Carlos Pons/De Nada Dance Theatre - Mariposa - The Lowry, 16 Jan 2022

[Jan McNulty]

Just over 5 years ago I was privileged to be invited to see a sharing of a work in progress in Leeds.  That was the start of the work Mariposa by Carlos Pons.

 

It's taken 5 years, with the pandemic getting in the way, for me to see the finished work performed at The Lowry last week.

 

Mariposa is a queer tragedy inspired by Puccini's Madame Butterfly using 5 dancers.  When talking about it with a friend a couple of years ago (when it was first scheduled at The Lowry) he explained that Mariposa is Spanish for butterfly but can also be used for prostitute.

 

The work is set in Cuba in the 1970s and Mariposa is a rent boy.  Act 1 shows him being introduced to Preston, a sailor by the brothel owner and then continues showing the brothel life of being used and abused by sex tourists.  The music has a Latin beat with sampled sections of the Puccini score woven in.

 

The start of Act 2 is so powerful I had tears streaming down my face.  It sees Mariposa swathed in robes and emerging like a butterfly from the chrysalis as he has started on his journey towards womanhood.  His first tentative steps en pointe were almost painful to watch and profoundly moving.  He re-encounters Preston and they have the most beautiful, gentle duet before he realises that Preston has moved on and his partner is Kate.

 

Mariposa dies and the final section is his ascent to heaven.

 

Apart from Mariposa the cast play multiple characters and were uniformly excellent.  Mariposa who danced by Harry Alexander who was both breathtaking and heartbreaking in his interpretation.

 

I can't describe this work in terms of conventional dance steps but I can only reiterate that I found the performance profoundly moving.

 

It was most definitely worth the 5 year wait to see the finished production!

 

 

[Jan McNulty]

I've just come across this review for Mariposa (a bit late for links):

 

https://www.britishtheatreguide.info/reviews/mariposa-the-lowry-salf-20600?fbclid=IwAR3cFhN0nC5BexbwTDEd1Jb7L2XgNwwhNyOE-4ZrtmRG4WKTXYne4Uu714Q