Sore for Punching You is the blanket name covering all artistic endeavours initiated and executed by dance / theatre and performance artist Allison Cummings.

Sore for Punching has one consistent key collaborator, sound designer and creator Lyon Smith.

The multidisciplinary work of Sore for Punching You delves into socially conscious subject matters that explore questions of tradition, authenticity and the intricate measures humans take to communicate.

Experimenting with techniques that build from linking humanity to artistic creativity, hospitality, and the juxtapositions between humour, darkness, impulse and detailed precision, Allison develops content driven performance works that envelop diversity by creating original relational aesthetics.

As a strong believer in community and responsibility, her work cannot be separated from the individual artist or viewer, as neither can the reverberations of the content. As an artist with a choreographic background, Allison’s work tends towards an integrated or multidisciplinary nature. Movement is rarely the impetus behind the ideas or vision, however becomes an integral element by the end of process.

Statement:

“I choose to create performance projects that are directly linked to the community in which I am immersed. I believe that simple creative response to environment and relationships can begin the unraveling of so many layers of unspoken realities and surprise discoveries.

Initially I begin each project with a blank slate, often not preparing my first rehearsals, ready to respond to what arrives in the room.

Through conversation I may present something I’ve been thinking about, or something I have watched or heard. From there images are jammed on and content is explored. Through this process I develop performance works that content becomes the key motivator and main focus, and the form comes after. My work cannot be separated from the individual artists I collaborate with. I consider the creation time a process of melding voices, so that in the final presentation the piece stands on its own; an amalgamation of thought with all elements equal.  For example, many of my choreographic and/or performance-based works have involved entering a group or community of people with which I have no affiliation and through creative response, I have built work that is either for them, including them or directly shared with them. This has happened not only in my own more familiar surroundings in Canada, but also in West Africa and South East Asia. This website offers examples of my philosophy and is considered a continuum of my artistic practice. The work marries dance, text, food, travel and intervention while at the same time providing insight and point of departure for creation.”