Agua Dulce

On May 17th at the Dance Parade Festival in NYC, Agua Dulce Dance Theater will present ‘grain of sand’ an outdoors movement piece exploring meditative group and partnering work with surprising spurts of energy.  Performed by:  Alicia Díaz, Matthew Thornton, Molly Galler, Chris Grant, Damon Honeycut, and Yarí Alcaraz.

AGUA DULCE DANCE THEATER is based in New York City, co-directed by Alicia Díaz and Matthew Thornton.  The repertory of the company includes:  grain of sand (2008), Prairie Dance (2007), Spirits Crossing Over Water (2007), Mar Adentro/The Sea Within (2006), House of Dreams (2005), La Orilla/The Shore (2002), and Yucuninu (2001).  Workshops and residencies include Kansas State University, International Dance Festival Danz Aquí (Puerto Rico), Andanza (Puerto Rico), Shaker Heights High School, and Hathaway Brown School.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT
As artists living and creating in an increasingly complex, demanding, and violent world, we turn to art as an opportunity to follow our imagination into alternate worlds where new possibilities can be constructed and inhabited.  With a wide range of influences including traditional modern dance, physical theater, Capoeria, Chi-Gung, Authentic Movement, popular dance forms, and improvisation, we aim to develop a movement vocabulary and aesthetic that reveal our unique relationship to the world we live in.  Our work is physically challenging, carries an emotional arc, and is intellectually engaging.  We cherish collaborations with other artists, choreographers, musicians, composers, and video artists. It is through this ongoing dialogue that we continue to investigate and develop our artistic vision.

ALICIA DIAZ, originally from Puerto Rico, is co-founder of Agua Dulce Dance Theater, with her husband, Matthew Thornton. Her choreography has been presented in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Cuba, Argentina, and Spain.  Díaz holds an M.A. in Dance and Choreography from NYU and a B.A. in Art, Culture and Society from the New School for Social Research. She has danced nationally and internationally with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Donald Byrd/The Group, Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theater, Andanza, Alice Farley Dance Theater, and Contemporary Motions, as well as numerous independent choreographers. In 1997, Díaz co-founded en la brega dance company with Puerto Rican dancer and choreographer Ñequi González, and she co-directed Rubí Theater Company from 2000-2004—a collective that produces plays and musicals addressing themes pertinent to Latino experiences in the U.S.  Díaz has been Visiting Lecturer/Artist at Hope College and will join the Kent State University faculty in Fall 2008 as Assistant Professor/Artist-in-Residence. 

CONTACT:  Alicia Díaz/Matthew Thornton

(917) 915-6262
190 W. 10th St. #4C
NYC, NY 10014