Latina Dance Project: Mission Statement

The Latina Dance Project (LDP) originated in 2002 through the creative efforts of four Latina choreographers/performers:
Licia Perea (New Mexico), Eluza Santos (Brazil), Juanita Suarez (Texas) and Eva Tessler (Mexico). The Latina Dance Project is a performance-based umbrella that supports the contemporary expression of the Latina experience through modern dance as concert performance, scholarship and research.

This group of international and critically acclaimed artists presents both performance (Coyolxauhqui ReMembers and Embodying Borders) and master classes in their residencies. The Latinas’ work conveys their personal experiences through a wide variety of styles including modern dance, ethnic forms, dance theater, and performance art. The premiere of the Latina Dance Project took place at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro with sold out performances and master classes in conjunction with the Latin Arts Festival. Since then, the Latina Dance Project has toured and been in residency at universities across the United States.

The Latina Dance Project (LDP) is integrating and presenting dance as scholarship and research by creating a platform for the diverse and rich voice of Latin culture. Furthermore, LDP wants to share their work with those interested in learning more about Latina culture and to challenge stereotypical notions of what Latina culture is about. The Latina Dance Project wants to find what is common between and amongst various dance cultures and to acknowledge the rising voice of a new aesthetic in contemporary dance.

The scope of the Latina Dance Project includes working within the following venues:

Performances (full production venues or informal settings)
Lectures and/or demonstrations
One to four day residencies offering modern dance, cultural movement studies (flamenco, samba and capoeira), theater techniques, movement for actors and improvisation
Outreach activities include working with university populations in cultural/ethnic studies, minority programs, women’s studies, foreign languages, interdisciplinary programs (dance/theater/voice), dance history studies, graduate research and methodologies
Residencies with Latina(o) communities, cultural arts centers, and organizations