As part of Instituto Cervantes’ celebration of the life and work of Frida Kahlo, Myra Beltran premieres her solo piece “Frida en el espejo” (Frida before the mirror) on July 28, 2007, 8pm at Instituto Cervantes. Frida Kahlo wrote her body into canvas. Her self-portraits are strong statements of herself as artist and woman. Dance is writing with one’s body, and this solo piece juxtaposes this writing with Frida Kahlo’s own writing on canvas.

Why did you choose “Frida before the Mirror” as the title for your dance?

The title derives from the fact that most of Frida’s work are self-portraits. These are her strongest works and for which her statements as a woman and artist come from. She would look in the mirror to make her own self-portrait. But she took it on another level.

What I want to do is focus on her painting, which because they are self-portraits have become her own “writing” of her body. The same is true for myself as a dancer. Dance is writing with one’s body.

I shall project her paintings as a “mirror” to the dance and in the process try to reveal the fact that it is her body that wrote her paintings.

What particular aspect of her life did you focus on in your dance?

The fact that her art was liberative, inspite of her many obstacles, a number of which were very physical in nature. Her struggle to define herself in her art, and the fact that it gave her liberation as a woman and an artist. A slow, painful but palpable and very felt liberation.

What is it in her life that Filipinos, especially women, can derive inspiration from?

Frida was her own person. The inspiration is to remain committed despite the odds and to define one’s art vis-à-vis what is currently happening in the world. The most striking thing about her is that though her work seemed like purely personal statements, they actually conveyed a world-view.

Was it difficult/easy to do the dance? Why?

I relate to Frida as an artist and as a woman. I am aware of physical pain and having to work with one’s body everyday, although I must say, I would not wish upon myself the physical pain she had to endure. Once, I am able to find the correct piece of music and idea, I let it flow. Every dance is a ritual and difficult / easy is a relative thing. It can be easy, but you can choose to make it hard for yourself because you want to go deep inside you. For some, that’s hard. For some, that’s a joy. I approach each work differently and the joy is when by some magical constant / force, it draws upon various aspects of my life and re-aligns them.