For choreographer Sonya Tayeh, the death of Irish rock icon Sinéad O’Connor kicked off a wave of grief and nostalgia. Tayeh danced to her music, remembering her first exposure to it in underground raves in Detroit as a teen.
And from that well of grief, she developed “The Surge: An Ode to Sinéad O’Connor,” coming to San Diego in November.
The resulting dance-theater concert is a poetic, not biographical, examination of O’Connor. It features her music, interspersed with excerpts from her memoir.
“In no way am I trying to, or would I ever try to define a life or explain a life,” Tayeh said. “I just want my body to remember what it means, from someone who (had) such a desire for righteousness and a desire for truth and a full life to live.”
Tayeh, 49, has a troupe of 10 women performing the ode. The dancers, ranging from their 40s to 60s, dance across church pews, exploring themes of mental health, spirituality and transformation.
O’Connor’s voice soared, “howling” in Tayeh’s estimation, and also had a grittiness to it, both vulnerable and strong at once. Translating that to dance meant balancing swirling movement with staccatos of sharp poses.
“We play with this broken undulation, and this static sharpness and twirling, whirling dervish energy — you know, like this whipping energy,” Tayeh explained. “There’s a volume in the physicality.
“It has a muscularity to it,” she further explains, “not a masculinity” but a muscularity “that these women carry.”
A few of the performers sport O’Connor’s shaved head, the lifelong buzzcut she wore to subvert pressure from music executives to showcase femininity in a certain way.
Casting mature dancers was important to Tayeh, who has witnessed them being locked out of opportunities over assumptions that age makes someone less.
O’Connor died in 2023 at age 56, having endured decades of media scrutiny and backlash for her stances, including opposing abuse in the Catholic church, while drawing attention to the HIV/AIDS crisis and women’s rights. Her activism did not ebb before her death.
“Especially for women, we are told that we should quiet down, close our world and make it smaller,” Tayeh said. “I just think that’s a hugely missed opportunity for artistic excellence.”
O’Connor, in addition to her unique voice and writing ability, was also praised for an uncompromising artistic vision. It’s something Tayeh is known for as well .Her commercial choreography credits range from work with pop icons like Miley Cyrus, Florence and the Machine and Kyle Minogue to the musical “Moulin Rouge!” and guest spots on “So You Think You Can Dance.”
“Sinéad O’Connor was a voice of a generation, an artist who was never afraid to be exactly who she was,” Elizabeth Bradshaw, director of artistic programming at ArtPower at UC San Diego, said in a statement.
“To have that spirit taken up by another uncompromising artistic voice in Sonya Tayeh, and performed by a company of 10 women with more than 500 years of collective experience, all of them deeply connected to Sinéad’s work, drew us in immediately.”
ArtPower co-commissioned the piece. While in San Diego, UCSD students can take a workshop with the company, as well as attend the performance for free.
It’s not the only O’Connor tribute in ArtPower’s 23rd season. On April 22, 2027, self-described “anti-disciplinary artist” Dorian Wood will perform her album, “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got,” in a stripped-down piano and voice format.
The dance performance, taking place at the downtown Balboa Theatre , kicks off the California leg of “The Surge’s” international tour. It received rave reviews while in Manchester and is currently playing in New York City.
Some audience members, like Tayeh herself, are longtime fans of O’Connor who enjoy revisiting her music in a newly visual way. Others are younger, residing in a world changed by the forthright singer, and attempting to grasp her legacy.
Tayeh also hopes some people, particularly since O’Connor was polarizing in her era, will be open to re-evaluating their views of her.
“I watched that stuff on TV. I was able to experience that, but then see this person burning me with their eyes, just focused at the screen in such a monumental way,” she said. “Say what you will, but that takes some serious, serious self-awareness and courage …”
Tayeh then drops a word, repeating it to make her point: “Radical.”
“I want a taste of that. You know what I mean? I want some of that.”
“The Surge,” 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7, Balboa Theatre. Tickets start at $59.
