Reconstructing memories, this performance is a seamless dance between past and present, dynamically exploring how our recollections shape our identities and influence our current experiences.

THE MACHINATIONS OF MEMORIES SUPPRESSED is a reflective interpretation of a poem I have written: Una Máquina de Olvido (in English: An Oblivion Machine). The poem explores how someone may be able to forget the past, by choice, as a coping mechanism for heartbreak, and the consequences that this may bring to their life. Through the words, several questions are intertwined with the dance, toying with the fallibility of our own memories. How do our memories shape us into who we are? How does remembering something, a movement, a sound, an object, can inform our present experiences? And how we remember our emotional response to an event or experience, while we may not have a perfect recollection of it.

In this solo piece, the dance is fragmented and brought together through sound loops recorded live, which replay different percussive elements from earlier points of the performance. Through the combination of past and present steps, a new narrative is created, reshaped, and ultimately relieved.

Original idea and interpretation by Anastassiia Alexander with artistic direction by Cristina Hall. Poetry by Anastassiia Alexander. Spoken word and soundscape creation by Anastassiia Alexander.

UNA MAQUINA DE OLVIDO
Anastassiia Alexander

… Y seguí sentada,
mientras la magia se nos moría,
en su silencio,
en su olvido.
Y en otra vida yo descubriría
que el corazón me latía
al tiempo de Siguiriya. …

… And I remained seated,
watching our magic die,
in his silence,
in his mind.
And in another life and another time,
I would come to find,
it was the Siguiriya rhythm
that has pierced my heart. …

Anastassiia Alexander is a Russian-born, Mexican flamenco dancer residing in Calgary, Canada. Trained in Madrid, Spain, her artistic practice is rooted in tradition, yet explores the boundaries and the intersection of flamenco with contemporary performance. She has integrated her work in a variety of genres, including opera, spoken word, and media art.