With Body Wrappers it's always performance at its best. With its ample bar and dance hall feeling, this space has potential for cabaret acts and new vaudeville, but this particular evening's agenda was far from light-hearted. In case the audience was confused by the smell of marinara sauce mixed with the percussive sounds of rattling ankle bands and drums, an introductory narration told us about the importance of Mayan arts. The tone of this cultural history lecture set the audience up for a diorama-style reenactment of Mayan ritual. What we saw was pure offence.
Multiculturalism is a hot commodity today in grant and fund-raising parlance.
Javier Dzul is a native of Mexico and this, combined with his training and consequent performance credits with the Martha Graham Dance Company, creates a pristine dossier for intercultural work. It is obvious that Mr. Dzul is not concerned with these types of questions. His solipsistic display of skin and limbs, exhibited through repetitive kicking and writhing, does little more than degrade his own culture. Overall the effect is appalling. Though I know little of the Mayan people, I felt embarrassed for them.