7:00 pm Friday & Saturday, 2:00 pm Sunday
Festival Ballet Albuquerque and the NHCC present Sacred Journeys III. Classical and contemporary dance combine with the eclectic music of two-time Grammy award-winning Taos Pueblo musician Robert Mirabal in this reflection of New Mexican cultures through dance, music, and spoken word. Mirabal collaborates with Festival Ballet Albuquerque’s artistic director Patricia Dickinson Wells and with internationally renowned New York City Ballet dancer Jock Soto, of Navajo and Puerto Rican descent. Soto, who is originally from Gallup, NM, and will also make guest appearances onstage, now lives in Eagle Nest, NM.
$14, $20, $29, $39, $49 w/ $2 discount for seniors, children under 12 and NHCC members
Additional choreographers for the production are native New Mexican Dominic Guerra and internationally known Vladimir Conde-Reche, a native of São Paulo, Brazil. Additional guest artists include the Trujillo Family traditional Native American dancers.
Robert Mirabal, dedicated to keeping alive the centuries-old customs of Taos Pueblo, is also a leading proponent of world music, and has merged his Indigenous American sound with the music of Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean, tapping into a planetary pulse with a style that defies characterization. His 2002 breakthrough PBS special, Music from a Painted Cave, is unsurpassed in Native American theatrical expression.
A former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet, Jock Soto was one of the last dancers to be personally selected by founder George Balanchine when he was barely 16. He danced featured roles in over 40 ballets, of which more than 35 were created for him. The author of Every Step You Take and the subject of the documentary Water Flowing Together (the name of his Navajo clan), Soto teaches partnering and technique classes at the School of American Ballet, where he has been a permanent member of the faculty since 1996.
Sacred Journeys III brings together the rich and diverse culture of our state, while providing extraordinary role models for New Mexico’s youth.
SACRED JOURNEYS II: The Live Performance Recording was honored to be screened in 2021 at the Red Nation International Film festival and the American Indian Film Festival.