Dzul Dance is a New York/Campeche Mexican dance company, that fuses dance, aerial arts, contortion and acrobatics into a unique bridge between contemporary art and historical heritage.
Javier Dzul
Artistic Director Javier Dzul has an incredible story. He was a Mayan ritual dancer in the jungles of Southern Mexico until he was 16.
He went on to become a principal dancer with both Ballet Nacional de Mexico, and Ballet Folklorico de Mexico.
While studying under a scholarship at Ballet Nacional de Cuba, modern dance legend Martha Graham saw him, and offered a scholarship to the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance.
After dancing with the Martha Graham Dance Company and others, Javier founded Dzul Dance in 2003. In 2009, he founded a contemporary dance and aerial company for the Mexican state of Campeche in the Yucatan.
Today Javier Dzul is one of the world’s premiere dancers and choreographers in the Mexican Mayan tradition. He is a living legend and the type of artist who only appears once in a lifetime.
We are not sure we have the story quite right, but Javier once told New York Latin Culture Magazine about a test his parents put him through, to see if he was worthy of being a sacred dancer. They took him into a cave, fed him to a giant anaconda snake, and left. If he was worthy, he would find his way out, and if not, well…
Dzul’s children are also very talented dancers.
Javier has done many interesting projects for the world’s leading cultural organizations, including some of the choreography for Disney’s “Coco,” its Day of the Dead movie. A cultural tale like that can be hit or miss, but the movie really did capture the spirit of Día de Muertos, and that’s part of the essence of Javier Dzul.
Dzul’s work transcends dance. He crosses over into the world’s of art and fashion, and the world of the spirit, which touches us all. They don’t make them like this anymore.
For more information, visit dzuldance.org or @dancedzul
