the eastern beat

Where do you come from and what are you doing in Budapest?

I come from Bogotá, Colombia. I am currently teaching contemporary dance and classical ballet in Budapest. As an independent dancer, I am working on projects with different groups and I am planning to start working on a few ideas of my own.

When did you come to Hungary?

I have been here for 13 years, I arrived at the age of 17. I’d say it was fate that brought me here rather than a conscious decision to move to Hungary.  When I was 15 years old I told my parents that I wanted to be a professional dancer. They thought that I was still very young and they asked me to wait a year to see how I felt then. If in a year I still wanted to be a dancer, they would help me fulfil that dream. At the age of 16 I told them again that it was definitely what I wanted, so they began to do everything to help me find opportunities outside of Colombia. In the beginning we were looking for schools in the US or, if it was Europe, in England or France. I've always been very protected, a little bit in a bubble and my parents were terrified that I would be going alone, I didnt really speak English at the time. We were looking at the best options and my mother found an organization called AFS that was organizing cultural exchanges, we went to ask how it worked. Applications were already closed and there were only spaces in Russia and Hungary. We began to read more about Hungary to know what it was like, also asking acquaintances or relatives who knew about Hungary and, as it caught our attention, I ended up arriving in August 2010.

What was your impression when you first arrived?

It was my first time in Europe, also my first time traveling alone by plane, everything seemed new to me. I was very excited, very alert, wanting to see everything, observe everything. Since I was very young and came with an organization I felt very safe, very relaxed, I took it more like an excursion, a vacation without parents. After a while I was noticing some cultural differences - here people are more reserved, more distant, whereas in Colombia the moment you meet a person you are already hugging them and you share half of your life with them. I didn't arrive in Budapest, but in a town called Telekgerendás, a tiny town in the southeast, where there was no public transport and people used to cycle all the time. I was very impressed to see an old man riding a bicycle with a cane, which in Colombia and especially in Bogota never happened at the time, when I still lived in Bogota bicycles were not as common as a means of transportation.

Why Telekgerendás and not Budapest?

The family that was hosting me lived there. During that year I couldn't really dance because there weren’t many possibilities around, the biggest city that was nearby didn't have many dance schools either. I took that time to learn about the culture, adapt, learn the language, I think there were only two people who spoke English. I appreciate that experience, I think it made me understand a little better how Hungary works. In a certain way it was easier that way,  I think that if I had arrived first in Budapest, the cultural change and the way of life in the capital would have made it a little harder.

How did you eventually get to Budapest and how did you begin to dance here?

When the year of the exchange ended, I did all my paperwork to renew my residence permit, but already in Budapest. I was worried about where to live, I didn't know much about the city, I had been here I think only twice during my first year in Hungary. By chance someone who was in the exchange with me told me about a girl who had hosted several Colombians before, had been in Colombia and really liked the culture. She was going to come to Budapest to study and was looking for a roommate, so they gave me the contact details, we talked and it worked out. This made the transition was very smooth. I had not finished high school in Colombia, so I came here to Budapest and entered a secondary school that was bilingual in Hungarian and Spanish. In the afternoons I would take classes at the dance university, there I met a teacher who was also a choreographer, a modern dance teacher, János Lakatos. He was mostly teaching the American jazz style, but I really liked that style and I went to the classes frequently. Thanks to him I got to know a company called Budapest Dance Theatre, I began to take classes there in the evenings. Once I graduated from high school I continued  with a more intense program,  they had a 9-month dance program with classes classes from Monday to Saturday. I learned a lot about modern dance, the director was very strict and discipline helped me a lot, I was able to copy very precise movements. After that I entered the Budapest Contemporary Dance Academy and stayed with them for three years. When I graduated I was a young person with lots of energy, believing in my capabilities,  I was ready to travel the world, go to Israel and or to the US. Around half a year before graduating I started the relationship with who is now my boyfriend and love kept me here. But I don't regret anything, because maybe it had to be that way. When I decided to stay here with him in Hungary suddenly I started getting job offers and I thought that if things here are happening like this naturally without so much effort, maybe this is the destination and until now this has been working. I really like Budapest, I love the architecture, I love that the river is part of the city, for me it is like the heart of the city. I like that it is not a very big city, but it is not very small either. Above all I feel safe here and I appreciate it very much.  I've gotten used to having Budapest as my home.

What made you look for dance opportunities outside of Colombia back then?

When I was in Colombia I only studied classical ballet, I didn't know much about contemporary dance. The ballet levels weren't very high, there were about two schools that were good. At that time more attention was given to folklore and to salsa. So that's why I knew I had to leave Colombia anyway, but I noticed when I went there recently that there were already more groups, more schools and more options in contemporary dance and interesting things are happening.

Have you worked on any projects in Colombia during one of your trips back home?

Not yet, because when I travel I go for a maximum of 1.5 months, I don't have much time to do projects as I spend most of my time with my family. When I left Colombia I was very young so I don't have many contacts there, I don't know who I could work with. There was a period when I had to leave Hungary because my residence permit was not renewed and I had to be in Colombia for approximately 3 months while I was organizing my documents to be able to return. During that time I got to know the dance world more, I started to make contacts. I think the option of being able to do something is there but I haven't explored it yet.

What are the projects you are working on right now?

Right now as a dancer I have a project with Gyula Berger,  the director of ZéróPlusz Dance Studio. There’s another dancer apart from me, we both came from the same school, came with two similar experiences from the school, the relationship we had with the principal and the teachers was similar and the idea is to play with the similarities. The working title of the project is ‘Alter Ego’, we don't have a date or places where we can present it yet, but we are in the initial process of creation.

