REGALIA
Invited to work with a choreographer who commissioned a piece for her dance company using instruments of India and MesoAmerica for this particular performance each dancer wore black with a very simple long sleeved shirt not the regalia they traditionally wear* Just Very simple jewelry Very simple make up all dancing and moving together as one with amazing precision, spirt and heart with obviously dozens of hours put in to do just that Regalia is colourful and is different depending on the type of dance and dancer, while a costume is something you wear that you are not…… She told me the reason for having them not wearing full regalia was that after every performance people want to take selfies with the dancers, and tell them "how nice their costumes are", “How beautiful their make up is” etc., and immediately walk away but no one ever asks what was the dance about? how old is it? what is it based on? where did they learn it? how long it took to make it what it is? what have they learned from their teacher about the culture why do they dance? etc., just that they "like the colors" and "the costumes" and wanting a selfie so THIS TIME the audience focused On the dance itself not on the regalia and after the dance, the dancers were asked who? why ? what ? where? about the dance and its history The RESONANCE and BEAUTY Of DANCE and MUSIC do not need to be decorated Art is beyond E N T E R T A I N M E N T "Christopher Garcia, a multi-faceted percussionist, added an eclectic array of musical instruments from Mexico, India, and other places creating an imaginative array of sounds along with the movement." NARTHAKI.COM "We hear a variety of percussion, including instruments from India, Mexico and MesoAmerica. They sing and throb to the pulse of a single person, Christopher Garcia. He produces an extraordinary array of sound and rhythms, effortlessly weaving in and out of familiar Indian patterns to those of traditional MesoAmerica........." SRUTI MAGAZINE INDIAS PREMIER MAGAZINE FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS |