精品SM在线影片

Ana Prada will be in residence at 精品SM在线影片 April 3-14

Ana Prada鈥檚 career has been up in the air for nearly two decades, and that鈥檚 just the way she wants it.

She began studying ballet at age 11 in her native Colombia before moving to New York City at age 19, where she studied at such prestigious schools as the Martha Graham Dance Company and the Limon Institute. But her career really got off the ground five years later, in the late 1990s.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I started doing dance trapeze and low-aerial work,鈥� says Prada, who now lives in 鈥渁 little town in the jungle,鈥� Montezuma-Cabuya, Costa Rica.

Today, she is an internationally recognized aerial silk performer 鈥� movement while suspended from drapes of suspended fabric 鈥� and aerial dance teacher. She also teaches Gyrokinesis and Gyrotonic and Vayu Aerial Yoga, her own trademarked movement system. 听

And from April 3-14, Prada will be the Roser Guest Artist at the 精品SM在线影片 Department of Theatre & Dance, where she will not only teach, but also hold auditions and create a show to be performed for the public.

It won鈥檛 be Prada鈥檚 first visit to Boulder. For the past three years, she鈥檚 been part of the annual Aerial Dance Festival produced by Frequent Flyers, founded and directed by CU dance lecturer Nancy Smith. Danielle K. Garrison, a graduate student with an aerial dance focus, nominated Prada for the residency after working with her.

鈥淚 am thrilled that she will share her experience and knowledge of aerial dance with the students at 精品SM在线影片. I believe it will galvanize students to get more curious about and possibly pursue this increasingly accessible genre of dance,鈥� says Garrison, who has studied with Prada in France and worked as her assistant for dance festivals in Boulder and Santa Barbara.

Following her experience in New York, Prada applied for a job with a theater company that was 鈥渓ooking for a dancer who wasn鈥檛 afraid of heights.鈥� Presumably, the Caravan Stage Tall Ship Theatre also needed someone who didn鈥檛 get seasick.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a theater on a 90-foot-tall ship,鈥� Prada says. 鈥淭hey kind of threw me in the water pretty quick. I wasn鈥檛 strong as an aerialist, but I loved it.鈥� She also had to learn the nuances of English as spoken in Newfoundland, home of the company.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a hard accent, really crazy. But I did it,鈥� she says.

When her time at sea was over, she knew she wanted to pursue professional training in aerial work. So she moved to Montreal, unofficial aerial capital of North America and home to Cirque du Soleil and the world-famous 脡cole Nationale de Cirque, or National Circus School, to train.

鈥淐oming from a dance background, it was hard for me. There is a lot of strength training for acrobatics, more like gymnastics,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 have that, but I鈥檓 stubborn, so I did it. That鈥檚 when I fell in love with the fabric, with the silk.鈥�

She began performing not long after arriving in Montreal, including with Cirque du Soleil鈥檚 2008 show in Spain, 鈥�El despertar de la Serpiente.鈥�

As much as she enjoyed doing circus, Prada became interested in finding ways for dancers to do aerial work that wasn鈥檛 as physically demanding.

鈥淐ircus is really hard. It requires a lot of training and technique. You do a lot of repetitive movements, and it鈥檚 easy to get injured,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 crazy to break my body. But I started doing yoga in 鈥�98 in New York, and I always had that to save me. So I had this curiosity about developing a practice that was more sustainable than just breaking my body at age 35.鈥�

She developed a technique to 鈥渢ruly dance in the air in a more efficient and connected way,鈥� and began teaching students in her approach. She moved to Hawaii to perform in a show, Ulalena, and went on to co-found the Samadhi Aerial Dance Company听and developed , which uses a custom designed yoga swing.

According to , 鈥淯sing the support of the swing we are able to challenge the body moving through various postures, as well as allowing the nervous system to relax, encouraging a letting go into complete surrender.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 really a new approach to working in the air,鈥� Prada says. 鈥淚鈥檓 more interested in movement than tricks, so this is really like dance in the air 鈥� My research is about how to move with connection, not with force, and somatic awareness.鈥�

Having left Montreal in part because she doesn鈥檛 like winter weather, she鈥檚 aware that spring in Boulder often entails snow and cold.

鈥淚鈥檓 really excited,鈥� says Prada. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be great.鈥澨�听听