Cristina Duque is a scenic artist who began her studies at the age of thirteen in Quito, Ecuador. She attended several independent theater schools, focusing on Clown, Dramatic Theater, Gestural Theater, Body Theater, and World Traditional Theater.
Cristina’s innate interest in traditional performance began at an early age when she became an active dancer in popular festivals in her country. This experience led her to explore new dances across Latin America. She has been a member of several theater ensembles and contemporary dance groups and has also performed as a chorus singer in various musical groups in Ecuador.
Cristina has worked with international artistic groups as both an actress and dancer, broadening her global perspective on scenic art and its research as a unique language. Her art is characterized by her multitalented approach, with her personal work and artistic proposals being inspired by traditional artistic expressions, which she translates into a contemporary language.
She has also produced several cultural events and performances that have been successful by national and international standards. These projects have been featured in the press and promoted through cultural relations departments in various embassies and local governments.
During her time in Indonesia, Cristina has immersed herself in studying Indonesian culture, dances, and languages. She has learned dances from Sunda and Sumatra and is now focused on Javanese culture, researching the Javanese alphabet (Aksara Jawa), the dances of Yogyakarta and Surakarta, and Wayang Orang, a traditional dance theater involving dialogue, scripts, gamelan music, and theater. Concurrently, she continues to develop her proposals in contemporary dance and film as a choreographer, producer, and dancer.
Cristina has collaborated with artists from Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, Brazil, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, and Australia, and has directed projects that unite artists from Asia and the Americas.
She completed her master’s degree in dance, and her current goal is to continue creating art that bridges Indonesia and Ecuador, focusing on issues of gender and postcolonialism in dance. She has been a member of the UNESCO International Dance Council since 2021.