The Soraya Presents The World Premiere Of DIAVOLO: Existencia, 30 Years After The Northridge Earthquake

On January 17, 2024, DIAVOLO, Architecture in Motion, and The Soraya will present the world premiere of Existencia, a new work to commemorate the 30 years since the Northridge Earthquake struck California State University Northridge (CSUN), in 1994 — and event which was said to have been the worst natural disaster ever to hit a university campus in the United States.
 
Produced and commissioned by The Soraya, Existencia was conceived on behalf of the earthquake anniversary. Soraya Executive and Artistic Director Thor Steingraber invited DIAVOLO to create the work, marking the sixth collaboration between Steingraber and DIAVOLO Founder Jacques Heim.
 
The performance is a collaborative work featuring the cast of DIAVOLO performers, original musical score by and live stage performance by GRAMMY© Award-winning jazz drummer Antonio Sánchez and his wife, GRAMMY© Award nominee vocalist Thana Alexa, and aerial work choreographed by the vertical dance company BANDALOOP, performed by its founder Amelia Rudolph.
 
Existencia is an exploration of human resilience in the face of disaster, utilizing dance, aerial movement, music, and architectural design to share emotional themes and an uplifting story about disaster — and the human response. The performance will include collapsing towers, skateboard ramps and aerial choreography by Amelia Rudolph, whose dance company BANDALOOP, is well known for its vertical performances on buildings, cliffs and walls (St. Paul's Cathedral London, David Geffen Hall, Mickey Beach).

Much like the journey of the CSUN campus and surrounding communities following the 1994 earthquake, the loss and trauma of disaster turns to the important task of rebuilding, and in doing so, emerging stronger and better. And who better to tell this emotional story than DIAVOLO, the dance company that was based in the San Fernando Valley, on Parthenia Street, at the time the earthquake struck.

“When I considered this particular anniversary, I immediately reached out to DIAVOLO Artistic Director Jacques Heim who is one of the most creative individuals I know,” said Thor Steingraber, Executive and Artistic Director of The Soraya. “His personal relationship with the 1994 Northridge earthquake in many ways mirrors that of the beginnings of The Soraya which arose from the rubble created by that disaster. In that context, Existencia, is our collaboration with Jacques and DIAVOLO, and his creative team, that offers both hope and a sense of unity and resilience and create a road map to the future.”    

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