'Las Repúblicas: Méritos,' a Performance by Claudia Hilda

On Friday, March 15, at 6 p.m., The Church presents “Las Repúblicas: Méritos,” a performance by Claudia Hilda, a dancer and choreographer who interweaves performance, digital media and writing to create art that is sensitive, reflective and widely aware of contemporary times. “Méritos,” a dance performance that makes up part of the Las Repúblicas series, explores the journey towards awakening and liberation after a lifetime devoted to a failed social-political system. The piece will be presented by Hilda solo, followed by a screening of additional works from Las Repúblicas and a Q&A.

The performer is adorned with countless “merits” represented by golden medals and finds herself burdened by their weight as the true worth and meaning behind them become increasingly unclear. These medals initially seem impossible to shed, ingrained as a second skin in the performer’s body and beliefs. However, through a transformative process of self-release, she surprises herself by slowly peeling them away, symbolizing her liberation from the shackles of conformity.

Las Repúblicas is composed of a series of performances that utilize gesture and visual media to translate the individual and collective struggle for autonomy, freedom, and recognition. The core of this project is located in the body as a symbol of resistance, and nonconformity to abusive power structures that radically corrupt and distort.

Claudia Hilda Rodriguez Pozo is a Cuban New York-based award-winning contemporary dancer and choreographer. Inspired by Afro-Cuban rhythms and their sensuality, cultural differences in body language, and bodies as a space of resistance and empowerment, Hilda approaches art as an exercise that celebrates consciousness and intuition around the body, the mind and the society.

Tickets are $10 (free for members with RSVP) at thechurchsagharbor.org. The Church is at 48 Madison Street in Sag Harbor.