Amando a mis espejos

About

Amando a mis espejos / Loving My Mirrors is a practice of observation, repetition and dialogue — mirroring the gestures of muses as a path of transformation.

The process begins with what inspires me. There is something so special about this person — something that gets ignited in me, something I want to have flourish from them within me. It is admiration, inspiration, a guide toward my own transformation.

To abstract their essence, I go into observation. I notice a gesture, the way they move, the way they speak — it is a total observation, and I have to stay in my body to receive it. From there I document them, asking them to repeat the gesture that holds my attention, the one I am curious about. During the repetition, I begin to move with them — learning through movement, in dialogue with their verbal expression of who they are. I capture the session in video, photography, and conversation, and return to it later: analyzing the image, abstracting the energy underneath.

I use the video for drawings. In preparation for the performance, I develop totems — small sculptures that remind me of each muse, that help me recall their power, the energy I was so moved by, so I can return to them, feel them, integrate them into my body.

The performance is the dialogue. I move alongside each muse's gesture, repeating until what I see and what is being seen begin to speak to each other. Some accept the invitation to mirror with me. Others stay still, and I move on their behalf — the exchange is multidirectional. To be seen in this movement, and to be repeated through it, changes me, changes us.

There is no inspiration like the other, because I am within them and they are within me. Their movement energizes me, empowers me, changes me. To witness someone moving — and to be witnessed in return — is a collective act. I carry them through their gesture, and through it I access a part of their essence, their code.

essence, observation, repetition, integration

Performers (in order of appearance)

Erica Dincalci
Francheska Alcántara
Zhuyan Ye
Gabriel Rojas
Sandra de la Rosa
Yi Hsuan Lai
Helina Metaferia
Soi Park

Inside Out, Atlantic Center for the Arts, 2023.