal have won them invitations
nationally and internationally to perform at a variety of prestigious venues and
festivals. Among them, the United Nations, Bard College, El Museo del Barrio,
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian, the Gerald W. Lynch Theater
(NYC), Tribeca Performing Arts Center (NYC), Saint Mark’s Church (NYC), Reichold
Center for the Arts (USVI) and Gallery Won (Korea), Mexico Now Festival (NYC),
Cervantino Festival (Mexico), Bard College Summerscape (NY), Gunvor Festival (Switzerland),
Festival Internacional del Centro Histórico de Campeche (Mexico),
Festival del Arte Contemporáneo (Mexico), Muestra Internacional de Danza de
Oaxaca (Mexico), Festival Santiago de Querétaro (Mexico), Performing the
World 2008 Conference (NYC), National Dance Week (NYC), Dancers’ Responding To
AIDS (NYC), Festival Otoños Culturales en Mérida (Mexico), Latin
Choreographer’s Festival (NYC), Forum on Indigenous Issues (NYC) and Dixon
Place’s Crossing Boundaries Series (NYC).
Dzul has collaborated with a variety of artists including aerial choreographer
and performer Chelsea Bacon, former Cirque du Soleil aerialist and contortionist
Anna Venizelos, composer and musician Sergio Reyes, Columbian singer/songwriter
Lucia Pulido, photographers Tim Petersen, Acey Harper, Andrew Brucker and Justin
Lin, sound/image artist Jacob Robinette, internationally acclaimed vocalist
Sussan Deyhim, and award winning filmmaker and human rights activist Rebecca
Sommer.
Javier Dzul, Artistic Director
Artistic Director Javier Dzul grew up in Mexico’s
Yucatan Peninsula performing the ritual dances of his Mayan tribal community. He
then went on to dance with Ballet Nacional de Mexico, Ballet Folklorico de
Mexico, Martha Graham Dance Company, Pearl Lang Dance Theater, Alvin Ailey
Repertory Ensemble and Acroback. Javier created Dzul Dance in 2003. He and his
diverse company of dancers and aerialists have been presented throughout New
York and Mexico and in South America, Europe, Asia and the Virgin Islands
garnering reviews along the way that hail Dzul’s “acrobatic wizardry” (Attitude:
The Dancer’s Magazine). His choreographies have been described as “intricate,
epic and profuse” by Chronogram and “simply spectacular” by La i.
In addition to performing, Javier has brought the
artistry and vocabulary of Dzul Dance to others through workshops at Colegio
Nacional de Danza and Universidad de Veracruz (Mexico), Cisne Negro at Emproart
(Brazil), Arena Ballet School (Switzerland), Bertha C. Boschulte Middle School (USVI),
Festival Santiago de Queretaro (Mexico), Millbrook School (New York), Campeche
Youth Initiative (Mexico), Eastside Institute for Psychotherapy (NYC) and the
All Stars Project (NYC).
