REYES Dance To Premiere DIOS At ODC Theater in September

REYES Dance is proud to announce the world premiere of DIOS, a dance about losing faith and finding personal power. Performances take place at ODC Theater, September 5 – 7, Thursday to Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets are $0 to $100, and may be purchased online at odc.dance/reyesdance.

Conceived and directed by Jocelyn Reyes, DIOS completes a trilogy of autobiographical works that began with MAGOS (2019) and LASOS (2022). MAGOS examines the remains of love and presence in the wake of a family member's passing; LASOS explores the links between childhood trauma and chronic pain; and DIOS fearlessly investigates the religion of the artist's upbringing.  

Set during Holy Week, the days leading up to Easter, and following the structure of the Catholic Mass, DIOS traces Reyes' path from being an altar server during her childhood, to the first stirrings of skepticism during her time as a student at U.C.L.A., to a health crisis and eventual recovery in her early adult years. With her trademark humor and a cast of five dance collaborators, Reyes tells the story of “breaking up” with the Catholic faith central to her Latin-American immigrant family in order to find a spiritual practice of her own.

The performers include Caitlin Hicks, Maya Mohsin, Giovana Sales Nascimento da Silva, Giulia Sales Nascimento da Silva and Brooke Terry. Emmet Webster returns as sound designer together with costume designer Monique Prieto. Thomas Bowersox will design the lighting.

“With DIOS I'm exploring ways of separating Catholic dogma from spirituality,” said Reyes. “I believe that spirituality can be a very powerful tool for finding resilience, comfort and healing.” 

ABOUT REYES DANCE

REYES Dance is a Bay Area-based contemporary dance company founded in 2017 by Jocelyn Reyes. A first-generation Los Angeles native, Reyes holds a B.S. in Cognitive Science and a B.A. in Dance from U.C.L.A. Her creative work investigates themes around poverty, domestic abuse, religion, chronic illness and health within the context of Latin American culture. Reyes blends athleticism, everyday gestures, humor and storytelling to question traditions, belief systems, and behavioral patterns, in order to heal and reimagine healthier ways of relating to ourselves and others. Since its inception, REYES Dance has presented several evening-length works including Accretion (2018), MAGOS (2019) and LASOS (2022) as well as shorter works appearing on programs including the Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers, West Wave Festival, the RAWdance Concept Series and the San Francisco Dance Film Festival, among others. REYES Dance's activities include new choreographic projects, film works, live dance performances, artist collaborations, work-in-progress showings and an annual dance film festival titled Dance Thrill Fest. Their programming has been supported by the San Francisco Arts Commision, Dancers' Group, Zellerbach Family Foundation, Kenneth Rainin Foundation, California Arts Council and FACT/SF, among others.

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