Questa
Visionary Dance Theatre presents "Questa", chronicles of an American family. Based on the genealogical work of Artistic Director Spencer John Powell's ancestors from the beautiful little village of Questa, New Mexico, he has traced his family's roots back to the early 1600's and has developed work representing the family names of Duran, Rael, and Quintana, their Indigenous, Spanish, Jewish, French and African lineage. Powell also explores the beautiful landscape of this village nestled in the mountains. Spencer John Powell presents new works such as "Quela And Veva - A Portrait", a movement work celebrating a photo of Powell's curiosity behind a portrait of his two great Aunts and many stories related to the two sisters. These two sisters never married but took part in the raising of many of the family's children.
Powell also presents a new work titled "Woman and Mountain", based on a short story from Dr. Estevan Rael-Galvez, and "Three Ballads For Mother" a work by Powell in 1994 created a year after his mother's passing. "Quintana" and "Nellie" provide a look at the Quintana Family's migration to Utah. In our current atmosphere where America is at odds with Mexicans (and for that matter people of color) and the rhetoric of their Americanism in question, Visionary Dance Theatre has curated a concert to celebrate the American heritage of a family of color who have been in America since the 1600's and is all American.