♦♦♦“What intrigues you about and/or attracts you to a collaborative performance like this one with Teatro Mistral”?
First and foremost, Vismaya and I are longtime friends and supporters so it is befitting that I partake in her latest vision and creation. Second, our artistic collaborations have always involved music and dance numbers juxtaposed and intertwined in an organic and poetic way. I love programs where the audience’s palette is whetted by vignettes of poetry, music and dance, which, in fact, are all part of a similar whole.
♦♦♦“How do you translate an idea or emotion from music into specific physical motion?”
My process always starts with the music. It usually “finds” me, meaning, I listen to a song and the tonality, chords, vocals immediately connect with emotion(s) inside me. There is no thought, just a visceral reaction. Then, like a painting the movement ideas usually just flow. The more I listen to the track the clearer the idea becomes. It is pretty magical. I am not intellectually “trying” to do something, rather, I am trying to create a visual image to match the emotion of the song. I do the same with pieces/genres that are given to me by others to be choreographed, but since I didn’t choose the composition I have to listen over-and-over until I am able to connect to it and interpret it in a way that makes both musical and theatrical sense.
♦♦♦“What inspires you as a dancer/artist? In other words, what keeps your passion for dance burning bright?”
I continually inspired by artists who are not only striving for excellence at their craft but who also think “out-of-the-box”. I attend as many live performances as I am able. I continuously research on youtube. I take class in different movement styles to challenge my mind and body. I collaborate. I think that collaborating is fantastic. It doesn’t always produce something transcendental but the process is always a learning one. I think that stagnation is the death of any artist and it terrifies me. Luckily I possess this wonderful and therapeutic gift that accompanies me every day of my life and pours out of me on a moment’s notice!
To read more about Danica, follow this link to Elizabeth Vera Holland’s article at El Tecolote.org (Ms. Holland just won the SF Bay Area Journalism award): Flamenco master embraced by adopted culture.