AURA Contemporary Ensemble & PSOPHONIA Dance Company COLONY

M E D I A    R E L E A S E

For Immediate Release                                                Contact: Sophia L. Torres

September 7, 2019                                                                           psophonia@gmail.com

AURA Contemporary Ensemble & PSOPHONIA Dance Company

COLONY

an exploration of our symbiotic relationship with honeybees through music and dance

Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston (MATCH)

Thursday October 10, 2019 – 8:00pm

Friday October 11, 2019 – 8:00pm

Saturday October 12, 2019 – 8:00pm

Tickets:  Student: $12 (with valid ID) 

Early Bird $15 (if purchase by September 30)

General Admission:  $20 (after September 30)

(Houston, TX) AURA Contemporary Ensemble and PSOPHONIA Dance Company present “Colony”, an evening length work that explores our symbiotic relationship with honeybees through music and dance. This program builds on the collaborative techniques cultivated by these ensembles in their March 2017 program, “Memory Web”, where musicians and dancers are thoroughly intertwined in the performance sharing the stage equally in their own symbiotic relationship.

Humans and bees have an interdependent relationship – if bees didn’t exist, neither would we. One-third of our global food supply would not be possible without bee pollination. Honeybees are essential in the production of fruits, vegetables, oilseed and livestock feed.

Disturbingly, honeybees have been dying at an alarming rate over the last decade. The current honeybee population is less than half of what it was after World War II, and honeybees continue to die at an economically unsustainable rate according to the US government.

To instill an interest and appreciation for honeybees and bring light to the impending crisis due to their decreasing population, AURA and PSOPHONIA will explore the inner life of a honeybee colony through music and dance.

“Colony” marks the fourth collaboration for AURA and PSOPHONIA and the second evening length work. With each collaboration, the integration of music and dance is the driving force towards creating a shared experience.

ARTISTS:

Sophia Torres, choreography

Rob Smith, music direction

Keith Epperson, set design

Edgar Guajardo, lighting design

MUSIC:

Silver Threads (2011) – Jacob Cooper (b.1980)

Wax and Wire (2014) – Viet Cuong (b.1990)

Postcards from Wyoming (2017) – Stacy Garrop (b.1970)

Un Lieu Verdoyant (1999) – Philippe Leroux (b.1959)

Tight Sweater (2005) – Marc Mellits (b.1966)

Fractured Mirrors (2005) – Nicholas Scherzinger (b.1968)

AURA is: Andrea Benabent (piano), Ed Harper (cello), Paul Kasperitis (percussion), Jeremy Larson (piano), Shannon Murray (soprano), Claire Niederberger (violin), Ellie Parker (saxophones), Jason Russo (clarinets), & Katherine Velasquez (flutes).

PSOPHONIA is: Ashley Boykin, Adam Castaneda, Vi Dieu, Melissa Juneau, Tory Pierce, Lysette Portano Marmolejo, Arielle Tesia Rojas, Jessica Figueroa, Allyson Loving, Elyssa Vega, & Lizzy Woodson.

This program is supported by a generous grant from the University of Houston Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts.

Press interviews and photos are available upon request.

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Additional Sites: www.uh.edu/aura, https://matchouston.org/events/2019/colony, https://www.youtube.com/user/psophonia10, https://www.facebook.com/AURAUH, https://twitter.com/psophonia, https://www.instagram.com/psophonia/, https://www.instagram.com/aura_uh