Dorian Wood’s ‘Canto de Todes’ is “an immersive 12-hour composition and installation. Inspired by a lyric of the late Chilean singer and songwriter Violeta Parra, the Creative Capital-awarded project emphasizes the urgency of folk music as a vessel for social change.

A genre-defying canon of songs arriving as a long-durational spatial experience, the work is divided into three movements. The first and third movements are hour-long chamber pieces influenced by folk, popular, and experimental music. The second movement is a 10-hour pre-recorded piece unfolding throughout multiple spaces within the hosting venue.

‘Canto de Todes’ upends the expectation of the rigidness often associated with witnessing chamber music performances by offering a welcoming space that allows individuals to project their personal, communal joys, and traumas. It is a collaborative work with local artists who are invited to permanently incorporate their respective visions into the body of this evolving piece.” Vōx Dance Collective, under the direction of Dieu-Thao Duong, were the Omaha artists invited to collaborate with Wood in May 2023.

Choreography: Dieu-Thao Duong

Dancers: Erin Brandt, Rachel Tobin, & Maria Reyes Vazquez

Photography courtesy of : Ben Semisch