UCSB 2021 Kinetic Lab

Kicking off the 2021-2022 Dance Performance Season, KINETIC LAB 2021 will feature new works by BFA Dance Students. Kinetic Lab is a creative process-focused choreography lab for students to discover their individual compositional methods and unique artistic voices.

Under the direction of Brandon Whited the program will feature work by student choreographers Ana Ko Glass, Alice Lousen, Robbie Rosenmiller, Michaela Perez-Kelly, and Britney Walton. The concert will also include a guest performance by the UCSB Dance Company (under the Artistic Direction of Delila Moseley) with a new work, Group Autogenics, co-choreographed by UCSB Dance Alum Derion Loman, and Madison Olandt. The choreographers are excited for the opportunity to work with Michael Klaers who will provide Lighting and Production Design for the concert.

Inspired by the idea of the past, present and future together as one, Ana Ko Glass and her 6 dancers utilize the physicality of beach waves to intertwine time and experiences. Continuing with the notion of

carrying the knowledge of previous experiences into the future, her piece begins with casual pedestrian movement. The dancers evolve by taking on water-like qualities portraying rippling and waving visuals through the body, and group, to help create a performance that is sure to wash away feelings of regret.

Michaela Perez-Kelly’s piece will delve into the idea of mourning one’s unrealized self and ‘what could have been.’ Six dancers will take the stage to guide the audience through a journey of continuous self-acceptance and self-assurance as the dance progresses. This continuous cycle of mourning and acceptance is the dark daydream that Michaela will portray onstage with the hope of welcoming a new

being.

Alice Lousen’s work tracks three dancers through their journeys into the unknown. Gradually, the uneasy becomes the comfortable. To truly immerse the dancers into an unknown space, Alice incorporates chance elements that both the audience and dancers will navigate together.

Through the exploration of mirroring, betrayal, and acceptance, Robbie Rosenmiller and his dancers explore the universal relationship between identity, trust, and betrayal. Rosenmiller challenges the audience to engage in a self-reflective journey through the performance.

Britney Walton‘s piece explores the complexities of interpersonal relationships and unrequited love. The six dancers express their individualistic experiences of grief and untold conversations. While finding

comfort through community and each other’s internal conflict.

Rounding out the program, L.A. based Guest Choreographers Derion Loman and Madison Olandt have collaborated to create a new work on the UCSB Dance Company. Titled Group Autogenics, the dance playfully and provocatively uses the 1960’s text and music of Ken Nordine that he called “word jazz”. Filled with swirling trench coats, Group Autogenics challenges and entices the viewer into a dreamlike world that goes deeper and deeper into the human mind.