About
Neri Torres is a Lecturer in Dance at Amherst College through the Five College faculty exchange. She holds an M.F.A. in dance with a minor in film from the University of Colorado Boulder (2009) and is pursuing her Ph.D. in cultural studies at the University of the West Indies. As founder and artistic director of the IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Company in Miami, she blends traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms with contemporary dance forms. Her work explores intersections of dance and migration, cultural appropriation, multimedia art, Afrofuturism, and Caribbean popular culture.
She has received notable awards, including the State of Florida Folk Heritage Award (2013), two Knight Foundation grants (2015 and 2017), and the Film, Recording and Entertainment Council’s Choreographer of the Year award (2006). Her edited book, Perspectives on Dance Fusion in the Caribbean and Dance Sustainability: Rituals of Modern Society (2019, Cambridge Publishers), stems from her leadership of the International Biennial Conference on Caribbean Dance. She has collaborated with artists like Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan, including choreography for Estefan’s Grammy-winning music video 'No Me Dejes de Querer'.
