معرفی
Neri Torres is a Lecturer and dance program coordinator at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, Barbados. Born in Havana, Cuba, she is the founder and artistic director of IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Company based in Miami and has established herself as a prominent figure in Afro-Cuban dance and cultural studies.
Her research focuses on the intersections of dance and migration, cultural appropriation, multimedia art, Afrofuturism, and Caribbean popular culture. Torres has crafted a unique repertoire that blends traditional Afro-Cuban rhythms with contemporary dance forms and has been the driving force behind the IFE-ILE Afro-Cuban Dance Festival since 1998.
- Graduate Research Grant Award. University of the West Indies (UWI), Barbados. (2018)
- Film, Recording and Entertainment Council Award: Choreographer of the Year, Miami, Florida (2006)
- Proclamation. City of Miami to BAILA USA's Dance Festival (2004)
- State of Florida Individual Artist Fellowship (2000)
- Certificate of Artistic Merit (1999)
- Proclamation of September 28 as Neri Torres's Day, City of Miami (1999)
Torres has received significant recognition including being named one of Glamour en Español's 'Women of the Year' (2002) and honored with the State of Florida Folk Heritage Award (2013). She has collaborated with notable artists like Andy Garcia and Gloria Estefan, with her choreography featured in Estefan's Grammy-winning music video 'No Me Dejes de Querer'. The Knight Foundation has awarded her company two major grants for multidisciplinary dance productions.
As an educator, Torres founded and chaired the International Biennial Conference on Caribbean Dance and is currently completing her Ph.D. in cultural studies at the University of the West Indies. She edited the book 'Perspectives on Dance Fusion in the Caribbean and Dance Sustainability: Rituals of Modern Society' (2019, Cambridge Publishers) from the conference proceedings.
