Wilber Mendoza is a digital and scenic movement artist, dance film producer and dance educator. Awarded with a Full ride artistic scholarship, he graduated from Bachelor in Dance at Universidad de las Américas Puebla, Mexico (2020). He did Art and Human studies High School with minor in Theater at Centro de Educación Artística "Miguel Cabrera", in Oaxaca, Mexico (2016).
Wilber’s work is focused on improvisation practices and dance films production. It has been presented in kNOwBOX dance Film Festival (USA, KOR, MEX 2021, 2022), CAMP_iN Encuentro Escénico (MEX, 2021), Mérida Fest (MEX 2020, 2021), Festival Yucatán Escénica (MEX, 2020 y 2021), Texas Dance Improvisation Festival (USA, 2019, 2020 y 2021), Festival Internacional VideodanzaBA (ARG, 2019) and Muestra Movimiento Audiovisual (MEX, 2019).
Mendoza’s professional training and academic formation is remarked by his participation in Jacob Jonas Digital Intensive (USA, online, 2021), GALLIM Dancing with the Camera (USA, online, 2021), Gaga Intensive in Barcelona (ESP, 2019), and PERFORMÁTICA (MEX, 2018). He has also trained at Paris Marais Dance School (FRA, 2022), Henny Jurrëns Studio (NLD, 2022), La Morada Central Creativa (MEX, 2021), Texas Woman’s University (USA, 2019) and Mime Centrum Berlin (GER, 2019).
Wilber collaborates with his network to create, perform and promote dance works for both stage and screen with Coctelito de Videodanza (MEX), Proyecto: Segundo Piso (MEX) and kNOwBOX dance (USA, KOR, MEX).
Wilber is Co-Director of Coctelito de Videodanza, a platform dedicated to produce, promote and distribute dance films.
Wilber has been part of Proyecto: Segundo Piso since 2018, creating, performing and touring company’s repertory in Mexico.
kNOwBOX dance is a 501(c)(3) non-profit arts service organization that creates, collaborates, and discusses art with artists and the public.
Mexico | 2021 | 11 min
Synopsis
Through a white and endless blank space, the emptiness invites us to embody three characters who are guided by their inner impulses and by the minimalistic space around them...
Synopsis
Through a white and endless blank space, the emptiness invites us to embody three characters who are guided by their inner impulses and by the minimalistic space around them. It all started with a story, one sentence and a couple of words that created a unique world on each character’s mind. We selected elements that triggered movement and storytelling; and as process moved forward, we settled down on encounter points which allowed performers to improvise in between scenes. Inspired by a celebrated book, we challenge the significance of ordinary objects and symbols by taking tea consumption to an altered state of mind.
Credits
- Co-Producers: Proyecto: Segundo Piso and Coctelito de Videodanza
- Director: Natalia Quezada Shrimpton
- Camera director: Wilber Mendoza
- Movement directors: César Aragón and Harumi Gallardo
- Post Production: Diana Morales
- Performers: Diana Morales, Harumi Gallardo, César Aragón
- Assistants: Maria Yelena, María José Amieva, Icatiani Arenas
Screenings
- kNOwBOX dance Film Festival Official Selection. Dallas, Hunstville (USA) and Seoul (KOR), 2021.
- kNOwBOX dance Film Festival on Tour. Oaxaca (MEX), 2022.
- Coctelito de Videodanza Official Selection. Oaxaca, Puebla, Mérida (MEX), 2021.
- Texas Dance Improvisation Festival, hosted by Sam Houston State University (USA), 2021.
- Boreal Screendance Festival. Akureyri (ISL), 2021.
Mexico | 2020 | 7 min
Synopsis
The goofiness and the imaginary which represent our aesthetic, are embodied through movement, spoken word and visual motifs built from our present...
Synopsis
The goofiness and the imaginary which represent our aesthetic, are embodied through movement, spoken word and visual motifs built from our present. The social distancing measures of the pandemic made us embrace the distance between each of our societies and explore our present through improvisation practices. This work is a translation of the result of object personification, improvising with the juxtaposition of beach, mountain and city landscape, and having fun with popular references of our Latino Culture. We said balloons, confetti, Selena and unicorns, however, now it is all a mix of our improvised virtual conversations… somewhere swimming in the web.
