South San Francisco, CA June 9, 2022 Submitted by Henry Lowman, PhD, CEO & Board Chair
Special Preview at Hiller Aviation Museum, San Carlos
Saturday July 9th – Sunday July 10th at 12:30pm and 2:30pm
With purchase of museum admission
hiller.org/tickets
Full-Length Performance at Bay Area Ballet Conservatory, South San Francisco
Saturday July 23rd at 4pm and 7pm
Sunday July 24th at 1pm and 4pm
Tickets: $30
oceanicaballet.org
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA–Oceánica Ballet presents Journeys & Destinations, a showcase of ballets by five Bay Area choreographers celebrating the places life takes us. Jessica Woodman’s new work follows the journey two people take as a couple, and how a relationship changes through the years. Isabelle Sjahsam teams up with Los Angeles composer Daniel Crook to create an ambient movement-poem guided by relationship as destination. Edgar Lepe’s “Swingin’” takes a step back in time with vivacious dances set to 1940’s Big Band music. Connolly Strombeck’s “Whistle Stop” highlights some of the ways we interact with one another via the great network of our nation’s rail system. Robert Burns Lowman’s “Game Night!” turns tabletop games into a mod 1960’s dance romp.
A special preview of Journeys and Destinations will be performed in-person in Hiller Aviation Museum’s atrium at 12:30pm and 2:30pm Saturday-Sunday July 9-10. The full performance will be performed in Bay Area Ballet Conservatory’s Studio One at 4pm and 7pm on Saturday July 23rd, and at 1pm and 4pm on Sunday July 24th.
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, Compania 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.
Journeys & Destinations Featured Choreographers
Isabelle Sjahsam has performed with SF Renaissance Dancers, Em Space Dance, 13th Floor Dance Theater, Dance Elixir, Zari Le’on Dance Theater, Moving Arts Dance, and Menlowe Ballet. Passion for choreography has led her to present work at Counterpulse; Temescal Arts Center; Cal Arts Electronic Music Festival; West Wave Dance Festival; in Tabor, Czech Republic; and in film festivals internationally. Currently she is resident choreographer for Ehlers Art Society and a company teacher with Oceánica Ballet.
Connolly Strombeck, a Bay Area native, trained at Academy of Ballet in SF and danced leading roles with Oakland Ballet, Company C Contemporary Ballet, and many others in the Bay and elsewhere. He currently teaches full time at the Academy as well as directing his own project-based contemporary dance company, Trivial Motion.
Born and raised in San Jose, Jessica Woodman is a multi-disciplinary dancer, teacher, and choreographer with over 10 years of professional experience. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Performing Arts and is certified in the GYROKINESIS® & GYROTONIC® methods, Pilates, and American Ballet Theatre’s National Training Curriculum. As a guest artist, she has performed both Soloist and Principal roles with: Bay Pointe Ballet, Oakland Ballet, Menlowe Ballet, Western Ballet, and The Milissa Payne Project. Jessica is currently owner and director of ShadowOfaDancer and Ballet Master of Nor Cal Dance Arts.
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 a Special Preview of Journeys & Destinations
WHEN: Saturday July 9th – Sunday July 10th at 12:30pm and 2:30pm
WHERE: Hiller Aviation Museum, 601 Skyway Rd., San Carlos, CA 94070
TICKETS: Included with purchase of museum admission: https://www.hiller.org/tickets/
WHO/WHAT: Oceánica Ballet presents Journeys & Destinations
WHEN: Saturday July 23rd at 4pm and 7pm; Sunday July 24th 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
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