Marianela Boán ARTIST STATEMENT
I am Cuban, born in Guatemala, and living in the Dominican Republic. As a child, I lived in Mexico, Washington, DC, and Algeria, where my father died covering Che Guevara’s African travel. I danced, choreographed, and toured the world in Cuba’s National Dance Company as well as my own companies; DanzAbierta, (Cuba), BoanDanz Action (USA), and the National Contemporary Dance Company of Dominican Republic.
Now, as ever, my country is my body.
I have lived on both sides of history. I have seen capitalism and socialism, and the toll they take on the bodies and souls of citizens. I have seen the poverty and wealth, landscapes and bodies nourished and abused by ideology. My work excavates humanity from ideology, pulling actual bodies out of the bodies we are officially permitted. Wherever ideology is strong, bodies must adapt, and resist.
I am fascinated by the ways our bodies are pushed by ideology and pushback, by the spaces in between the rules and off the grid, where bodies come together, settle, and sometimes dance. Soft, responsive, rebellious, and local, our bodies are the first victims of ideology but are finally unconquerable and unsubmissive.
Our bodies are nations unto themselves, full of contradictions and silences.
I do not make dances that proclaim a Winner, that one system to be Best. I make dances about what systems hide. I am fascinated by the lies we tell ourselves, the lies we are forced to live, the lies we happily agree to.
Marianela Boan
BIOGRAFÍA en Español y en Inglés
Marianela Boán es una coreógrafa internacionalmente reconocida y una de las mas importantes artistas de la vanguardia danzaria cubana e hispanoamericana. Su revolucionario estilo “Danza Contaminada” mezcla radicalmente todas las artes en el espectáculo danzario produciendo un expresivo y original resultado escénico. Como coreógrafa, bailarina y profesora, Boán ha trabajado en mas de 40 países alrededor del mundo y creado mas de 50 obras coreográficas para compañías de danza, teatro, TV y cine.
Ella ha ganado importantes premios coreográficos como miembro de Danza Contemporánea de Cuba de 1973 a 1988 y directora fundadora de las compañías DanzAbierta, Cuba, 1988-2003 y BoanDanz Action USA, 2005-2010. El Encuentro de Mujeres de Iberoamérica en las Artes Escénicas, 2014, rindió homenaje a su vida y obra profesional otorgándole el premio Glo.
Su trabajo se ha presentado en numerosas sedes y festivales entre los que se encuentran, para citar algunos, los festivales Grec de Barcelona, Madrid en Danza, Festival de Otoño y Festival de Cádiz en España, Teatro The Place, en Londres, Festival de Las Naciones en Suiza, Teatro Chaillot en Paris, Festival de La Haya en Holanda, Circo Real de la Moneda en Bélgica, La Arena de Verona, y el Teatro Goldoni de Venecia, Italia, Global Dance y Summer Theater Festival en Alemania, Fringe de Edimburgo y Festival de Glasgow en Escocia, Odin Teatre en Dinamarca y otras muchas importantes cedes en Europa oriental y occidental, Latino América y el Caribe, india, Nigeria y Japón.
Ella obtuvo un Master in Fine Arts (MFA) en Danza en Temple University, Filadelfia, donde se desempeñó como profesora de Proceso Creativo, Improvisación, Composición, y Repertorio del 2005 al 2010. Boán es graduada de la escuela Nacional de Danza (ENA) de Cuba así como de La Universidad de La habana, donde estudio Lengua y Literatura Española. Ha sido profesora Titular del Instituto Superior de Arte de Cuba (ISA) y ha contribuido a la educación de varias generaciones de bailarines cubanos y latinoamericanos.
Desde el año 2000 al 2010 ella desarrolló un intenso trabajo en EEUU para compañías e instituciones tales como Dance Theater Workshop, American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, New York University, Barnard College, Alaska University, Alfred College, Florida Internacional University, Ashvillle Dance Theater, Los Ángeles FITLA, Princeton University, Hedwig Dances, Chicago, Joyce SoHo Theater, NY, entre muchos otros, siendo galardonada en USA con un Rocky Award por su obra “Voyeur” y recibido grants de National Performance Network (NPN), Dance Advance, Independence Foundation y Cuban Artists Foundation (CAF).
