Pamela Tatge, director of Jacob’s Pillow, described Lopez Ochoa, a Colombian-Belgian, as “a global citizen” and said “she creates rigorous works of great beauty and intensity in hybrid contemporary and classical ballet vocabularies that enable dancers to truly realize themselves.”
Lopez Ochoa, 45, is particularly appreciative of the recognition from Jacob’s Pillow because, she said, “they honor an artist for who they are, the uniqueness of their way of working, their way of thinking.”
But as Lopez Ochoa pointed out, what distinguishes her choreographic work can be difficult to pin down.
“I am chameleon,” she said. “When you see my Ballet Hispánico pieces or the ones at Dutch National Ballet, you cannot guess that it’s the same choreographer.”
She said that sometimes her flexibility has been “a sort of pain point” for her but that joining the list of previous winners, which includes Kyle Abraham and Michelle Dorrance, helps to reinforce her confidence in her approach.
“I make work for people,” she said.
Lopez Ochoa’s “Sombrerísimo” will be performed by Ballet Hispánico as a part of the company’s season at the Joyce Theater in New York beginning March 26. The piece is a René Magritte inspired, athletic exploration of the relationship between clothing and identity. Dance Theater of Harlem will debut an expanded version of Lopez Ochoa’s “Balamouk,” previously seen at City Center’s Fall for Dance in 2018, at Jacob’s Pillow in July.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.