“I want to bring the outside inside.” —Merián Soto

Enter a space of reverie where performers dance with branches as long as 20 feet. A massive video installation projects nature in extreme close-up covering walls, dancers, branches, and the audience in snowstorms, wind-blown leaves, and moving water. The interplay between video and dancers produces fantastical shadows that frame the abstract images of the natural world. Size and perspective morph in relation to shadow and light, and—like a hall of mirrors—everything becomes reflective.

Amid a hypnotic soundscape, dancers ever-so-slowly shift their bodies to accommodate the shifting balance of the massive branches. A sense of danger enshrouds the room, as the precarious symmetry of dancer and branch—despite their gentle beauty—is forever on the precipice of destruction. Postcards from the Woods continues Merián Soto's States of Gravity & Light series which has included the Wissahickon Park Project (performed throughout the park) and States of Gravity & Light, Vol. 2 (2007 Live Arts Festival).

Merián Soto is an award-winning Philadelphia-based choreographer who has been creating and presenting critically acclaimed work internationally for more than 30 years.

“Quite beautiful.” —Janet Anderson, Philadelphia City Paper

Direction: Merián Soto Lighting Design: Dave Overcamp Set Design: Hiroshi Iwasaki Collaborators/Performers: Jumatatu Poe, Olive Prince, Noemí Segarra

This show does not have traditional seating. Audiences move about the venue during the performance.

Read Festival blog articles about this show by clicking here, and follow the work's progression on Merián Soto's own blog http://branchdances.blogspot.com.

Merián Soto (choreographer) is an award-winning Philadelphia-based choreographer who has been creating and presenting critically acclaimed work (inter)nationally for more than 30 years. Her full-evening interdisciplinary collaborations with visual artist Pepón Osorio such as Historias (1992) and Familias (1995) were hailed as models for works created with communities. Works such as Así se Baila un Son (1999) and La Máquina del Tiempo (2004) are at the vanguard of choreography involving salsa. Soto was awarded a New York Dance and Performance Award for Sustained Achievement in 2000. Last year she was awarded a Greater Philadelphia Dance and Physical Theater Award ROCKY for her One Year Wissahickon Park Project. Soto is an associate professor at the Esther Boyer College of Music & Dance at Temple University and a PennPAT roster artist.

Jumatatu Poe (dancer), a California native, is an alum of Swarthmore College and a graduate of the MFA program at Temple University. Jumatatu has trained at Philadanco, Jacob’s Pillow, and Illadelph Legends Festivals. Jumatatu has performed the works of Charles Anderson, Oscar Araìz, Myra Bazell, Tania Isaac, Kun-Yang Lin, Merián Soto, Keith Thompson, Kate Watson-Wallace, and Kariamu Welsh (as a member of Kariamu & Company: Traditions), among others. In 2008, Jumatatu became one of the resident choreographers of Susan Hess Modern Dance’s Choreographers’ Project (Philadelphia). His choreography has been featured at Swarthmore College, Temple University, as well as the Philly Fringe, GLUE, and New Edge Mix festival series. His choreography has also been commissioned by Danse4Nia, Prince Music Theater, and New Jersey Governor’s School.

Olive Prince (dancer) is a dancer, educator, and artist. She completed her MFA in dance at Temple University in 2005. Prince has worked with Merián Soto/Performance Practice since 2007 and is presently a company member with Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers and Silvana Cardell Dance Theater. She has performed throughout Philadelphia and New York and toured internationally with Group Motion Dance Company. Her choreography has been presented and supported by the nEW Festival, Susan Hess Choreographer’s Project, and featured at the National American College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center, the International Contemporary Dance Conference, New Dance Alliance's Performance Mix Joyce Soho, and the CEC Resident Artist Series. Prince has taught and choreographed at many universities and is presently an assistant teaching professor at Drexel University.

Born in Puerto Rico, Noemí Segarra (dancer) began formal dance training with Nana Hudo, Awilda Sterling, and Petra Bravo. She became a member of Ballets de San Juan. In 1991 she moved to Caracas, Venezuela where she joined Danzahoy, a contemporary dance company. In 1994 she journeyed to New York to study new forms in dance, and earned her BA from Hunter College. In 1995 she joined Merián Soto and Pepatián as a company member and collaborator. She earned an MFA in dance from Temple University. Segarra taught at Temple University and Bryn Mawr College from 2005 until 2008. In fall 2009 she will be a professor at the University of Puerto Rico. She is grateful to her friend and mentor Merián Soto "who has allowed and advocated for my growth as a human, woman, artist, educator, and friend."