Café Campesino is a proud supporter of the Several Dancers Core/CORE Performance Company’s U.S. premiere of Corazón Abriendo (Heart Opening) at the 7 Stages Theater in Atlanta from November 10-12. Corazón Abriendo is described as a "portal that transports the audience into the vivid, lush atmosphere of the highlands and rainforests of Chiapas, Mexico, through a multimedia cloth of dance, sculpture, video and music skillfully woven together. Echoes of ancient civilizations overlap with the energy of modern life as the artistic sensibilities of contemporary dancers meld with the traditional weaving arts of the Mayan people."

In this edition of Fair Grounds, we're offering three FREE pairs of tickets to Corazón Abriendo. To learn how you can enter to win a pair of free tickets, see the Show Your Café Campesino Pride.

Weaving is culturally important for the Maya, and the theme of weaving, its movements and sounds, its significance historically and spiritually, as well as its resurgence as a part of the Chiapas economy give Corazón Abriendo (Heart Opening) its shape. Traditional Mayan “huiples” are shirts woven by hand on a backstrap loom in recognizable patterns and colors that represent each village in the area. Designs drawn from the heart of Mayan culture and mythology are woven into the fabric as it is created. The dance will weave together layers of visual imagery, cultural memory, personal expression, innovation, physical rhythm and color to create a richly textured multimedia piece.

Coffee growing is also an important part of the local economy in Chiapas, and Café Campesino is partnering with Several Dancers Core to offer Chiapan coffee at the performances. Café Campesino will also be donating to SDC 10% of each order linked to through the SDC website. This way, ordering coffee supports both the farmers in Chiapas and dancers in Atlanta!

Corazón Abriendo is a work with deep connections to the people and places in Chiapas. An introductory journey by Sue Schroeder to Chiapas to make community connections and to experience the sights and sounds of the rainforest took place in October 2003. The next step was a series of “immersion” residencies in Chiapas with Schroeder, CORE Performance Company, and composer, Terrance Karn, beginning in January 2005. CORE Performance Company premieres the full-length piece in several cities in Mexico in October 2006, followed by the US premiere at 7 Stages Theatre. For more information about the Atlanta performance, click here.

CORE Performance Company, the professional touring company of Several Dancers Core, focuses on the ongoing development of the artistic process through the creation of new work. Made up of individual artists, the company performs new choreography that evolves through an intentional collaboration process of experimentation and improvisation with artists from different mediums.

Several Dancers Core (SDC), a nonprofit dance organization, creates, performs, and presents contemporary dance. SDC promotes dance awareness and education through performances, presentations, workshops, and classes in contemporary approaches to movement and is dedicated to opening new channels of communication between artists and the community. For more information about Several Dancers Core, please call 404-373-4154 or visit www.severaldancerscore.org.

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