 |
SAN DIEGO — Wonderland, a new addition to the University of California, San
Diego’s ArtPower! season and Theatre and Dance program, promises to be
one of the West Coast’s most exciting international dance festivals. The three-day festival, Thursday through Saturday (March 31-April 2), will showcase the art of
contemporary dance and feature national and international artists.
This year’s participants include the award-winning ensembles Kate Weare
Company; UC San Diego alumna Monica Bill Barnes and Company; Chunky
Move; and Lux Boreal Danza Contemporánia.
“Wonderland is initiating a new way of looking at UC San Diego. We’re
not just a science university, but an arts university as well,” said
Martin Wollesen, ArtPower! artistic director and co-curator.
ArtPower! partnered with Sushi Contemporary Performance and Visual Arts
and the UC San Diego Department of Theatre and Dance to present
Wonderland. Unique to the festival is its co-curatorial model that
includes Wollesen, Allyson Green, chair of the Theatre and Dance
Department and Patrick Stewart, executive director of Sushi.
 |
“We wanted to bring guest artists from around the world,” said Green.
“We want to create a concentration of energy here, a place to encourage
collaboration.”
The festival will feature an interchange of choreographic dance and a
range of movement and performance at venues downtown and on campus.
Event highlights include:
- Opening night performances by Monica Bill Barnes and Kate Weare: Weare is known for creating imaginative and contemporary dances that deal with perceptions of identity and relationships. At 7:15 p.m. Thursday in the Potiker Theatre, attendees will get a sneak peak of “Bridge of Sighs,”an ardent and unusual quartet looking at human instincts — both reckless and wise — that drive people toward love. Monica Bill Barnes, a New York-based choreographer who creates performances integrating humor and theatricality, will present “Another Parade,” a romantic and flirty work featuring four performers.
- Kickoff party: Following the opening night performances, the social event at 8:30 p.m. in the Potiker Theatre will feature complimentary hand-crafted beers from Karl Strauss and food for purchase from North Park’s Sea Rocket Bistro.
- Wonderland Master Classes: Leading up to the festival, Weare, Barnes, Chunky Move and Lux Boreal Danza Contemporánia will all participate in Wonderland workshops where the professional artists demonstrate technique and teach movement in classes specifically designed for UC San Diego dance students.
- Free dance classes for City Heights residents: As part of the festivities, Wonderland artists, working with the non-profit community organization transcenDANCE, will provide free dance classes for high school students at the transcenDANCE studio in City Heights.
- Closing night performance by Lux Boreal Danza Contemporánea: The Tijuana-based company will perform “Lamb” at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Sushi performance space. “Lamb” is an ebb and flow of biblical, folkloric and mythical references in the loose form of a Catholic Mass, filled with religious contradictions. The company performs in major theaters throughout Mexico and has been developing a strong cultural exchange with California.
- Closing night party: Located at the Sushi performance space, the event at 9 p.m. will celebrate the closing performance, featuring food, drinks and an auction of a custom toy piano used in Lux Boreal’s performance of“Lamb.”