Nine dance companies and three studios will be coming together from across California to perform in the SBCC Dance Company’s Collective Collaborative.
The collaborative will take place at 7 p.m. Nov. 3 and 4 at 7 p.m. at the New Vic Theater.
“Each year I get to create a new work, so it is always fresh and new,” said Tracy Kofford, director of dance at City College for seven years. “I get to use both my analytical and creative side.
“Each year I find ways to create a stronger dance program.”
The SBCC Dance Company offers intermediate to advanced dancers the opportunity to perform and travel as a pre-professional group. This year there are 20 student members affiliated with the company.
For this second annual Collective Collaborative, the company will be premiering a new work by dancer Shelby Lynn Joyce and a piece choreographed by Kofford last spring.
Kofford wanted to create a touring relationship with the SBCC Dance Company and other organizations on the west coast. He said he sees this being a yearly fall dance concert.
Helene Schuhkecht is a first semester SBCC Dance Student and international student from Germany. This will be Schuhkecht’s first time performing in the Collective Collaborative.
“I am thrilled to perform in front of the audience for the reason that we put so much work into this and we can finally show it to the people and share our passion with them,” Schuhkecht said.
Schuhkecht started dancing at the age of 4 and said she is inspired by her mom who is a dance teacher in Germany. She does different styles of dancing, which mostly include modern, contemporary, and ballet.
“It is hard to describe the feeling I have while I am performing in front of others, but it brings me a lot of joy and I just live in the moment and dance with all I can give.”
“I want to make people feel something when they watch me dance. Dance is an art to me and besides the physical aspect it is important for me to transport a story or even only feelings and emotions through movement,” said Schuhkecht.
The company rehearses Tuesdays and Thursday from 3:45 to 7:30 p.m. and on Fridays from noon to 6 p.m. Within those hours, they reset the work Kofford did last spring and Joyce choreographs her new work. They’ve also been working on four other pieces that will be presented in the spring at different festivals as soon as they come back from winter break, Kofford said.
“I absolutely love this. It is such an amazing experience being in the studio rehearsing with such amazing and talented young artist, it is a dream come true for me,” said Kofford.
“I feel so supported by my head Kathy O’Connor and that makes it so great and working with these young artist is such a blessing.”
The guest companies are PGK from San Diego, Santa Barbara Festival Ballet, SpectorDance, SB Centre for Aerial Dance, LA Dance Moves, PDCLA, Moorpark College Dance, Thacher, Shieldwall, SB Dance Arts, and Jess Harper and Dancers. The event is sponsored by Santa Barbara County Office of Arts and Culture.
Clarification Nov. 1, 2017:
This article has been updated to fix previous inaccuracies.
