Image by Andres Linares

Xilopango is a contemporary dance-theatre work by Salvadorian-Canadian-Chinteña choreographer Irma Villafuerte, performed by a five-person ensemble. This powerful piece explores intergenerational memory, migration, and matrilineal resilience through a Central American contemporary dance lens.

Named after Lake Ilopango—one of  Kuskatan’s (El Salvador) most powerful volcanic calderas — Xilopango draws from six years of land-based research and personal history. Its choreography captures the intensity of eruption, implosion, and transformation, reflecting the seismic impact of war, colonization, and exile on familial relationships. The narrative traces four generations of women in Villafuerte’s lineage—her great-grandmother, grandmother, mother, and herself—each defined by resistance, survival, and migration.

Integrating personal ritual, historical memory, and ancestral connection, Xilopango is an embodied act of remembrance. It invites audiences to bear witness to the echoes of lives shaped by displacement and resilience, offering a space to honour the disappeared and reclaim fractured histories.

*The August 16th performance of Xilopango will be followed by a brief, ASL-interpreted post-show Q&A.

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Xilopango is presented in alignment with Je ne vais pas inonder la mer.

Witness the captivating Latin American female choreographic voices of Irma Villafuerte (El Salvador/TO) and Sonia Bustos (México/MTL). Rooted in feminist perspectives, ancestral memory, and the cultural history and vitality of their respective lands, this unique pairing of performances immerses audiences in evocative soundscapes that move the earth beneath your feet. Through embodied rituals that invite you to unravel, lament, and release, Villafuerte’s Xilopango and Bustos’ Je ne vais pas inonder la mer explore themes of grief and matrilineal loss across generations. — Dedra McDermott, Co-Executive Artistic Producer, DanceWorks

Concept, Choreographer, Director: Irma Villafuerte
Creative Mentor, Dramaturg: Alejandro Ronceria
Research Assistant: Emilie Jabouin
Performers: Irma Villafuerte, Victoria Mata, Nickeshia Garrick, Siwar Soria & Jessica Zepeda
Lighting Designer: Sebastián Marziali
Costume Designer: Abi Cudjoe
Musical Director and Composer: David Ariza
Technical Designer, Consultant: Omar Rivero / Driftnote
Stage Manager: Jillia Cato

Curated by Dedra McDermott