AT WATER'S EDGE / AL FILO DEL AGUA is an open-air, interactive, theatre and dance performance, with storytelling and live music, created by three women from different generations and different geographic locations—one in the United States, the other in Mexico, and the third at the edge of the two. Stories, legends, and acts of resistance intertwine as their lives intersect. A bilingual, international collaboration co-created by choreographers/co-directors Celeste Miller and Dora Arreola, with dancer Miroslava Wilson, the performance also features live music by Siki Carpi and Chip Epsten. This project was co-commissioned by Art2Action, Grinnell College, and the National Performance Network (NPN). For more information, visit: https://www.art2action.org/at-waters-edge

Mujeres en Ritual (3-min. excerpt) Directed & Choreographed by Dora Arreola Filmed at the UABC Theatre, Tijuana, Mexico.

Fronteras Desviadas / Deviant Borders Texts Created by Andrea Assaf Directed & Choreographed by Dora Arreola Performed by Mujeres en Ritual Danza-Teatro, with Andrea Assaf “Lo desviado es …making pure actions dirty through different intentions, and soiling them with lies. Caminar con los pies de otra. It’s the redundancy of betrayal. The line apparently straight, erect – twisted and rotten. La violencia de arrancar a alguien de su destino y arrojarlo fuera cual basura. Es el zig-zag que retorna a mi to my convictions, the resistance to being corrupted by the cold perfection de lo cotidiano – that straight line of amnesia in what “should” be. Rebellion is an everyday job. Lo desviado es la alternativa.” Through poetry, character and movement, Fronteras Desviadas / Deviant Borders explores gender, taboo and rites of passage. The performance presents a juxtaposition of two parallel realities: A tour guide known as El Chamuco leads the audience on a journey from night to day through the red zone of Tijuana, as two actress-dancers embody and give voice to the experiences of women in communities near the border. The creative process investigated the exploitation of women's bodies in transnational factories and sexual tourism in the Tijuana-San Diego region (home of the most frequently crossed border in the world). The choreography includes traditional dances from Mexico, in combination with physical experimentation and contemporary dance. The text is bilingual, and includes poetry created from community workshops with women in the Tijuana, Tecate and San Diego areas. Through the collision of diverse cultural elements and political realities, Fronteras Desviadas / Deviant Borders offers a journey to "the other side" of sexuality, deviance, and culture. *** A través de poesía, personajes y movimiento, Deviant Borders / Fronteras Desviadas, explora género, tabúes y ritos de paso. El espectáculo presenta la yuxtaposición de dos realidades paralelas. Un guía de turistas conocido como el "Chamuco", conduce a los espectadores por un viaje de la noche al día por la zona roja de Tijuana, mientras dos actrices-bailarinas encarnan y dan voz a experiencia de mujeres de comunidades cercanas a esta frontera. Durante el proceso creativo se exploró e investigó la explotación del cuerpo de las mujeres en las fábricas transnacionales y el turismo sexual en la región Tijuana- San Diego (la frontera mas visitada del mundo). La coreografía incluye danzas tradicionales de México, en combinación con experimentación física y danza contemporánea. El texto es bilingue e incluye poesía creada de talleres comunitarios con mujeres en la región de Tijuana, Tecate y San Diego. A través de la colisión de diversos elementos culturales y realidades políticas, Deviant Borders / Fronteras Desviadas ofrece un viaje al "otro lado" de la sexualidad, cultura y desviación. *** Production History: The Spanish-dominant version of Fronteras Desviadas / Deviant Borders premiered at the Universidad Autonoma de Baja California (UABC), and toured in northern Mexico in 2005; the English-dominant version was developed at New WORLD Theater and excerpts were performed at Alternate ROOTS (2005). The project then toured to the National Theater Festival hosted by Teatro Justo Rufino Garay in Managua, Nicaragua (2006). Related lecture-demonstrations and workshops given at the University of Minnesota (2006) and Sappho women’s organization in Kolkata, India (2008), in association with Ananya Dance Theater; at the Symposium on Interdisciplinarity, Concordia University in Montreal, Canada (2007); and the Kahn Institute “Festival of Disorder” at Smith College, Massachusetts (2009). Residency Activities available with this performance include: Master classes and workshops in dance-theater or movement composition. Community-based poetry & movement workshops for women, migrant workers, or sex workers. Lecture-demos on the U.S.-Mexico Border, the Fronteras Desviadas project and creative process. English, Spanish or bilingual workshops/activities available. *** Este proyecto esta dedicada a las trabajadoras de la industria del turismo sexual en Tijuana, a las mujeres que trabajan en las maquiladoras y a la mujeres desaparecidas y muertas en Juárez. *** This project is dedicated to the women and woman-identified workers of the sex industry and the sweatshop factories in Tijuana, and to the disappeared and murdered women of Juárez. For booking or more information, contact: art2action@earthlink.net

