Contra-Tiempo | Urban Latin Dance Theater
Agua Furiosa

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CONTRA-TIEMPO is a bold & multilingual Los Angeles-based dance company founded and directed by Ana Maria Alvarez. Their work, rooted in Salsa & Afro-Cuban, draws from Hip-Hop, urban & contemporary dance-theater. Alvarez and her company create physically intense and socially astute performance work that pushes the boundaries of Latin dance as an expressive cultural and contemporary form. CONTRA-TIEMPO takes Salsa back to its roots as a mode of expression for the struggles of the working class and is committed to making high quality, professional performance work accessible for all, regardless of race or class. The company exists inside of and embodies the 'in between' space: leader/follower, immigrant/American, English/Spanish, performer/listener. They embrace this liminality as artists within communities, both on and off stage. CONTRA-TIEMPO is a rich tapestry of professional dancers and performers from varied styles, many of whom are immigrants or first generation North Americans, and exist within the varied and infinitely complex political and personal landscapes that Alvarez addresses both on and off stage. Resident composer and co-founder, César Alvarez, approaches the music for the group as if it were a new genre. CONTRA-TIEMPO's movement narrative calls for a complete rebuilding of "dance music" using a sonic vocabulary as far-reaching and diverse as the company members' backgrounds. In the original music he composes for CONTRA-TIEMPO's performances, César deconstructs salsa, collaging Americana with hip-hop, poetry with clave, industrial and found sound with the powerful rhythmic traditions of the African Diaspora.

CONTRA-TIEMPO has a strong touring record which includes, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts (MN), Modlin Center for the Arts (VA), UNC Wilmington (NC), Dance Place (DC), ASU Gammage and Mesa Arts Center (AZ), Lincoln Center OOD (NYC), Ford Amphitheater (CA) & Jacob's Pillow (MA) among others. The company is known for their powerful engagement work and directly involving communities and audiences in art making. The company has several large-scale performance works, many shorter pieces, dance residency programs for youth, and master classes (in various genres) for all ages. When booked and utilized fully the company has been known to sell out venues with the majority of audience members being first time ticket buyers. This company's specialty is engaging new audience members. In 2014 CONTRA-TIEMPO toured to South America as dance ambassadors, with DanceMotionUSA, a program of the Bureau of Educational & Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State, produced by BAM, showcasing the finest contemporary American Dance abroad.

"The new face of Los Angeles dance, the new voice as well…" – Los Angeles Times

"A performance that moves beyond just dance, but expresses with its movements the strength of the Latino community in their struggle as they live in a country that is not their own." – Washington Post

"Represents the kind of socially aware contemporary work that only a few dance artists such as Bill T. Jones reliably provide...in heart, mind and soul this is the real thing!" – Los Angeles Times