In 2014, the physical education teacher and dancer, Alluitz Riezu, a native of the Basque Country, arrived in Valdivia from Santiago, after applying for a project of the Council of Culture to work in vulnerable educational establishments in the commune of Lanco and Mariquina with creative dance workshops. Shortly after settling in the city, she was invited to work at the Centro de Experimentación Escénica de Valdivia, where she is now a cultural manager. “When I left Santiago, many of my colleagues told me that I would not return to dance and it has been the opposite. This is a very fertile land with people very enthusiastic about doing things, whether they have resources or not, which in a way is how dancers work in this country. When I first arrived here, I found many schools that were eager to have activities related to dance and little by little I made my way. However, what caught my attention the most was the Centro de Experimentación Escénica, which is the people with whom I currently work”. She also participated actively as a dancer in the Ballet Municipal de Cámara de Valdivia, with works that have been presented on various stages. Likewise, she combines dance with pedagogy, where she is the coordinator of the expression area of the Physical Education, Sports and Recreation career of the UACh; an experience that she describes as “a great challenge to be able to instill this expression (dance) to the students of this career”.
In relation to the International Dance Day that is celebrated today, Alluitz Riezu expresses that “we must continue working to provide people with those more human moments that this artistic expression gives us and although we are now distanced by screen, we must continue working collectively by and for dance,” the dancer concludes.
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
At the age of 15 and still a student, Ricardo Uribe attended his first dance class at the Escuela de Ballet Municipal de Valdivia, which he describes as love at first sight. The road would not be easy, at that time (1985), the study of this expression by the male sex was subject to various prejudices, in addition to their socio-economic condition was not the best. “I had to sacrifice everything and give up other things as well. I always had the hope that what I had chosen could work”.Once she finished his studies in modern and classical dance, which he combined with an administrative job at Infodema, decided to continue specializing and finally embrace it completely. “I had the opportunity to travel nationally and internationally to different trainings and also to study a postgraduate degree at the University of Chile. In the end, this activity, gave me everything and I think it has been a fruitful career.”
Currently, Ricardo Uribe is a dance teacher and choreographer of the Ballet Municipal de Valdivia, and although the activities have been suspended or postponed, he explains that “I think we have a great responsibility for this to continue working, regardless of the fact that we cannot enter a room or interact while we dance. The online format also gives us the possibility of continuing to do what we like and attract people, but, nevertheless, more support is needed from the institutions”.
Ricardo also sends a warm greeting to her colleagues on International Dance Day, where he stresses that “we must remain firm, with the conviction that has moved us all our lives. Sometimes things get complicated, but we must have the hope that this will be solved. Just keep delivering art and magic because the show must go on”.
