danceXchange

Photos Courtesy of Nickerson-Rossi Dance

The June 18th edition of danceXchange will prove to be an exciting and exhilarating evening of original dance.  The guest artist for this month’s showcase is Los Angeles’ outstanding Nickerson-Rossi Dance.  We are thrilled to be presenting two works from the company in our intimate showcase this month.

 Artistic director, Michael Nickerson-Rossi is the dynamic dancer he is today due to his training in the genres of Modern Dance, Jazz, Ballet, and Hip-hop. His initial training began in Northern California under the guidance of Lori Bryhni and Kim T. Davis. Rossi’s choreography juxtaposes composition, sophistication and dynamism. Discovering dance as the voice of individuality prompted his eagerness to pursue dance professionally. His work, Remembering The Unremembered, originally performed at the Center Stage Theatre in Santa Barbara, California for the SB-ADAPT Festival summer of 2011, prompted Santa Barbara Independent critic Charles Donelan to write “Nickerson-Rossi’s work contributed to be the most romantic work of the festival.” His professional experience includes: Off-Balance Dance Company, Kim T. Davis Dance, SJ Dance CO, Torrance Theatre Company, Pennington Dance Group and Invertigo Dance Theatre. In 2008, Rossi founded Nickerson-Rossi Dance, where his work has premiered in cities such as San Diego, Torrance, San Francisco, Salt Lake City, Tempe, Palm Springs, Philadelphia, Texas and Los Angeles. Along with Nickerson-Rossi Dance recently receiving non-profit status and currently working to develop the company’s outreach project The uNdeRstanD Program designed to assist at-risk and otherwise emotionally unexpressed individuals through dance education. This continued pursuit of growth and excellence for Nickerson-Rossi Dance acts as fuel for ambition to further develop him as a respected artist.

 For more information about the company, visit http://www.NickersonRossiDance.com

 danceXchange is an open forum for local performers who wish to share works-in-progress, finished pieces, or just to explore their art.  This month, we are welcoming original work by Val Carnahan, Christina Rowley, Rebecca Mishler, and members of Avocado Dance Theatre, among others.

 Dancers of all backgrounds are welcome to join us in this informal and supportive environment.  If you would like to present at this (or a future) month’s danceXchange, email us at danceXchange.temecula@gmail.com.

danceXchange is presented every third Tuesday of every month at Old Town Temecula Community Theater and is presented by Dance Theatre Collective of Southern California and Temecula Presents.  For more information, go to www.danceXchange.net

Photos courtesy of Nickerson-Rossi Dance

Tickets:  $5

Tuesday, May 21st @ 7:00 PM

www.temeculatheater.org

Feeling a bit of spring fever?  

Local artists agree, as they gather together tonight to share sixteen dance works with their community.  Join us at 7PM in The Merc of Old Town Temecula Community Theater.  Admission is still just $5.00 for a full evening of thought-provoking, toe-tapping, soul-moving dance!

Tonight we celebrate the creative process of

Alias Movement

River Springs Charter School/Robin Felix

Val Carnahan

Brianna McGinn

Jenica Houser

Majesty Song/Rebecca Mishler

Joseph Lister

Alyssa Asmus/Rachelle Felix

Michael Ranae Clemmer

Paige Smith

George Ortiz

and

Summerscape Dance Collective/Michelle Summers

The May 21st edition of danceXchange will keep its passionate commitment to bringing local artists together in celebration of the creation of new dance.  Alias Movement, under the artistic direction of Natalia Morales and Alexis A. Weisbrod will be the guest company this month, sharing original work.

