Peregrina

An Andean offering in the form of a Screendance film

PEREGRINA is a 25 minute long screendance film project to be filmed in May of 2012 in the Andean region of Ancash in Peru. In videodance the body’s movement is crafted and composed for the screen. This one is about a female pilgrim (peregrina, in Spanish) and her sacred journey to an ancient shrine.

The film will explore the relationship between consciousness, body movement, and natural and cultural landscapes through the staging of a pilgrimage traveling eastward from the Pacific coast to the ceremonial center of Chavin, located in the central Andes of Peru. Once the character reaches the temple, she participates in an initiation ritual with a 'teacher plant' (Wachuma, also known as San Pedro Cactus, scientific name Trichocereus pachanoi) after which she meets the spirit that resides inside the temple and is reborn into a new level of consciousness.

The film's structure is based on a mythic journey and will consist of four parts: A prologue (The Calling), a 1st act (Transit through natural landscapes), a 2nd act (Transit through cultural landscapes) and an epilogue (The Rebirth Dance). The 1st and 2nd acts are the core of the video and will occupy almost 80% of the total duration of the film. All four parts will be filmed in 10 days but a great deal of preparation will be necessary, such as rehearsals, costumes/props design, and a field expedition with the cast and part of the crew.