VIDEO PARA: CONVOCATORIA: TEATRO PARA EL FIN DEL MUNDO FESTIVAL DE LA ESCENA EN ESTADO DE EMERGENCIA 2013 "Antígona en la Frontera" Fragmento (15 minutos) de la presentación #5 en la Laguna Salada Carretera Tecate-Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico Grabada el 29 de Junio, 2013 Dirección: Dora Arreola Con las compañías Mujeres en Ritual Danza-Teatro y Laboratorio de Teatro Tijuana Obra basada en "Antígona Furiosa" de Griselda Gambaro y "Antígona" de Sófocles El proyecto "Antígona en la Frontera" se ha presentado en lugares específicos relacionados con adversidad y experiencias humanas catastroficas. La obra fue estrenada el 23 de junio del presente en Playas de Tijuana, frente a la barda que divide a los dos países. Continuó su recorrido en distintos lugares públicos de la región con la intención de presentarse en sitios específicos a lo largo de la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos, desde el Océano Pacífico hasta el Golfo de México. Las otras presentaciones se realizaron en Plaza Santa Cecilia (Tijuana), Balboa Park (San Diego), el poblado Maclovio Rojas (Tijuana) y Laguna Salada (Tecate-Mexicali). Cada uno de estos sitios estan cargados de muerte de migrantes, desaparecidos, o son zonas y centros clave de prostitucion, narcotrafico y marginacion. Reparto: Kenia Delgadillo - Antígona María Vale - Corifeo y Creonte Miguel Rodríguez - Antinoo, Hemón, Ismena y Tiresias Grabación: Margarita Osorio Miranda AGRADECIMIENTOS: Andrea Assaf, Edgardo Meza y Bibi Uribe Edicion de Video: Art2Action Inc. (2013)

Outside the Circle Written by Andrea Assaf & Samuel Valdez Directed by Dora Arreola Performed by Andrea Assaf, Samuel Valdez and Maria Vale Lighting Design by G.B. Stephens Sound Design by Owen Henry & Keegan Fraley Stage Management by Alyssa Teale Richards OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE, a new play by Andrea Assaf and Samuel Valdez, examines the nature of love, and what happens to love when we internalize society’s phobias. A straight man with cerebral palsy and a queer woman recount their adventures, and share their woes, of unrequited love, and unsuccessful attempts to seduce (straight) women. Their lives on both sides of the border intersect one night when they meet at a Tijuana bar, and become entwined in each other’s stories. Their parallel and interweaving tales reveal the illusions of normalcy, and the liberation possible when choosing life … outside the circle. This new movement theater work, directed by Dora Arreola, looks at queerness in multiple ways, from lesbian sexuality to the non-normative experience of living with a disability, and offers a rare and extraordinary opportunity to bring people together across identities and communities. A funny, heart-breaking, experimental piece about the trials and tribulations of love – one that illuminates the limits of social constructs and opens the question of liberation in new ways – OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE looks at what happens when people who experience different kinds of oppression realize that they haven't necessarily supported each other's struggles. It explores how these characters resolve their contradictions of racial/cultural identity, sexual/gender identity, and the identities we develop related to physical ability. OUTSIDE THE CIRCLE is an Art2Action Inc. production, co-commissioned by Pangea World Theater, the Esperanza Center for Peace & Justice, El Centro Su Teatro, and the National Performance Network (NPN) Creation Fund. Created with support from the National Association of Latino Arts & Culture (NALAC) and United States Artists. Photos by Marc Norberg & G.B. Stephens, at Intermedia Arts & Jump-Start Performance Co. Filmed by SubMecca Entertainment at Intermedia Arts, with Pangea World Theater, Minneapolis. Video sample created by Art2Action Inc., copyright 2012 TOURING 2013 & 2014! For booking info, contact art2action@earthlink.net

DORA ARREOLA - Director, Performer, Teacher - WORK SAMPLES (2005-2012) This video includes photos and audio samples from various projects in which Dora Arreola, Founder & Artistic Director of Mujeres en Ritual Danza-Teatro, is a lead artist. "Fronteras Desviadas/Deviant Borders" (2005-06) is a Mujeres en Ritual production, co-created with Andrea Assaf, through a community-based process on both sides of the Tijuana-San Diego border, with support from Contacto Cultural (the U.S.-Mexico Foundation for Culture, 2004). "Yo, Rumores Silencio" (2009 & 2012) is a multi-year work-in-progress excerpted from "Telares (o, el olvido)" by Fabiola Ruiz; this sample shows the techniques Arreola is exploring as a performer, and her methodology of creating physical actions rooted in Mexican rituals. "Outside the Circle" (2012) is a bi-national, bilingual collaboration between Mujeres en Ritual and Art2Action Inc., co-written by Andrea Assaf & Samuel Valdez, and directed by Dora Arreola. Commissioned by the National Performance Network (NPN) Creation Fund (2011), Pangea World Theater, the Esperanza Center for Justice & Peace, and El Centro Su Teatro; with additional support from NALAC (2010 NFA, Samuel Valdez), and United States Artists; currently touring!! The photos of the Laboratorio de Teatro Tijuana show early site-specific and studio explorations (at La Laguna Salada, and UABC in Baja California, Mexico) on the issue of disappearances and deaths of migrants; a precursor to the process of creating "Antigona en la Frontera" (forthcoming, 2013). The end of the video also includes photos of Arreola teaching in Poland, at the Grotowski Institute, during the "Meetings with Remarkable Women" project, organized by Virginie Magnat as part of the 2009 Year of Grotowski, declared by UNESCO.

This is the 15th Anniversary documentary video retrospective about the company Mujeres en Ritual Danza-Teatro, under the artistic direction of Dora Arreola.

Master Class- Internal Currents of the Performer- (Led by Dora Arreola)/Clase maestra"Corrientes Internas" Dora Arreola en LArtEs- Ciudad de Mexico, 2013