Psophonia Dance Company

Psophonia's Vision

PDC is committed to building a reputable dance company by steadily developing signature works that can be easily recognized as PDC productions. The Artistic Directors of PDC have always looked toward world-renowned dance companies such as Mark Morris, Alvin Ailey and Bill T. Jones-Arne Zane to set the standard for which Psophonia seeks to operate artistically. Psophonia is striving to become one of Houston's premier dance companies and develop an audience that will recognize, appreciate, and support contemporary dance. PDC also seeks to remain artistically supple by working with noted choreographers (such as Guggenheim recipient, Stephan Koplowitz), attending dance festivals, forging collaborations with other artists, and teaching classes.

In addition to its own artistic endeavors, PDC is committed to ensuring that future generations of students have the opportunity to experience the arts as an essential part of their education. PDC has developed arts in education performances, the In-School Residency Program, and provided special performances for at-risk and underserved populations. Through these programs, Psophonia is striving to make dance accessible to economically disadvantaged children thereby instilling in them an appreciation for the arts and developing future art supporters. Psophonia has been able to reach more than 2000 children who do not have access to aesthetic experiences.

Equally important objects in the vision for Psophonia include: contracting dancers and administrative staff, providing and expanding the educational outreach programs to multiple schools and hospitals, and cementing a solid infrastructure through board development, fundraising, and long range business planning.

A Brief History of Psophonia

Psophonia Dance Company is a non-profit arts organization dedicated to enriching the lives of our communities by creating and presenting dances that will entertain, intrigue, delight, and educate audiences of all ages. We accomplish this goal by producing seasonal concerts that are open to the public and providing education outreach programs that are specifically tailored for the children in our community.

Founded in 1998 by Sonia Noriega and Sophia L. Torres, Psophonia Dance Company (pronounced so-fon-í-a) was first commissioned to produce a work for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Sculpture Garden and shortly after jump-started the company with their first concert, P.S.I. (Personal Space Invasion) at Diverseworks Artspace. One of Houston’s most promising modern dance companies, Psophonia is known for its ability to engage the audience on a truly unique level, by re-examining and transforming everyday objects—including tires, mattresses, and parachutes—to move the audience from the point of recognition to the point of discovery and infinite possibility. Combining artful, innovative, contemporary dance with a distinctively theatrical twist on the ordinary, Psophonia strives to bring contemporary dance to the forefront.

Initially, Psophonia performed on split bill concerts with other local dance companies, however, since 2000 PDC has self produced eight full concerts. As one of Houston’s first local dance companies to premiere at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts (HCPA), PDC is recognized as an HCPA Uniquely Houston founding member. Psophonia has premiered User Friendly, Eye Control, Phantasia: An Otherworldly Destination and Phantasia: Journey to the Other Side in Zilkha Hall. In 2005, PDC collaborated with the Doctor’s Orchestra of Houston to create Scenes from a Doctor’s Life for a performance in Cullen Hall at the Wortham Theater.

Psophonia has contributed to Houston’s dance community through participation in Dancers in Motion Against Breast Cancer, Big Range Dance Festival, and Dance Houston. Psophonia participated as a featured company in the University of Houston’s Distance Education Course titled Choreography in Action. Psophonia’s performance is part of the student syllabus that focuses on elements of choreography. PDC has also performed in A Weekend of Texas Contemporary Dance at Miller Outdoor Theatre, Dance Month and Texas Tanz at the Jewish Community Center and Houston’s Theater District Open House at HCPA. Since 2001, PDC has received five grants from Cultural Arts Council of Houston/Harris County, two Houston Endowment, Inc. grants and two corporate grants to encourage the growth of arts in the community.

PDC is committed to presenting quality arts in education programming to the children in our community. Since 1999, Psophonia has used dance as the catalyst to promote positive self-expression and creativity within an academic framework. Through partnerships developed with Young Audiences of Houston and the Harris County Department of Education, Psophonia has provided in school residencies and performances to a number of disadvantaged students in Houston and Harris County. In 2005, Psophonia conducted seven in-school residencies and presented their first student matinee at HCPA for over 800 students. Through these educational outreach programs, PDC has served over 2500 children in the Houston, Friendswood, North Forest, Spring Branch, and Pasadena School Districts. It is our goal to continue to provide and expand such programs so that future generations of dancers and dance lovers have the opportunity to experience the performing arts.