“There is a keen theatrical intelligence at work here, with moving intimations of the solitude of human existence and moments of dream-like intensity.” —The Guardian (on Ponifasio’s Requiem)
Love to Death (Amor a la muerte) is a traditional yet radical work conceived and directed by internationally renowned Samoan artist Lemi Ponifasio, a champion of both the avant-garde and Indigenous people. This new work brings together Chilean artists Mapuche singer and composer Elisa Avaendano Curaqueo and contemporary flamenco dancer Natalia Garcia-Huidobro. The work was sparked by events detonated after the murder of Camilo Catrillanca, a Mapuche former student activist and farmer. Voices and bodies weave together in a ceremony revealing their own stories: two lives that reflect both Chile’s history and the search for its future. Touching on questions of identity, destiny, and nature, the work transcends conventional ideas of theater, dance, and activism.
Copresented with Northrop.
Program support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Nor Hall and Roger Hale, and Leni and David Moore, Jr./The David & Leni Moore Family Foundation.
Image description: Lemi Ponifasio, Love to Death. Photo: Courtesy the artist.