South San Francisco, CA March 16, 2022 Submitted by Robert Lowman, Oceánica Ballet
Oceánica Ballet is proud to present Symbiosis. Four San Francisco Bay Area choreographers stage a vibrant collage of classical and contemporary ballets exploring themes of cohabitation, coexistence, and collaboration. Featured choreographers include Oceánica Ballet Artistic Co-Directors Edgar Lepe and Robert Burns Lowman, along with guest choreographers Patience Gordon and Vinnie Jones. Patience Gordon’s “And Here We Are” takes a look at how people interact within the context of different relationships. Each scene explores how a person relates or co-exists with a sibling, with a significant other, or with themselves. Vinnie Jones’s new work tells the story of one person’s journey to embrace, face, and integrate the various fractured elements of oneself arising from major change or trauma.
Robert Burns Lowman’s “In the Shadow of Another” delves into the emotional associations of shadows. In “Gaea’s Creatures,” Edgar Lepe imagines a magical springtime world inspired by mythological nymphs and classical ballet vocabulary.
Symbiosis will be performed in-person in Bay Area Ballet Conservatory’s Studio One at 4pm and 7pm on Saturday April 2nd, 2022; and at 1pm and 4pm on Sunday April 3rd, 2022.
Street and parking-lot parking available. All San Mateo County masking policies to addressCOVID will be followed.
Oceánica Ballet’s 2022 season will feature two additional productions: Journeys & Destinations in July, and Sleepy Hollow & Lupita in October. Additional dates to be announced soon at oceanicaballet.org
About Artistic Co-Director Edgar Lepe
Trained in Folklorico Ballet throughout his youth, Edgar Lepe began studying classical ballet in 2008 at the San Francisco Academy of Ballet under the direction of ballet masters Richard Gibson and Zory Karah.
Edgar has performed in Mexico and the United States with Collage West Ensemble, Compañia Mexico Danza, Ensembles Ballet Folklorico of San Francisco, as well as Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Presidio Dance Theatre, Bay Pointe Ballet, and Oakland Ballet. Edgar has choreographed for Bay Pointe Ballet, Bay Area Ballet Conservatory, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, and San Jose Dance International. Edgar currently teaches at Bay Area Ballet Conservatory.
About Artistic Co-Director Robert Burns Lowman
Robert Burns Lowman trained at Susan Hayward School of Dancing and holds B.A.s in Dance and Theater & Performance Studies from U.C. Berkeley. He is a recipient of the Mask and Dagger Memorial Prize (2012) and the Rosalyn Schneider Eisner Prize (2013).
Robert has danced in works by Gregory Amato, Marit Brook-Kothlow, Carlos Carvajal, Ron Cunningham, Katie Faulkner, Edgar Lepe, Rosalia Lerner, Constanza Murphy, Becky Robinson-Leviton, Jessica Woodman, and Scott Wells. At Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Robert performed principal roles in Giselle, The Nutcracker, and Carmen Suite; and was featured as a soloist in the virtual release of The Chrysalis Project. In addition to performing, Robert directed PBT’s annual Dance Makers choreography showcase from 2016-2019 and was PBT Artistic Assistant from 2018-2020. Robert currently teaches ballet at Shoreline Dance Academy and Bay Area Ballet Conservatory.
Symbiosis Featured Guest Choreographers
Patience Gordon trained at Ballet Petit in Hayward, CA and additionally with Oakland Ballet, Ballet Arizona and the Royal Danish Ballet. She has danced professionally with the Oakland Ballet Company, Menlowe Ballet and Zion Dance Project, performing roles in classical ballets and original contemporary works. As a founding and current member of Em(body) Dance Project, Patience performs and choreographs for virtual and live shows around the Bay Area. She also enjoys sharing her love of dance to students of all ages.
Vinnie Jones grew up in Maine and attended the University of Utah on a dance scholarship. She has danced with San Diego Ballet, Ballet Tucson, and LaMov Compania de Danza of Spain.
Locally Vinnie has danced with Menlowe Ballet, Marika Brussel, and Peninsula Ballet Theatre. As a choreographer she has presented works in Chicago, Mexico, Spain, Tucson, and locally. In 2019 she started em(body) dance project where she presents her choreography. She also collaborates with JonesPro Photo & Film to create screendance works. These pieces have been accepted at the Taking Up Space Festival and the Big Muddy Dance Screendance Fest.
About Oceánica Ballet
Oceánica Ballet is a group of dynamic artists curated from the Bay Area’s diverse classical dance scene. Oceánica Ballet was formed in 2021 to unite people through the shared experience of dance performance as a reflection of our complex and diverse collective humanity. Our mission is to enliven the San Francisco Bay Area cultural landscape by making professional-level ballet performances accessible and relatable to Bay Area audiences. We enrich the artistic careers of locally-based, professionally trained dance artists of diverse ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, and body types. We create innovative new ballet-based dance works, and interpret classics in fresh and exciting ways.
Oceánica Ballet, Inc. has been designated a Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
CALENDAR LISTING
Dance, Theater, Performance
WHO/WHAT: Oceánica Ballet presents Symbiosis
WHEN: Saturday April 2nd, 2022 at 4pm and 7pm; Sunday April 3rd, 2022 at 1pm and 4pm
WHERE: Bay Area Ballet Conservatory, 275 Wattis Way, South San Francisco, CA 94080
TICKETS: $30 at the following link: https://oceanicaballet.org/performances
For more information visit https://oceanicaballet.org