The Winged Reptile is a dance performance that reminds us of our ancestral reptilian brain and invites us to reflect on our innermost selves––both individually and collectively. The audience is encouraged to engage in close proximity and chant. After the performance concludes, an interactive demonstration on some of the basic movements and dramatic actions will be conducted, and the participants will be asked to wear some of the costume accessories from the performance.
Artist Info
Kike [KEE - Kay] Olaya has been involved in the performing arts since he started to participate in the Carnival held in his hometown of Barranquilla, Colombia. There, he gradually joined dance and mask groups, and performed customs and characters. Olaya has lived between Colombia and the USA for almost 30 years. He became involved with contemporary dance more than twenty years ago as a producer and performer with Ombligo'e Kazabe contemporary dance company in Bogota, Colombia––led by choreographer Karla Florez––in a work that spanned beyond the 90s. Olaya also applies his performing arts background to his work as a bilingual and bicultural psychotherapist in Brooklyn, NY. He continues to participate in the Barranquilla Carnival, where he dances in the Cumbia ensemble of Palma Africana Folklore School. For the last ten years in NYC, Olaya has created mostly site-specific works, inviting other performers to collaborate with him and perform at festivals in NYC and along the east coast. He has also been doing stage theater with two New York-based companies. Olaya is currently completing a Dance Movement Therapy program in NYC. He also conducts sociocultural research that informs his performing arts pieces.