With another group, managed by the Zigurrat Project, there is a project developed by Emese Kovács. It's based on a photography book by Tze Long, an artist from Hong Kong. I started to participate to replace the dancer who was originally part of it and when there are performances one of us is there. The next one will take place on 28 April in K11 Művészeti és Kulturális Központ, then there will be another one in Slovakia in May.

How does dance link to photography in the project?

The book tells a story of one person, but with duality of character  - one that is more timid, politically correct and then there is the other personality that gets carried away, that doesn't care what anyone says but simply follows the instincts. The photographs represent two personalities of one person and this topic caught Emese's attention, she saw herself reflected in that story and that is why she began to explore it. That's why there are two dancers, in fact we are dressed the same way to give the image that we are one person but we dance differently to show these two personalities. Some photographs left by the artist are part of the presentation. The first time the project was presented, Tze Long was able to come to Budapest and the event began with an exhibition of her photographs, followed by a dance presentation and finished by a jam concert.

Apart from the above, what else are you working on?

This year my purpose is to focus on my ideas, my own projects. Since I left school I have had many ideas, but I was always afraid to throw myself into them, thinking 'what if I don't I succeed', which is really absurd. I was very afraid of failing, of having an idea that later would not turn out as I imagined, or that it wouldn't be worth it, that it would look amateur or that either people wouldn't like it or I wouldn't. But if I don’t fail I will never learn, so this year I said to myself 'that's it, I need to start' and now I am taking time to do my own exploration.

I am working on an idea that I have about myself, it is more or less a biography, but I also want to tell it on a more general level. What I want to show are emotions and feelings all human beings go through. Growing up brings us emotions and thoughts, it scares us, makes us happy, frees us or controls us - I want to play with these emotions. The idea is to put it in an abstract way, create a character with another name which changes a little depending on the emotion it has. For example, to use my own name as an example, Alejandrita for when she is little, Ale for when she is happy or Alejandra when she is serious. Now I am in a very very initial phase of this project and I still don't know where I am going to present it and when it will be ready.

Another one that I have in mind is to explore differences and similarities between cultures, this time not alone, but with two other dancers, one Japanese and one Hungarian. This way we'd represent Latin America, Asia and Europe.

Do you work with artists from other genres in your projects?

Yes, I believe that contemporary art is more and more open to connect with other artistic areas and I am also very interested in that. The life plan I have is not only to work with dance artists, but also with camera operators, musicians, painters, graphic designers or fashion designers.

The connection between music and dance is something very natural for many people, how do you see the collaboration with, for example, painters?

Until now I have done mostly exhibitions when painters present their work and I do something that is connected to it, mostly an improvisation reflecting the art. I am always open to new ideas such as painting on the body or using the body as an instrument to paint.

With music I have done mostly improvisation dancing to music and/or singing.

There is another project that actually just came out, we did it with a girl who runs virtual reality programs. The idea was to do a project where there was live dance mixed with virtual reality, she wanted people to use their phones to see both at the same time. In the end, the idea as such was very ambitious, there was very little time and it was not possible to reach that final point, but from there came a video that is quite interesting where the dancers are dancing with holograms. The video has participated in a few short film festivals and has won some awards in New York, also in Asia and I have seen it’s been selected for another festival.

Do you find it easy to connect with people here as a foreigner?

Yes and no. I mean, I think it's very easy due to the fact that I've been here for so long, I graduated from a Hungarian university and I speak intermediate Hungarian. I think that this has given me the possibility of having contacts or friends who recommend me to their friends. The artistic community is small and we generally move around the same places, we even go to the same bars, so it's easy to connect. It's more difficult with companies or well-known institutions, they are more exclusive and I do feel rejection there. It is more difficult to reach them if you are not recommended by someone who already has a name, or if you have not worked with a big company. But it is very interesting here in Hungary that just like traditional or big theaters, there are also many artistic venues that are more alternative, more open to ideas, whether from emerging or young artists. Definitely there are possibilities.  And I also think that Budapest is a very cultural city, it is easy to find several options where you can present what you do.

Can you imagine living and developing your career here then?

For now I think so. I've always wondered what it would have been like if I had left after finishing school, or what happens if I try to look for luck elsewhere. Sometimes I wonder what happens if I leave here and then come back or I go to Colombia or somewhere else. At the same time I am very comfortable here, the fact of knowing that I already have established contacts has always given me peace of mind. If here I need dancers or artists for my projects, I know who to turn to and, for example, if I can't pay, I know that there are people who are going to do it for the love of art or because they like the idea. Knowing this gives me the sense stability and security. On the other hand, my partner lives here, so everything keeps me here in Hungary. And I also feel that there are several fields that I can explore here, I don't have the impression that I have done all that I have been able to do here. Throughout my life I've always had plans and these plans were always changing, but I like all the journey I've had. Let’s see what happens.

Is there a dream that you have professionally, don't you know how to work with this company, this artist etc?

There are several companies that call my attention, especially in Israel. I think it would be a dream to be able to go to work for a while with a company. However, what I find limiting working with them is their exclusivity, you have to stay with them for a while, for a minimum year and I like to have the freedom to develop my own projects. More than anything, I don't have a company name or a specific place. My life project is to be able to do cultural exchanges between Colombia or even Latin America and Europe, where there may be collaborations with different artists, organizing tours and artist residencies. My dream is to offer other artists the space, the contacts and the financial support,  because money is really the problem, there are many people with a lot of talent and creativity, but if there is no money it is complicated.  I would also like to have a property, either in the center of a city or in the nature, a place that I can turn into a cultural center, with a library, a theater, rooms for exhibitions, a space for workshops or festivals.