Silvia Huddleston, founder or Raymi Dance School, and Sandro Portilla Aymara, the school’s creative director, have teamed with the Inez Patricia School of Dance for Pride: The Rhythm of the Chosen Hearts. | Courtesy Raymi Dance School
Fans of Raymi Dance School have learned to expect an annual production that honors the company’s Peruvian roots. This year, school founder Silvia Huddleston will take matters a step further by partnering with the Inez Patricia School of Dance for Pride: The Rhythm of the Chosen Hearts.
The program of expressive choreography, which celebrates not just that particular heritage but the spirit of dance itself, will be staged only once: Saturday, September 26, at 7:30 p.m. in Steinmetz Hall at Dr. Phillips Center.
A cast of about 40 dancers, including both children and adults, will interpret this original work by Sandro Portilla Aymara, creative director for the Raymi Dance School.
A diverse array of talent from both operations will show off their skills in contemporary dance as well as jazz, tap, hip-hop and traditional folk dance. The presentation will tell a highly metaphorical story that’s meant to symbolize the power of dance to unify people across cultures and generations.
Pride marks a new level of unification for the schools that builds upon years of fruitful yet slightly more limited collaboration. (Inez Patricia dancers have appeared in selected sections of past Raymi School productions, and Huddleston’s group meets weekly at the Inez Patricia School.)
The production, which Huddleston describes as “blending Peruvian folk dance with contemporary dance in a meaningful and authentic way,” is meant to take viewers on an emotional journey, with transitions between dance styles serving as chapter breaks in a unified narrative.
There’ll even be some live music: One scene involves the playing of the cajón (a percussion instrument) and the production concludes with a group vocal performance.
To writer/director Aymara—who conceptualizes all of Raymi’s annual productions and also happens to be Huddleston’s brother—the production is a logical outgrowth of everything the school has brought to the arts center’s stages for the past half decade.
“My goal has always been to create productions that are more than a collection of choreographies,” he says. “I want each production to preserve Peruvian cultural traditions while embracing artistic collaboration and reaching new audiences.”
Dr. Phillips Center is located at 445 South Magnolia Avenue, Orlando. For more information, call or visit the website.
