Dzul Dance's New Work MEXICO MAYA to Celebrate Company's 10th Anniversary, 5/3

Dzul Dance announces the premiere of their latest choreography, Mexico MAYA, in honor of the Company's ten year anniversary. The performance will be presented at the Gerald Lynch Theater at John Jay College in Manhattan on Friday May 3, 2013 at 8:00 PM.

Dzul Dance fuses dance with aerial arts and contortion as a
means to communicate indigenous pre-Hispanic and Mexican culture. By transforming his company into earthbound and airborne forces of nature Dzul creates bridges between contemporary art and historical heritage while breaking physical and cultural boundaries.

Dzul Dance celebrates their ten year anniversary with the premiere of Mexico MAYA, an evening length choreography that illustrates the unique story of Javier Dzul, the rich history of Mexico and the creation of Dzul Dance. The choreography offers evocative glimpses of a journey of an artist through three cultures and how it has shaped the vision of his Company.

Artistic Director Javier Dzul was born and raised in a Mayan tribal community in southern Mexico performing ritual dances, speaking Mayan and studying ancient teachings until the age of 16. As a ritual dancer Javier learned to transform his body into different animals and elements as a means to communicate with Mayan gods and nature. Due to the changing political climate in the country regarding indigenous populations his parents decided to seek new opportunities for their son. After an anthropologist witnessed Javier's dancing he suggested he receive professional training. Javier moved to Xalapa Veracruz to study dance and to learn to read, write and speak Spanish. Javier received numerous scholarships to study dance in Mexico, Cuba and the United States. He has danced with some of the most famous companies in the world.

Joining the company as part of Dzul's cross cultural exchange and youth outreach initiative will be four dancers from Mexico, Stephany Dzul, Nelly Patron Osorno, Ana Medina Carillo and Alejandro Gomez Rodriguez. These dancers are sponsored by the Mexican Cultural Institute of New York and the New York Conservatory of Dance. All dancers are part of Compania de Danza Contemporanea y Aerea founded by Javier Dzul in Mexico in 2009.

The performance will take place at the Gerald Lynch Theater (at John Jay College), 524 West 59th street (entrance between 10th and 11th avenue) New York, NY 10019. Mexico MAYA will be performed on Friday, May 3rd at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $35 general admission. Tickets may be purchased online at www.ticketcentral.com or by calling 212-279-4200.

About Dzul Dance: Created in 2003, Artistic Director Javier Dzul and his diverse company of dancers, contortionists and aerialists have been presented throughout New York and Mexico and in South America, Europe, Canada, Asia and the Virgin Islands. Dzul Dance's intense physicality and creative appeal have won them invitations nationally and internationally to perform on a variety of stages. The Company has been presented by prestigious institutions that include the United Nations, Banff Centre for the Arts and Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian and have performed in world renowned festivals such as Festival Internacional Cervantino and Bard College's Summerscape.

In addition to performance, Javier has brought the artistry and vocabulary of Dzul Dance to others through professional workshops and youth outreach programs in Mexico, Brazil, Switzerland, Canada, New York and the Virgin Islands.

Javier and his Company have been featured by Univision, American Latino, CUNY TV and in photographer Acey Harper's Private Acts: the acrobat sublime, published by Rizolli in September 2009.

About Javier Dzul: Javier Dzul performed Mayan ritual dances until age 16. He then began his professional career as a principal dancer with Ballet Nacional de Mexico and Ballet Folklorico de Mexico. Javier was awarded scholarships to study with Ballet Nacional de Cuba and then with the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. He has since danced professionally with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Pearl Lang Dance Theater, Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, Battery Dance Company, American Indian Dance Theater and as an aerialist with Acroback.

In 2009 Javier became the founder and director of Compania de Danza Contemporanea y Aerea del Gobierno del Estado de Campeche; a dance and aerial company funded by Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (CONACULTA) of Mexico and the Government of Campeche. In 2010 the government of Campeche awarded Javier el Premio de San Fransisco, an outstanding lifetime achievement award, for raising international awareness about Mayan culture.