Ballet Nepantla

Ballet Nepantla originated from a series of platicas between founders Andrea Guajardo and Martin Rodriguez, two artists whose early professional identities emerged from distinct genres: Andrea from classical ballet and contemporary dance, and Martin from traditional Mexican folklorico. They envisioned a new form of expression that fused the two modalities, and they envisioned an aesthetic that would speak to the historical, cultural, and social realities of a broader narrative of being Mexican, Mexican American, immigrant, and trans-cultural. Drawing inspiration from Gloria Anzalduas borderlands theory, Andrea and Martin imagined they could create performances that spoke to the in-between qualities of being from both sides of the borderland. They found the idea of Nepantla, a Nahuatl term of the indigenous people of Mexico. Nepantla provides a historical, intellectual, and artistic framework through which to explore the in-between spaces of history and culture by exploring new arti...