New York Theatre Barn's Choreography Lab to Present Virtual Presentation of Maria Torres' SOL EL BARRIO

New York Theatre Barn will present a virtual presentation of the company's Choreography Lab featuring Maria Torres' Sol of El Barrio on June 30th, 2022 at 7PM on the company's YouTube channel. This lab is produced in conjunction with Maria Torres Emerging Artists Foundation, co-founded by award winning actress Vanessa Williams, John O'Connor and Maria Torres. Filmed last month at Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater in New York City before a live audience, this is a benefit for New York Theatre Barn.

Mentored by Maria Torres (Enchanted, On Your Feet!, Swing!, El Cantante, So You Think You Can Dance), the featured choreographers include William Ervin and Nathalia Raigosa. Each choreographer created a piece that was filmed twice by Full Out Creative, the second time after receiving feedback from Torres. The featured dancers are Justin Bowen, Spencer Everett, Héctor Flores Jr., Iva Iordanova, Andrés Felipe Molano, Nathalia Raigosa, and Ximena Salgado, and the songs included are "Imagenes Latina" by Oscar Hernandez and "Dreaming in Lions: How I Love" by Arturo O'Farrill.

Through a partnership with Jacob's Pillow and featured in the presentation, Torres offered both Ervin and Raigosa full scholarships to participate in the 90th anniversary of the Jacob's Pillow season. Jacob's Pillow's brand new Dance-Theatre Afro-Latin Immersion program, curated and spearheaded by Maria Torres, will assemble a diverse ensemble of 24 dancers for a unique residency concluding with live performance opportunities.

The presentation is curated and executive produced by Avital Asuleen, and Héctor Flores Jr. is the associate producer. Now in its 9th season, New York Theatre Barn's Choreography Lab is the only platform for choreographers and writers to collaborate on movement for new musicals during incubation. Funded in part by a generous gift from the Amber Foundation, the Choreography Lab was created to elevate and expand the use of dance in musical theatre.