FRONTERA: Dance Theatre That Crosses Borders | Dana Gingras

In the lead up to the performance of FRONTERA at NYUAD’s Red Theatre, we talk to Dana Gingras, the choreographer of the show and founder of multimedia dance company Animals of Distinction. Dana talks about her creative process and how she strives to produce shows that are viscerally engaging, experiential and kinetic. She shares how she balances and tweaks her choreography to accommodate different spaces and contexts – inhabiting her audience’s gaze – and what it actually takes to put a show together. 

Dana gives us insight into how the collaboration between Animals of Distinction, Fly Pan Am and United Visual Artists culminates into what NYU Abu Dhabi’s Art Center calls “a visually stunning spectacle of propulsive dance, powerful live post-rock, and dazzling lighting.” Finally, we asked Dana for advice she would give to aspiring dancers and her take on what’s trending in the dance world right now. 

FRONTERA is on at the NYUAD on the 12th and 13th October 2023. 

Animals of Distinction (AOD) is the multimedia dance company of renowned choreographer and dancer Dana Gingras. Through AOD, Gingras has fostered the creation of numerous cutting-edge works that have involved innovative collaborations across diverse mediums and artistic practices, all shaped by the possibilities of new technologies and cultural shifts. About FRONTERA: Choreographer Dana Gingras explores spaces of inclusion and exclusion, tackling borders as boundaries between the public and private realms. 

Animals of Distinction’s nine dancers — their bodies mapped in high resolution and their destinies unresolved — contend with the ideas of a real or imaginary dividing line, and the extreme limits of understanding. London-based art practice United Visual Artists (UVA) creates a spectacular world of light. Founded in 2003 by British artist Matt Clark, UVA’s diverse body of work integrates new technologies with traditional media such as painting, sculpture, performance, and site-specific installation. Paired with Canadian experimental rock band ( formed in Montreal in 1996) Fly Pan Am’s live, gripping, post-rock beats and field recordings by Godspeed You! Black Emperor’s Dave Bryant, they form a dynamic, visual conversation between choreography, architecture and sound. In an era of accelerated climate change, mass migration and corporate surveillance, the human body has never been rendered so visible, subject to increasingly invasive forms of oversight and processing. Increasingly, the border moves with the body and seeks to organize and orchestrate its passage through the world. In the ever-advancing frontier of technology, what space remains for the unruly, ungovernable body? 

This is the third episode in the second season of The NYUAD Arts Center podcast. This podcast series delves into the intricate tapestry of the Arab world's histories and cultures through a performing arts lens. Our five guests share their expertise and personal journeys. Make sure to watch the remaining four!  

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afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present, and future – through conversations driven by curiosity. 

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ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra