Every year, the Raymi Dance School performs a vibrant program of movement and narrative that pays tribute to the Peruvian heritage of the school’s founder, Silvia Huddleston, and her family.
This year’s installment, Zampoña: Whisper of the Winds, is an original work meant to put their country’s rich folklore in a fresh and accessible context. The show, in the Alexis & Jim Pugh Theater at Dr. Phillips Center, will get underway at 7:30 p.m.
The premise: A human protagonist happens upon a magical pan flute (the zampoña of the title). An odyssey of wide-eyed discovery ensues, with appearances by some mystical Andean spirits who hold sway over their mountainous region. Expect plenty of colorful costumes along with music and choreography that are culturally authentic and impactful.
“We were looking to do something more emotional,” says Huddleston of Zampoña. As opposed to previous shows, which dealt with such themes as good versus evil, “this one is going more to your soul—how music can take you to a different place.”
As is the case each year, the program will carry the subtitle “Volveré a Bailar Por Ti (Dancing for you Again).” That’s a reference to Huddleston’s late brother, Erik Portilla Aymara, a graduate student in visual anthropology whose master’s project was a documentary film of the same name.
The film profiled Peru’s annual Virgen de Candelaria Feast, in which Aymara was an active participant before his untimely death at age 48. One of Huddleston’s other brothers, Sandro Portilla Aymara, has written the script for each of the four shows that the school has brought to the arts center, making the annual event an exercise in personal as well as cultural tradition.
Zampoña’s cast of 25 performers is culled from the school’s students, who also perform at FusionFest, the Florida Folk Festival and IMMERSE in Downtown Orlando. In addition, each July 28 they present an annual Peruvian Independence Day Celebration with Orlando Museum of Art.
Dr. Phillips Center is located at 445 South Magnolia Avenue, Orlando. For more information, call or visit the website.
