ALICE SOTO

ARTographie. Artist-Researcher-Pedagogue

Graduate in the Higher Conservatory of Dance of the Barcelona Theater Institute in Choreography and Performance (1992), c), completes her training in classical dance, contemporary dance and theater with great national and international teachers and taking advanced courses in contemporary dance at the School “The Place” (London). Between 1992 and 1994 she received a scholarship from the Generalitat of Catalonia to carry out postgraduate studies as a “Guest Student” at the prestigious University of Arts, Folkwang Dance Studio, Essen, Germany, under the artistic direction of Pina Bausch.

One of the most decisive milestones for her in her leap from dancer to choreographer was the success in 1990 of her first professional choreography at the “Marathon of the Spectacle” Festival at the Mercat de les Flors, Barcelona, which obtained an excellent review in the newspaper La Vanguardia.

In 1994 he co-founded the company Hojarasca Dance-Theater in Burgos (Spain) and, later in 2000, he assumed the artistic and choreographic direction of the company alone, changing its name to Alicia Soto-Leaf Litter. As director, Alicia Soto has created more than 30 shows, 2 media-dance video creations and 3 dance videos.

In 2014 she became a Researcher GECAPA, Study Office of the University of Lisbon, Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia and in 2017 he joined as a member of the Max Awards Jury, National Awards for the Performing Arts of Spain, organized by the SGAE Foundation. At the same time, in 2016 it also joined as Delegate of the dance specialty of the Academy of Performing Arts of Spain, from where he collaborates in the editing and publication of III volumes on the history of contemporary dance in Spain, is the promoter of the book edition Poetics of Creation (2022) and directs and coordinates 15 Dance Dialogues, a meeting between two choreographers from different dance specialties, with the public, about the creative process of the choreographer.

Critics highlight that his creation is original and open about an encounter between dance and theater, based on dramaturgy, often using multimedia and new technologies in a continuous search for the language of dance in creations based on transdisciplinarity. Alicia Soto has developed very personal performing forms, promoting the poetic fusion of performative languages, involving the community and promoting the formation of a broad and eclectic audience with her creations.

Throughout her career, Alicia Soto has carried out a tireless work of disseminating dance both inside and outside Spain. The idea of the regenerative and reconstructive capacity of this art and its value as a tool for inclusion, tolerance and for motor development and physical and mental well-being, has guided both its creative production and the implementation of activities, talks and projects. pedagogical. Following this philosophy, it is worth highlighting her participation in different non-profit initiatives as a teacher in different countries such as Portugal, Morocco, Senegal and, of course, Spain.

 

Pedagogical project in rural areas

Her work to publicize contemporary dance and promote culture in rural areas is another of Alicia Soto's most important facets. It was a resident artistic company in small towns such as Sasamón, Burgos (1994-2005) or Serrada, Valladolid (2005-2014).

In 2023, an ambitious project was launched, A step forward, in which more than 30 activities were organized in 12 municipalities of Valladolid around the language of contemporary and urban dance, movement arts and technology.

Press reviews

Source: The advance of Segovia. Manuel Sesma. November 18, 2002

….“The bet, the risk and the commitment of Hojarasca Danza with this show well deserve attention. His vision of dance as a disturbing element must be taken into account as a contribution of great creative and cultural interest”…

Source: Region 7. November 2004

…A good vertical dance show that makes this axis of Mediterranean tradition reappear, yes, served with a contemporary conception and with a desire to address all audiences, including young people.

Source: The North of Castilla. September 27, 2005. EFE Agency

…Triumph in Cairo with a great ovation from the public.

Source: Artez Magazine. January 2006 by Khaled Salem (Cairo). Cairo International Experimental Theater Festival.

“Wonderful La Mujer de la Sinmemoria by the Hojarasca Danza de Burgos company, which filled the halls during its two performances despite the language barrier….

Source: The Advance of Salamanca. June 26, 2005. First International Festival of the Arts of CyL Salamanca.

No one was left indifferent... it surprised, and a lot,... Hojarasca's proposal was quite separated from the traditional canons of dance... In La Mujer de la Sinmemoria she combined dance with image, sound and word..., through her shamelessly innovative and groundbreaking choreographies, its capacity for the communion of different artistic formats...

Source: Valladolid newspaper “Hatred and despair in the Mirror”. Carlos Toquero. 04-22-07

….” Leaf Storm is more courageous, and if it is more noticeable it is because it is difficult to manipulate a speech as clairvoyant as Houllebecq. In addition, Desire surpasses all stage works that have been carried out in this Community in recent times, and can rub shoulders with great European dance works......

Source: Le Figaro. November 2008. Paris

…The Alicia Soto-Hojarasca company left a fabulous taste in the mouth with the show “In Vino Veritas” to a large audience, resoundingly pleasant and with great palates.

Source: ABC of Seville. Julia Amezua. June 02, 2008

"Extraordinary Show" The opening scene of the farmer with the appearance of Bacchus, who connects to the four drippers, while the heart beats with force, is extraordinary... it is a cohesive show, with rhythm and communicates an enormous tide of sensations, an enjoyment for the senses.

Source: Fernando Herrero. Northern Castile. January 24, 2010 “2 or 3 questions”

“Attention Points” Alicia Soto and Hojarasca dance are always looking for new aesthetics, different experiences. It is also remarkable the contrast with the projected figures, which sometimes appear images from Bosch. Extraordinary the one that closes the show...

Source: Julio Castro – laRepúblicaCultural.es Published on Saturday, December 18, 2010

Alicia Soto seeks innovation, new challenges at different levels of art. A surprising, imaginative work, very parallel and balanced between the scene and the projection, but above all, between the concept of the structures of her image and the message she transmits at every moment and each format of your work. Yes, it really is different.

Source: By Isaac Macho, 2014 The Synod of Silence Tam-Tam Press / May 25, 2014

Crazy chronicle about the original show by Alicia Soto-Hojarasca in the cloister of the Colegio de San Gregorio National Museum, which combines the architecture of the place, banda music and contemporary dance... The protagonists offer the most brilliant moments of the act creating an intimate relationship between the body, the architectural space and the spectators…..”

Source: Cristina de Lucas, academic of the performing arts and critic of the London magazine Bachtrack. Published in the AAEE magazine number, March 2021 page 58-60.

The subtle narrative thread that sustains the work builds a story of liberation that alternates rage and serenity, challenge and despair, sensuality and anguish. Despite the powerful dramatic charge, the general tone is not emphatic, complaining or violent, but rather introspective and even hopeful at times. (...) The choreography created by Soto as a vehicle for such deep and suggestive reflection includes powerful images and symbols. Raised fists sometimes hint at a desire for revenge, sometimes suggest impotence, and sometimes visualize inner turmoil.

en_USEnglish