On Thursday, November 2nd, 2023 many gathered in anticipation of the scheduled performances to take place in the Chancellor Green Rotunda in celebration of the life and archives of Alma Concepción through dance, literature and community! An excitable atmosphere permeated the Rotunda as the audience assembled and observed the many captivating images placed around the periphery of the event space depicting the works of Alma Concepción throughout her lifetime.
At the start, a thoughtful speech was delivered by Christina Lee, Acting Chair of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese, who introduced the speakers and performers and discussed Alma’s artistic accomplishments as well as her work contributions to the community through her work at Gente y Cuentos / People and Stories, a grassroots literature program dedicated mainly to reaching underserved communities with literature.
Alma then took the stage to express her gratitude to the audience, presenters, performers and to those who made the event possible. "It is with humility that I accept this honor, and I wish to accept it in the name of my mentors, my students and collaborators in Puerto Rico, Princeton, Trenton, and New York. I am extremely
happy that my personal archive will be preserved here at Princeton. On this occasion, I especially wish to remember my teacher Gilda Navarra, from whom I learned the deeper meanings of dance as expression of human passions. She was my greatest source of inspiration when I opened my own dance school in Puerto Rico, as I began to transform my views about dance and collective projects during my years with Taller de Histriones. I also learned from Gilda that dance can be a symbolic reflection of resistance to oppression. As an artist I wish to affirm this today as we all face the unimaginable violence that surrounds us."
The event then began with a presentation of the book, Habitar lo impossible/Inhabiting the Impossible by Susan Homar (Professor Emerita of the University of Puerto Rico) and Nibia Pastrana (choreographer, teacher, and artist). This new book surveys the field of Puerto Rican experimental dance in which Alma played a key role.
Alicia Díaz, Associate Professor of Dance at the University of Richmond and the co-director with Matthew Thornton of Agua Dulce Dance Theater, then humbly took the stage to acknowledge in adoration her mother's work. She went on, "to be here is deeply personal but it is also about art and collective memory". She recalls witnessing her mother dancing in that very room accompanied by Puerto Rican choreographer and Princeton alum, Julio Rivera, who was also Alicia's mentor and the director of the first professional dance company she ever danced with. Years later she
presented her own work with her own company as part of the Symposium 1898: War, Literature and the Question of Pan-Americanism organized by the Program in Latin American Studies. She observes with reverence that there is a "history of dancing in this room, and it makes me think of the importance of the presence of the body" that is "an affirmation of life in the midst of what feels like an apocalyptic time".
She followed her speech with the reading of a poem in Spanish and a deeply moving and expressive improvisational dance in the tradition of the Afro-Puerto Rican bomba accompanied by Sebastián Guerrero, a percussionist and clinician who resides in the New York area and has performed and toured with Culture Club, Boy George, Cyndi Lauper, Aguadulce Dance Theater, and many more artists.
Following her performance, she invited the audience to share their personal expressions through whatever motion were available to them and that they felt moved to make. Many participated enthusiastically.
View Alicia's speech and performance on Media Central. Visit the SPO's Facebook page for more photos from this extraordinary event!
Read more about Alma's collection in this Town Topics article and in this blogpost.