FESTIVAL DANCERS
Peruvian Dance Company
NATIONAL/ETHNIC IDENTITY:
Peru/Andes
DIRECTOR: Luis Valverde
First Appearance in SF EDF: 2004
Email: peruviandance@yahoo.com
The tiny Andean mountain villages of Huancayoq and Chula, 4000 feet above
sea level, contain a landscape of extraordinary beauty. Spreading across the
terrain are vibrantly
colored wildflowers, lush vegetation, cascading waterfalls,
and a crystalline blue sky. These
blissful elements are reflected in the colorful
weavings of the Andean people, as well as in the
moods portrayed in their songs
and dances. So "high in the sky" do these villagers live, the sky
in fact
is a powerful divinity for them.
Peruvian Dance Company was founded by Luis
Valverde in 2002. Having
started his career in 1991 in Lima, he moved to the Bay Area in 2000
as
Director of the Ballet Antakella in the Tradicion Peruana Cultural
Center of San Francisco.
Currently he teaches Andean Dance at the
Mission Cultural Center for Latino Arts.
2004 PERFORMANCE
TITLE OF
PIECE: Simpaycha (little braids)
CHOREOGRAPHY: Master Vidal Huaman, adapted by
Luis
Valverde
DANCERS: Alvaro
Begazo, Ronald Coronel, Pamela Diaz,
Olinda Meza, Keyla Mendoza, Katherine
Porras, Carlos Rullier, and Luis
Valverde.
MUSICIANS: Lucio Galvez, (Guitar and Voice), Mauro
Guardia (Charango), Nayo Ulloa (Quena), Heather Bridges (Drum), and
Rosemary Valverde (Voice).
 In the 2004
Festival, Peruvian Dance Company offers Simpaycha,
meaning, "little braids" as it refers to the
braiding games young
girls play during an important Andean courtship
ritual. While the roots
of
the Simpaycha date back to before the Inca Empire, after the
Spanish Conquest the ritual became an annual practice done ten days
before
Carnival.
During this courtship ritual young men and women flirt,
play games,
scream and frolic around while trying to seek out their
respective
partners who will accompany them for the upcoming Carnival
celebrations.
Braids being a powerful symbol of femininity, Andean young
women make
and care for their braids for the Simpaycha ritual. The male
counterpart of fixing braids is
the playing of the sacred prehistoric
drum, the tinya. It is a masculine symbol that plays a fundamental
role in the ritual as it defines the essential characteristics of the
young
boys and is also used as a way of flirting.
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