a canary torsi

In 2009, Puerto Rican artist and choreographer Yanira Castro formed the interdisciplinary collaborative a canary torsi, an anagram of her name.

a canary torsi’s work examines the moment of encounter between public bodies: performer and audience. As a collective, its work investigates issues at the foundation of performance: what brings people together, the nature of the space people inhabit, and how every aspect of their convergence is loaded with cultural, social, historical and personal choices that inform who they are, how they form meaning and how power is structured. The indeterminate performative systems develop by a canary torsi often utilize technology as a catalyst of spontaneous structures, patterns, and instructions to complicate authorship, ensure multiplicity and to impart the work with moments of vibrantly alive unpredictability.

Ranging from immersive performance environments to responsive video installations and online archives, a canary torsi explores the relationship between spectator and event, developing scenarios where the audience’s presence dramatically impact the experienced outcome of the work.

To learn more, visit acanarytorsi.org.