Wolves snap their jaws and arch low, preparing for the attack. But the deer they target is not simpering prey. It is brazen, bawdy, even taunting the wolves with a tilt of its antlers and a scuff of its hooves. A wolf lunges and is rebuffed. Another leaps and finds no purchase.
From the sidelines, exotic birds with brilliant ribbons woven in their wings look on as stunning silent witnesses.
This mesmerizing cabal of wild creatures is La Bestias Danzan or The Beast Dance, a puppet-beast ritual, dance, and story celebrating the role of the wolf in the natural ecosystem. On Jan. 20, interdisciplinary puppeteer troupe La Liga Teatro Elástico, founded by theatre artist and director Jacqueline Serafin and puppeteer and fabricator Iker Vincente, performed the show with six intricate puppets crafted from bamboo, metal, and found materials, at the National Museum of Mexican Art, as part of the Chicago International Puppet Festival.
Standing or seated on the