Alias Movement is a multi-disciplinary dance company that utilizes a variety of dance styles, including modern, jazz and hip hop, to reach a diverse audience characterized by various experiences and interests.  Based in Temecula Valley, the company’s mission is to provide its community with professional caliber dance performance to enliven arts locally and regionally.  Alias Movement utilizes the tool of dance as a means of revealing new facets of one’s being and exposing its participants to different identities.  The unique works produced by Alias Movement seek to celebrate the role of dance as both artistic in value as well as entertainment.  For more information about the company, its upcoming performances, or its directors, go to www.aliasmovement.org

Other talented artists scheduled to perform this month include Summerscape Dance Collective who will be presenting with us for the first time.  They will share a work by Michelle T. Summers which is danced by Alfonso Cervera, Valerie Mendez, Steve Rodriguez, and Hannah Zisman.  George Ortiz, Valorie Carnahan, and Joseph Lister will also be presenting new work for our danceXchange audience, among others.

Dancers of all backgrounds are welcome to join us in this informal and supportive environment.  If you would like to present at this (or a future) month’s danceXchange, email us at danceXchange.temecula@gmail.com.

danceXchange is presented every third Tuesday of every month at Old Town Temecula Community Theater and is presented by Dance Theatre Collective of Southern California and Temecula Presents.

Tickets:  $5

Tuesday, May 21st @ 7:00 PM

www.temeculatheater.org

The March 19th installment of danceXchange will feature Middle Eastern dance with the incomparable Renuka Gupta.  As a dancer, choreographer, performer, and instructor, Gupta has performed throughout Southern California since 1993 as a soloist at dance concerts, festivals, conferences and restaurants. She recently performed in Gerald River’s “Voice of Martin Luther King” as one of the Peace Players. The Peace Players are artists who inspire and uplift audiences through their performances.

Renuka studied with many prominent master instructors and has developed her own performance style. She elegantly integrates Arabic, Egyptian, Persian and East Indian folk dance styles into her own personal style as an Oriental dancer.

Renuka Gupta has taught dance classes and workshops at Mt. San Jacinto College, Riverside YWCA, Riverside Parks and Recreation Services and numerous conferences such as the Women of Wisdom Conference.

Her classes focus on the beneficial aspects of dance movement and the empowerment of the student. According to Gupta, “The beauty of this dance is not only that it is fabulous exercise but it also provides a journey of self-discovery and transformation.”

Renuka views dance and music as sacred arts that have the power to enlighten, heal and transform the dancer, audience, community and ultimately the world. She concludes, “Dance will always center our hearts in our bodies.”

Join us for a lovely evening of original dances at our monthly showcase.  Local dance artists and choreographers will share their work in an evening of dance that is always unique, inspiring, and entertaining.

danceXchange

March 19th at 7:00PM

$5.00

Old Town Temecula Community Theater (www.temeculatheater.org)

The February installment of danceXchange will feature a young and innovative company from Tijuana, Mexico–La Silla, Danza Contemporanea. The company brings with them a unique multimedia piece, entitled “H2Cero”  which includes the use of water in their dance.

La Silla Danza Contemporánea was created in 2008 by the first generation students of Lux Boreal’s contemporary dance program. La Silla searches for its own movement style and choreography in a city full of art. The company has its home at Tijuana in Baja California and has danced in various forums in Tijuana, as well as in Mexico City and California.

Directed by Maribel Durazo, La Silla Danza has a fresh and young repertory that tries to relate with the audience, obtain a presence in the national dance scene and create new audience for contemporary dance.

Photo Courtesy of La Silla Danza Contemporanea

During the month of April 2010 the company traveled to Mexico City for an artistic residency of 15 days at “La Granja Centro de Arte”, a space dedicated to create art under the direction of Gabriela Medina and Mario Villa, under which the creation and production of “H2Cero” is achieved. After a short season at UNAM; the piece was taken to Tijuana where it is premiered in July with great success. In October of 2010 “H2Cero” was part of the program INNOVACESPT which is part of Tijuana Innovadora 2010 (Innovating Tijuana 2010) and in may 2011 H2Cero was presented in Cuerpos en Transito.

And…now…in February 2013 “H2Cero” will be presented in Temecula, California at the Old Town Temecula Community Theater as part of danceXchange!

