DNA
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An artist asks herself: “Who am I? What makes me unique?” The artistic personality is determined by many factors: one’s experiences, when and where in the world one is born, being born male or female, and certainly, one’s cultural heritage. You can get away from many things, denying another thousand, but you can’t escape who you are. Rosario Toledo’s life story, her womanhood, her work as a 21st century dancer, with the heritage of Cadiz in every pore of her dancing, have all contributed to an immense and unique artistic presence. This production searches for that essence, the particular and nontransferable DNA of an artist who wants to know, in the middle of life’s chaos, what it means, at this moment, to be a “bailaahora” (a dancer now). |
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DNA is a superbly personal and honest work that views like a day in the life of Rosario Toledo. It’s tremendously comical, but also moving, deftly weaving the feelings of joy and defeat that we have all experienced. The production opens on Toledo sitting in her dressing room, testing poses that strain to appear sultry, when her cell phone rings. She’s overjoyed to speak to a lover whose voice we cannot hear, as she explains that she’s about to perform, her bliss turns to heartbreak, and with her first sobs of grief she’s pulled out of her dressing room and on stage. In the throws of sorrow, she plasters a spurious grin on her face and dances alegrias, ironically flamenco’s most jubilant style, literally called “happiness.”
We follow Toledo on and off stage; we see her changing between numbers and going out after the show. In one particularly entertaining scene she dresses up for a night out, and when her companion – dancer Roberto Jaén – arrives, they drink away their sorrow, generating a playful duet involving the intricate, although drunken, passing of a bottle of liquor.
DNA is successful because it is a personal journey that resonates with the audience. We see a raw and exposed Toledo, but also a tough, triumphant woman, who dances through the pain and finds strength and resolution in her work.
- Dance International
We follow Toledo on and off stage; we see her changing between numbers and going out after the show. In one particularly entertaining scene she dresses up for a night out, and when her companion – dancer Roberto Jaén – arrives, they drink away their sorrow, generating a playful duet involving the intricate, although drunken, passing of a bottle of liquor.
DNA is successful because it is a personal journey that resonates with the audience. We see a raw and exposed Toledo, but also a tough, triumphant woman, who dances through the pain and finds strength and resolution in her work.
- Dance International
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