Alexa Moya at the American Dance Festival

  • Performing arts
  • Raleigh, NC
  • Wed, June 01 —
    Tue, July 05, 2022
Alexa Moya at the American Dance Festival

Spanish Coreographer Alexa Moya participates at the International Choreographer’s Residency program (American Dance Festival) thanks to the collaboration of the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain and Certamen Coreográfico de Madrid.

SPAIN Dances, the dance program of the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain, is conceived to provide professional opportunities for Spanish dances and choreographers in the United States. This residency is the result of the collaboration between the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain, the American Dance Festival and Certamen Coreográfico de Madrid to provide an opportunity for a emerging Spanish coreographer to participate at the prestigious International Choreographer’s Residency program as part of the American Dance Festival.

About Alexa Moya

Alexa Moya Panksep is a dancer and choreographer born and currently based in Barcelona, Spain. She studied at the conservatory Institut del Teatre in Barcelona and the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp, where she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Dance (2018). She is now working as a freelancer in diverse projects and companies including LaSadcum (Spain), Reckless Sleepers (Belgium), La Petita Malumaluga (Spain), Raquel Klein (Spain).

Two portraits of Alexa Moya

She is also the co-founder of the Company Júlia Godino i Alexa Moya, in which she develops her work together with her colleague. Their first duet, Picnic on the Moon, obtained the first award at the XIV Chorographical Contest of Sabadell 2019 and DanzaXtrema 2020 and has toured in multiple venues and festivals in Spain, Belgium, France, and the Czech Republic. Their latest creations are Residència 0 and Tan a prop, two multidisciplinary works that merge dance and sculpture.

Looking forward, she hopes to continue learning about different movement styles that contribute to her development as a dancer, performer, and choreographer.

Collage of Alexa Moya dancing in various performances

Artistic

My residence at the American Dance Festival consisted of four and a half weeks of weekly regular classes, masterclasses, discussions, attending performances of invited dance companies, space for personal research and creation, watching showings of works in the process from peers, learning repertory, being in a creative process, and more. It has been a once in a life-changing and enriching experience.

If I had to highlight a few things, they would be the embracing sense of community, respect, the variety of dance styles, the amazing people that I’ve met, everyone’s devotion and bursting energy, the fun, and the bunch of inspiration I collected! I feel that this experience has impacted my growth as an artist, both as a dancer, creator and in my personal life.

As a dancer, I feel like I’ve had the chance to experience a whole new variety of ways of moving that I’d never experienced before. I’ve taken hip hop lessons, west African, ballet, musical theatre jazz, contemporary, counter technique, floor work, Feldenkrais, improvisation & composition, and yoga. Dancing in these disciplines has added to my dance knowledge and inspired me to continue to develop myself in them. I’ve always thought that all styles complement each other and that the more variety a dancer can experience, the better. In my view, versatility is key.

For my artistic development, it has been vital for me to continuously nourish my practice with new information, and these month-long classes have contributed significantly, no doubt.

As a creator, besides the embodied knowledge from the dance classes, I have also gotten lots of inspiration from the performances I attended: From more ancient and historical dance companies such as Paul Taylor Dance Company to the most contemporary, actual ones such as Abby Z and the New Utility, Rennie Harris Puremovement, Pilobolous, and far more; I feel like I’ve experienced a broad part of the history and evolution of the American dance scene, from where our contemporary dance emerges. I’ve found that watching dance from different cultures and backgrounds has given me a wealth of information, and the variety and fusions have opened my mind.

Besides this, I valued the festival’s space for other activities based on gatherings and sharings. I assisted a few socio-political discussions, which led to stimulating debates during key moments of change in the country. These reminded me of the importance of staying connected to our surroundings and taking them into account. Other interesting meetings consisted of faculty sharing their trajectory through the dance world.

MBB&CO — The running show

In the third week of the festival, I took part in the The Running Show performance from Monica Bill Barnes & Co. Throughout the week, as part of a cast of 11 ADF dancers, we learned the show and performed at the Reynolds Theatre on Saturday and Sunday. Throughout this week-long happening, I had the chance to partake in both the creation process and the final performance.

I learned tremendously from the company’s work, especially from the show’s dramaturgy, which was fascinating; and from the way they worked with and combined the elements dance, text, music and acting. Moreover, the resulting piece was very touching and moving.

Truly thankful to Monica, Flannery, Elizabeth, Robbie and the dancers team.

To the American Dance Festival, it is inspiring to see how ADF is in itself a community which year after year unites people, new participants and others who return. It is definitely something very special that I feel fortunate to have been part of. I now carry this experience with me always.

— Alexa Moya

About the American Dance Festival

Since 1934, the American Dance Festival (ADF) has been a recognized leader in modern dance presenting dance performances, and offering educational opportunities and community programs, while maintaining an international reach. ​​ADF ensures that modern dance remains a powerful and universal form of human expression and that this art form is accessible to all, now and for generations to come.

Venue

Venue map

American Dance Festival, 715 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27705

Credits

This residency is the result of the collaboration between the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain in Washington, D.C., the American Dance Festival, the Fundación AISGE and Certamen Coreográfico de Madrid to provide an opportunity for an emerging Spanish choreographer to participate at the prestigious International Choreographer’s Residency program as part of the American Dance Festival.

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