Jun
3
to Jun 7

Tony Testa USC Residency

Tony Testa

Photo by Mike Quain

Since moving to Los Angeles in 2005, Tony Testa has choreographed for Janet Jackson, Kylie Minogue, Ariana Grande, Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, Jennifer Lopez, Versace, So You Think You Can Dance, America’s Got Talent, Dancing with the Stars, X Factor, Disney, the Grammy Awards, as well as multiple projects for both Franco Dragone and Kenny Ortega. He has also made dance for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, TEDx and the Parliament of the World’s Religions. In addition to his work in the pop industry, Testa actively supports non-profits such as Homeboy Industries, The Advot Project, Creative Visions, The Wooden Floor and The Painted Turtle. He is trained in tap, ballet, jazz, contemporary, various street dance styles, flamenco and butoh. He was born and raised in Fort Collins, CO.

Since he started choreographing, Testa has always been in awe of the spirit, sophistication and sheer scale of the Opening Ceremonies of the Olympic Games. According to Testa, “this event not only represents one of the rarest and grandest displays of artistry in the modern world, but it also brings humanity together as united nations, even during times of global conflict.” During his time at USC Kaufman for the New Movement Residency, Testa will create a submission to choreograph the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. He hopes that this opportunity will bring him closer than ever to his childhood dream.


Full Article available here: https://kaufman.usc.edu/2019-new-movement-residency-artists/

View Event →
Mar
16
7:00 PM19:00

Nomadic Narrative w/ Heidi Duckler Dance

Nomadic Narrative w/Heidi Duckler Dance

Refest Los Angeles 2019

CultureHub's annual festival brings artists, activists, and technologists together to envision our role in re-shaping the future. Through exhibitions, performances, and conversations, Refest 2019 explores how we create, resist, and redefine gender within an evolving technological landscape

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/refest-los-angeles-2019-tickets-57455020513

View Event →
Apr
11
6:00 PM18:00

The Dance Center's '12 Minutes Max'

Dance artists Greer Whillans, Jenn Edwards and Carolina Bergonzoni write about the work they have been developing during the spring edition of 12 Minutes Max, which can be seen at a free studio showing on April 11 at 6pm.

Greer Whillans

I naively began this 12 Minute Max process investigating the relationship between vulnerability and authenticity. Yes, I know, a very ambitious task indeed. I knew it wouldn’t be simple and I knew I would be challenged in many, many ways. Little did I know quite how much! I began my first rehearsal thinking…. Oh no, what have I gotten myself into… Of course I knew these two topics were hefty, but I hadn’t taken into consideration, that in order to investigate thoroughly, I’d have to go there myself, connect and generate movement from those places. It was in those moments that I was most grateful to have such supportive, lovely, open hearts to share the studio with. They helped me tremendously to make this task less intimidating and open up the discussion. We discovered so many wonderful and surprising things in our individual movement and as a collective. We’ve been exercising improvisational techniques as a means to settle into our bodies and get connected to the task at hand. The improvisations reveal questions that continue to lead us down many different roads. Discussions naturally develop such as: how and when are you authentic in your reactions? How does one recognize if someone else is being authentic? How do you allow yourself to be vulnerable? And under what circumstances? Or at what cost? Most recently the idea of using voice was introduced. This obviously excited and terrified us all at the same time. Dancers don’t usually talk on stage! We move… that’s why we became dancers. Nonetheless we are tackling it in the spirit of exploration. While the April 11th preview date rapidly approaches and the 12 Minute Max time limit seems not nearly long enough to share all that we have discovered, I’m grateful for the encouragement and challenge to explore, experiment and get lost in the chaos of playing. 

View Event →