The dancer from Lanzarote, Acerina H. Toledo: "Dance is my escape valve and keeps me sane"

The dancer has confessed that at one stage of her life "I thought about leaving it" and said "I'll dance or not", due to the "great sacrifice" that "this art requires".

Eider Pascual

Journalist

May 30 2024 (10:16 WEST)
The dancer in her 'Black Flowers' performance at Los Jameos del Agua

Contemporary dance is her passion, which is why she has been dedicated to it for almost 30 years. Acerina H. Toledo, from Lanzarote, is a dancer, teacher at a school and director of a dance company in Lanzarote. She began her career as a teenager, when she went to rhythmic gymnastics classes, she recalls in an interview with La Voz. "I couldn't afford the dance classes I wanted on the island and I had to start training in another area of dance", she tells the newspaper.

Later, she managed to fulfill her dreams and reach the goal of her career, opening her own company on her native island. "I ended up in Gran Canaria learning contemporary, after going through different styles such as African dance or hip-hop, until I discovered what would be my future in dance: contemporary dance", she says proudly.

The dancer acknowledges that she cannot live without contemporary dance and at 46, she feels more and more comfortable in the profession she chose as her own years ago. Dance is an opportunity to get out of the routine, leave the problems behind and be able to open up to the public, a way to make herself known and show her deep feelings. "It allows me to work freely and create in my own way, working with elements such as water and singing while I dance", she reveals. Some twists in the performances that in the lyrical or classical would not be possible to include. "Everything can be in the middle of a contemporary work", emphasizes the dancer.

Since she started in dance, she has not stopped receiving joys and good times in her profession. For her, it means being able to dance and express her art as well as feeling alive. "Dancing is like breathing, it's my escape valve, an instrument of self-knowledge and it keeps me sane", she confesses. For the dancer residing on the island, dance means connecting her physical and emotional side, through movements and the different feelings she expresses, something that she reiterates that "hooks" her.

"Dancing is like breathing, like an escape valve, an instrument of self-knowledge and it keeps me sane"

Dance is the formula to express "concerns" and "continue creating for others", which is an "incredible gratitude" for the veteran dancer. She acknowledges that "she wants to continue dedicating herself to dance and continue saying things to herself". Her hallmark is also to integrate emotions and personal experiences such as building her exits to the stage. "I think the secret to staying active in dance is not talking about things I don't know", she has pointed out.

'Womb', her solo performance that talks about motherhood in women

Toledo has managed to reach the viewer showing her own life. It has been the solo show called 'Womb', which has led her to connect with the public and create her own brand and style in dance. A dance pass in which she talks about her stage of motherhood, in which she had to make a small stop during her second pregnancy after a cesarean section. Getting back on stage after the birth of her second daughter, was a moment she faced with some fear and insecurity, two emotions with which she created that piece. "I didn't dare to go on stage", she has openly declared. One of the reasons why she decided to promote this project based on family upbringing and the different positive and negative points that this upbringing entails.

During that whole process, on several occasions she considered leaving dance aside and perhaps "take it up again someday", she recalled. "It requires a lot of sacrifice, so I thought about leaving it" and said "I'll dance or not", she said. A stage that has meant an "internal struggle of things you lose along the way and gain", as it continues to happen to her every day when dedicating herself to the profession.

The dancer acknowledges that "she has never experienced gender inequalities" in her years of profession, but that in the matter of motherhood, there is a clear "difference" between women and men. "It is true that my colleagues do not have to give birth or stop their careers in most cases because of motherhood", she commented.

Current director of her own dance company 'El Jablero', which she opened in Lanzarote between 2016-2017. She remembers the beginnings and makes it clear that everything she has fought for has been worth it. "Currently it is still alive and kicking", she pointed out. A dance company with which they "generate pieces inside and outside the Canary Islands", she added.

She started as director and producer of the company, and at the same time, she looked for the costumes, the music, formed the choreographies in each of the projects. Now, she has a team dedicated to managing all the key points of the company and she is specifically dedicated to "looking for production money", she revealed.

For the company to work, she works in co-production with other companies in Madrid, in addition, she has a team of costumes, technicians in Lanzarote who are "more family than anything else", she clarified. The perfect ingredient for everything to work perfectly is the importance of "gathering people with your same energy and concern", she stressed.

"I think the secret to staying active in dance is not talking about things I don't know"

The evolution of dance in Lanzarote

About dance in Lanzarote, the dancer has hit the nail on the head: on the island is growing the presence of schools, stages and more spaces, in addition to "more people involved in this art", she said. One of the parts in which the island still needs to advance, Acerina has pointed out, is the support to creators in relation to production, aid to go to dance outside Lanzarote, travel packages, among other issues, concludes Acerina.

Despite this, the dancer believes that the island is in a "very good moment" in regards to arts such as dance, very highlighted by the "support to students who are training outside the island". From her point of view, she concludes, "we are 1,000 light years in comparison with 20 years ago".

"In Lanzarote we are light years in comparison with 20 years ago"

Most read