Las Bodegas · Artists & Collection · Updates & Newsletters · October 9, 2019

LCAC's Partner GDLab Brings Guadalajara Artists to Denver

LCAC's partner GDLab fuses performing and visual arts, celebrating traditional dance alongside contemporary styles. Its dancers premiered LCAC's summer programming.

By Latino Cultural Arts Center

LCAC partners with talented dancers, artists, and musicians under GDLab – a dance platform in Guadalajara, Mexico. Their two dance companies Hikuri Danza and Arte Escena Crisol produce medium and large stage productions, international dance and electronic media festivals, and develop academic programs that benefit both artistic communities and youth. Hikuri Danza & Arte Escena Crisol specialize on fusing performing and visual arts that celebrate ancient traditional dance while including contemporary styles. The dancers, musicians, actors, scenic creators, choreographers, playwrights and managers are committed to building socially impactful content that sparks change within their communities.

Members of the dance company arrived in Denver this past summer to premiere LCAC’s summer programming that led workshops in rhythm, music, and movement. Their co-founder, Betsaida Pardo Zepeda, says, “As we evolve there is a need to rekindle our relationship between our bodies, movement, and the earth. It is now more important than ever to center the youth and to share and introduce Mexican culture to the world.” When asked, “How has dance been used to express a relationship with body and land?” Betsaida says, “It has been a common element intertwined within native rituals for centuries. It is about capturing the sensation, or essence, of nature that connects our Spirit to the Earth and Cosmos.” Throughout the summer we held satellite workshops led by the performers and artists uniting local Denver talent and cultural organizations to amplify and share Mexican culture.

This year marks their 10th anniversary and they are celebrating by expanding their artistic vision to include a multidisciplinary approach with LCAC. ¡ Felicidades !

Artists from Guadalajara

Black-and-white portrait of a smiling woman with her hair in a bun, hoop earrings and a dark t-shirt.

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Portrait of a young person with curly hair tied up and small green earrings, arms crossed, against a black background.

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A man in glasses and a long necklace sits barefoot on a dry lakebed at sunset, playing a flute and holding a small drum.

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Smiling woman in an embroidered white blouse holds a hammer in front of an exhibition banner with Spanish text.

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(From Left to Right)

Betsaida Pardo Zepeda is a professional dancer and choreographer and the Co-founder and Artistic Director of Arte Escena Crisol in Guadalajara. She has been dancing for the last thirty-four years and is trained in folklórico, ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary and hip hop.

Betto Mendoza is recognized as an international performer, choreographic advisor, and artistic director. He is using art as a catalyst to connect the youth to their roots and share a piece of Mexico’s culture. “We have a lot of great music, color, fashion, food, dance, and language. We are trying to share a piece of that through our LCAC partnership,” says Mendoza.

José Isaac Topiltzin Borsegui Alcalá "Topi" is a composer, producer, and teacher and who specializes in fusing Mexican and Native musical instruments. He comes from a family of musicians and grew up playing alongside his famous father, Isaac Borsegui. This summer he worked with Cleo Parker Robinson and Grupo Tlaloc by leading workshops in pre-Hispanic instruments that use wood, clay, and reed. When José isn’t on stage, he studies music, sound, and compositional structure.

Margarita Valdivia is GDLab’s newest member brought on to extend their vision of bringing a multidisciplinary component to the dance company. As a sculptor, she stands as the very few women working in Cantera volcanic stone. Margarita describes the same energy that goes into choreography is the same for each piece she carves in stone. She graduated from the Universidad de Guadalajara mastering her technique which has now led her to travel throughout Mexico and the United States.