Choreographer's Showcase

Choreographers Showcase

Join Us For A Weekend of Dance Come & be surprised!  See big city dance right in your backyard!Choreographers Showcase Summer 2018Saturday, July 28 7:30pmSunday, July 29 2pmat SpectorDance3343 Paul Davis DriveMarina, CA 93933TICKETS:  $20 in advance | $25 at the doorSeniors 65+/Children 12 & under: $15 in advance | $20 at the door(831) 384-1050Choreographers:Akinyola Ababale - Gardena, CAArick Arzadon - Monterey, CACamrin Dannelly  - Monterey, CAMeghan Horowitz - San Jose, CAKuan-Hsuan Lee - TaiwanMelissa Karasek - Monterey, CAGabriel Mata - Washington DC Sadie-Rose Resident ArtistLeah Moriarty - Brooklyn, NYC Sadie-Rose Resident ArtistCesar RDegollado - Livermore, CAMargaret Wingrove - San Jose, CAContemporary Ballet with Meghan HorowitzGuest artist class open to all dancers!Sunday, July 29th 11:00-12:30Class only: $25Class & 1 Ticket: $40Sponsored by Arts Council for Monterey CountyFrom a statewide and national search, SpectorDance has selected works to be performed in our state-of-the-art venue on the Monterey Peninsula.  The Choreographers Showcase offers our local audiences a chance to see a wide variety of original, cutting-edge works while simultaneously expanding performance opportunities for dance artists. The Choreographers Showcase celebrates the diversity and vitality of dance as a contemporary art form today. We are thrilled to present these talented artists, including our two newest Sadie-Rose Residency artists, Gabriel Mata and Leah Moriarty.MEGHAN HOROWITZA Los Angeles native, Meghan Horowitz trained under the tutelage of Balanchine Master Yvonne Mounsey.  After graduating high school, she spent two seasons as an apprentice at the Los Angeles Ballet, and one season as a soloist with Santa Monica Dance Theater.  After two years of rigorous professional dance experience and performances, she attended Santa Clara University, where she graduated with a BA in Dance.  While at the university she discovered her passion and aptitude for choreography, which led to her creation of the Santa Clara Dance Coalition. Since graduating in 2015, she has been named Artistic Director at South Valley Dance Arts, and ballet mistress at Studio 10. She has choreographed for San Jose Dance Co shows, Mark Foehringers Choreographers Forum, Dancing in the Park, San Francisco Dance Film Festival and most recently, for SAFEhouse Arts as part of her RAW Artist Residency. Her nouveau approach to classical movement, and eye for costume design sets her apart from her peers. Her love and use of classical music and technique with a flair of modern fusion truly pays homage to the classics of the past while looking towards the future.  *Meghan will be teaching a guest artist class before Sundays performance! She describes her class as contemporary ballet and beyond as she includes Graham and Horton techniques into her movement. ARICK ARZADONWe are excited to welcome Arick back for his second appearance on the SpectorDance stage! A Monterey native, Arick has starred in many local productions with PacRep, Western Stage and the Forrest Theatre. His original songs, which he sings live, and original choreography and sure to delight and may even have you dancing along with him and his crew.MARGARET WINGROVEFounder and Artistic Director of Margaret Wingrove Dance Company, Margaret has been choreographing and performing across the country since 1991. We are honored to present her original work, A Long Goodbye, at this summers showcase. Take a sneak peak at this personal story as dancer, Lori Seymour, takes you through the challenges, love and humorous moments of being a caregiver for a dementia patient. KUAN-HSUAN LEE Kuan-Hsuan was born in Taiwan and traveled to San Francisco when she was entering college. She started dancing since she was 2 and a half. Since then she has been trained in and performed many different techniques/styles. All the training she acquired became influences in the way she moves and her identity as an artist. Besides the pure challenge/pleasure of physicality, she think making dance opens up the questions of being a human. Through dance, people research, document, observe themselves, as well as their relationships with each other, the society, the world. She is fascinated by the vulnerability, the awkwardness, the discomfort, and rawness in humans, or to say, all of the most honest human emotions, interactions, psychological process, and how do we be humans.Her SpectorDance debut is with her original work, a