Santa Monica College’s Synapse Dance Theater – the innovative and widely praised Contemporary Dance ensemble – will present a program of new repertory by professional guest artists, award-winning faculty artists, and up-and-coming student choreographers tonight and Sunday.
Performances are at 7:30 pm Friday, Nov. 6, and at 4 pm and 7:30 pm Sunday, Nov. 8 in The Broad Stage, located at the SMC Performing Arts Center (Santa Monica Boulevard at 11th Street, Santa Monica).
The concert features Contemporary Modern Dance, Contemporary Ballet, Dance Theater, Hip-Hop, and more.
The program will feature works by Synapse co-artistic directors Jae Lee and Mark Tomasic; guest artists Laura Karlin; Chisa Yamaguchi and Dusty Alvarado of Diavolo Dance Theater; and faculty choreographers Angela Jordan, Karen McDonald and Roberta Wolin-Tupas. Also creating new dance works for the performance are student choreographers Vanessa Cruz, Jayna Goins, Raven Kras, and Rachael Servello.
• SMC dance professor, Synapse co-director, and professional choreographer Mark Tomasic will present “Welcome to the Party,” with choreography created in collaboration with the dancers.
• SMC dance professor, Synapse co-director, and professional dancer/choreographer Jae Lee – originally from South Korea – will premiere “Interrumpere,” a Contemporary Ballet that illustrates an interrupted energy in human relationships.
• SMC dance faculty member Roberta Wolin-Tupas has created “Forces,” a Modern piece that explores human vulnerability, struggle, and determination when facing forces both from without and within.
• Guest artists Chisa Yamaguchi and Dusty Alvarado are company dancers with Diavolo Dance Theater and special Artists-in-Residence for the Fall 2015 semester. They will present one of the major repertoires of the company – “Bench” – which explores possession and how the sensations of desire, materialism, and longing can transform even the strongest among us.
• SMC student choreographer Rachael Servello is a Dance major, as well as a teacher for Cirque de Monde, Cirque de Soleil’s outreach program for homeless teens in Hollywood. She has choreographed “Hither & Yon (Here and There),” a Contemporary Modern piece that illustrates a blizzard descending upon the New York City streets as Fall gives way to Winter.
• Jayna Goins is a featured Synapse dancer/student choreographer and a Dance major with a minor in Kinesiology and Sports Psychology. She will present “Power,” a Jazz/Hip-Hop piece that represents the unique shapes and inspirational beauty all women have.
Synapse has a longstanding reputation for artistic excellence and innovation. Since it was founded more than three decades ago, the student troupe has performed throughout the nation, including the Electric Lodge in Venice; the Cast Theater in Hollywood; the Getty Center in Los Angeles; and the American College Dance Association Conference in Arizona, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Utah. Tickets are $18. Parking is free.
For tickets, go to www.smc.edu/eventsinfo or call 310.434.3005. For more information, see www.smc.edu/dance or call 310.434.3467.
