Artists Reach Out: Nelida Tirado

Dear friends,

Welcome to Artists Reach Out: reflections in a time of isolation. I dreamed this series of interviews out of grief for my work both as a documenting arts writer and curator of live performance. In this time of social distancing, we are called to responsibly do all we can to safeguard ourselves and our neighbors. It is, literally, a matter of life and death.

But there's no distancing around what we still can share with one another--our experiences, thoughts, wisdom, humor, hearts and spirit. In some ways, there are more opportunities to do so as we pull back from everyday busyness out in the world and have time to honor the call of our inner lives.

So, let me introduce you to some artists I find interesting. I'm glad they're part of our beautiful community, and I'm eager to engage with them again (or for the first time) in years to come.

--Eva Yaa Asantewaa, InfiniteBody

Nelida Tirado

Nelida Tirado
(photo: Antonio G. Gamboa)

Nelida Tirado hailed  “magnificent and utterly compelling” (The New York Times) began her formal training at Ballet Hispanico of New York at the age of six. Barely out of her teens, she was invited to tour the US with Jose Molina Bailes Espanoles and work as a soloist in Carlota Santana’s Flamenco Vivo, soloist/ dance captain of Compania Maria Pages and  Compania Antonio El Pipa, performing at prestigious flamenco festivals and television in Spain and throughout France, Italy, UK, Germany and Japan. She has performed in Carmen with the Metropolitan Opera of NY, World Music Institute’s Gypsy Caravan 1, Noche Flamenca and was featured flamenco star in Riverdance on Broadway and touring companies.

Ms. Tirado was recipient of the 2007 and 2010 BRIO Award for Artistic Excellence, and opened with her company Summer 2010 for Buena Vista Social Club featuring Omara Portoundo for the Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival.  Some highlights include HarlemStage E-Moves,  Amores Quebrados at the Repertorio Espanol, Valerie Gladstone’s Dance Under the Influence 2011 and 2012 in collaboration with the Flamenco Festival USA and collaboration with jazz great Wynton Marsalis at Harvard University and the 2016 premiere of her solo show Dime Quien Soy in the Flamenco Festival NY. She was currently the recipient of the 2017 Rosario Dawson Muse Fellow through BAAD!, featured in Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch," 2018/2019 recipient of Gibney’s Dance in Process Residence and will be seen in the Warner Brother’s film adaption of Lin Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights, premiering Summer 2021.

Nelida Tirado
(photo: Chasi Annexy)

Do you have a current or planned project whose proress is affected by the pandemic?
Yes, all of my work has been put on pause which includes performance, teaching, arts-in-education work and one particular project I was excited about. May 2019 I was able to immerse myself into a project (thanks to a generous grant from Gibney as a DIP, Dance in Process artist) that kept presenting itself to me in various ways/places and experiences. The premiere of the work would have been this year.

Initially I was frustrated by what I thought was a standstill of time but, ultimately, it has appeared to be pivotal and given me more fuel to revisit the work and make adjustments. The pandemic has given me the time I wouldn’t normally have to reflect and stay still which has brought immense clarity. Briefly, tell me about how you got involved in the arts and in your particular practice. Dance and music was always a normal practice at home with family and in my culture. After a kindergarten graduation show, my teacher was impressed with my ability and suggested that I be enrolled in formal dance classes. That was the beginning of my mom’s journey to find what she thought was important--to learn Bomba/Plena, the traditional dance/music of my country to keep me connected to my cultural roots since I was born in New York City. However, during those years, that wasn’t easy to find. She opted instead to enroll me in a local dance program that offered classical ballet and Spanish dance from Spain. I continued with that program and the following year was bumped into the larger school of what is Ballet Hispánico. I continued my studies there, from 6 to 18 years old, following their curriculum at the time of ballet/Graham/classical Spanish dance/flamenco/Dunham technique, later leading me into the Apprentice Company without fully being aware entirely of what I was learning and its connection to me personally. And though it took me years to find which focus I would choose, Flamenco spoke to me more than any other form.

I loved the rhythms. I loved the feeling of beating my feet on the floor and being loud but was too young to find my voice. Then came an important phase in my life where I underwent significant difficulty on a personal level, and I dived into my art as refuge. I had a lot to say, but I found my power inside and out through Flamenco. As I kept searching, I was also able to make the connections with myself, my culture, my environment to Flamenco, and it has been life to me. In a more specific way, what are you practicing? And what are you envisioning? In specific way, I am doing a lot of self-care practice which includes meditation, journaling, yoga/running and flamenco practice but, more so, I’m practicing being still and reflecting. Being still was difficult at first but has been necessary for me to remain grounded and calm amidst this uncertainty. Being still has also helped envision with clarity what I want and need to commit to at this present time. How does your practice and your visioning align with what you most care about? My practice is essential to who I am in the physical, psychological, and spiritual level. It is who I am as an artist onstage and that wellness is important to be able to continue to create, connect and reach audiences authentically and genuinely. As an artist of Puerto Rican heritage, I also need to keep showing up entirely as a worker and defender of an art form from Spain that is not always fully embraced in the general dance world, even less from a non-Spanish voice because of a lack of information or general misconceptions. Owning my authenticity is me confidently and unapologetically letting go of who the audience thinks I should be, owning my cultural reference/environment and experience of what has shaped me and committing to the art form honestly and wholeheartedly. How does your practice function within the world we have now? That’s a great question, and I’m eager to see how it will play out. There definitely is a need to be connected and see each other just as there is a burning desire to stomp out our quarantine emotion. So, we’ll see. Briefly share one self-care tip that has special meaning to you now. I’ve always loved slow morning rituals but even more now. Quiet mornings, long coffee, meditating, being outdoors connecting with trees, the greenway where I live, sitting still and just breathing fill my heart and quiet my mind.

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DISCLAIMER: In addition to my work on InfiniteBody, I serve, at Gibney, as Senior Director of Artist Development and Curation and Editorial Director. The postings on this site are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views, strategies or opinions of Gibney.

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