Dominican scene: “ro.TO”, what dance and theater can say about life as a couple

The beds are just a pretext, or, perhaps, the cultural acceptance that it is there, in that horizontal space, where relationships discuss their problems, but, above all, coexist in harmony, lust and pleasure. The rest is pure art.

The bidisciplinary show “ro.TO”, recently presented by the independent company EntreCuerpos, has marked a turning point in the way of doing dance and theater, individually or, as has been the case, joining both lines.

“ro.TO” is a risky show, transgressive and alternative from the artistic point of view. A composition that at first glance would seem chaotic, but whose background, however, is teamwork, the synergy that can be achieved between dancers and actors who exchange and share their roles at the same time.

Jozze Antonio Sánchez, playwright and choreographer, has done it again. This is the third delivery of him under this concept.

The first was in 2018, when he presented “Entre Cuerpos”, at the National Theater Bar; the following year he took “Irreverent” to the Micro Theater space and this year he has far exceeded the previous ones, with this staging that is so close to perfection, that it is scary to use this bombastic adjective, under penalty of falling into flattery unnecessary.

The argument is not new. Nor does it have to be. It focuses on the relationships of toxic and insecure couples, whose complexes, jealousies and misunderstandings make their life together a battlefield mined from all sides, where peace or truce are distant chimeras.

The dialogues (the theater) and the movements (the dance), may in many moments be “not suitable for prudes”, because they become violent, coarse, dangerous, misogynistic and, it is known that not everyone digests with the same capacity certain artistic expressions that can alter modesty or good customs.

Ah, the music, a work by José Andrés Molina, with the co-production of “Somos más nada”, with that fast-paced coming and going of sounds, those dramatic “in crescendos” and “decrescendos”, with which the artists on stage are supported, helped by the lighting design by Rubén Lara , complete the work of a work that cries out to be performed in more spaces, on more stages, in more festivals, because what is good, simply, must be perpetuated.

Actors: Cindy Guerrero, whose command of body and voice and some skills in movements and acrobatics, make her shine with her own light, despite the choral work to which she was exposed; Madison Diaz, Gabo Alcantara and Erni Coronado; the dancers: Daimé del Toro, experienced contemporary dancer, who, together with Jozze Antonio Sánchez, choreographed this piece; Joel Rodríguez, Erick Guzmán, Jonás Alberto, Wileidy Contreras, Patricia Ortega and Mildred Rubirosa, directed by Edmundo Poy, under the umbrella of the Compañía Nacional de Danza Contemporánea, have before them, from now on and in the future, a commitment to maintain that quality, that skill and that commitment to their profession, every time they step on stage.

“The tambourine is in good hands.” The local artistic relief shows its potential every day.

Spaces like Edanco, which has been held for 17 years and has only been inactive during the pandemic, highlight the talent and skills of young artists, those of any discipline.

This time we saw a dance and theater show, we hope that the creativity of the authors of “ro.TO” will lead them to a much more multidisciplinary performance, with equal or greater interpretive quality than what is presented with this work. !! Congratulations!!

“ro.TO” was presented within the framework of the seventeenth EDANCO International Contemporary Dance Festival, in the Manuel Rueda room and in Fine Arts Galleries.

Source-listindiario.com