SUMMERDANCE Santa Barbara Festival Ready for an Exciting Second Season.

SUMMERDANCE Santa Barbara (SDSB) dance festival will begin its second season of bringing outstanding dance to the Santa Barbara area starting July 7, 1998. The festival will continue through July 24, 1998. This University of California, Santa Barbara and community collaboration celebrates the best in American contemporary dance, this year with two of our nation1s leading contemporary choreographers. The Doug Elkins Dance Company will enjoy its West Coast premiere in Santa Barbara and be in residence from July 6 to 12, 1998. Doug Varone and Dancers1 much anticipated return will be from July 13 to 24, 1998.

SUMMERDANCE Santa Barbara1s 1998 summer dance festival, which will feature a full and varied schedule of events, is guaranteed to have broad public appeal. In addition to the Lobero Theatre performances by each company, other events include a

Dance Exchange at Center Stage Theatre showcasing local hip-hop dancers, daily community and University dance classes, open rehearsals at the University, an Informance at the Music Academy of the West, an evening of Salsa dancing and performance downtown, outreach activities to school age children and the Closing Festivities of the festival in the new Chase Palm Park. In the spirit of the festival, making dance as accessible to the public as possible, many SUMMERDANCE events are free of charge. Two of the offerings, the Dance Exchange and the closing, will incorporate local dancers performing with the professional companies.

The festival will officially get underway at 5:00 ysday, July 7, in the Center Court at Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center. Executive Director, Dianne Vapnek will preside over the welcoming of the Doug Elkins Dance Company to Santa Barbara. Those present can enjoy watching this exceptional company perform excerpts from their repertoire.

Doug Elkins is one of the 3hottest2 young choreographers on the New York dance scene. He incorporates street dance, martial arts and other diverse movement forms to create extremely dynamic, exciting and often humorous contemporary dance. Scouting for the year1s most promising talent, Time Out, New York, acknowledged Doug Elkins as one of the 398 people to watch in 982 and went on to state 3What the modern dance world needs is a superstar, and Doug Elkins may well be it. From his clubland roots to his most recent works, the witty Elkins is always on the brink of something special.2

A free open rehearsal of the Doug Elkins Dance Company will take place on Tuesday, July 7, 8:00 pm. at UCSB Performing Arts Center, HSSB building. The company of ten dancers will perform at the Lobero Theatre on Thursday, July 9, 1998 at 8:00 pm. A question and answer period with Mr. Elkins will follow the performance. Another opportunity for the public to get to know Mr. Elkins and his company will be at the Dance Exchange at the Center Stage Theatre on Saturday, July 11, at 4:00 and 8:00 pm. This special lecture/demonstration, co-sponsored by the Contemporary Arts Forum, will showcase the dance that Elkins created as a result of working with local hip-hop dancers.

Doug Varone and Dancers, who last summer left Santa Barbara audiences wanting more, will return for another residency. Varone1s choreography has been described as physical and spirited, challenging for dance aficionados but also accessible to the general public. Of particular interest to Santa Barbara audiences will be the West Coast premiere of 3Bel Canto2 performed to excerpts of Bellini1s opera 3Norma2 and commissioned last year by SUMMERDANCE Santa Barbara. This dance received glowing reviews in the New York Times when it premiered in February at the Joyce Theatre in New York.

Doug Varone and his company of 8 dancers will perform at Lobero Theatre Thursday, July 23 at 8:00 pm. This evening will feature a new repertoire not seen before in Santa Barbara. Another exciting Varone event will be the Informance, where Mr. Varone will talk about the process of choreography and show excerpts from his repertoire, at the Music Academy of the West1s Abravanel Hall on July 20 at 7:30 pm. Free open rehearsals for Mr. Varone1s company at UCSB are Wednesday, July 15, at 4:00 pm and Tuesday, July 21, at 7:00 pm.

The SUMMERDANCE Santa Barbara Closing Festivities will take place at the new Chase Palm Park on July 24 at 5:00 pm. Varone will present a site specific work performed with his company and local dancers for this occasion. Both events are free to the public.

On Saturday, July 18, from 7:30 to 11:00 pm, SUMMERDANCE Santa Barbara will present Salsa Under the Stars at the historic Casa De La Guerra adobe in De La Guerra Plaza. This will be a community celebration of the sizzle and vitality of Salsa dancing. Johnny Polanco1s Salsa Band (a twelve piece band with ten salsa dancers from Los Angeles) will perform and give instruction in Salsa dance. Doug Varone and Dancers will also perform a short piece they have choreographed just for this occasion. Guests will have the opportunity to dance to Polanco1s music for the rest of the evening. Tickets will be available at the door starting at 7:00 pm for $12.

