Rocío Sánchez: Monarch Butterfly

ISSUE Project Room celebrates the 20th Anniversary of its Artists-In-Residence (AIR) program throughout 2026 with performances by current residents and returning alumni. This anniversary season highlights AIRs whose work reflects the ongoing evolution of a much broader community of experimental artists who have helped shape ISSUE for over twenty years.

Saturday, June 27th at 8pm, ISSUE 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.