Adriana Barenstein

In her choreography, Argentinean Adriana Barenstein brings together dancers and sometimes artists in other fields and various media in explorations of the relationship between individuals and their physical environments and the prevailing cultures. In her installation El Amor (2005), for example, two dancers explored the interconnectedness of new technologies and performance in a subway station, and between exterior and interior experiences, dancing before a 3D projection of an actual landscape, with the intention of making the viewer see the poetic in the commonplace and in the landscape of their everyday lives. Quietud Inquieta (2006), inspired by her research on Francis Bacon and Samuel Beckett, used theater, dance, and new technologies to expose and analyze the interconnectedness of these elements; it was presented at the 5th Biennale dell Immagine in Switzerland in 2006. Cuerpo y Ciudad (2010), which she conceived, directed, and curated, brought together different artists in Buenos Aires, each of whom was to create a work on the theme of “the body in the city.” A DVD capturing their performances was shown at the University of Buenos Aires, the Itaú Foundation’s exhibition space, the Borges Cultural Center, and the Spanish Cultural Center of Buenos Aires. Her choreography has been performed around the world, including in Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Rome, The Hague, Bologna, Madrid, Bilbao, Salamanca, Cracovia, Varsovia, Cagliari, and New York City.

During her Guggenheim Fellowship term, she will be continuing to develop a new work entitled Esferas, which will be a deeper analysis of the relationship of the human body with the urban landscape, exploring new methods of conveying and affecting perceptions of urban public spaces.

From 1979 to 1985, Ms. Barenstein taught at the National School of Dance, and she was the head of the dance theater department at the University of Buenos Aires’ Rojas Cultural Center from 1984 to 1994. Currently she is the Curator of Dance, Theater, and Music at Metrovías-Subterráneos of Buenos Aires and the Director and Programmer at the Borges Cultural Center.