University of Iowa Dance Company (UIDC)

The Legend of the Pitch Lake Myth (2023)

Choreographed by: Kieron Dwayne Sargeant

This work is centered around one of the legendary myths of the Pitch Lake in Trinidad and Tobago. After winning a battle, the Chimas celebrated by creating a great feast of hummingbirds, and the tribe used the feathers to decorate themselves, forgetting that hummingbirds were the spirits of their ancestors. In punishment, the winged God's opened up the earth and summoned the Pitch Lake to swallow the village.

The Pitch Lake is found in southwest Trinidad in the village of La Brea. The lake produces hot asphalt, measures approximately one hundred acres (41 hectares), and is estimated to be two hundred and fifty feet (76 meters) deep in the center.

This work was created as way to foster diversity and inclusion by having students learn about Trinidad and Tobago and its historical narratives through physical embodiment.