Sonia Sanoja

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Sonia Sanoja
Born(1932-04-02)2 April 1932
Caracas, Venezuela
Died26 March 2017(2017-03-26) (aged 84)
Caracas, Venezuela
Occupation(s)Dancer, teacher, choreographer, poet
SpouseAlfredo Silva Estrada [es]
AwardsNational Dance Award [es] (1998)

Sonia Sanoja (2 April 1932 – 26 March 2017) was a Venezuelan dancer, teacher, choreographer, and poet, a pioneer of her country's dance scene in the 1950s and 60s, particularly in the area of contemporary dance.

Career[edit]

Sonia Sanoja was born in Caracas on 2 April 1932.[1] In 1946, she began her studies at the Ballet Chair of the Liceo Andrés Bello [es]. This had been founded a few months earlier by Argentine dancers Hery and Luz Thomson and Irish dancers David and Eva Gray, members of the Ballet Russe of Wassily de Basil who had settled in Venezuela after fleeing post-war Europe.[2]

In 1953, Sanoja entered the Grishka Holguín Dance Theater, where Venezuela's contemporary dance movement began. She subsequently went to study in France. Upon returning to Venezuela in 1961, she and Holguín created the Contemporary Dance Foundation. This was a platform for the development of the nation's nascent contemporary dance scene, and its association with the Museo de Bellas Artes of Caracas aided the process of integration with other arts.[3] In 1971, she founded the Sonia Sanoja Choreographic Art Company.[1][4] She created the project Contemporary Dance of Venezuela that, together with the Theater of Contemporary Dance, under the direction of Grishka Holguín, presented a diversified vision of contemporary dance and gave rise to the emergence of other experimental alternatives.[4]

She married poet Alfredo Silva Estrada [es] in 1960.[5]

Sanoja studied philosophy at the Central University of Venezuela. She received the National Dance Award [es] in 1998 for her artistic career and contributions to dance in Venezuela.[6]

In 2015, she was the subject of a tribute from Venezuela's National Experimental University of the Arts [es],[1][7] as well as a short film titled Lección de Danza.[8] In 2016 she returned to the stage with the project Amor amargo by Venezuelan choreographer Leyson Ponce, a work inspired by La hora menguada by Rómulo Gallegos. There she shared the stage with her great friend Graciela Henríquez, a fellow dancer and innovator.[9]

Sonia Sanoja died in Caracas on 26 March 2017 after a long struggle with cancer.[1][10]

Books[edit]

  • 1963: Duraciones visuales
  • 1971: A través de la danza
  • 1981: Tiempo secreto de Sonia Sanoja, with Miguel Acosta Saignes [es]
  • 1992: Bajo el signo de la danza, ISBN 9789800105665[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d "Falleció la bailarina venezolana Sonia Sanoja" [The Venezuelan Dancer Sonia Sanoja Dies]. El Universal (in Spanish). 27 March 2017. Archived from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  2. ^ Caminos del cuerpo: una visión de la danza escénica venezolana del sigo XX [Paths of the Body: A Vision of the Venezuelan Dance Scene of the 20th Century] (in Spanish). Institute Universitario de Danza. 2008. ISBN 9789806998070. Retrieved 29 August 2019 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ Robinson, Jacqueline (4 July 2013). Modern Dance in France (1920–1970): An Adventure. Routledge. p. 394. ISBN 9781134396788. Retrieved 29 August 2019 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ a b Paolillo, Carlos (January 2009). "Y ya van 60 años" [And It's Been 60 Years]. Danza Hoy (in Spanish). No. 82. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  5. ^ Borzacchini, Chefi (2005). "Nacer con una estrella" [Born With a Star]. Acercamientos a Alfredo Silva Estrada [Approaches to Alfredo Silva Estrada] (in Spanish). Andrés Bello Catholic University. p. 181. ISBN 9789806480339. Retrieved 29 August 2019 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ Rivas, Jorge (28 March 2017). "Sonia Sanoja iluminó la danza con su movimiento y poesía" [Sonia Sanoja Illuminated Dance with Her Movement and Poetry] (in Spanish). Government of Venezuela YVKE Mundial Radio. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Unearte rinde homenaje a la bailarina, coreógrafa y poetisa venezolana Sonia Sanoja" [Unearte Pays Tribute to the Venezuelan Dancer, Choreographer, and Poet Sonia Sanoja] (in Spanish). Ministry of University Education, Science, and Technology. 27 April 2015. Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Cortometraje 'Lección de Danza' rinde tributo a Sonia Sanoja" [Short Film 'Lección de Danza' Pays Tribute to Sonia Sanoja]. 800 Noticias (in Spanish). 29 April 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  9. ^ Rojas, Indira (29 March 2016). "Cuerpos hermanados: la danza de Sonia Sanoja y Graciela Henríquez" [Twin Bodies: The Dance of Sonia Sanoja and Graciela Henríquez]. El Universal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 March 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  10. ^ Sánchez, Luigi (27 March 2017). "Falleció a los 84 años la bailarina venezolana Sonia Sanoja" [Venezuelan Dancer Sonia Sanoja Dies at Age 84]. El Carabobeño (in Spanish). Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  11. ^ "Falleció la bailarina venezolana Sonia Sanoja" [Venezuelan Dancer Sonia Sanoja Dies]. Noticias Diarias (in Spanish). 24 May 2017. Archived from the original on 24 May 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
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