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Monday, December 8, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Beginning a New Journey
Beginning a new journey is never easy and like most journeys, this one actually started in 2006 with a Teaching Artist Fellowship Award from Montalvo Arts Center. I was 1 of a team of 4 teaching artsts in the country handpicked to create and impliment a new art based program in partnership with Montalvo and Downtown College Prepatory High School. Wow! At that time I was so excited about receiving the award, but really had no idea what to expect and how the residency would shape up. Initially, we had 1 week of intense group discussions with all the parties involved about what the pilot project could actually look like. We dreamed big without limits - way beyond what was really possible in the amount of time each artist would have while there. But isn't that the best part?
Then the work began. Carol Ponders, Teaching Artist Fellow, spearheaded the program last fall with music immediately followed by Nilea Parvin with visual arts. Both of these artists created exciting collaborations with the students and were a wealth of knowledge as we meet once again in August to reshape, reevaluate and readjust what the needs were for the program. We made new friends and reconnected with old ones to get on the right track.
I've been passionate about working with kids in the schools through my art for some time now. I've seen first hand how art can inspire learning, compassion, curiosity, self-expression and just plain thinking outside the box. Daniel Kelin is there now working through theatre arts and my turn is just around the corner Through this blog, I hope to keep my Houston community up to date with my progress. This is the only the beginning.....
Sophia L. Torres
Then the work began. Carol Ponders, Teaching Artist Fellow, spearheaded the program last fall with music immediately followed by Nilea Parvin with visual arts. Both of these artists created exciting collaborations with the students and were a wealth of knowledge as we meet once again in August to reshape, reevaluate and readjust what the needs were for the program. We made new friends and reconnected with old ones to get on the right track.
I've been passionate about working with kids in the schools through my art for some time now. I've seen first hand how art can inspire learning, compassion, curiosity, self-expression and just plain thinking outside the box. Daniel Kelin is there now working through theatre arts and my turn is just around the corner Through this blog, I hope to keep my Houston community up to date with my progress. This is the only the beginning.....
Sophia L. Torres
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Houston Press Review of Moments in a Decade
Houston Press Review – June 26, 2008
Moments in a Decade It's been ten years since Sonia Noriega and Sophia L. Torres put together Psophonia Dance Company in hopes of making contemporary dance accessible to folks who don't think of themselves as, ahem, Modern Dance People. The success of their mission floated across the stage at Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex last weekend in Moments in a Decade, a program stitched together from pieces Noriega and Torres have created for the company over the years. The variety of dance was striking. Skinned, choreographed by Noriega, featured music by Cole Porter and fluid, loose-limbed, muscular moves from charming dancing clown Timothy Johnson. A more serious and poetic piece was Lightness & Darkness, choreographed by Torres, about the attraction of each to its opposite. This thoughtful, still dance emerged out of an enormous black-and-white circle of cloth that swept across the stage. With music by Jesse Manno, it felt as much like a prayer as a dance. In between these two extremes were fun pieces like Excerpt from Mazagines & Beat Selts, in which the dancers romped across the stage with mattresses, jumping on them like children, and the ironic How Sweet It Is! featuring music by Francis Scott Key. Taken as a whole, the program revealed a dance company that anyone could adore. — Lee Williams
Moments in a Decade It's been ten years since Sonia Noriega and Sophia L. Torres put together Psophonia Dance Company in hopes of making contemporary dance accessible to folks who don't think of themselves as, ahem, Modern Dance People. The success of their mission floated across the stage at Barnevelder Movement/Arts Complex last weekend in Moments in a Decade, a program stitched together from pieces Noriega and Torres have created for the company over the years. The variety of dance was striking. Skinned, choreographed by Noriega, featured music by Cole Porter and fluid, loose-limbed, muscular moves from charming dancing clown Timothy Johnson. A more serious and poetic piece was Lightness & Darkness, choreographed by Torres, about the attraction of each to its opposite. This thoughtful, still dance emerged out of an enormous black-and-white circle of cloth that swept across the stage. With music by Jesse Manno, it felt as much like a prayer as a dance. In between these two extremes were fun pieces like Excerpt from Mazagines & Beat Selts, in which the dancers romped across the stage with mattresses, jumping on them like children, and the ironic How Sweet It Is! featuring music by Francis Scott Key. Taken as a whole, the program revealed a dance company that anyone could adore. — Lee Williams
Cincy Fringe Review
CityBeat Fringe Coverage 2008
May 30, 2008
Review: Destination Fringe
Critic's Pick
Psophonia’s performance brings forth much modern dance bang for the buck. Led by co-artistic directors Sophia Torres and Sonia Noriega, this six-strong cast came all the way from Houston, packing a suitcase with eight distinct pieces. Call it a split between the light and quirky, heavy and dark, classic and pretty.
All choreography is provided between Torres and Noriega. In a feat of adaptation, the dancers shift moods from piece to piece as dramatically as our local weather changes from one moment to the next. They also seem equally at home with both traditional and off-the-wall works, whether they were balanced with legs extended far and wide or completely cocooned in reddish-pink full-body sacks.
Why the sacks? The piece is “Worms,” and sure enough a trio scoot themselves onstage and contort to the peppy sounds of War’s “Low Rider.” (Get it?) Unison moments brought to mind a vermi-exercise class. It’s a cute gimmick, whose duration stretches only to the brink of wearing thin.
“Bent” and “Broken Off,” both choreographed by Torres, bookend the hour-long program. Grace and technique are displayed in clean, full sweeps of limbs, prevalent balances and highly expressive output in the evening’s most intricate choreography.
A kinetic sense of urgency prevails in “Bent” with its drums-and-bass thumps, yet the quartet of dancers remains as lithe and agile as you please. Palms quiver, trace and smack the floor. Body rolls and ripples punctuate the non-stop action. Solos tear away from groups, only to be rejoined by the gang in short order.