Audience members will be treated to local dance artists who will share their work, alongside La Silla.  Works by Val Carnahan and members of Avocado Dance Theatre are among the dancers sharing the stage at our monthly danceXchange showcase.

Tickets are still just $5.00 and the work is always fresh and exciting…and maybe a little wet this time!

danceXchange:

February 19 @ 7pm

Photo courtesy of PLACE Performance Cooperative

Join us tonight at the Old Town Temecula Community Theater for the January installment of danceXchange.  Tonight’s guest artist is the P.L.A.C.E. Performance Cooperative from Riverside.This unique company will be presenting, among its work, a piece that challenges the audience’s perspective of the performer/audience relationship and its environs.  As  you might expect, other surprises await attendees and participants, as we continue to explore new ways to engage and inspire in our monthly (every third Tuesday) dance showcase.

Performances by Kevin Lopez, Val Carnahan, Brandon Olsen, Jesse Lovato, Alexandra Thomsen-Wolfe, Dani Smith, Paige Smith, and Renee Ferguson will be sure to add to the supportive, friendly, and artistic environment we’ve come to expect, appreciate, and crave from danceXchange.

Prior to this month’s presentation, an open and free community experience TAP DANCE class will be offered, by host Lori Craig Torok, in the OTTCT dance studio.

danceXchange is still just $5.00!  The very best value for dance in Southern California!

Join us tonight:

6:15pm -  FREE tap class

7:00pm – danceXchange

Old Town Temecula Community Theater

With an ongoing commitment to community engagement, Dance Theatre Collective of Southern California and Temecula Presents is offering a free community tap class on January 15th from 6:15 – 7:00pm in the Old Town Temecula Community Theater, dance studio.  This class, taught by Lori Craig Torok (former Radio City Rockette), is open to all levels of dancers, even those with little or no experience.  Basic tap steps will be taught and a fun short combination will be put together to give dancers a taste of this lively, and uniquely American, dance form.  If you can’t find your tap shoes, just wear hard-soled shoes!

This class is prior to the January edition of danceXchange, beginning at 7:00pm onstage at the Temecula Theater, which will feature P.L.A.C.E. Performance Cooperative. 

Come dance with us!

Local dancers are invited to join us for a unique project!

photo credit:
Megan and C.J. —Vanessa Small/She Killed Art Photography

The December installment of danceXchange will gather at Old Town Temecula Community Theater in the Merc on Tuesday, December 18th at 7:00 PM.  The up close and personal setting is ideal for the informal and ever-eclectic gathering of dancers and dance patrons.  This month, danceXchange will host works by San Diego’s Blythe Barton and Inland Empire dancers Val Carnahan, Alexandra Thomsen-Wolfe, and Jeremy Sewell, among others.

Blythe Barton received both her BFA (Chapman University) and MFA (Florida State University) in Dance Performance and Choreography. In 2008, She moved back to California to pursue a professional dance career and currently performs professionally with Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater and Malashock Dance. She has won awards for outstanding student performance and choreography and her work has been performed at the American College Dance Festival. In the past two years, Blythe’s choreography was commissioned by Leverage Dance and Chapman University and presented at the San Diego Young Choreographers Prize, Ignite, Celebrate Dance Festival San Diego. This spring her work will also be presented at New Voices from San Diego Dance Theater and Backhaus Dance’s Platform.  www.blythebartondance.com

danceXchange is a joint effort between Dance Theatre Collective of Southern California and Temecula Presents in order to bring local dancers, choreographers, and audiences together in a friendly environment to present works-in-progress, unfinished pieces, improvisation, and even polished work.  Audiences sit in close proximity to the dance; and dancers get to share their work and movement ideas with a supportive and friendly audience.  At just $5.00 a ticket, it is the best dance value in the area–and it is always a unique experience.

Dancers who wish to present (all types of dance performances are accepted) should email the coordinator Lori Craig Torok at danceXchange.temecula@gmail.com.