Psophonia Taking Flight

Psophonia Spreads Its Wings on Memorial Day Weekend

Change is inevitable.

As a result, so is adaptation. – “It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change,” someone paraphrasing Darwin once wrote.

Psophnia’s latest production, “Taking Flight”, premieres March 24 and 25 at City Dance Studio’s new location on West Clay. Inspired by dreams of flight, the feelings of becoming airborne, and avian biology and imagery, it examines this propensity for survival via adaptation.

“Many of the works are a metaphor for changes that I am going through artistically and personally,” says artistic director, Sophia Torres.

There’s been some internal regrouping during the year since Psophonia last performed in Houston. Torres previously spent over a decade choreographing and co-directing the company with Sonia Noriega. For 15-year-old dance ensembles like Psophonia, when changes inevitably occur, the organism adapts. It’s a matter of survival. Now entirely at the helm of the company, Torres is piloting “Taking Flight”solo.

On the Ground

What has not changed is the insuppressible curiosity of Torres. Fascinated by human response to changes both near and far, or out of our control, Torres says the themes of “Taking Flight” germinated with Ground Swell, a work initially created for her University of Houston students. She wanted to know “how do small changes lead to bigger changes and then all of sudden become these waves of change?”

Creating Ground Swell during the fall semester for a Spring faculty performance allowed Torres to take a step back from the piece. Upon seeing it again with fresh eyes, with the addition of elements like lighting design, and being in the midst of new work with Psophonia, themes began to emerge in the work Torres had not anticipated. “I realized they looked like the birds you find that are fighting the current to get out of the oil [after a spill],” she explains. Recognizing the connection between Ground Swell and her new work, she brought it to her professional company. Though the student version premiered with two men, Torres affirms that only subtle permutation of Ground Swell was necessary for the athletic, all-female company members of Psophonia.

Preparing for Lift Off

Among Torres’ new work for the company is Adjustments in Flight, the rough draft of which appeared earlier this year in “Venturing Out”,an informal performance series presented by fellow Houston choreographer, jhon r. stronks.

“I think in this one, the bird images are more evident,” says Torres. “There is nesting imagery and the movement feels more birdlike with quick maneuvers in flying.” She was listening to NPR around the time she began the work and learned of a study done on cliff swallows which suggests that over the relatively short span of 30 years, the birds have physically adapted to their new and often lethal proximity to highway traffic by developing a slightly shorter wingspan that makes dodging between and around vehicles easier. The story and the scientific term, morphology, captivated Torres. “I thought, you know, people do that. I was interested in our success rate. How fast can we change or shift?”

Suspension

Minute adjustment is also a thematic current running through Falling While Waiting, a work that’s “fresh as paint,” as Torres amusingly describes it and inspired by, of all things, fly fishing.

“I do not fish. I am not quiet enough. I am not patient enough,” insists Torres. “I like the idea of someone going out into the water knowing that they could fall. And of this moment, this relationship, this interaction with nature and with fish; the waves pushing against the body, trying to maintain balance while wearing this big suit, to stay focused and cast your line, and catch something.”

It is from this that Torres threw her dancers into experimentation with falling, a conveyance that Torres sees as a distinct element of flight. As a result of this study, the work features quite a bit of partnering. “It seems when I try to set partnering it becomes very muscular instead of having this more natural flow,” explains Torres, “so the partnering starts in an improvisational mode until it finds its way into some easy moments.” It is these moments that have been set in the piece which Torres describes as having a quality of impatience; “waiting for that moment of unexpectedness that can occur in a relationship.”

Ascension

To close the program, Torres elected to revive The Cranes are Flying, a work originally created for “Rip in the Atmosphere” (2011) and performed on the Big Range Dance Festival stage. Beginning as a solo, the work recalls the ancient art of origami and is based on the Japanese legend that if a person folds 1000 paper cranes, she is granted a wish. Unique and handcrafted paper skirts are worn by the dancers, a costuming challenge that Torres took upon herself after seeing an exhibit on paper clothing at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft. She describes the piece as sculptural and somewhat surreal. “The paper cranes bring healing and hope. I love that you can hear the sound of paper as the dancers move.”

Visually, “Taking Flight” will soar from a dark, grungy place to one of light with the help of Psophonia’s lighting designer and collaborator, Edgar Guajardo. Of the intimacy of the space at City Dance Studio’s converted warehouse and the Memorial Day weekend performance slot, Torres says she’s “up for the challenge.” She hopes you are too and will spend some of your holiday airborne with Psophonia.

“Taking Flight” ascends Friday and Saturday, May 24-25 at 8pm at City Dance Studio, 1307 W. Clay Street. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. To purchase tickets, visit  www.psophonia.com or call 713-802-1181.ext. 4.