His years of musical accomplishment give him a uniquely valuable perspective on how in art, openness can be a source of inspiration …
One of the things that makes Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre so visionary in what they do is that in twenty years they’ve never stopped expanding their vision. Their Inside/Out – American Catracho program at Studio 5 (on Wednesday, June 26 at 7pm) isn’t just one example of this, it’s at least two.
The first is in the work American Catracho itself, which Cerqua Rivera co-founder Wilfredo Rivera began imagining years ago, and has been developing on stage for three years. The work is a deep look into the personal — and interpersonal — experiences of leaving one’s own home to go to another country. It’s a vision that Rivera was more than qualified to develop on his own, but one which he has continually expanded by bringing in other voices, other visions, to inform and enrich his exploration.
The second example of Cerqua Rivera’s expanding vision is in the way they engage, the way they communicate, the way they reach out to the many audiences they create for. Their Inside/Out series, where three times each summer they present a combined performance and in-process showing of one of the works from their upcoming season, is one of the most effective ways any company has developed of expanding that elusive vision of audience engagement. These performances are always carefully presented, with an artistically balanced rhythm that blends spoken introduction to the work with sophisticated performances of the work in progress.
Of course all of this is based on the underlying expansiveness of the artistic ensemble that is Cerqua Rivera — an exceptional group of dance artists performing with an exceptional group of musical artists. We reached out to one of these artists, Leandro López Várady, to give us an inside look into some of what makes Cerqua Rivera so unique. Classically trained in his native Argentina, but introduced to Jazz at a young age, López Várady has performed all over the world as both a jazz and classical musician. His years of musical accomplishment give him a uniquely valuable perspective on how in art, openness can be a source of inspiration, how a broader vision can often be the foundation of deeper insight. Here’s what he told us:
Adding an open and good working relationship, you have something really rare …
Johnny Nevin: You have an unusually broad set of musical experiences, from your classical training in Argentina to touring Asia with a high-profile jazz group, and a lot more in between. But the Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre Music Ensemble is an especially unique gathering of musicians, and their range covers a lot more than most groups ever aspire to. Having been part of the band for fifteen or so years, can you tell us a little more about how this group of musicians sees what they do together — how they look at the range of music that they perform?
Leandro López Várady: The CRDT Music Ensemble is a highly skill and versatile group of musicians. Everyone brings to the table their own perspective about music. We feel comfortable in any style of music — from Rock/Pop to Classical music, and passing through Latin and Jazz. This versatility, plus our different backgrounds and musical tastes, make the Ensemble very unique. Adding an open and good working relationship, you have something really rare to find. From my own perspective, this Ensemble gives me the opportunity to play different styles of music, and also to explore the dynamic between dancer and musician.
One of my goals as a musician is to find a common ground between Classical and Jazz music
Johnny: You’re just as passionate about jazz music as you are about classical music, in fact there’s a great quote at your site where you say, “I love both deeply”. Many people find these two worlds very different, and look at them as being completely separate disciplines and arts. Yet you clearly see something deeper in them, something that is much less separate. Can you tell us more about your perspective on Jazz and Classical music, and why you appreciate each of them so much?
Leandro: I grew up in a family of musicians. My father was a jazz drummer and my mom is a harpist, pianist, composer and singer, classically trained. Jazz and Classical music were heard in my house all the time. My training was classical, but my father introduced me to Jazz and Latin music when I was little. This environment made me love both styles, and find no separation between them. But then during my training, I started to see that some people, including some musicians, look at this differently, as two separated worlds — unfortunately.
One of my goals as a musician is to find a common ground between Classical and Jazz music, which is expanding now to other music styles. This is one of the reasons I love to play with the CRDT Music Ensemble.
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Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre presents Inside/Out – American Catracho at Studio5 (1934 Dempster Street,Evanston, IL 60202) on Wednesday, June 26 from 7:00 to 8:00 pm. Tickets are available online from Eventbrite.
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PHOTOS (from top): ROOT horizontal – Photo by William Frederking
From ROOT: mwanzo wa mwili ni roho by 3Arts award winner Monique Haley and company Cofounder Joe Cerqua
Artists (left to right): foreground – Joe Musiel, Rachel Spies; background – Dan Hesler, Pharez Whitted, Leandro Lopez Varady, Joe Cerqua, Stu Greenspan, Tim Archbold • Catracho with Juli – Photo by William Frederking
From American Catracho by company Cofounder and Artistic Director Wilfredo Rivera
Artists (left to right): Kristen Vasilakos, Stu Greenspan, Robert Dicke, Timothy Archbold, Rachel Spies, Juli Wood, Sara Schroerlucke, Joe Musiel • ROOT Stretch – Photo by William Frederking
From ROOT: mwanzo wa mwili ni roho by 3Arts award winner Monique Haley and company Cofounder Joe Cerqua
Artists (left to right): foreground – Joe Musiel, Rachel Spies; background – Dan Hesler, Pharez Whitted, Leandro Lopez Varady, Joe Cerqua, Stu Greenspan • Fronteras Slide – Photo by William Frederking
From Sin Fronteras by company Cofounder and Artistic Director Wilfredo Rivera and composer Clarice Assad
Artists (left to right): foreground – Brennen Renterria, Briana Arthur, Richard Pena; background: Dan Hesler, Pharez Whitted, Leandro Lopez Varady, Rachel Spies
