Santa Monica College’s Synapse Contemporary Dance Theater Showcases New Works Nov. 22-23

Santa Monica College’s Synapse Contemporary Dance Theater Showcases New Works Nov. 22-23

Performance Features Works by Guest Artists Vanessa Hernández Cruz and Harry Weston

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica College's innovative and widely praised Synapse Contemporary Dance Theater will showcase new works Nov. 22-23 by award-winning faculty artists, professional guest artists, and student choreographers. The performances include dances choreographed by guest artists Vanessa Hernández Cruz and Harry Weston.

Performances are on Saturday, Nov. 22, and Sunday, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m. in The Eli & Edythe Broad Stage at the SMC Performing Arts Center, located at 1310 11th Street (at Santa Monica Boulevard), Santa Monica.

The concert features Postmodern, Contemporary, Dance Theater, and Jazz, as well as Hip Hop, Contemporary Ballet, and more. In addition to works by guest artists, the program will present dances by faculty choreographers Seda Aybay, Angela Jordan, Sophie Monat, Mark Tomasic, and Vanessa Van Wormer, as well as student choreographers Sonny James Lira, Lessly “Mar” Marroquin, and Oxana Safronova. 

• Guest artist Vanessa Hernández Cruz will present “Lest We Remain Forgotten,” a large group piece that explores the devastation and ravages of war.

• Guest artist Harry Weston (a.k.a. Fullout) will present the Hip-Hop/House dance “We Know Where We Are,” a reactive, combative, reflective, and ultimately joyful piece that follows the dancers on a journey through aggression, contemplation, and absolution.

• Faculty choreographer Mark Tomasic created “kin,” to celebrate the bonds formed between childhood friends and siblings. The piece features music by Tomasic’s brother, John Philip Tomasic.

• Faculty choreographer Vanessa Van Wormer created “to feel sun on her skin,” a solo in which dancer Chloe Hess works on a large-scale painting on stage during the performance.

• Student choreographer Oxana Safronova will present “Feel the Void 2.0: To Whom It May Concern,” a multimedia work that fuses film, dance, and spoken word to shed light on the liminal spaces created by forced emigration due to genocide, wars, or severe human rights violations by governments with white supremacy ideology.
  

  

Synapse Contemporary Dance Theater has a longstanding reputation for artistic excellence and innovation. Since it was founded more than 50 years ago, the student ensemble has performed throughout the nation, including the Electric Lodge in Venice; the Cast Theater in Hollywood; the Getty Center in Los Angeles; and the American College Dance Association Conference in Arizona, California, Georgia, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Utah.

Advance tickets are $20 for general admission (a modest service charge applies) and may be purchased online at smc.edu/tickets or by calling 310-434-3005 (Monday-Friday; limited hours). Tickets may also be purchased on the day of the performance for $23 (a modest service charge applies) at The Broad Stage Box Office at the SMC Performing Arts Center. Free parking on premises. Seating is strictly on a first-arrival basis.

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

###