Lacks Criticality: Awilda Sterling-Duprey | no existe un mundo poshuracán

In Lacks Criticality (2018–23), choreographer Awilda Sterling-Duprey draws on the phenomenological forces of Hurricane Maria and their impact on Puerto Rican citizens’ bodies, minds, emotions, and the physical environment. The performance integrates abstractions of Yoruba dance traditions and the way these reference forces of nature. A particular focus is the dances of Oyá, goddess of the wind, storms, and lightning, whose choreographies move from slowness to violence, like the force of a hurricane. The meteorological phenomenon develops around a center, altering the wind and water, destroying everything in its path. In this iteration of Lacks Criticality, Sterling-Duprey will perform alongside Batá drummers. 

This video documents Lacks Criticality by Awilda Sterling-Duprey, which was performed at the Whitney Museum of American Art on March 3, 4, and 5, 2023 as part of the exhibition no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria organized by Marcela Guerrero, DeMartini Family Curator, with Angelica Arbelaez, Rubio Butterfield Family Fellow, and Sofía Silva, former Curatorial & Education Fellow in U.S. Latinx Art. Lacks Criticality was commissioned by Temple University’s Department of Dance Reflection/Response Choreographic Commission in 2018. This performance was produced for the Whitney by Elisabeth Skjærvold.