Jim On The Air

In this episode of JIM ON THE AIR, I had the privilege of talking with Ashley McQueen. Ashley will be featured in the RE: EMERGE A DANCE FESTIVAL at Center Stage Theater in Santa Barbara, CA. The festival is from June 17 through the 20th. Ashley McQueen is the Founder/Artistic Director of Smashworks Dance, a non-profit dance company advocating for women’s empowerment through performing arts, educational programming, and community outreach. She holds a BFA in Dance from Webster University and an MFA in Dance from Hollins University. McQueen has performed as a company member with Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre, Common Thread Contemporary Dance, and Arova Contemporary Ballet. Her choreography has been commissioned by Lake Arts Project Milwaukee, Peridance Youth Ensemble, Minnesota Ballet, and Big Muddy Dance Company; and presented at festivals such as Dance St. Louis Spring to Dance, Midwest RADFest, and NYC Transit Museum. Smashworks Dance was named a Village Voice “Voice Choices,” and their evening-length political satire For Which It Stands - featured in Time Out NY and Brokelyn’s “Top 20 Cheap Things To Do” - toured to St. Louis in Fall 2018. They partnered with Troop 6000, a Girl Scouts program that supports girls experiencing homelessness in the NYC area, and most recently partnered with Rebel Girls Productions to write movement activities for their most recent chapter book, “Alicia Alonso Takes The Stage,” published worldwide August 2020.

In this episode of JIM ON THE AIR, I had a fantastic conversation with Amanda Keller. Amanda will perform at the RE: EMERGE A DANCE FESTIVAL at Center Stage Theater in Santa Barbara, CA. The festival will be presented by Center Stage Theater and the UCSB Initiative for New & Reimagined Work. It takes place Thursday, June 17 through Saturday, June 19 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, June 20 at 2:00 pm at Center Stage Theater. The event is curated by Brandon Whited. 

Center Stage and the UCSB Initiative for New & Reimagined Work are very excited to welcome back both performers and audiences to the theater and they thought it was an excellent time to celebrate. The Re: Emerge A Dance Festival will feature four unique programs which will include a combination of live and video performances by dancers from Santa Barbara and beyond. Each evening of the festival will feature a wide variety of dance styles, traditions, and genres. The opening night of the festival is a collection of dance films. The following three programs will be a hybrid of both live and video performances. One week after the live festival the performances will be available for a limited run as video-on-demand through the Center Stage website – www.centerstagetheater.org. Amanda Keller will perform with the Selah Dance Collective during the festival, and her piece, "Human," will be performed Sunday, June 20 at 2:00 PM.

This episode of JIM ON THE AIR features dancer, choreographer, and actor Victoria Finlayson. Victoria's dance film, "Out There," will be shown during the RE: EMERGE DANCE FESTIVAL presented by Center Stage Theater and the UCSB Initiative for New & Reimagined Work. The festival will be from June 17 through June 20 at Center Stage Theater in Santa Barbara, CA. Victoria Finlayson is new to video dance on the production/choreography side. She was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1984-1992 where she appeared in video dances by Merce Cunningham and Eliot Caplan, then she worked with the Lit Moon Theater Company from 1992-2020. She is currently working on independent projects and seeing where her movement and theatrical interests lead next.

In this episode of JIM ON THE AIR, I had the chance to talk with Yamini Kalluri. Yamini will be featured in the RE: EMERGE DANCE FESTIVAL June 17  through the 20th at Center Stage Theater in Santa Barbara, CA. Yamini Kalluri is a world-class professional Kuchipudi dancer based in New York City where she teaches, performs, and trains full time. She offers performances, workshops, intensives, and production direction internationally with an aim to bring a new face and a bigger representation to Kuchipudi globally. Raised in Hyderabad, India, Yamini Kalluri has been celebrated by the New York Times and BBC as being a Kuchipudi sensation. Yamini has founded Kritya Dance with the mission to empower up and coming artists to take Kuchipudi to global platforms. Yamini envisions a new school of thought for Kuchipudi with more awareness of the body, mind and soul. She is taking several nuances from ballet and modern dance to find her own technique and bring about a new age of Kuchipudi which is more relevant to a newer and global generation. Yamini sees Kritya as a budding conservatory and incubatory for challenging experimentation and also as a means for dancers to immerse themselves to find their truest form of expression.

In this episode, I chat with Gianna Burright, Meredith Lyons, and Musician Sio Tepper about their piece that will be featured in the RE: EMERGE DANCE FESTIVAL!! Center Stage Theater and the UCSB Initiative for New & Reimagined Work presents RE: EMERGE, A DANCE FESTIVAL! Thursday, June 17 through Saturday, June 19 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, June 20 at 2:00 pm at Center Stage Theater. This 4 day festival of dance is directed and curated by Brandon Whited. Gianna Burright & Meredith Lyons with Musician Sio Tepper have created a dance piece titled "A Study on Seeing and Being Seen." 

