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Jason Akira Somma
2008/2009 Dance Protégé
Published in 2009
American artist Jason Akira Somma, 29, merges dance and the visual arts in a highly imaginative way. The dancer-choreographer-film-maker-photographer came to New York in 2002 with a fine arts degree in dance and choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University, and has since earned a reputation as a prodigious talent.
He has performed at iconic New York venues BAM and Dance Theater Workshop, and his film and photographic work have been shown on the Independent Film and Sundance Channels, in the New York Times and at P.S. 1 (MoMA). Somma has recently been commissioned by the moves festival in the U.K. and the Lyon Opera Ballet, and is collaborating with Jiří Kylián on a dance creation celebrating Nederlands Dans Theater’s 50th anniversary.
At the same time, Somma is moving dance from the stage to gallery spaces. “Dancers require the same respect as visual artists,” he says.