This week, The Watermill Center (TWC) welcomes its newest artists-in-residence: dancer and choreographer Yusha-Marie Sorzano and researcher and poet Zoë Hitzig. The new artists are the latest group to continue TWC’s hybrid residency program, with Sorzano working onsite at the East End campus, while Hitzig is working virtually from her home studio.
Sorzano’s residency marks the second year of YoungArts and TWC’s Mentorship Residency, launched last year in partnership between the Center and The National YoungArts Foundation (YoungArts). The program annually welcomes an alumnus from YoungArts to The Watermill Center for a residency to foster the ongoing growth and development of their artistic practice.
Originally from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Sorzano has been a member of Ailey II, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Morphoses, TU Dance, and BODYTRAFFIC. She has performed as a guest artist with LA Dance Project and is currently a member of Camille A. Brown & Dancers. As a choreographer, Sorzano has created works for The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Santa Barbara Dance Theater, New Century Dance Project, The Ailey School. She was a part of the creative team for NBC’s “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the recipient of The Alvin Ailey Foundations New Directions Choreography Fellowship and a National YoungArts Foundation Artist In Residence. She is currently a dance research fellow at the New York Public Library Performing Arts Division, Co-Artistic director of Zeitgeist Dance Theatre, a part of the creative team for “Jeannette: A New Musical,” and a faculty member at California Institute for the Arts.
Hitzig is a researcher and poet. She is the author of “Mezzanine” (Ecco/HarperCollins, 2020). Her poems have appeared in Paris Review, New Yorker, Lana Turner, London Review of Books, Harper’s and elsewhere. She has also written prose for magazines like BOMB, WIRED, New York Review of Books and Prac Crit. Born in New York, she currently lives in Massachusetts.
Both artists will be opening their studios to share their work with the public on Saturday, March 20, for In Process @ The Watermill Center. Presented as part of the Hamptons Arts Network Annual THAW Fest, In Process allows direct engagement between the community and TWC’s artists-in-residence in the midst of their residency, giving them the opportunity to present and receive feedback on their work, and continue the development process throughout the remainder of their stay. The program is free and will be live-streamed via Zoom and The Center’s Facebook page. For more information visit watermillcenter.org.
Staff Writer on Mar 1, 2021