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CATCHING UP WITH WORLD-CLASS CHOREOGRAPHER SONYA TAYEH WITH HER MOHAWK and copious tattoos, choreographer Sonya Tayeh might seem intimidating. But the most daunting thing about this down-toearth 33-year-old is the enormous talent that made her a household name when she became a popular guest judge and choreographer on the hit Fox show So You Think You Can Dance in 2008. While the show defines her dances as jazz, she prefers to describe her style as “combat jazz,” explaining that even when her compositions are love stories, they’re full of fighting and aggression. Indeed, Tayeh’s work is like nothing you’ve ever seen before— full of quirks and staccato movements able to provoke visceral reactions in TV audiences who may know nothing about the art form. One of her most memorable televised numbers was set to the wonderfully gothic Mirah song “The Garden.” It was a performance one of the show’s judges hailed for its “dark energy,” while another added, “If you lined up 12 choreographers and asked us which one did that, there’d be no doubt it was Sonya.” Tayeh counts inspirations as diverse as cartoon villains and superheroes and the strong bond between the late singer Jeff Buckley and his mother as her influences. And the latter are very much on her mind lately, as she recently choreographed a sold-out run of The Last Goodbye, a musical retelling of Romeo and Juliet focused around Buckley’s music that was produced by his mother. “Sometimes I feel like I’m in a vortex of dance,” she tells me over the phone from her home in L.A., where she’s preparing to choreograph a Miley Cyrus concert for MTV Europe. “I’m so immersed in it.” The child of Middle Eastern immigrants who settled in Detroit, Tayeh was raised in a religious Islamic household. But despite the conservatism such strict spiritual adherence implies, her mother, Arham, never discouraged Tayeh’s creative path. Rather, Tayeh recalls being a “happy, fearless” child who always felt loved and supported in her endeavors. “My mother is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever known,” she says. “[She taught me that] when I want to do something, as long as I can do it with integrity, I should do it.” [LEAH WELBORN]
20 / BUST // FEB/MAR
February 14 ANTI–VALENTINE’S DAY RIOT GRRRL COVER BAND SHOW Looking for something to do on Valentine’s Day that doesn’t involve cheesy cards and heartshaped boxes? How about singing along with tunes made famous by riot grrrls and girl-fronted groups at a great big cover-band show? For the Birds, a New York City– based feminist collective, is putting together an evening that will make you fall in love with your favorite songs all over again. Visit www.forthebirdscollective.org for all the details.
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Through March 14 “COUNTER SPACE” Taglined “Design and the Modern Kitchen,” this exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in N.Y.C. explores how mealtime technological innovations have shaped the cultural significance of the most popular room in the house. Completely composed of items from MoMa’s own collection, the show traces the history of the modern kitchen through design artifacts, film stills, and art pieces dubbed “Kitchen Sink Dramas.” To find out what else is cookin’, visit www.moma.org. March 24 – 27 L.A. WOMEN’S THEATRE FESTIVAL The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival has been putting on all-female shows since 1994. And this year, over 250 performance artists, singers, dancers, comedians, poets, and storytellers will come together for the event, including a series of solo performers who will take the stage each day of the festival to explore a daily theme. To learn about these one-woman shows and more, visit www.lawtf.com. [COMPILED BY LIBBY ZAY]
PHOTOGRAPHY: JUSTIN DANIEL
all the right moves
February 3 – 6 FROM AUCTION BLOCK TO HIP HOP This witty play by David Lamb, which is being showcased at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami, tells the story of a record-industry mogul who relies on stereotypes about women of color to make his money. Three ghosts from turning points in African-American history visit him: one from the beginning days of slavery, another experiencing apartheid, and the last going into the Obama presidency. Eventually, he comes to a crossroads and is forced to choose between fighting back or buying into a system that degrades women. Enlighten yourself with all the details at www.arshtcenter.org.