Other events in the festival include daily dance classes for community dancers at the Diane Knowles Academy of Dance. These classes will be taught by company members who are master teachers. Dance classes are also being offered for credit at UCSB as part of their Summer Sessions program. SDSB will bring both Elkins and Varone1s companies into the schools to perform for local students attending summer school. Hundreds of local students will have the opportunity to see these professional dancers.

A forum entitled Creating Art: Exploring the Relationship Between Dance and Painting will take place on Tuesday, July 14, at 7:30 pm at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA) auditorium. Doug Varone and several leading community visual artists will have a lively panel discussion, illustrating their ideas with examples of their work. This event is also free to the public and co-sponsored by the SBMA.

SUMMERDANCE Santa Barbara is a dance festival established to bring the best in American contemporary dance to Santa Barbara. It provides a summer home for our nation1s leading choreographers and dancers enabling them to teach, perform and create new work. SUMMERDANCE is a collaborative effort between the UCSB Division of Dance and dance advocates within the Santa Barbara community.

Tickets for the Lobero Theatre performances for Doug Elkins Dance Company on Thursday, July 9, 1998 and Doug Varone and Dancers on Thursday, July 23, 1998 can be obtained by calling the Lobero Theatre Box Office at 805/963-0761. Tickets range from $18 to $28 and series tickets to both performances are available for $48.

Calendar Listing -- DANCE

SUMMERDANCE Santa Barbara,

July 6 to 24, 1998

·July 7, Tuesday, 5:00 pm. SUMMERDANCE Opening Festivities
Description: Join in the fun of welcoming the Doug Elkins Dance Company to Santa Barbara and watching the company perform. Venue: Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center, Center Court, Ticket Prices: admission free

·July 7, Tuesday, 8:00 pm; July 15, Wednesday, 4:00 pm; July 21, Tuesday, 7:00 pm. Open Rehearsal
Description: Public is invited to attend an open rehearsal. Venue: UCSB Performing Arts Center, HSSB Building. Ticket Prices: admission free

·July 9, Thursday, 8:00 pm. Doug Elkins Dance Company
Description:

Exciting evening of contemporary dance repertoire from one of New York City1s hottest young companies. Venue: Lobero Theatre, Ticket Prices:

$15-$28.

Discounted Series tickets available. Box Office Phone:

805-963-0761

·July 11, Saturday, 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm. "Dance Exchange" with Doug Elkins Dance Company and Community Dancers
Description: Doug Elkins Dance Company shares the way they make dance and will showcase the dance they have created with local hip hop dancers. Venue: Center Stage Theatre, Paseo Nuevo Shopping Center, Ticket Prices: $5 adults, children under 12 free, Box Office Phone: 805-963-0408

·July 14, Tuesday, 7:30 pm. "Creating Art: Exploring the Relationship Between Dance and Painting"
Description: N.Y. choreographer Doug Varone and leading Santa Barbara visual artists discuss the relationship between the two art forms and show examples of their work. Venue: Santa Barbara Museum of Art Auditorium, Ticket Prices: admission free

·July 18, Saturday, 7:30-11:00 pm. "Salsa Under the Stars"
Description: Celebrate the excitement of Salsa music and dance with an evening of instruction, dance and performance. L.A.'s Johnny Polanco1s Salsa Band and Dancers. Special performance by

Doug Varone and Dancers. Venue: Casa De La Guerra, De La Guerra Plaza, Santa Barbara, Ticket Prices: $12. at door

·July 20, Monday, 7:30 pm. INFORMANCE
Description: Doug Varone and Dancers share their process of choreography and perform excerpts from their repertoire. Venue: Abravanel Hall, Music Academy of the West, Ticket Prices:

admission free

·July 23, Thursday,

8:00 pm. Doug Varone and Dancers
Description: Doug Varone and Dancers bring an evening of all new contemporary dance repertoire in their return engagement at the Lobero Theatre. Venue: Lobero Theatre, Ticket Prices: $15-$28, discounted Series tickets available. Box Office Phone: 805-963-0761

·July 24,

Friday, 5:00 pm. Closing Festivities
Description: Doug Varone & Dancers and local dancers will perform a site specific dance. Venue: the new Chase Palm Park, Ticket Prices:

admission free

Share this article

FacebookTwitterShare