Ballet Nepantla: Neither From Here, Nor From There

By Natalie Taylor

What happens when you meld classical, contemporary, and Mexican folklore dances? You get a marvelous combination of mellow, ancient movements and sounds, and the crispness of modern motion. The blend of ancestral Mexican dances, the poetry of traditional songs, the colorful attire, and the lithe moves of contemporary dance, combined with contemporary sounds and lights become a dream state turned reality.

Ballet Nepantla was born in 2017 in New York, with Andrea Guajardo and Martín Rodriguez’s desire to reach back to their Mexican roots, but grounded in the present. The term nepantla is a Náhuatl word that means “in-betweenness,” or as it might be translated into Spanish “ni de aqui, no de alla”—neither from here, nor from there.

Andrea’s heritage is Mexican but she was born in Texas and earned her BFA in New York. Always concentrating on ballet and contemporary dance, she joined a Mexican folklore dance company in New York in 2016, and quickly became enchanted with the dance.

She met Martín Rodríguez, who was born in Guadalajara, and stood out as one of the best folklore dancers in the group. Together they conceived the idea of blending Mexican and American contemporary elements into a new genre. The desire to create a bridge between the two identities resulted in the creation of Ballet Nepantla in 2017 and a highly acclaimed first performance in Queens, New York the same year.

The fusion between contemporary and folk dance brings an “in-betweenness” in a physical and metaphorical sense, with the diverse history, cultures, geographies, and individual duality in a physical expression. A performance of La Llorona, for example takes the legend into the present using the traditional song but with contemporary light effects and movements. It is reminiscent of the most colorful acrobatic performances of Cirque du Soleil, with a Mexican touch!

Last year, Ballet Nepantla had one performance in San Miguel de Allende, and they brought the house down. This year, they return for three performances of a new opus titled “Nacimientos”—births—focusing on the holiday season. They will be on stage on November 21^st and with two shows on the 22^nd at Teatro Santa Ana. Get your tickets now, this is a performance you won't want to miss.

November 21^st - 5:30 p.m.

November 22^nd - 1:00 p.m. & 5:00 p.m.

Teatro Santa Ana $330 mxn

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