Merián Soto Performance Practice
Merián Soto is one of the Founding Artistic Directors of Pepatián, the Bronx-based, multi-disciplinary Latino arts organization. In that capacity, she developed, curated and produced numerous projects featuring new works by emerging Latino dance and performance artists.
Bessie Award winner Merián Soto's work has been presented across the US and internationally since the mid '80s. She is Associate Professor and MFA Coordinator of the Department of Dance at the Esther Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University.Merián Soto is a PennPAT Roster Artist
"I want us to remember that we are nature..." -Merián Soto
Renowned choreographer Merián Soto presents the culmination of her 7-year Branch Dance Series with the monumental SoMoS, bridging nature and the urban landscape, in the North Philadelphia barrio on October 12, 2012, as part of Taller Puertorriqueño’s free performance series, Café Under the Stars: Spotlighting the Arts in El Barrio
The culmination of choreographer Merián Soto's Branch Dance Series, SoMoS is a large scale event, with three geodesic tents transformed into performance spaces. Seasonal video- and audio-scapes are projected on and about dancers performing the hypnotic, transfixing branch dances—an intensely intimate dance that follows the gravity and shifting balance of nature. Large shadows of the dancers are projected against the walls of the tents. Visible from the outside, these artful shadows create their own performance experience and yet another viewpoint for audiences. The fourth performance space will be the outdoors, with giant video projections of nature in extreme close-up upon the walls of adjoining buildings.
This performance spectacle, a sensory enchantment under the night sky, promises to rekindle the audience's connection to nature. A free event, audiences explore the performance areas at their own pace, to allow their senses to be transported into a completely different environment. SoMoS aims to bring the audience en masse into an experience akin to a dream, a reverie on nature and our physical connection to it.
Starring: Olive Prince, Jumatatu Poe, Marion Ramírez, Beau Hancock, and Jung Woong Kim.
Merián Soto's Branch Dances... don't just do away with traditional notions of performance, they reorganize whole landscapes. -Killian Kroll, thINKingDANCE
Photo: Lindsay Browning
Photo: Merián Soto
For More Information about SoMoS and Branch Dancing Visit Branch Dances Blog
Interviews with the creative team behind SoMoS by Josh McIlvain :
What is SoMoS?
When and Where is Somos? Tickets?
Fri. Oct 12.
Two performances: 7:15 & 9PM
The parking lot on 5th & Huntingdon Streets, Philadelphia 19133
SoMoS is a free performance. You will not need a ticket to attend.
What else should I know about SoMoS?
SoMoS
Directions
Driving: From Center city Philadelphia drive North on 5th Street until you reach Huntingdon St. The parking lot will be on your left. There is ample free parking available.
Public Trasportation: Take the Broad Street Subway northbound to Lehigh. Transfer to the 54 Bus headed east. Get off at 5th street. Walk half a block south. The parking lot will be on your right.
