UCSB Department of Theater/Dance’s LAUNCH PAD will present its 2024 Spring Dance Concert: Transcend April 11-13 at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. April 14 at UCSB’s Hatlen Theater.
The event is the product of a quarter-long process of choreography curation, development, exploration and discovery, according to the Theater/Dance Department.
Featuring choreography by six senior dance majors: Alexis Del Valle, Riley Haley, Tiersha Lin, Gabi Smith, Chloe Swoiskin, and Skylar Yeung, alongside UCSB Dance faculty Christina McCarthy, and will also feature the UCSB Dance Company under the direction of Delila Moseley with choreography from Natasha Adorlee.
Alexis Del Valle’s piece, Amidst New Horizons, builds upon the choreographer’s previous work in the department’s 2023 Kinetic Lab concert. The piece delves into themes of personal growth, resiliency and moving forward, and the importance of supportive relationships.
Riley Haley’s piece “Do I See What You See?” has gone through multiple iterations over the course of the 10-week development and rehearsal process.
Using modern dance, marionettes, and a specific musical score, Haley hopes audiences feel a connection with the work and themes on stage.
Tiersha Lin’s choreographic work, to organize anyways, love anyways, and dream anyways, lies at the intersection of two worlds: one which promotes and encourages freedom, and another which causes grief. The dance explores notions of collective liberation, healing in community, and joyous resistance.
While many of the pieces in this concert feature modern dance techniques, Gabi Smith’s piece, “Crossroads,” is a contemporary ballet inspired by her love for the Balanchine Technique. Spotlighting the strengths of the individual dancers, “Crossroads” discusses the expectations of women in society, tackling objectification and exploring avenues of resistance.
e•qua•nim•i•ty, choreographed by Chloe Swoiskin, will use a seven-foot tall set piece that the nine dancers will intertwine with, symbolizing the internal structures individuals have in place shaping their perceptions and connections with others. Together, Swoiskin and the dancers cultivate trust within themselves and one another, which enables them to stretch boundaries and embrace risks.
Skyler Yeung’s As One, Part II explores the jazz style of dance, uniting that style with ballet and contemporary dance techniques. Her piece will explore the outer limits of each incorporated style, pushing the boundaries with an unwavering passion.
In “Excerpt from the 70th Week:” an envisioning of energy, faculty member Christina McCarthy has been working with the beautiful musical and visual elements of composer João Oliveira, in the opening sequence of his full- length opera “The 70th Week.”
For this concert, the opening of the opera will be presented with its companion video projection and new choreography, created as a direct reflection of both the music and the projection.
The UCSB Dance Company will close out the concert featuring choreography from guest artist Natasha Adorlee. A first-generation Asian-American woman, she restaged her piece MOMODA (Kiss, Kiss) created for Joffrey Ballet Winning Works Competition 2023, on the UCSB Dance Company.