rocío sánchez: Monarch Butterfly

Saturday, June 27th at 8pm, ISSUE Project Room presents Monarch Butterfly by 2026 Artist-In-Residence rocío sánchez featuring Melissa Almaguer (tap dance and percussion) and Kenneth Jiménez (double bass). Together, the trio explores the elusive monarch’s migratory journey through sound and movement, with each instrument articulating distinct states of motion.

Drawing from close observation and sketching of monarch flight patterns, sánchez developed a score in which the sounds gradually emerge, echoing the increased activity of the butterflies in warmer weather. As rising spring temperatures prompt northward migration from wintering grounds in Mexico, the performance similarly expands in density and proximity: gestures gather, overlap, and eventually, recede.

At once a study of collective movement and a response to a species under threat, Monarch Butterfly examines the fragile rhythms of the monarch’s lifecycle through an evolving, interdependent ensemble.