Curet Performance Project Season 6 premieres SISTEMA

"Sistema fights the everyday, mundane exhaustion that stifles our consciousness. It's a vital reminder that following our intuition is a lifelong priority. When I am receptive to my intuition, my empathy is holistic and true. I am grateful for this movement practice, which allows me to heal. When individuals heal, the world heals. One step at a time, I am reconstructing the systems which function to fail me" - Company Dancer, Melani De Guzman

Summer 2017 was beautiful and fulfilling. I danced in a contemporary workshop for several weeks in Berlin; I choreographed and set a new solo during a residency in Battle Lake, Minnesota; I swam in over ten lakes around the world. Come August, I was ready to come home to New York City.

When I returned to New York, I joined my first part-time company contract with Curet Performance Project (CPP), under the direction of Megan Curet. Dancing for CPP is significant for me, because I respect the repertory and research, which has been established and seasoned within the New York Tri-State area. I was eager to develop Season 6’s work, titled SISTEMA.

I had been taking Megan’s contemporary dance classes and workshops continuously from Spring of 2017. I feel that as the universe aligned, my time in Berlin synced perfectly with Megan’s. I was very grateful to end my B12 training with Megan’s Formula I +II workshop, held at Lake Studios Berlin. I had the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with Megan, as well as gain an inside perspective on SISTEMA.

SISTEMA’s research connects people to their innate rhythm and groove through Afro-Latin music, sounds and motion. Achieving this groove leads to feelings of personal freedom. SISTEMA physically uses an emphasis on weight; the pelvis and torso initiate all movement. This idea draws from Bomba Y Piena sounds and motion. Megan created SISTEMA by delving into her cultural background as a first generation Bronx-native Puerto Rican. Dialogue is fused together with these influences through contemporary forms to create a new movement vocabulary. This vocabulary aims to connect anyone who joins the space. She invites all those within “the system” (the expected, the normal within American society) to break free.

We have been in rehearsal mode for almost four months now. Every week, my desire to investigate Megan’s work increases spiritually and mentally. My love for studying Latin music grew this past year after traveling to countries such as Dominican Republic and Cuba. I find Latin music to be extremely uplifting, reminding me of my inner groove that I often forget to connect with. My personal goal is to continue healing deeper parts of my body I have yet to connect with through SISTEMA. I hope you join us for the final season premiere, which will be February 8-11, 2018 at the Brooklyn Studios for Dance.