Tag archives: dancing
It’s no accident that dance is at the front of the new oversized magazine promoting the 2026-27 UCSB Arts & Lectures season. After all, among all of the luminous events spread across the arts, entertainment, and spoken word genres, dance has been the sparkling gem in the A&L crown that adorns one of the finest […]
Alejandra Folguera, founder of Nomad Tango, and Rodney Gustafson, founder of State Street Ballet and co-founder of Nomad Tango, knew they’d hit on something special when Tango Meets Classical, their production of separate pieces of tango and ballet, was a sensation at SOhO last year. This year, things have grown by leaps and bounds as […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Santa Barbara’s popular State Street Ballet kicked off its 30th anniversary year with a reception at the Riviera Bar downtown for 40 guests, including Brooks and Kate Firestone, Dan and Meg Burnham, Barbara Burger, Deborah Bertling, Tigran Sargsyan, Leila Drake, Jennifer Whalen, Cecily MacDougall, Scott Reed, and Jonathan Bishop. “It has been an extraordinary history,” […]
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 […]
Baubles, bangles, and beads reigned supreme at the third colorful energized Mardi Gras bash produced by La Boheme dance group founder Teresa Kuskey and social gadabout Rick Oshay at Casa de la Guerra. The fun fête, with Spencer the Gardener and the pulsating Mariano Drums was emceed by ubiquitous KEYT-TV reporter John Palminteri, making the […]
Balletomanes packed the Gail Towbes Center for Dance when State Street Ballet celebrated the 20th anniversary of its annual show Evenings, which gives the talented dancers the opportunity to create their own dance works and experiment with new movement, music, and themes. Nine works were performed in all, including “Luna Luna to Clair de Lune, […]
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 […]
Maria Bermudez has a metaphor she likes to employ to describe flamenco – what for her has been a lifelong passion and something hard to describe. “The beauty of flamenco is that it’s like a very big fan,” she said. “When you open a fan, it’s got all those ridges that are all equal. And […]
As it prepares to celebrate it 30th anniversary, State Street Ballet staged one of its biggest productions ever at the Granada with its premiere of the hauntingly beautiful two act production, Giselle. New artistic director Megan Philipp, who has taken over from retiring founder Rodney Gustafson, excelled – helming the two-hour show with Ryan Lenkey […]
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 […]
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 […]
