UCSB Arts & Lectures presents urban dance innovators Ephrat Asherie Dance in Odeon, 5 p.m. Tuesday, April 20. Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie has shown off her street dance chops as a favorite member of Dorrance Dance.
A New York-based b-girl with extensive training in ballet and modern dance, the Israel native returns with her own company, revealing and exploring the complexities of street and social dance forms.
Odeon, a new work for seven dancers and four musicians, brings together and remixes street and club dances including breaking, hip hop, house and vogue, set to a mix of early 20th century romantic music and popular Afro-Brazilian rhythms.
The performance will be followed by a moderated Q&A.
As a related community event, there will be a free Movement Workshop: Shake-a-Leg with Archie & Ephrat, 5-6 p.m. Thursday, April 22 via Zoom. Register at http://bit.ly/al-ephrat-dance-2021. Catch New York City club vibes with the legendary Archie Burnett and Asherie as they share some of their favorite social dances. All ages welcome.
Ephrat Asherie Dance (EAD) is a dance company rooted in street and social dance. Dedicated to revealing the complexities of these forms, EAD explores the narrative qualities of street and club styles, including breaking, hip hop, house and vogue, as a means to tell stories, develop innovative imagery, and find new modes of expression.
EAD’s first evening-length work, A Single Ride, earned two Bessie nominations in 2013 for Outstanding Emerging Choreographer and Outstanding Sound Design by Marty Beller.
The company has presented work at The Apollo Theater, Columbia College, Dixon Place, FiraTarrega, Guggenheim Works & Process, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, La MaMa, River to River Festival, New York Live Arts, Summerstage, and The Yard.
Asherie has received numerous awards to support her work including Dance Magazine’s inaugural Harkness Promise Award, the Jacob’s Pillow Fellowship at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts and a Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant
In 2017, she received a National Dance Project award to support the development and touring of her recent work, Odeon.
Asherie is a 2019 NYFA Fellow and a 2018-19 City Center Choreography Fellow. Her new work UnderScored was awarded a 2019 Creation and Development Award from the National Performance Network.
She has worked and collaborated with Dorrance Dance, Doug Elkins, Rennie Harris, Bill Irwin, David Parsons, Gus Solomons Jr. and Buddha Stretch.
Asherie has created work for various university dance programs, including those at UCSB, Lehman College, Smith College, and SUNY Brockport. She earned her BA from Barnard College, Columbia University in Italian, and her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Asherie is a co-founding member of the all-female house dance collective, MAWU.
Tickets are $10 for the general public, free for UCSB students (registration required). For tickets and information, call 805-893-3535, or visit www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
Ephrat Asherie Dance is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures.