February 13, 2024
SMC Masters of Dance Series Spring 2024
SMC Opens Spring 2024 Masters of Dance Series Feb. 27
Free Master Classes and Talks with Renowned Dance Professionals
SANTA MONICA, CA — The Santa Monica College (SMC) Dance Department opens its Spring 2024 Masters of Dance series with a line-up of master classes and learning workshops led by dance professionals. The series starts Feb. 27 with Rob Tsai leading a fundamentals class focusing on building qualities that support movement in dance.
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 Spring 2024 Masters of Dance line-up is:
- Feb. 27 at 12:30 p.m.: Rob Tsai: “Movement Fundamentals for the Human Behind the Dancer” — CPC 304 (main
SMC Campus, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica). Rob Tsai of Dance|Prehab will lead a class on building human capacity and qualities to support movement artistry.
The session will introduce movement vocabulary and movement qualities that are inherent
to the strength and conditioning of dance, but that might not be actively incorporated
into training. Participants will be able to apply what they learn in dynamic warm-ups
to prepare for performance-specific needs. Tsai, who danced professionally for 8 years
prior to pursuing his career in physical therapy, is the founder of Dance|Prehab,
supporting the dance community with physical therapy, strength and conditioning, and
injury risk reduction education, and recognized as the 2023 Dance Education Organization of the Year by the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS). Free. Sponsored by the SMC Associates and SMC Dance Department.
A free class on “Movement Fundamentals for the Human Behind the Dance” led by Rob Tsai of Dance|Prehab will open the Santa Monica College Dance Department’s Spring 2024 Masters of Dance series Feb. 27 at 12:30 p.m. in CPC 304, on the main SMC Campus (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica). - Mar. 14 at 12:30 p.m.: Volta Collective: “Colliding Bodies” — CPC 304 (main SMC Campus, 1900
Pico Blvd., Santa Monica). Volta Collective will lead a class that explores highly physical and acrobatic partnering in a safe
and grounded way. Telling stories through connection to another body uses rebound,
theatricality, and gesture. The session will introduce Volta's phrasework and repertory,
with a focus on how to manage and balance personal and partner weights in unusual
contexts. Directed by Mamie Green and Megan Paradowski, Volta Collective fuses physicality, theatricality, and multidisciplinary approaches
to performance. The ensemble — passionate about presenting dance in accessible, nontraditional
spaces and often collaborating with artists across mediums — has presented work in
dance festivals and other events in the U.S. and abroad. Free. Sponsored by the SMC Associates and SMC Dance Department.
Ray Basa will teach “House Dance,” an open level set of drills/across the floor exercises, followed by a dance combo, as part of the Santa Monica College Dance Department’s Spring 2024 Masters of Dance series on May 2 at 10:15 a.m. in CPC 310 (on the main SMC Campus at 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica). - May 2 at 10:15 a.m.: Ray Basa: “House Dance” — CPC 310 (main SMC Campus, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica). Ray Basa, a native of Los Angeles who teaches House and Hip Hop at the Athletic Garage, will lead open level House dance drills/across the floor exercises, followed by a dance combo. Movement will be cardio heavy and feel like dancing at a party. Basa trained in Hip Hop and Jazz at Debbie Reynolds, Millennium Dance Complex, and the Edge Performing Arts Center, and in House dance with the Versastyle Dance Company and on the East Coast. He dances with several Los Angeles dance companies — including Versastyle, Expressive Doubt, and The Freedom Junkies Project — and has performed in Monsters of Hip Hop w/Funkanometry LA, Asia Entertainment, a Coca Cola commercial, and a John Tesh Music Gospel Dance PBS Special. 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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