What happens when a Roman goddess re-imagines herself as a late 20th century assassin grappling with her identity as an emerging performance artist? It’s complicated, but she becomes a center piece for “Tetra Nova,” a debut novel and a performance piece.
Sophia Terazawa, visiting assistant professor in the Department of English at Virginia Tech, is the author of “Tetra Nova.” The book is an operatic novel, which means it involves heightened emotions, dramatic situations, and a focus on music or musical themes, often with a larger-than-life or melodramatic feel. This is the fodder for her collaboration with the Roanoke Ballet Theatre.
“Tetra Nova” will be presented April 16 at 5:30 p.m. in the Cube at Moss Arts Center at Virginia Tech. This reading and performance is made possible with the help of Terazawa’s collaborators from the Roanoke Ballet Theatre, Cari Koepplin, Antonia Dougherty, and a crew of company dancers.
“Working with the Roanoke Ballet Theatre has been an absolute dream come true,” said Terazawa, also a poet and performance artist. “I’m so grateful for the choreographers, Cari and Antonia, along with an incredible cast of ballerinas who are helping to bring the world of ‘Tetra Nova’ to life.”
The rehearsal process clicked together organically over the past semester. In the studio, they worked with experimental forms of dance, movement, and performance art centered around themes of endurance and silence amidst collective upheavals. Terazawa described the experience as generative, cathartic, and challenging.
“I’ve really loved the bravery I’ve seen in my collaborator, Sophia, and the bravery in the dancers,” said Koepplin, a dancer and a grants and development officer at the ballet. “It’s inspiring and encourages me to be brave and make different choices I don’t think I’d have made on my own.”
Terazawa is not a ballerina, but considers herself an endurance artist. Her inspirations are Marina Abramović, Tehching Hsieh, Ana Mendieta, and Kazuo Ohno.
Her collaboration with ballet began when Koepplin approached Terazawa in the fall about working on a literary-ballet crossover. From there, the two connected on an array of themes. Terazawa had no plans to work with dancers while writing “Tetra Nova.” But she said it all just seemed to click together.
In past performances, Terazawa has pushed herself past physical and mental capabilities. She would scream, run around, lock herself behind doors, bring a knife to her throat or to her stomach, cry out hysterically, and sing. For her performance in “Tetra Nova,” she said she is trying something new.
“It’s my first time working on a collaborative piece of this scope,” she said. “There are more moving parts, figuratively and materially. I can’t just show up to a performance and, per usual, spontaneously scream my head off or run in circles, barking like a dog. I will be dignified this time. The ballerinas will be dignified.”
On April 12, Terazawa and her collaborators featured a small portion of this work at the Roanoke Ballet Theatre, which leads to a full feature at Moss Arts Center on April 16.
Terazawa is the author of two poetry collections published by Deep Vellum, “Winter Phoenix” and “Anon.” Deep Vellum is also the publisher of “Tetra Nova,” her novel. Her work grapples with limits of the spirit, mind, body, and heart especially during times of extremities, both personal and collective traumas, and history in the ongoing crisis points. Her art is an attempt to move viewers beyond the unspeakable.
“Lately, I’ve been having dreams of an ex who subconsciously shares an ongoing conversation with me about the book. Or traveling for the book. I don’t know,” said Terazawa when asked how she is preparing for the launch of her first novel. “But like most dreams, our dialogue becomes vague. The ex becomes someone else, standing in for the work, which eventually takes on its own life and audience. I like to joke about a hidden dedication stating ‘Tetra Nova, you’re so vain, you probably think this novel is about you.’”
Admission is free for the performance at the Moss Center, but registration is recommended.
Written by Isaac Maxey, a graduate student in the M.F.A. in creative writing program