solo, untiled Artificial Nana/ ; a reflection of her desire to dive into her social identity as a woman. In this piece, she has turned herself into a character to explore objectification and sexualization as she goes through the confusion, anxiety and awkwardness of trying to do be a correct woman. Melissa Karasek & Camrin DannellyThis dynamic duo hits our stage again, with a tribute to a classic beat you are sure to know, and might even get your feet tappin! Sing, Sing, Sing is the perfect background for the energy these two bring to their performance. Both Monterey natives, Melissa and Camrin co-choreographed their newest piece to highlight their personal strengths as performers and dancers. Camrins Bio: Camrin Dannelly is a Monterey native and active artistic member of the community. Dancing since she would walk, Camrin trained in various genres of ballet, jazz, tap, and pointe work. In high school she was introduced to the concept of improvisation and the theory of modern movement. Under the direction of her teacher and mentor, Laurie Groves, she was able to hone these styles to eventually find her dance devotion to contemporary dance and choreography. She discovered her passion for theatre at the age of 15 when she co-directed and choreographed a stage adaptation of Moulin Rouge. She has since choreographed local productions of Broadway shows including Evita and South Pacific and has toured the local schools with the Monterey Bay Dance Company. Currently, she is an artistic director, choreographer and performer with the Carmel Delights Dance   Company and Director of Choreography with local theatre company, Paraphrase Productions.Melissas Bio: Melissa Karasek has been a dancer and performer since the age of two.  Growing up, she trained in various styles at Studio 10 Dance in San Jose and at Carmel Academy of Performing Arts. In high school, she danced with the award winning Pacific Grove High School dance team and        continued coaching the team for four years after graduating in 2009. While coaching for PGHS, Melissa taught a variety of styles at Rockstar Dance Studio, Monterey Youth Center, and Robert Down Elementary. She danced with the infamous Night Rockers dance crew at CSU Monterey Bay for their final season and was a part of Choreology Dance Crew from Salinas for two years, with whom she performed twice at World of Dance. In 2013, Melissa moved to Los Angeles and performed with LA Unbound, Amaterasu Dance Company, and Fiasco Dance Crew. She worked with E.D.I.F.Y. Movement, at EDGE Performing Arts, Millennium Dance Complex and for Amaterasu Dance Company. In 2014, Melissa began   leading Walk and Roll Foundations wheelchair dance team with Chelsie Hill and continues to serve on their Board of Directors. Karasek is currently studying at CSU Monterey Bay and teaching a variety of classes at SpectorDance.César R Degollado  has worked as a dancer with well known choreographers and has performed world renowned choreography by George Balanchine, Anthony Tudor, Paul Taylor and Ben Stevenson. He has traveled to Amsterdam, Germany, London, Scotland, Mexico, Venezuela, Japan and Thailand as well as throughout the United States. He worked with Ballet Tucson for seventeen seasons where he credits as a dancer involved core de ballet to principal roles. He also shared the roles of Rehearsal Assistant, Ballet Master and Regisseure. His choreography has been performed by regional, national and international dance companies as well as universities and operas. Hes taught throughout Arizona, California, Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina and Virginia and has been invited to teach in Europe, Latin America and Asia. César has personally coached male and female dancers that have gone to such companies as Houston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Luna Negra, Batsheva Dance Ensemble and Ate9. Students have been selected to compete at the Youth America Grand Prix and the Grand Prix of Lausanne. His students have been accepted to Arts Umbrella, Julliard, Point Park, Fordham University and University of Arizona with scholarships. In addition, students have been accepted into prestigious summer programs like Boston Ballet, Houston Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, School of American Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theater, Hubbard Street, Alvin Ailey, River North Dance Chicago and Gus Giordano. Mr. Degollado founded ConDanza, which will perform his work, The Words I Cannot Say at our showcase.