In this episode of JIM ON THE AIR, I spoke with Erin White. Erin's dance film, RENEWAL, will be featured in the RE: EMERGE DANCE FESTIVAL presented by Center Stage Theater and the UCSB Initiative for New and Reimagined Work. The festival takes place June 17 through the 20th at Center Stage Theater in Santa Barbara, CA. Erin White was born and raised in Alton, IL where she began taking tumbling, acrobatics, and dance lessons at the local studio. She went on to graduate from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with a B.S. in Theater and Dance. Upon graduation, Erin made her way to Los Angeles where she began her education and performance career with DIAVOLO: Architecture in Motion. Erin has had the privilege to showcase work at the Kennedy Center and was a Top 10 Finalist on America’s Got Talent. Erin is now a member of PSYCHOPOMP Dance Theater where her love of creating dance films was sparked. Now residing back in Illinois, Erin is grateful for how dance has had to adapt during the pandemic. Erin enjoys staying connected to her dance company as well as her students by teaching and performing remotely.

RENEWAL

Directed, Performed and Edited by: Erin White

Assistant Director & Videography by: Jacque Hartman & Ashley Wright

Original Concept inspired by: PSYCHOPOMP Dance Theater

This episode of JIM ON THE AIR features dancer Hannah Ruth Brothers. Hannah will perform at the RE: EMERGE DANCE FESTIVAL held in Santa Barbara, CA.  The festival will be produced by Center Stage Theater and the UCSB Initiative for New & Reimagined Work. It will be held Thursday, June 17 through Saturday, June 19 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, June 20 at 2:00 pm at Center Stage Theater. The 4-day event is directed and curated by Brandon Whited. After several difficult months traveling through a “dark tunnel,” it is exciting to finally see some lights at the end of that tunnel – some very bright lights! Center Stage and the UCSB Initiative for New & Reimagined Work are very excited to welcome back both performers and audiences to the theater and they thought it was an excellent time to celebrate. The opening night of the festival is a collection of dance films. The following three programs will be a hybrid of both live and video performances. One week after the live festival the performances will be available for a limited run as video-on-demand through the Center Stage website – www.centerstagetheater.org. Hannah Ruth Brother's piece, "Lizard's Mouth" will be shown Thursday, June 17, and Friday, June 18 at 7 pm both nights.

In this episode, I have a chat with Daisy Mohrman and Cory Cullington. Their dance film will be featured in the RE: EMERGE DANCE FESTIVAL. Center Stage Theater and the UCSB Initiative for New & Reimagined Work are presenting the festival Thursday, June 17 through Saturday, June 19 at 7:00 pm and Sunday, June 20 at 2:00 pm at Center Stage Theater. This 4 day festival of dance is directed and curated by Brandon Whited. Daisy's piece is a dance film set to "Harvest Moon" by Modern Crusoe (originally by Neil Young). The entire piece takes place with the lone female dancer physically connected to a wall for almost the entire duration of the piece. The wall represents her lover or relationships and love in general. The choreography is driven by the connection with the wall. Although emotional expression and romantic connection will be highlighted, the movement invention comes from finding new and unexpected ways to dance with an immobile partner. This piece was conceptualized in collaboration with videographer and cinematographer Cory Cullington. Listen to JIM ON THE AIR to learn more about this amazing performance piece.

In this episode of "JIM ON THE AIR," I chat with Emily Stratton who will perform in the "RE: EMERGE DANCE FESTIVAL at Center Stage Theater in Santa Barbara, CA. Emily Stratton is an aerialist and modern dancer who blends disciplines into contemporary Aerial Dance. As a lover of all things air-bound, Emily is a multi-disciplinary artist who choreographs, performs, and trains in Lyra, Trapeze, Fabrics, Corde Lisse and Sling. Her particular area of passion is momentum filled metal apparatus. She combines high flying, dynamic skill with detailed, complex movement to create emotional impact.

This episode of "JIM ON THE AIR" features Delila Moseley. Delila is the Artistic Director of the UCSB Dance Company in Santa Barbara, CA. UCSB Dance Company will perform at the RE: EMERGE DANCE FESTIVAL at Center Stage Theater, June 17 thru the 20th. Delila Moseley, Artistic Director of the UCSB Dance Company, conceived the project of creating the collaborations and the film, UCSB Dance Company in Flight and on Film. Delila is a versatile choreographer, teacher, and director who works in a variety of styles, including ballet, jazz, and modern dance. She holds a B.A. in Dance and an M.A. in Dramatic Art from UCSB where she is currently on the faculty in the  Department of Theater and Dance. She has performed professionally in Los Angeles, New York, and throughout the United States on tour. She performed for 10 years with Repertory-West Dance Company, traveling to Europe with the company three times. She has directed the UCSB Dance Company, the student company at UCSB, for thirty years.