If the city of Guadalajara kept a calendar fixed to its fridge, October’s page would resemble a Jackson Pollock.
Everything from beer to circus clownery will be in the offing over the next month, a cultural buffet sure to please almost every taste.
Not to be left in the lurch is the art of dance, which will be repped by the 20th edition of the International Festival of Contemporary Dance “Onésimo Gonzalez,” October 7 to October 28.
The festival’s namesake (1935-1998) was a dancer and choreographer born in Monterrey whose cultural omnivorousness and restless creativity are reflected in the program’s eclectic and wide-ranging nature; dancers and troupes from around the world will be leaping, writhing and gesturing there way through a packed program within the walls of Teatro Degollado, Foro de Arte y Cultura, Teatro Alarife Martin Casillas and Edificio Arroniz. Specially invited countries this year are France and Spain.
Highlights of the festival are surely the performances by two French outfits at the Teatro Degollado. Compagnie Käfig presents “Pixel,” Saturday, October 21, 8 p.m. and Sunday, October 22, 1 p.m. This hour-long performance incorporates a host of digital projection mapping techniques, 11 dancers, and bills itself as “a work on illusion combining energy and poetry, fiction and technical achievement, hip hop and circus.”
The Ballet Nacional de Marseille presents “Rocco” on Tuesday, October 24 and Wednesday, October 25, 9 p.m. at the new Conjunto de Artes Escenicas on the northern city Periferico. In this innovative work, dancers become boxers as boxers transform into dancers.
All events are free. More information about the festival can be found at sc.jalisco.gob.mx, including a complete schedule. See next week’s Reporter for further details.