“Every time you put something positive into the Universe, the world changes. Your kindness invites miracles to show up. Not just in your world but in the whole world.”
Dance brings me so many beautiful joyful moments and feelings: Celebration, exploration, examination, evaluation, energy, love, vulnerability, purpose, light, & community.
20ish years ago Cesar and I met for the first time. I was in my sophomore year as a Dance Major at The University at Buffalo. My professors had asked me and a friend to take a visiting dancer around for the day to show him the school and dance department. We walked the halls of the Center For the Arts, took class and showed him around the dorms. He of course chose UB as his university, a wise choice for this talented dancer. Fast forward, and Cesar now lives in Chicago, my hometown. His dance career has taken him many places around the world, but, he has found a home in Chicago and with Giordano Dance Chicago. Here he spent numerous year as a company dancer, and currently is the Artistic Programs Manager. Cesar sees himself as a jazz dancer, educator, choreographer and champion for defining and preserving American jazz dance from its complex cultural foundation to a focus on and commitment to the Giordano Technique and to an expansiveness of the art form as it manifests today.
Cesar shared, “Jazz dance roots are in my soul and come from my core, not merely in the dance studio but throughout my everyday life. My teachings come from exploration, examination, and experience in humanity and in my travels around the world. I revel in the use of rhythm, musicality, drive, nuance and celebration whether in the use of the torso, the hips, and the groundedness of the form, all the while remaining relevant to the history of jazz. Where does jazz dance come from and who are the people/cultures who contributed to its growth? My choreography aligns with my Latin heritage and those untold number of artists who have shaped my own artistic path. Throughout my career, I have learned as much from my students as I have from my teachers simply because we are all practitioners of jazz dance. I see myself as a vessel in which I share all that has been given to me. This is my passion, this is my life’s mission.”
As with each dancer I work with, we spoke about the boundaries Cesar has faced as a dancer. He shared, “I had many boundaries while growing up that faced me during my journey. I am a ALAANA, gay male who didn’t have much growing up. I watched my parents scrape to make ends meet week-to-week, month-to-month. I was so fortunate to have mentors in my life who saw promise in me and helped mold me into the dance artist I am today. With all of the adversity in my life – I chose to to stay true to who I am and this incredible art form. When things get hard in life as they sometimes will – keep going and remember you always have the power to make a difference.”
Cesar and I have come full circle, and our dance webs are intertwined greatly between college, professional careers, and the Chicago dance scene. It is amazing just how small the dance world always proves to be as we continue to work together each time I am home. We both bring something unique and different to the table in the art we love and support each other fully through our journeys. We hug, laugh, and enjoy our time working together immensely. I am so grateful for every movement he creates for my camera.
You can connect with Cesar on his Website and Instagram.
If you know someone who should be featured in #danceknowsnoboundaries please send me an email at movementinmotionphotography@gmail.com.