Credits
- Created and performed by Natalia Quezada Shrimpton and Wilber Mendoza
- Music by Ran Bagno - Thee on one, Couples II
- Sound edition by Icatiani Arenas
- Camera by Harumi Gallardo, Wilber Mendoza, Natalia Quezada Shrimpton and Frances Quezada Shrimpton
- Video edition and postproduction by Natalia Quezada Shrimpton, Diana Morales and Wilber Mendoza
Yuc. Oax. Mexico, 2020.
Screenings
- Official Selection. Festivales en Red, Bolivia, 2020.
- Texas Dance Improvisation Festival, Virtual concert hosted by University of Texas El Paso. October, 2020.
- Graduad@s. Virtual concert hosted by Moving Borders Escena Sin Fronteras. July, 2020.
Mexico | 2020 | 6 min
Synopsis
"We never kissed" was created based on dance improvisation, following the relationships: body to body, bodies to space and space to camera...
Synopsis
"We never kissed" was created based on dance improvisation, following the relationships: body to body, bodies to space and space to camera. While exploring the closeness of our skins and the sharing of our weight, we took our friendship to a place where touching becomes a highly valuable experience, beyond any romantic significance. We listened the elements of nature and architecture around us to trigger our movement and corporeality. Wind and clouds were our starting point. Stone walls shaped our muscularity. We imitated the volume and the motion of the threes and the dust. We embodied the emptiness of our locations and attempted to fill them with our movement and our closeness to each other. By placing the camera in stillness and trying different angles, we allowed ourselves to be sensible and vulnerable in front of this device, considering it as one of the main communication tool nowadays. But we never kissed.
Credits
- Created by Harumi Gallardo and Wilber Mendoza
- Music by David Icatiani Arenas
- Camera: Harumi Gallardo and Wilber Mendoza
- Video edition: Wilber Mendoza
- Special thanks to Juana Chávez Rios, Fernando Mendoza Chávez and Eugenio Mendoza
Oaxaca, Mexico. 2020.
Screening
- Hecho en Oaxaca, Hábitat Oaxaca. December 2020
- Capilla del Arte, Universidad de las Américas Puebla. November 2020
- Por Puro Gusto Encuentro Callejero, Tijuana. November 2020
Mexico | 2019 | 6 min
Synopsis
This work offers the opportunity to watch and to be part of a distorted reality in a matter of minutes, where we present contrast between the identity expression we have grown with and the one we want to live with, no boundaries, no roles...
Synopsis
This work offers the opportunity to watch and to be part of a distorted reality in a matter of minutes, where we present contrast between the identity expression we have grown with and the one we want to live with, no boundaries, no roles. The #pretty body, reflections, colors, brightness, textures, music and space shake on screen, questioning and staking out the #pretty and #suitable according to the binary society.
Credits
- Director: Wilber Mendoza
- Assistent director: Fernanda I. Durán Cruz
- Musician: Da Bracamontes
- Choreographer: Wilber Mendoza
- Dancers: Mauricio Pichardo and Wil Mendoza
- Camera director: Fernanda I. Durán Cruz
- Camera assistant director: Luisa Rodríguez and Lidya Amelie Tapia Barajas
- Video edition: Wil Mendoza
- Edition Assistant: Claudia Franco
- Make up design: Claudia Franco
- Make up production: Fernanada I. Durán Cruz
- Costume design: Wilber Mendoza and Fernanda I. Durán Cruz
- Special thanks: Carlos Durán Alonso, Patricia Solórzano, Cecilia Durán and Natalia Quezada Shrimpton.
Puebla, Mexico. 2019.
Official Selections
- Festival VideodanzaBA. Argentina, 2019.
- Muestra Movimiento Audiovisual. Mexico, 2019.
Screenings
- Panoramas, Ópticas de la Danza. Puebla, 2019.
- Centro Cultural Segundo Piso. San Andrés Cholula, 2019.
- Estas No Son Enchiladas at Universidad de las Américas Puebla. San Andrés Cholula, 2019.
Performer | Creative collaborator | Mexico | 2021
Description
"The Buffalo" arises from an indeterminate and unpredictable set of circumstances. It arises from impossibility, longing and resistance...