Durante su estancia en Filadelfia fundó la compañía BoanDanz Action con la que creó obras como “False Testimony, “Voyeur” y “Decadere” que se han presentado en sedes tales como el Teatro la MaMa de NY, 2006, Bates Dance Festival 2007, Festival Internacional de Danza de México y Festival Internacional de Teatro de Bahía, Brasil, 2010, Bogota, Colombia, 2007 y 2010, Live Arts Festival, Filadelfia 2007 y 2010, y Casa de Teatro, República Dominicana 2009 y 2010.
Marianela Boán vive actualmente en Santo Domingo, República Dominicana, donde fundó y dirigió la Compañía Nacional de Danza Contemporánea del Ministerio de Cultura (2010-2020). Con esta compañía sus obras “Sed” (2011), “Caribe Deluxe” (2013), Propulsión (2015) y Defilló (2017) se ha presentado con gran éxito en República Dominicana, Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica, España, Perú y USA. También organizó el evento “Ciudad en Danza”, basado en intervenciones y flash mobs en distintos sitios de la Ciudad Colonial de Santo Domingo, entre ellos en un colmado, con su propuesta: “Oscar Wao en el Colmao” intervención basada en la novela de Junot Díaz.En 2018 fue escogida por la UNESCO para escribir y leer el mensaje por el Día Internacional de la Danza de Las Américas.En 2019, invitada por Carlos Acosta repuso su obra de 1987, “El cruce sobre el Niágara” para la Temporada Première de Acosta Danza, que se ha presentado posteriormente con gran éxito en los mas importantes escenarios del mundo. También para Acosta Danza, en febrero del 2019 Boán creó la pieza "Cor".
Durante todo el 2020 Marianela Boán creó innumerables Coreovideos y Coreozooms, publicados en su Blog y en las redes sociales, que han generado gran interés llevándola a enseñar sus conceptos de modo virtual, en diferentes Universidades de Latinoamérica y Estados Unidos y participando con ellos en varios festivales. Su obra Antropofobia, estrenada en Portugal en mayo del 2021 es una partitura visual de video conformada por los coreovideos creados en el 2020, combinados con una bailarina en vivo, para indagar en las fobias generadas por la pandemia.
En mayo del 2023 estrenó su obra “Estaciones 04”, basada en las Cuatro Estaciones de Vivaldi, con el Ballet Nacional Dominicano y orquesta en vivo en el Teatro Nacional de Santo Domingo. Desde junio del 2019 Marianela es la Directora artística de CADAC, Portugal, creando cuatro producciones para esa institución; Muros, en 2019; Óbice, en 2021; Pausa Forçada, en el 2022, y Mar Perdido, en 2024.
La Biblioteca Pública del Lincoln Center de Nueva York, realizó en septiembre 2024, una muestra en video de sus obras desde 1987 hasta el presente en el evento “Martha Graham en Cuba”, en el que ella formó parte del panel y habló de la influencia de Martha Graham en Ramiro Guerra y de Ramiro Guerra en la obra de todas las generaciones siguientes de coreógrafos cubanos.
Su mas reciente obra: Reactor Antígona se ha presentado en Casa de Teatro, República Dominicana, Festival Fragmentos de junio, Guayaquil, Ecuador, Festival Internacional de Teatro Clásico, Mérida, España y Ser Sur Encuentro de Danza Contemporánea, UNAM, México DF.
BIOGRAPHY Marianela Boán. English
Marianela Boán is an internationally recognized choreographer and one of the most important artists of the Cuban and Latin American dance avant-garde. Her revolutionary “Contaminated Dance” style radically mixes all the arts in the dance performance, producing an expressive and original scenic outcome. As a choreographer, dancer and teacher, Boán has worked in more than 40 countries around the world and created more than 50 choreographic works for dance, theater, TV and film companies.
