Tag archives: dance
State Street Ballet marked the end of its landmark 30th season at the Lobero with Brilliance: Balanchine, Arpino, and Beyond with the Opera Santa Barbara Orchestra under conductor Kostis Protopapas. The triple bill was a true culmination of a wonderful year with George Balanchine’s Who Cares? being the first performance of a Balanchine work in […]
State Street Ballet closes out its 30th season with The Brilliance Program: Balanchine, Arpino, and Beyond, a title meant to characterize the works featured on the May 9-10 performances at the Lobero Theatre – but also apropos for the company’s spectacular season, the first full one under the leadership of Artistic Director Megan Phillips and […]
To the Gail Towbes Center for Dance for a sneak peek of State Street Ballet’s upcoming Lobero Theatre show The Brilliance Program: Balanchine, Arpino and Beyond – celebrating the company’s 30th anniversary with an electrifying finale. Featuring Balanchine’s Who Cares?, Arpino’s Birthday Variations, and a world premiere by Kassandra Taylor Newberry, a choreographer known for […]
Alvin Ailey’s American Dance Theater is described as “an American cultural treasure” and after two performances at the Granada, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures series, one can see why, as it brought its unique blend of contemporary and classic movement to the cavernous stage. Showcasing a dazzling range of cultural influences and […]
If you think Mardi Gras magic is reserved solely for Bourbon Street, think again! Earlier in the month, Santa Barbara’s own La Boheme Productions brought the electrifying energy of New Orleans to the Alhecama Theatre for their fourth annual Mardi Gras bash. Let me tell you, it was a night to remember! Dressed head-to-toe in […]
Security was paramount at the Granada when Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company performed as part of UCSB’s popular Arts & Lectures program. A small number of protesters were present, carrying disparaging placards. More than 18 Santa Barbara police officers were stationed in and outside the theater and guests had to go through metal detectors placed in […]
Twyla Tharp Dance’s Diamond Jubilee – the New York company’s first visit back to our Eden by the Beach in ten years – took place at the Granada with live music from the Third Coast Percussion, and was a true tour de force. The energized performance, part of the popular UCSB Arts & Lectures program, […]
The twist is decidedly not part of the ballet repertoire, but State Street Ballet has done some shakin’ for its 30th season, the first one to be entirely programmed without the supervising hand of founding director Rodney Gustafson. New artistic director Megan Philipp and executive director Cecily MacDougall – who worked with Gustafson for more […]
State Street Ballet ended its latest season on a high note with Other Voices at the Lobero. It was a captivating blend showcasing the talents of choreographers who pushed boundaries, redefining the art of dance. A sweeping panorama of innovation. The productions were as thought provoking as they were entertaining. The show featured four short […]
Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie is an award-winning, New York-based hip-hop “b-girl” with extensive training in ballet and modern dance. Rooted in African American and Latinx street and club dances, her dance company returns to town with her latest exploration of the inherent complexities of the dance forms. Ephrat Asherie Dance‘s latest work ODEON brings together and […]
UCSB Dance Company, the ensemble that changes every year as it’s composed of senior dance majors, once again has no male members. But rather than deciding to double down again by creating a program with all female choreographers as in 2023, director Delila Moseley instead chose to diversify. In Different Realms… el arte perdura, which […]
Border Crossings: Exile and American Modern Dance – an art exhibition, symposium, and a pair of dance performances – takes over several venues at UCSB and downtown this weekend in a multifaceted celebration of immigrant and BIPOC artists whose work challenges previous histories of dance to consider how war, inequality, and injustice shaped 20th century […]
Selah Dance Collective has a slogan that undulates across its website and shows up on the company’s new t-shirt: “No choreography, just vibes.” The phrase came from a post-show comment by a dancer’s spouse about a segment in their latest work, Sound and Smoke, which resonated with Selah founder and artistic director Meredith Cabaniss Ventura. […]
Whether you’re needing a bit of exercise to work off the Christmas feast, seeking some family fun time with lots of other folks, or merely looking for a way out of the house after a weekend with relatives, the Santa Barbara Country Dance Society might have the answer. They’re throwing open their doors to everyone […]
The annual invasion of local productions of The Nutcracker doesn’t begin until mid-December, as Festival Ballet and then the State Street Ballet roll out their full-fledged renditions of Tchaikovsky’s Christmas classic. But this weekend brings a tasty holiday appetizer, especially for the tots and teens, as State Street Ballet Academy presents Rudolph, the charming holiday […]
Social gadabout Rick Oshay and his galpal Teresa Kuskey put the “fun” into Funk Zone when they threw a spooktacular Halloween bash with the gloriously camp and colorful La Boheme Dancers at the home of the Topa Topa Brewing Company and the Fox Wine Company. More than 170 guests, most of them creatively garbed, turned […]
State Street Ballet (SSB) launches its 2023-24 season, its first under new leadership following the transition from founder Rodney Gustafson to new Artistic Director Megan Philipp and Cecily MacDougall as Executive Director. Philipp, who has been with SSB for a decade, is staging this weekend’s performances of Giselle, one of the most beloved ballets of […]
The project-based Moving Dance Company, whose recent works include View/Chew for the Versatility Dance Festival in Boulder, Colorado, and Washington, D.C., made its Santa Barbara debut with HOLOGRAM at last year’s Nebula Dance Festival. MDC returns to Center Stage on October 21 with This is Not Content, a multimedia show that explores the human experience […]
New York’s century-old Martha Graham Dance Company gave a sensational kickoff to the UCSB Arts & Lectures dance series at the sold-out Granada. It was a fitting launch given Graham, who died in 1991, aged 96, attended Santa Barbara High School, graduating in 1913, after being editor of the school newspaper and captaining the girls’ […]
It’s appropriate that Santa Barbara gets the third stop on the Martha Graham Dance Company’s (MGDC) new tour, the beginning of a three-year celebration of the legendary dancer-choreographer’s work and legacy in anticipation of MGDC’s centennial in 2026. After all, Graham graduated from Santa Barbara High after her family moved here from Pittsburgh when she […]
