It was an honor to be invited as a choreographer to bring more than 500 traditional dancers from 10 different regions of Oaxaca to create a huge mandala where they all danced together.
All these ancestral dances have been danced ritually in each community for centuries and every aspect of them, every detail in their costumes has full symbolic meaning and value.
They traditionally get together in Oaxaca city every year where they dance one after another and share products from their local harvest with the audience in a celebration called Guelaguetza.
This was the first time where they all danced together a big choreography that allowed them to do their dance in company of all the other regions, simultaneously.
It was a life changing experience for me to witness the power and beauty of all these dances that are ritualistic, that are the bond of communities and the opportunity that brings them together and strengthens their identity, connects them with the elements, with the earth, with the divine.
Many generations present in each movement, in each handcrafted costume, in each sound.
I feel so blessed of have had their trust and openness to do this and to witness the power of life and dance through this dancing mandala so rich in diversity, history, and magic.
-Montserrat Payro, Choreographer