Urban-15’s Global Water Dances Showcases Mother Nature
June 11, 2021 - San Antonio
Urban-15 Showcases Global Water Dance. Urban-15 is one of several dance companies from around the world who advocate for wide-spread access to clean drinking water. All Photos: Courtesy Images.
By Trinity Dayton, Staff Intern | San Antonio Sentinel
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- Urban-15 is a San Antonio based organization surrounding all outlets of creativity including; movement, dance, film and music.
- The dance section of the Urban-15 Group is a combination of drummers and 16 dancers, creating and performing Latin African based movements.
The two words which San Antonio’s Urban-15 dance group lives by is reflection and contemplation; a mindset to help enhance performances and connect to Mother Nature in preparation for the 2021 Global Water Dances. This showcase of dances feature dance companies of differing sizes from around the world who advocate for wide-spread access to clean drinking water.
Established during the 80’s, Urban-15 is a San Antonio based organization surrounding all outlets of creativity including; movement, dance, film and music, giving local artists a platform to showcase their work. The dance section of the Urban-15 Group is a combination of drummers and 16 dancers, creating and performing Latin African based movements.
The Global Water Dances has selected dance groups from nearly 200 countries, making Urban-15 the only dance group representing Texas. Each selected dance group is required to film a movement piece in or near a body of water, advocating for clean drinking water and protection of water resources. This year marks the third time Urban-15 has been selected to participate in the event.
Dancer and artistic director of Urban-15, Catherine Cisneros emphasized she organized the submission piece to be filmed and performed at San Pedro Creek in order to capture the beauty of San Antonio but also with the express intent to spread awareness of the importance of protecting natural water resources, especially natural elements located in the heart of the city which she calls home. Inspired to capture the historical essence of San Antonio, she chose the San Pedro Creek as the performers arena to showcase the historical significance water has had on the city.
“The reason people have been living here for over 12,000 years is because of the water, “ Cisneros said. “The Papaya people lived [near the San Pedro Creek], and that was their location. When the Spaniards first came the water was so amazing and plentiful, they saw this place and said ‘Oh My Gosh, civilization can grow here.’ Lots of things happened; bad things, good things, all kinds of things happened and here we are today with the San Pedro Creek [and] the San Antonio river. A lot of it has been concreted over, but it is still here. This is a place of plentiful and abundant water.”
The movement piece Urban-15 submitted for the 2021 Global Water Dances is titled “The Water Calls” paying homage to a sacred water ritual capturing the essence of water and will be aired worldwide on Sunday, June 13. The submission piece is currently circulating social media platforms such as Urban-15’s Facebook page.
Cisneros said she considers the group of performers to be a sisterhood, as well as crediting the drummers as the backbone of the group, providing the music and rhythm to make the feeling and movements of the group come to life, while crediting the composer and former artistic director of Urban-15, George Cisneros.
Deirdre LaCour has been a dancer with Urban-15 since the early 90’s. LaCour said the first time Urban-15 was invited to submit a piece for Global Water Dances, San Antonio was facing a drought. She said the river was dry causing the dance group to embody the essence of water by designing flowing blue and white costumes and moving together in rhythm resembling the ripples of the river.
Thinking back on the difficulties of the first time being invited to participate in the Global Water Dances, LaCour said there were some challenges this year surrounding COVID-19, Zoom replaced in-person practices, causing the team to meet less frequently than their normal two to three practices per week along with the wear of face masks when performing.
“When you’re dancing it does make it a little bit harder to breathe and to see [wearing masks],” LaCour said. “Anytime you are exerting energy and dispensing energy, you’re going to need to breathe and it may be a little harder sometimes than others but we figure it out because we all love dancing and performing so much. [Dance] is such a release, for me dancing helps me with every facet of my life: it helps me get through hard things, it helps me as I am celebrating with everyone else the good things.”
In past celebrations, Global Water Dances have hosted a single day event, only broadcasting the filmed dances from around the world, this year Global Water Dances is turning its single-day event into a week long festival filled with interactive activities for the participants such as a movement exercise lead by dance instructors, filmed dance submissions and ending in a message from the participants on the importance of safe water. Global Water Dances will be held from Tuesday, June 8 to Sunday, June 13.
Trinity Dayton is an English major, minoring in theatre at Texas State University. She is a life and arts reporter and a public relations assistant for the University Star. Email her at reporter@sasentinel.com