Suárez Dance Theater is bringing “Rendicíon/Surrender,” a free dance performance to West Hollywood’s historic Plummer Park on April 3, 2020. A brief and arresting performance will take place on a Sunday afternoon at 2:30 p.m., 3:30 p.m., and 4:30 p.m..
Conceived by Christine Suárez and choreographed in collaboration with eight of Los
Angeles’ most compelling performers, Rendicíon/Surrender combines the power of Maurice Ravel’s driving orchestral piece “Boléro,” the beauty of West Hollywood, and the joy of dance.
The performance will explores the theme of surrender at the intersection of landscape, music, painting and choreography. They collectively ask: how do we surrender to a moment? “Boléro” is known for its rhythmic build and Spanish influence, but it is also an exercise in sonic compulsivity and repetition.
The churning obsession that lies beneath the surface of the music attracted the biologist-
turned-artist Anne Adams. Her visual interpretation of the work, the 1994 painting
“Unraveling Boléro” was the subject of an episode of the public radio program Radiolab
that posited that Adams and Ravel suffered from the same brain disorder — a disorder that
explains their shared obsession with repetition across decades and disciplines. Hearing
this, choreographer Suárez began to explore how repetition drives creativity in dance. The
result is Rendicíon/Surrender.
Dancers Bernard Brown, Jay Carlon, Veronica Caudillo, Patrica Huerta, Ilaan Mazzini,
Arushi Singh, Willy Souly & Tom Tsai join Suárez in collaborating on this project – each
bringing their own cultural and disciplinary expertise to Rendicíon/Surrender. These
seasoned performers come from four different continents and bring a plethora of movement styles and practices including Bharata Natyam, Contemporary West African, Salsa, Hip Hop, Ballet & Modern/Contemporary.
Originally scheduled to premiere in March of 2020, the performance has transformed
along with the times. This performance is Suárez Dance Theater’s first live performance
in over two years. After these years of required separation and isolation,
Rendicíon/Surrender now explores new ways of bringing people together, focusing on
how we can create community through dance instead of why we can’t. The movement
embodies our somatic experiences these past two years: ongoing fear, immense loss,
tides of anger, rolling loneliness, tedious repetition, and, yes, waves of hope.
Rendicíon/Surrender will also further Suárez Dance Theater’s mission to erase the
lines between community outreach and professional artistry. With funding from the City
of West Hollywood, they are partnering with the LGBT Center to offer workshops in their
Senior program, employing the same improvisational tools being used to create the
choreographic score for Rendicíon/Surrender. The result will be a true artistic exchange
between the community and the artists.
Rendicíon/Surrender Credits:
- Creator/Director — Christine Suárez
- Collaborators & Performers — Bernard Brown, Jay Carlon, Veronica Caudillo, Patrica Huerta, Ilaan, Mazzini, Arushi Singh, Willy Souly & Tom Tsai
- Music — Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero” – a recording by Wiener Philharmoniker, Conducted by Gustavo Dudamel
- Production Manager — Nina Furukawa
Suárez Dance Theater is a Santa Monica-based not for profit ensemble that stimulates social
change through dance-making and creative practices. By asking who gets to dance, where they dance, and why they dance, the company ignites conversation, illuminates collective unspoken stories, and builds community. For more information visit https://www.suarezdance.org/
Rendicíon/Surrender is supported in part by an arts grant from the City of West Hollywood.
Parking: Free three hour parking lot for Plummer Park visitors and free and metered street parking on Santa Monica Blvd and surrounding blocks.
