September 18th, 2022

The Santa Barbara Dance Alliance, for a period of time, had a beautiful offering to the community, of an annual showcase. It went on hiaus for four years awhile back, and I was happy to discover it has re-invented itself, and is carrying on with the help of fresh energy from the local colleges, and dance afficianado Lisa Phelps of SB Dance Sugar.

From another project, I took note of what the SBDA used to offer as a membership service organization. For a period of time, I remember volunteering, to help manage their website, and they also had an Annual Lifetime Achievement Award. What was so profoundly beautiful about this, was the rite of passage, to even get into the show, which was adjudicated. The first time I auditioned, the feedback was, my work looked too much like improvisation, which led to the beautiful journey of presenting that dance at a Studio B showing with Tongue, with an invitation to deepen into the work. At this time, the show was held at our local prestigiuos Lobero Theater. I was given a chance to perform the next round, and blew out my knee from rehearsing too hard, but eventually, I made it onto a Santa Barbara Dance Alliance Showcase, which, was a big and beautiful thing.

It was the one time of the year where all the local contemporary choregraphers came to the theater and we had and opportunity to see each other, and celebrate our latest and greatest creative inventions.

What was especially sweet, was that we were afforded more than one night to perform a work. Initially three nights, but then it was cut back to two. A very rare opportunity indeed for the boutique dance maker.

So much gratitude. Remembering the tireless work of people such as Julie McLeod, Sheila Caldwell, and a generation before that, whose history, I do not know.

In 2010, I was working on a project, which made notes of different services that different dance service organizations offered, and made note of the following with regard to the services offered:

• Can serve as your non-profit umbrella

• Santa Barbara Dance Alliance New Works Concert - produced concert for local choreographers.  No application fee.

• Dance Day - promotes day of site specific performances

• Dance Flash - weekly e-bulletin sent out

• Performance Listings on website

• Dance Directory Listing on website

• Annual lifetime achievement award.

Julie McLeod was the one who got me into scrapbooking, and I wonder, do those files still exist, for this service organization? These artists are a part of California Dance History, and well, I think it worthwhile to celebrate the sponsors, the artists, and the producers, so Iʻm doing that here, in my own little way.

Rather than organize the files I have separately I decided to make a PDF of the works as one document.

me ke aloha!

Aunty

p.s. forward motion, and change, I experience as a positive thing, but I canʻt help appreciating things of the past that worked well for meeting certain community needs.

Santa Barbara Dance Alliance Projects

Center Stage Theater, Santa Barbara, CA       February 21st, 22nd               2014

Kinesis

– Choreographer & Co-Creator (Alma, group section), Performance, Costume Design 

- Produced by the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance

Center Stage Theater, Santa Barbara, CA  February 1st, February 2nd           2013

Kinesis

– Choreographer & Co-Creator (One World is Never Enough), Performance, Costume Design, Sound Design 

- Produced by the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance

Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA October 6th 2012

Santa Barbara Dance Alliance Dance Day 

– The Museum Project, performance artist 

- Produced by the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance

Center Stage Theater, Santa Barbara, CA  February 25th, 26th  2011

Kinesis

– Premiere of “Flint”; Educational Outreach, Choreography, Soundscore, Costume Design

- Produced by the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance

Center Stage Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA                             2010

New Works Concert

– Choreographer & Performer (Ranunculus solo  - premiere)

- Presented by Santa Barbara Dance Alliance

Center Stage Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA                             2009

Santa Barbara Dance Alliance New Works Concert

– Choreographer (Something Sweet: Trio)

- Presented by Santa Barbara Dance Alliance

Center Stage Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA                             2008

New Works Concert

– Choreographer (Le Jardin Rouge: duet)

- Presented by Santa Barbara Dance Alliance

Center Stage Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA                               2007

Lion’s Fire: quintet – world premiere

 – Choreographer/Performer

- Presented by the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance

Center Stage Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA                             2006

Santa Barbara Dance Alliance New Works Concert

– Choreographer/Performer Twang: quintet – world premiere

- Presented by the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance

Center Stage Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA January 21st, 22nd, and 23rd                    2005

Santa Barbara Dance Alliance New Works Concert

– Performer (Open Spaces: structured Improvisation with the collective)

- Presented by The Santa Barbara Dance Alliance

Center Stage Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA                             2002

Santa Barbara Dance Alliance New Works Concert

– Choreographer (A Gypsy Dreams)

- Presented by the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance

Call for taking the reins in 2016

Noozhawk article

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