Yusha-Marie Sorzano

"Art mirrors life. We must first learn to speak the language of dance but the stories we tell reflect the human condition —  we all understand this reality from birth."

Yusha-Marie Sorzano originally hails from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago (ask her about the silent "Y"). She received her primary instruction from New World School of the Arts, Thomas Armour Youth Ballet, and the Dance Theater of Harlem. In her senior year at New World, she received an award for outstanding choreography and was a National YoungArts Foundation award winner in dance. She went on to attend the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program and in her junior year was invited to join Ailey II.

As a dancer, Ms. Sorzano is always hungry to stretch her artistic boundaries by working with new companies and choreographers. She has been attached to a number of nationally recognized companies, including Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She has performed in principal roles with the Ailey company and in a wide variety of concert works, including works by noted choreographers Ulysses Dove, Maurice Béjart, Hofesh Shechter, Kyle Abraham, and Mauro Bigonzetti. Additionally, she has performed alongside recording artists, made film and television appearances, and danced in theater and opera.

As a creator, Ms. Sorzano has choreographed works for Santa Barbara Dance Theater and numerous schools and training programs, and she is currently working on a new piece that combines concert dance with an immersive audience experience. She served as a movement consultant to John Legend for NBC’s “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” and was part of the creative team curating promotional material for the live event. Ms. Sorzano was also the recipient of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s New Directions Choreography Lab in 2018 and was the National YoungArts Foundation’s 2019 Fall Dance Artist-In-Residence.

Ms. Sorzano is deeply passionate about the powerful role that educators play in the lives of young artists. As an instructor, she has had the pleasure of teaching at esteemed educational institutions and festivals around the world, from her native Trinidad to the United States and beyond.

Ms. Sorzano is currently a member of Camille A. Brown & Dancers and is founding co-artistic director of the newly formed Zeitgeist Dance Theatre, as well as serving as Associate Director for Program Development with Francisco Gella Dance Works.

Shaped by a multicultural upbringing and a diverse training background Yusha has always been attracted to versatility. Her approach is founded on her experiences in number of  internationally recognized concert dance companies including Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Morphoses and Camille A. Brown & Dancers. Yusha believes that aspiring dancers should root themselves in the foundational techniques of classical ballet and modern dance and integrate additional styles such as contemporary, jazz and social dance, as well as modalities for body conditioning to build versatility and strength. More importantly, Yusha is a firm believer that feeding the soul of a dancer is of equal importance to their trajectory. She eagerly teaches classical ballet, pointe, Horton based modern, contemporary and contemporary ballet, improvisation, afro based movement and conditioning.