September 16, 2025

SMC Opens Fall 2025 Masters of Dance Series Oct. 1

SMC Opens Fall 2025 Masters of Dance Series Oct. 1
Santa Monica College Dance Department’s Fall 2025 Masters of Dance series on Oct. 1 at 10:15 a.m. in the Core Performance Center (CPC 304), on the SMC Main Campus (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica). As part of the Santa Monica College Dance Department’s Fall 2025 Masters of Dance series, choreographer Myles Lavalleé will present “Contact Improvisation” — a free workshop that explores the conversation of dance and movement through the lens of call and response — on Oct. 23 at 12:30 p.m. in the Core Performance Center (CPC 304)

SMC Opens Fall 2025 Masters of Dance Series Oct. 1

Free Master Classes and Talks with Renowned Dance Professionals

SANTA MONICA, CA — The Santa Monica College (SMC) Dance Department opens its Fall 2025 Masters of Dance series with a line-up of master classes and learning workshops led by dance professionals. The series starts Oct. 1 with dance educator Cati Jean offering a comprehensive conditioning experience for both the mind and body, grounded in the principles of traditional Classical Ballet and the Boris Kniaseff method.

The Masters of Dance workshops are free, and the public is invited to attend as participants or as observers. Seating is limited and on a first-arrival basis.

The workshops will be held in the SMC Core Performance Center (CPC) on the main SMC Campus (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica).

The series is sponsored by the SMC Associates (smc.edu/associates) — a private organization that funds speakers and special programs on the Santa Monica College campus — and the SMC Dance Department.

The Fall 2025 Masters of Dance line-up is:

  • Oct. 1 at 10:15 a.m.: Cati Jean: “Classical Floor Barre/Classical Barre au Sol” — Core Performance Center (CPC 304), located on the SMCDance educator Cati Jean will present a free class on “Classical Floor Barre/Classical Barre au Sol” — a conditioning experience grounded in the principles of traditional Classical Ballet and the Boris Kniaseff method — to open the Santa Monica College Dance Department’s Fall 2025 Masters of Dance series on Oct. 1 at 10:15 a.m. in the Core Performance Center (CPC 304), on the SMC Main Campus (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica). MainCampus, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. Dance educator Cati Jean will offer a comprehensive conditioning experience for both the mind and body, grounded in the principles of traditional Classical Ballet and the Boris Kniaseff method. Performed on the floor rather than at the barre, this method enhances proper alignment, full-body coordination, strength, and control, targeting the feet, ankles, legs, back, and especially, the core to promote flexibility and safe hip rotation. Exercises are designed with repetition, breath control, and energy awareness, helping dancers internalize precision while reducing injury risk. Jean has studied Barre au sol in the South of France since childhood. In Paris, she trained daily in the Kniaseff method with her mentor, Jacqueline Fynnaert, a Floor Barre teacher at the Paris Opera. Jean continues her training with Odile Bastien, who studied under Kniaseff’s wife, Nina Vyroubova (Etoile at the Paris Opera). Jean’s teaching reflects this deep lineage and tradition. Free. Sponsored by the SMC Associates and SMC Dance Department.

  • Oct. 23 at 12:30 p.m.: Myles Lavalleé: “Contact Improvisation” — Core Performance Center (CPC 304), located on the SMC Main Campus, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. Los Angeles-based artist and choreographer Myles Lavalleé will lead a guided contact improvisation class that explores the conversation of dance and movement through the lens of call and response. With a focus on weight distribution, the class will engage in structured tasks and explorations that deepen understanding of how to lead and be led — sometimes simultaneously — and dive into the textures of touch, timing, and tone to discover the dynamic range of partnering through physical dialogue. Lavalleé premiered “Leaving With Hope” with LACDC and performed alongside RZA in “A Ballet Through Mud.” He has worked with renowned choreographers Crystal Pite and Ohad Naharin, and performed with Para.Mar Dance Theatre, BodyTraffic, Post:Ballet, Ishida Dance, and Heidi Duckler Dance. Lavalleé has danced and led workshops at Les Grands Ballets Canadiens (LGBC) de Montréal and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC) and was twice commissioned to create original works for Ballet Arizona’s Innovations program. Free. Sponsored by the SMC Associates and SMC Dance Department.

  • Nov. 20 at 10:15 a.m.: Malia Baker: “Jazz” — Core Performance Center (CPC 304), located on the SMC Main Campus, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Professional dancer and choreographer Malia Baker will present “Jazz” — a free, high-energy, technically grounded class that begins with a 30+ minute physiotherapy-informed warm-up — as part of the Santa Monica College Dance Department’s Fall 2025 Masters of Dance series on Nov. 20 at 10:15 a.m. in the Core Performance Center (CPC 304), on the SMC Main Campus (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica).Monica. Malia Baker will present a high-energy, technically grounded jazz class that begins with a 30+ minute physiotherapy-informed warm-up to fully activate the body. Across-the-floor sequences will emphasize musicality, directional changes, and weight transfer. The class ends with a performance-style combination, encouraging observation, self-expression, and refinement. Baker is a professional dancer, choreographer, and teacher who lives in Los Angeles. Her recent credits include choreographing and dancing for Purple Disco Machine at Coachella 2024, Sofi Tukker’s “Spiral” video with Heidi Klum, and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You (25th Anniversary)” video. Baker has taught internationally at schools, studios, and conventions, and regularly teaches at TMILLY, Millennium Dance Complex, and Movement Lifestyle. In 2023, she joined Bob’s Dance Shop as a dancer, choreographer, and “LadyBob.” Free. Sponsored by the SMC Associates and SMC Dance Department.

More information is available at smc.edu/dance or by calling 310-434-4100 or 310-434-8763. All presentations subject to change or cancellation without notice.

Santa Monica College is a California Community College accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC).

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