SMC’S Global Motion World Dance Company to Perform May 4-5 at BroadStage

SMC’S Global Motion World Dance Company to Perform May 4-5 at BroadStage

Performance Features Works Choreographed by Guest Artists Nadia Calmet and Aparna Sindhoor

& Two Works by Ballet Folklórico Flor de Mayo (BFFM) 

SANTA MONICA, CA — The Santa Monica College (SMC) Global Motion World Dance Company will present its spring 2024 performance of dances from around the world.

Performances are on Saturday, May 4, and Sunday, May 5, at 7:30 p.m. in BroadStage at the SMC Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th Street (at Santa Monica Boulevard), Santa Monica.

SMC students will present the excitement and diverse beauty of other cultures through showcasing traditional and contemporary World Dance styles — including West African, Afro-Peruvian, Contemporary Ballet, Bharatanatyam, Belly Dance, Haka, Jazz Funk, Mexican Folklórico, Salsa, and more.

The performance will include dance works created for Global Motion by guest artists and renowned choreographers Nadia Calmet and Aparna Sindhoor, and two dance works by SMC Dance Department company in residence Ballet Folklórico Flor de Mayo (BFFM). The two folklórico dances — from the states of Guerrero and Zacatecas — were choreographed by Alondra Ramirez and Raquel Ramirez.

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 BroadStage Box Office at the SMC Performing Arts Center. Free parking on premises. Seating is strictly on a first-arrival basis.

Global Motion was founded over 40 years ago by Judith Douglas, former chair of the SMC Dance Department, to bring knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the diverse beauty of dance throughout the world, and to give SMC students the essential experience of working with choreographers and performing as a professional company, on a professional stage.

The SMC Dance Department uses BroadStage — including the stage and lighting crew and support staff — for performances. Costumes are handmade each season by professional costumer Patricia Oliva.

Nadia Calmet is a renowned dancer, choreographer, musician, and cultural ambassador. She has more than 25 years of experience participating in cultural exchanges with organizations in more than 30 countries as a cultural representative of Peru. Currently, Calmet works as a dance teacher and specialist in the African diaspora dances, as well as creating curricula for multicultural arts education programs in Los Angeles. She has just published her first bilingual children’s book, “Cajón, Cajita y Quijada."

Aparna Sindhoor creates a unique Bharatanatyam dance-theater and has performed in numerous professional companies and venues, including the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), Bates Dance Festival, Brandeis University, Wellesley College, East West Players, Teesri Duniya Theatre, and Rangayana. She is a recipient of grants from the California Arts Council’s Individual Artist Fellowship, National Performance Network (NPN), and New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA), among others. Sindhoor has worked with Cirque du Soleil's famed Franco Dragone and Oscar winner Anthony Dod Mantle. Sindhoor is a leading exponent in the Mysore style Bharatanatyam and teaches dance, yoga, and martial arts. Her company, Sindhoor & Natyaveda-Navarasa Dance Theater, offers free training for 200 students in India and the United States.

Global Motion is under the artistic direction of Raquel Ramirez and Sri Susilowati. Ramirez is a dance professor at SMC and the founder and director of a folklórico performance group dedicated to supporting the traditions and cultures of Mexico. Susilowati, originally from Indonesia, creates and performs traditional and contemporary works that focus on community, gender, and ethnicity.

Faculty choreographers are Seda Aybay (Contemporary Ballet), Laura Canellias (Salsa), Keali’i Ceballos (Haka), Angela Jordan (West African), and Raquel Ramirez (Mexican Folklórico).

This spring, Global Motion will also present two alumni choreographers, Glenjamin Rodriguez (Jazz Funk) and Erica Caplan (Belly Dance).

Global Motion World Dance Company has toured extensively and performed at schools, festivals, and special events throughout California and Mexico for more than 40 years, and has also performed in Beijing, China; Bracciano, Italy; Santiago, Chile; Lloret de Mar, Spain; and Paris, France.

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

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