Ten years ago, dancer Daniela Galaz decided to change Breakdance for House, marking a before and after in the history of this musical genre in Chile. With her project VISCERAL she has managed to unite dancers, DJ’s and different members of the Chilean and Latin American electronic scene. Discover how he has taken his passion for dance to parties, classes and international meetings through energy and love for this style.
How did you get into dance and into this style in particular?
Since I was a little kid I wanted to breakdance but I never did it, until 2010 when I came to live in Santiago and started taking workshops and attending trainings with various break groups, that’s how I came to dance.
In 2013 I attended a free house dance workshop with a friend, to find out what it was about, and from then on I never let go.
It was like love at first sight….
Yes, I started researching about its history, watching documentaries. There were different classes and I tried all the options to choose who I would train with, apart from what I was studying and experiencing on my own.
I was grateful for the transition from break to house dance. From there, my way of going to electronic parties also changed completely.
Tell us a little bit more about that change
I started paying more attention to the music. What I was learning from house dance, I was taking to the dance floor, it gave me the freedom to play with 2 basic moves for 3 consecutive hours or more… playing with their directions, speeds, levels, etc… Everything started to make more sense to me, my body when dancing was no longer heavy, on the contrary, it floated, I felt the “state of flow”.
Eventually I began to recognize the DJ’s, I knew who was who, I approached them to thank them for the set and commented that I was a house dancer.
What did the DJs say to you when you told them you were a dancer?
Some of them knew about the dance and had seen videos but they didn’t think that anyone was interested in this dance in Chile, the reception was beautiful and they wanted to do things where there was more interaction between us.
The house dancers had no relationship with the club, I went out alone to dance to many clandestine or established locals, the DJs began to give me the possibility of inviting people, so I gradually began to take dancers, who I introduced to the DJs and today many are friends.
How was it that from these experiences your project Visceral was born?
The fullness on the dance floor could be shared through experience, not just by commenting, I wanted to share what I was living and feeling at the parties. I was not attracted to the training sessions between dancers on a rooftop with a flash drive in a speaker that always contained the same music, which generated the feeling that you were moving forward when the reality is that you already knew the songs by heart.
It was born from generating a daytime party instance, at the same time with a formative approach, in an intimate atmosphere between DJs and dancers. To give space to the performance of the dancer to a proposal of musical journey that reminds us of our ability to wonder, and also offers a different experience for DJs.
How would you define Visceral?
Visceral is union, it is an instance where dancers, DJs and VJs meet to enjoy and learn.
What was the first step for creating this project?
The first step was to call each of the people I had in mind to carry out the first Visceral, renting the venue and sound system, all this from Chillán, where I was living at the time.
Have you had the experience of dancing in other countries? How was it?
Yes, in Mendoza, it was great, I find it very valuable to share with dancers from other countries. I traveled to meet Ejoe Wilson, to take his class, in passing I was encouraged to enroll in the house battles in which Ejoe was the jury, I passed a filter of 76 people being among the best 17 without having experience in battles or much less interest in them, it was very exciting, especially that Ejoe came to thank me for my dance. His words and hugs gave me confidence, strength and energy to continue in this. The idea of being judged by a pioneer of house dance was amazing, and up to this day it’s an experience I treasure.
What was the first Visceral like?
The first Visceral had been on the shelf for at least a year waiting for the right moment to come out.
I had studied the DJs while they were mixing at parties, I knew their personalities and tastes and also that of the teachers I would call, I took the time to make an analysis of each d2b (alluding to b2b, but d for dance) all that was used to assemble the duo between teacher and DJ.
The schedule included a warm up, 4 teachers with their assigned DJs and closed with a party.
Each attendee was given the fanzine “Rave Ethics” by Catherine Hilgers among other prizes such as cassettes from Ayquerico Records.
Then you were able to organize the Latin American meeting of women of House Dance. How was that experience?
This arose in the middle of the Covid pandemic, I wanted to generate more ties with women who danced house, I was very focused on Chile, so I did not know much more.
I started a kind of digging and that’s how I reached dancers from Panama, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay and Colombia. I sent them an email, receiving positive responses from all of them.
Putting together the schedule was a bit complicated and very entertaining, due to the time differences.
Dancers and DJs from Chile joined us. The live transmission of the classes was through the IG of Visceral, it was all beautiful, impeccable logistics. This is how the first Latin American meeting of women of house dance online was born, a milestone.
How was the feedback from the people?
People had never experienced anything like this before, they were very happy to meet more house dancers from other countries, to have the possibility to take their classes and to network.
Would you like to organize a new online meeting?
Yes, it’s already set up. It’s just making it happen now.
After the pandemic were more connections made?
I feel that in the pandemic new connections were made, everything was done virtually, allowing for things that you could only achieve by traveling to other countries… classes, talks, battles, etc.
Dancers who escaped confinement by dabbling in the mix are now playing in clubs. I find it wonderful, I like to see the positive side of the pandemic.
What are your next steps?
My steps are focused on tranquility and the present, I currently live with my family in San Fabián, Ñuble.
I work doing house dance classes in town and in an online format (@bailahouseonline) I am also attending a theater workshop. I keep acquiring tools for my dance, like a scholarship I won at the end of last year that kept me traveling to Santiago more often.
People ask me when I will do another Visceral encounter, I have received messages from people waiting for the next time… I can only say that my present already drafted that Visceral session, it is in physical format, no performance date, nothing rushes me.
Click HERE to listen to the playlist Daniela made especially for South Plug, where you will find tracks to train, dance and share house!
