Just Do It

Perú Negro

by Janet Anderson

	print	email	reply	rss feed

Published: Jan 29, 2008

Fri., Feb. 1, 8 p.m., sold out, Annenberg Center, 3680 Walnut St., 215-636-9000, pennpresents.org

(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Perú Negro started as a small affair, spearheaded by 12 family members more than 35 years ago. But the troupe's mesmerizing blend of African and Latin American music and dance quickly caught on, and it's since expanded to include 20 members and a youth ensemble.

We have seen African-influenced companies from virtually everywhere, but rarely South America. African slaves arrived in 16th-century Peru with the conquistadors and, over the centuries, created a unique musical and movement form incorporating African, Indian, Latin and European influences. Their music centers on the cajon, a wooden box that men sit on while beating out rhythm. They also play donkey jawbones. Over the years they've added in the European flute and Cuban drums. If you listen closely, you'll hear the echo of Christmas chants, and violin chords used to duplicate the sound of Andean laments.

This hybrid of instruments generates a hypnotic beat, highlighted by the slap of bare feet on the floor. The movement is just as mixed, including Hispanic influences — most noticeably ladies swishing around in ruffled skirts. There's also the unexpectedly formal structure of the minuet, a dance they learned as slaves watching their masters' frolics and later incorporated into their own moves. They take the minuet's restrained patterns as a jumping-off spot to explode into movement.

In other words, you haven't seen anything like this before. The title of their CD says it all: Jolgorio, which translates as "a state of celebratory frenzy."

 

Last Chance
On The DL
Just Do It
Galleries
Museums/Exhibits
Performing Arts
Readings/Book Signings