Projects
Why Did the Pollo Cross the Calle? To Get to the Otro Lado (2014) May 2014
"...To get to the Otro Lado" is a two part performance project that takes place on the street and in the theater. Performers dance in a ring of chicken wire in the street and on stage to explore borders, power and the symbol of the chicken in Bronx and Latino culture.
RGB: Batey Macorix February 2012-Present
RGB features commissioned poetry text by author Nelly Rosario and sound design by composer Desmar Guevara--two artists who interrogate mainstream Latino ambivalence towards African heritage. In response to this divide, RGB remixes two Afro-Dominican dance and music traditions, Gagá and Guloya, thereby exploring Afro-Latino identity, border zones, transnational migration, and 'otherness' in the Americas and beyond. Our use of multimedia creates resonance among diverse audiences while reflecting contemporary, immigrant, and diasporic narratives.
Bembé, Salón y Calle 2010
Bembé, Salón y Calle is a dynamic evening of dance, live music and visual art featuring Afro-Cuban Orishas, Rumba, Salsa, Chá-chá-chá and contemporary dance theater that premiered at the Hostos Center for Arts & Culture to a sold out house in March 2010. The performance creatively celebrates the legacy of Cuban dance and music by integrating tradition and innovation and highlights the culture’s impact in present day New York City.
What Do U Dance On? Premiere 2010
"What do you dance on?" is a question that salsa dancers often ask each other, referring to either dancing "on 1" or "on 2"–the beat in a bar of music a dancer accentuates. Comprised of 8 actor-dancers and a live salsa band, this work refers to West Side Story by segregating the performers into two salsa groups representing New York/Puerto Rican and Cuban styles.
cerca work-in-progress 2009
This trio of women is accompanied by Isadora processed video projections of each dancing on a different type of fence. The performance explores the state of boundaries and borders with music mixed live by DJ Steph.
Maletumba II 2010
Maletumba is based on negotiation, desire, and separation. Originally created in collaboration with social dancer Abraham Salazar, singer-dancer Chino Pons and a live percussionist, Frederick remixes Afro-Cuban Rumba, Cuban style Salsa, and contemporary dance, to capture a man and woman struggling for agency in the context of their partnership. Maletumba II is performed with Carlos Mateu and Obara: Onel Mulet, Pedrito Martínez and Roman Díaz.
TRANSAJE 2005
In TRANSAJE Areytos united four Domincan artists to create a multi-media installation and street level performance with seniors and youth that explored trans-nationalism, migration, and journey in the South Bronx.
BitterSuite 2003
BitterSuite is a multi-media solo performance and collaboration with Areytos Co-Founder and visual artist José Ortiz, that addresses identity, human rights, and race in the Dominican diaspora. BitterSuite calls into question the rationale for historical and current scape-goating of Haitians and Dominican-Haitians, and the fearful, often contradictory attitudes towards Vodun. The performance incorporates the music and dance of Gagá, an African based, Dominican-Haitian vodun religious practice prominent on the batey, a sugarcane plantation company town.