On Saturday night I ventured out to Culver City to check out Marina Magalhães' Dance Theater work - (un)bridaled. It was my first time at Le Studio off Jefferson Blvd and I think the space is great for small intimate performances. If you don't know Marina, she's a Brazilian-born artist who holds a B.A. in World Arts and Cultures with a Dance Concentration and a Minor in Women's Studies from UCLA. The work that was presented reflected her journey in life as an immigrant Latina woman and as a serious student of gender roles and their affect on current culture. (un)bridaled was rated in LA Weekly's top 5 dance performances to see over the weekend and I knew I was in for a treat. Marina has trained with Urban Bush Women and worked with CONTRA-TIEMPO Urban Latin Dance Theater for approx 7 years. The evening began with a nice movement section with full cast to Agua de Beber by Astrud Gilberto. The choice of music sparked my interest in the content of the work. For me, Agua de Beber is one of those songs that you can put on and connect with the present moment. At that time, was I connecting with Marina's work more so as a woman or more so as a dance enthusiast? It was hard for me to discern at that early moment in the evening. Whatever the case may be, the opening movement was delightful and I was impressed with Marina's choreography especially on using space and creating beautiful movement transitions. Rooted in a Latin POV, un(bridaled) demystifies the universal story of the bridal myth - that every woman's goal, regardless of where you come from, should be to become a bride and become submissive and perhaps possibly even succumb to a dehumanizing naturalization process in order to achieve said goal. Marina's (un)bridaled was powerful in that it demonstrated how women can turn obstacles into advantage and become strong and possibly not even give a FUC%! in order to develop an inner strength. The theme of the women's inner strength was found in a stellar duet in the second half with Marina and dancer Rachel Hernandez. The two artists were dressed in traditional latin dresses and were moving in both a traditional and contemporary way to Ophex. Also, just a note on Ophex music - its a new take on the traditional sounds and aesthetics of Brazil's Baile Funk (or Funk Carioca) that challenges the established order to create something new, exciting and forward thinking. At this moment in (un)bridaled, I could really see Marina's fresh, new and forward-thinking choreographic vision. I look forward to seeing more of this type of work in the future here in LA. I hope you get to check out (un)bridaled. You can catch the rest of the performance run this Friday - Saturday in Culver City. Also, if you wanna here some Baile Funk, Check out Ophex Gosto below - TTYL.