Description
"The Buffalo" arises from an indeterminate and unpredictable set of circumstances. It arises from impossibility, longing and resistance. From not wanting and wanting too much at the same time. From theoretical and practice based research, and dreams. From stepping aside... But above all it arises from a generous collaboration between those involved. This is a fundamentally improvisational work. The improvisational state is approached as value system of the process, and as a generative, open and permeable state. Full of possibilities. We appreciate the opportunity to gather today to become aware of the things that remain. Of the things that refuse to perish in these strange, complicated and lonely times.
Credits
- Direction: Paulina Colmenares
- Music: Ricardo Villalobos and Max Loderbauer
- The dancers: Gabriela Montero, Wilber Mendoza, Néstor Palacios, Carolina Tabares and I, thank you for coming to share this dance with us.
Performances
- Espacio Temacac. September 2021. Puebla, MEX.
- Autocinema Cocodrilo. April 2021. Puebla, MEX.
- Complejo Cultural El Carmen. April 2021. Tehuacán, MEX.
Director | Performer | Mexico | 2021
Description
It is said that frogs know how to swim. Between waters and swamps, this toad decides to jump. Like toads advancing, together we move forward...
Description
It is said that frogs know how to swim. Between waters and swamps, this toad decides to jump. Like toads advancing, together we move forward. "The story of a frog" is a work based on improvisation inspired by listening and the support of the other. Together we build our puddle, where water, wind, light moves us. This work had its premiere on November 19, 2021 at the Festival Yucatán Escénica, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico. It is currently still in process and has a duration of 13:00 min.
Credits
- Direction: Natalia Quezada and Wilber Mendoza
- Performers: Natalia Quezada and Wilber Mendoza
- Light design: Lorena Martínez Mier
- Music: Classic Park and Ran Bagno
Performances
- Dance Conservatory of Yucatan as part of Festival Yucatán Escénica, Mérida (MEX), 2021
Dancer | Mexico | 2021
Description
The Chairs is a movement project that explores architecture, lighting and objects through the body and its moods. It allows the viewer to live within the memories created by the performers and live as if it were a reality itself...
Description
The Chairs is a movement project that explores architecture, lighting and objects through the body and its moods. It allows the viewer to live within the memories created by the performers and live as if it were a reality itself.
Project supported by the Arts council of Puebla (MEX) in the category Creators - Montage. It is inspired by the tragic farce "The Chairs" by Eugène Ionesco.
The work enjoys to explore adaptation, and architecture has the possibility of shaping the choreographic composition of the piece.
Credits
- Director: César Aragón
- Choreographers: César Aragón and Diana Morales
- Dancers: Diana Morales and Wilber Mendoza
- Production: Harumi Gallardo
- Production assistant: Natalia Quezada
- Music: Arcadio Lanz
Performances
- La Morada Central Creativa. November 2021, Puebla, MEX
Performer | Creative collaborator | Mexico / USA. | 2019
Description
The Max shows the part of our long-term choreographic research to find the unconscious moment when you are in the process of moving in space...
Description
The Max shows the part of our long-term choreographic research to find the unconscious moment when you are in the process of moving in space. The work has three scores to improvise: begin by becoming a snake, clean the space, and find the connection from individual body to multiple bodies in a free score by reacting music scores. The results of the performance depending on each dancer background, training and movement ideas. This is a dance laboratory in real time happening on stage.
Credits
Original idea: YeaJean Choi
Cast: Alfonso Carrillo Molina, Arturo Wilber Mendoza Chavez, Bertha Cecilia Mariana Duran Partida, Eder De Jesus Arrasquito Barrios, Natalia Katherine Quezada Shrimpton, Valentina Renteria Coronado.
Music: El Búho - Al tianguis, Rodrigo Gallardo - Agua de La Tierra. Da Bracamontes.
kNOwBOX dance
Performances
- Museo Internacional del Barroco, Puebla (MEX), December 2019
- Texas Dance Improvisation Festival, hosted by University of North Texas, Dallas (USA), October 2019
- Gala del Día Internacional de la Danza Oaxaca, Oaxaca (MEX), April 2019