SoMar celebrates 24th anniversary with 鈥楽lice of Life鈥
SoMar Dance Works, a dance company in-residence at 海角乱伦社区 University, announces its new production, 鈥淪lice of Life,鈥 slated for two performances this weekend: Saturday, Feb. 18, at 7 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 19, at 2 p.m. Both are in Walker Recital Hall on the 海角乱伦社区 campus and are free and open to the public.聽This marks the company鈥檚 24th anniversary.
The hour-long dance concert is cut into 10 鈥渟lices.鈥 Some are older works dating back to 2006 and 2008, and others are premieres. As usual, the program is full of variety, including modern dance, ballet, tap, dance film, and storytelling with live music.
鈥淭he dances on this program embody some aspect of life as we know it, be it temptation, loneliness, longing, compassion, fear, fun, or funkiness. Each piece is a slice of the whole,鈥 said co-director Mark Santillano. 鈥淭he versatility of the dancers will certainly be on full display.鈥
Opening the concert will be 鈥淣anachi, set to the music of Okinawan artist Shoukichi Kina. This is a high-energy, ever-morphing piece of choreography that is exciting to witness. Also on the program is 鈥淧lanet Krupa.鈥 With its driving tom-tom beats and familiar melody ("Sing, Sing, Sing"), the inhabitants of this far-out community are full of surprises.
Dancers are Katie Bazala, Katie Bleu, Rebecca Jones, Katherine Kilbourn, Meggie Peterson, Madeleine Plourde, Sophie Satoh, Mia Semieraro, as well as Mark and Solveig Santillano.
Additionally, Angela DiFiore and Kelly Armor will join co-director Solveig Santillano to reprise their piece, 鈥淪keleton Woman,鈥 which was originally created as a blend of storytelling, music, and dance, and presented at last year鈥檚 National Water Dance project.
SoMar made its premier in 1999 at the Missouri Fine Arts Academy. Since that time, SoMar has performed at the Erie Art Museum, Erie Festival of Dance, the American College Dance Festival, Celebrate Erie, The Brick Church for the Performing Arts in Lovell, Maine, Unitarian Universalists in Community Concert, Luther Memorial Concert Series, The Fredonia Opera House, Grand Valley State University, Gothenburg, Sweden, Austria鈥檚 Young! Tanzsommer, and numerous 海角乱伦社区 University programs.
Co-artistic directors, choreographers, and dancers Solveig and Mark Santillano are seasoned performers who have danced all over the world. Their choreography has been influenced by their association with their former companies, Pilobolus Dance Theatre and MOMIX. Solveig and Mark are also the proud recipients of the inaugural Erie Arts & Culture Artist Fellowship.
Photo credit: Mark Santillano