UCSB’s Department of Theater/Dance will perform its spring dance concert, titled Vitality, 7:30 p.m. April 13-15 in the university’s Hatlen Theater.

The program features works by five UCSB senior dancers, UCSB Dance faculty members Christina McCarthy and Monique Meunier, and UCSB Dance alumni Amanda Tran. These choreographers are curating original, and imaginative pieces into one holistic and contemporary concert.

As the culmination of three years of dance curriculum, the choreographers have been experimenting with cutting-edge and modern rehearsal practices.

“’In Flux’ discovers how personal identity shapes and manages one’s personal relationship with others,” choreographer Jessie Chin said of her work. “My piece looks at how these things are constantly changing and evolving.”

The theme of individual human-centered journeys is also exhibited by choreographer Emily Eckert.

“My work, ‘A Beautiful Mess,’ explores the ebbs and flows of adolescence in relation to mental health,” Eckert said. “Beautiful balletic movement is disrupted by messy, modern, emotive phrases in order to mimic the inevitable highs and lows in a lifetime.

“This piece represents a healing journey, liberation from darkness, and an eventual arrival at a place of growth, warmth and peace.”

Human connectedness and relationships are also explored in Mia Griff’s piece titled “Yuanfen,” a Chinese term for the belief that two or more people are brought together by fate or chance.

Griff said that through her piece, she “counters the individualistic mindset often heralded in our society by expressing the belief that our lives are far better off with others than on our own. I show through the fated connections my dancers make with one another that people have the power to change your life for the better, if you only allow them to.”

Nina Lopez also looks at the human connection in her work “Sacred Heart.”

Inspired by the “Song of Songs” and the poet Petrarcha, Lopez said: “’Sacred Heart’ seeks to display sweet sorrow, and most especially, the complete rejoice that takes place when the lover and the beloved are in one harmony; the beloved receives the tender embrace of the lover and delights in the sweetest song above all other songs.”

Madeline Josa’s “Latrodectism” invites the audience to explore the haunting beauty of ugliness.

“The title ‘Latrodectism’ refers to the medical term for venomous bites from black widow spiders,” Josa said. “Black widows are beautiful but venomous and dangerous, much like the unattainable aesthetic ideals of ballet which can destroy you in the process of achieving.”

Meunier will bring two guest artists to the Hatlen stage, Jasmine Perry and Fabrice Calmels in her pas de deux, cíclico (2023).

Calmels began his dance training at age 11 at the 300-year-old Paris Opera Ballet School, and joins UCSB from the Joffrey Ballet.

Perry began her dancing at age seven in Charlotte, North Carolina, then attended the School of American Ballet in New York City when she was 14. She comes to UCSB from the Los Angeles Ballet and the Colburn School.
 
McCarthy brings a collaboration with the UCSB Percussion Ensemble. Working with layered canons of movement and complex patterning that focuses on duets, trios and quartets, McCarthy’s new work is centered on the link between the dancers and musicians on stage, and choreography that fluctuates between chaotic darting movements and synchronized fluid passages.

Tran, who will present her piece “Forbes 6” (2017) with the UCSB Dance Company, said:“’Forbes 6′ indulges in hedonistic and misogynistic behavior to achieve personal happiness. Cynical and vigorous it explores the one percent and the inevitability of the fall.”

For tickets and more about the concert, visit theaterdance.ucsb.edu, or call the box office, 805-893-2064.

Health protocols for events at UCSB will be determined in conjunction with evolving state, local and university guidelines, and are subject to change. Check the Theater/Dance website for details and updates closer to the date of the event.