"Festina Lente" by Daniela Urías to Premiere in Mexico

Mexican choreographer Daniela Urías's new piece, "Festina Lente," will premiere in Mexico City on August 15 at the Raúl Flores Canelo Theater in Cenart. The work, created during an artistic residency at New York's Ballet Hispánico in May 2024, delves into the concept of time and its effect on human existence.

“

These are conditions, then, that allow you, in a way, to enter a space that is playful, that doesn't have the purpose as such of ending with an executed and produced piece. I think that element of creative freedom was very valuable to me.

Urías describes "Festina Lente" as featuring eight performers embodying urban creatures, or "body-machines," operating under the pressures of contemporary life where time is a commodity. These bodies, driven by the relentless pursuit of productivity, begin to recognize each other within their shared environment. This recognition sparks a process of rediscovering their humanity, leading them to reclaim presence and inhabit time rather than be subservient to it. The piece visualizes this evolution through conflicts that bring their human essence to the surface.

“

Sometimes I refer to them as body-machines that operate under the current logic, in which time is a currency. Where the persecutory idea of always having to perform more always affects us.

The choreographer explains that humanity, as a species, has reached a point where it has displaced elements crucial for fully experiencing life. "Festina Lente" depicts the "body-machine" as mechanical and repetitive, indifferent to its surroundings. A process of sensitization is suggested, aiming for this collective of bodies to find fulfillment and pleasure in connection with others. The gesture of an embrace serves as a central motif, explored from various angles, symbolizing this reconnection and the diminishing power of time over their transformation.

“

There is a process of sensitization that the piece suggests so that this collective of bodies, it is a collective because it is not just about the individual, finds that plenitude, that enjoyment, and that pleasure in being with others.

Urías values the creative freedom offered by residencies like the one at Ballet Hispánico, which allow for exploration without the immediate pressure of producing a finished work. Working with dancers from a company with a distinct classical dance language also influenced her creative process, revealing pertinent strategies and directorial methods. This period allowed her to plant the seeds for "Festina Lente," identifying initial images that would later be developed into the completed piece.

“

Apart from the bodies going through this process of transformation, the idea of time also loses power.