She has won important choreographic awards as a member of Danza Contemporánea de Cuba from 1973 to 1988 and founding director of the companies DanzAbierta, Cuba, 1988-2003. Also with BoanDanz Action USA, 2005-2010, the National Contemporary Dance Company of the Ministry of Culture of the Dominican Republic from 2010 to 2020 and co-founder and director of CADAC Portugal from 2019. The Meeting of Ibero-American Women in the Performing Arts, 2014, paid tribute to her life and professional work by awarding her the Glo Award. Her work has been presented at numerous venues and festivals including, to name a few, the Grec Festival, Madrid en Danza, the Autumn Festival and the Cádiz Festival in Spain, The Place Theater in London, the Festival of Nations in Switzerland, Chaillot Theater in Paris, The Hague Festival in Holland, Royal Theatre of La Monnaie in Belgium, La Arena in Verona, and the Goldoni Theater in Venice, Italy, Global Dance and Summer Theater Festival in Germany, Edinburgh Fringe and Glasgow Festival in Scotland, Odin Teatre in Denmark and many other important venues in Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, as well as India, Nigeria and Japan.
She earned a Master in Fine Arts (MFA) in Dance from Temple University, Philadelphia, where she served as a professor of Creative Process, Improvisation, Composition, and Repertoire from 2005 to 2010. Boán is a graduate of the National Dance School (ENA) from Cuba as well as from the University of Havana, where she studied Spanish Language and Literature. She has been a Professor at the Higher Institute of Art of Cuba (ISA) and has contributed to the education of several generations of Cuban and Latin American dancers.
From 2000 to 2010 she developed intense work in the US for companies and institutions such as Dance Theater Workshop, American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, New York University, Barnard College, Alaska University, Alfred College, Florida International University, Ashvillle Dance Theater, Los Angeles FITLA, Princeton University, Hedwig Dances, Chicago, Joyce SoHo Theater, NY, among many others, being awarded in the USA with a Rocky Award for her work “Voyeur” and receiving grants from the National Performance Network (NPN), Dance Advance, Independence Foundation and Cuban Artists Foundation (CAF).During her stay in Philadelphia she founded the company BoanDanz Action with which she created works such as “False Testimony,” “Voyeur” and “Decadere” that have been presented in venues such as La MaMa Theater in NY, 2006, Bates Dance Festival 2007, International Dance Festival of Mexico and Bahía International Theater Festival, Brazil, 2010, Bogota, Colombia, 2007 and 2010, Live Arts Festival, Philadelphia 2007 and 2010, and Casa de Teatro, Dominican Republic 2009 and 2010.
Marianela Boán currently lives in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where she founded and directed the National Contemporary Dance Company of the Ministry of Culture (2010-2020). With this company, her works “Sed” (2011), “Caribe Deluxe” (2013), Propulsión (2015) and Defilló (2017) have been presented with great success in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica, Spain, Peru and USA. She also organized the “City in Dance” event, based on interventions and flash mobs in different places in the Colonial City of Santo Domingo.
In 2018, she was chosen by UNESCO to write and read the message for the International Dance Day of the Americas.
In 2019, invited by Carlos Acosta, she revived her 1987 work, “El Cruce sobre el Niagara” for the Premiere Season of Acosta Danza, which has subsequently been presented with great success on the most important stages in the world. Also, for Acosta Danza, in February 2019 Boán created the piece "Cor" .
Throughout 2020 Marianela Boán created countless ChoreoVideos and ChoreoZooms, published on her blog and on social networks, which have generated great interest, leading her to teach her concepts virtually, in different Universities in Latin America and the United States and participating with them in various festivals.
Her work Anthropophobia, premiered in Portugal in May 2021, is a visual video score made up of the choreoVideos created in 2020, combined with a live dancer, to investigate the phobias generated by the pandemic.
In May 2023, she premiered her work “Estaciones 04”, based on Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, with the Dominican National Ballet and a live orchestra at the National Theater of Santo Domingo. Since June 2019, Marianela has been the Artistic Director of CADAC in Portugal, creating four productions for the institution: Muros in 2019, Óbice in 2021, Pausa Forçada in 2022, and Mar Perdido in 2024.
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center held in September 2024 a video exhibition of her works from 1987 to the present as part of the event “Martha Graham in Cuba.” She was part of the panel and spoke about Martha Graham’s influence on Ramiro Guerra, and about Ramiro Guerra’s influence on the work of all subsequent generations of Cuban choreographers.
Her most recent work, Reactor Antígona, has been presented at Casa de Teatro in the Dominican Republic, the Festival Fragmentos de Junio in Guayaquil, Ecuador, the International Festival of Classical Theatre in Mérida, Spain, and Ser Sur Contemporary Dance Gathering at UNAM, Mexico City.
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