I didn’t get a clear sense of the title’s significance — I thought of bent limbs, bent in the sense of being strange. But I felt there must have been a greater intention.
“Broken Off” also explores the individual’s existence within group dynamics. All clad in bright crimson, the five cling to and support one another literally and figuratively as they attempt to avoid precarious circumstances that are physical and emotional. Again, a sense of imminent danger hangs heavy in the atmosphere, tempered by some softness and comfort.
Emotional disturbances shine forth once again when Elizabeth Lucrezio finds herself alone in the “… Devil’s Playground” while she's simply washing her face before a mirror. Bathed in blood-red light, angst digs deep into her being as parts of her body become possessed, beyond her control. Then it was over and she resumed her toilette. Was it just a bad trip?
I was also befuddled by the title choice for the excerpt from Correspondence. Call me too literal, but only the large "god" hands on a video projection communicating in sign language with one another directly appeared to be in correspondence. I failed to see a strong sense of choreographic connection to the title or to the video.
Inspired by Torres’ 2-year-old daughter’s charming malapropisms, the oddly titled “Mazagines & Beat Selts” excerpt explores myriad ways to use — and playfully abuse — a pair of twin mattresses. First Torres alone, then Noriega and Lucrezio do anything and everything you’re not supposed to do with mattresses — except lie on them, as they do at the end. The women become playful as cubs, bouncing, jogging, rippling, rolling and crash-landing in a delightful romp. Oh, and this is set to the strains of Bach strings, an unexpected choice.
The program is rounded out by “Skinned,” an ambitious solo to Tom Waits’ growls, performed admirably by Timothy Johnson, and an excerpt from Phantasia 2007.
Though the company has been around for a decade, the dancers look remarkably young. (But dancers can seem ageless.) I suspect some of their movements might still have room to burgeon even beyond the clear technical skills on display.
Psophonia fills the space with their expansive energy and obvious commitment to movement from one piece into the next, however different each might be. During an earlier interview, Noriega told me, “If you don’t like one piece, just wait for the next one.” I’m glad they packed a mixed bag.
— Julie Mullins
May 30, 2008
Review: Destination Fringe
Critic's Pick
Psophonia’s performance brings forth much modern dance bang for the buck. Led by co-artistic directors Sophia Torres and Sonia Noriega, this six-strong cast came all the way from Houston, packing a suitcase with eight distinct pieces. Call it a split between the light and quirky, heavy and dark, classic and pretty.
All choreography is provided between Torres and Noriega. In a feat of adaptation, the dancers shift moods from piece to piece as dramatically as our local weather changes from one moment to the next. They also seem equally at home with both traditional and off-the-wall works, whether they were balanced with legs extended far and wide or completely cocooned in reddish-pink full-body sacks.
Why the sacks? The piece is “Worms,” and sure enough a trio scoot themselves onstage and contort to the peppy sounds of War’s “Low Rider.” (Get it?) Unison moments brought to mind a vermi-exercise class. It’s a cute gimmick, whose duration stretches only to the brink of wearing thin.
“Bent” and “Broken Off,” both choreographed by Torres, bookend the hour-long program. Grace and technique are displayed in clean, full sweeps of limbs, prevalent balances and highly expressive output in the evening’s most intricate choreography.
A kinetic sense of urgency prevails in “Bent” with its drums-and-bass thumps, yet the quartet of dancers remains as lithe and agile as you please. Palms quiver, trace and smack the floor. Body rolls and ripples punctuate the non-stop action. Solos tear away from groups, only to be rejoined by the gang in short order.
I didn’t get a clear sense of the title’s significance — I thought of bent limbs, bent in the sense of being strange. But I felt there must have been a greater intention.
“Broken Off” also explores the individual’s existence within group dynamics. All clad in bright crimson, the five cling to and support one another literally and figuratively as they attempt to avoid precarious circumstances that are physical and emotional. Again, a sense of imminent danger hangs heavy in the atmosphere, tempered by some softness and comfort.
Emotional disturbances shine forth once again when Elizabeth Lucrezio finds herself alone in the “… Devil’s Playground” while she's simply washing her face before a mirror. Bathed in blood-red light, angst digs deep into her being as parts of her body become possessed, beyond her control. Then it was over and she resumed her toilette. Was it just a bad trip?
I was also befuddled by the title choice for the excerpt from Correspondence. Call me too literal, but only the large "god" hands on a video projection communicating in sign language with one another directly appeared to be in correspondence. I failed to see a strong sense of choreographic connection to the title or to the video.
Inspired by Torres’ 2-year-old daughter’s charming malapropisms, the oddly titled “Mazagines & Beat Selts” excerpt explores myriad ways to use — and playfully abuse — a pair of twin mattresses. First Torres alone, then Noriega and Lucrezio do anything and everything you’re not supposed to do with mattresses — except lie on them, as they do at the end. The women become playful as cubs, bouncing, jogging, rippling, rolling and crash-landing in a delightful romp. Oh, and this is set to the strains of Bach strings, an unexpected choice.
The program is rounded out by “Skinned,” an ambitious solo to Tom Waits’ growls, performed admirably by Timothy Johnson, and an excerpt from Phantasia 2007.
Though the company has been around for a decade, the dancers look remarkably young. (But dancers can seem ageless.) I suspect some of their movements might still have room to burgeon even beyond the clear technical skills on display.
Psophonia fills the space with their expansive energy and obvious commitment to movement from one piece into the next, however different each might be. During an earlier interview, Noriega told me, “If you don’t like one piece, just wait for the next one.” I’m glad they packed a mixed bag.
— Julie Mullins
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