The following is a submission from Santa Monica Community College.
The Santa Monica College (SMC) Dance Department opens its Spring 2025 Masters of Dance series with a line-up of master classes and learning workshops led by dance professionals. The series starts March 26 with movement artist Stephanie Powell leadinga class on classical ballet technique that includes a professional class progression focusing on barre work, center, and across-the-floor exercises. The Masters of Dance workshops are free, and the public is invited to attend as participants or as observers. Seating is limited and on a first-arrival basis.
Theworkshops will be held in the SMC Core Performance Center (CPC) on the SMC Main Campus (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica). The series is sponsored by the SMC Associates (smc.edu/associates) — a private organization that funds speakers and special programs on the Santa Monica College campus — and the SMC Dance Department.
The Spring 2025 Masters of Dance line-up is:
• March 26 at 10:15 a.m.: Stephanie Powell: “Ballet” — Core Performance Center (CPC 304), located on the SMC Main Campus, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. Movement artist Stephanie Powell will lead a class on classical ballet technique that includes a professional class progression focusing on barre work, center, and across-the-floor exercises. The class is designed for dancers to connect with a live pianist through expressive artistry, technique, and confidence. Prof. Powell is a tenured faculty member at the Long Beach City College Dance Program and a certified instructor of the New York City Ballet Workout, BASI Pilates, and Zumba. She has taught dance around the world, is the principal interpreter of the choreographic works of the Donald McKayle Legacy, and has danced professionally with the Oakland Ballet Company, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Donald Byrd the Group, Contemporary West Dance Theatre, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She has also performed as a singer, dancer, and actress in the Los Angeles production of “The Lion King.” Free. Sponsored by the SMC Associates and SMC Dance Department.
• April 3 at 12:30 p.m.: Aparna Singhoor: “Expressive Physicality with Indian Dance” — Core Performance Center (CPC 304), located on the SMC Main Campus, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. Dr. Aparna Sindhoor developed expressive physicality to help dancers/actors become better performers, as well as create works with an integrity that enhances the emotional quality. She will lead a workshop inspired by the classical Indian dance Bharatanatyam, the martial art known as Kalaripayattu, and yoga to prepare participants to use their body as a tool to communicate on stage. Dr. Sindhoor is the Artistic Director of Sindhoor & Natyaveda and a Mysore-style Bharatanatyam dancer who trained with Dr. K. Venkatalakshamma and Dr. Lalitha Srinivasan. She was nominated for choreography awards from LA Stage Alliance Ovation and Kerala State Film, received a National Performers Network (NPN) Creation Funds Award and a California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship, and was named ShaktiDhama Woman of the Year. Dr. Sindhoor also co-created (with Anil Natyaveda) Dance For Everyone, a program that offers free training for the underprivileged in India, the United States, and online. Free. Sponsored by the SMC Associates and SMC Dance Department.
• April 23 at 12:45 p.m.: David Roussève: “A Choreographer’s Approach to Dance for Camera” — Core Performance Center (CPC 304), located on the SMC Main Campus, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica. Choreographer/writer/director/filmmaker David Roussève will discuss his theater works, his experiences making dance films as a choreographer primarily for the live stage, and how he translates composition to the screen. An audience Q&A is included. Roussève — a Distinguished Professor of Choreography at UCLA in the World Arts and Cultures/Dance department — has also served as Associate Dean for the UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture. His commissions include the Houston Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, Cleo Parker Robinson, Dancing Wheels, Atlanta Ballet, and Ilkhom Theater Co. of Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Roussève’s dance/theater company, Reality, has performed throughout the United Kingdom, Europe, South America, and the U.S. His films have received numerous “Best Film” awards, and he recently completed the feature screenplay “Stardust,” based on his dance/theater work of the same name. Free. Sponsored by the SMC Associates and SMC Dance Department.
More information is available at smc.edu/dance or by calling 310-434-4100 or 310-434-8763. All presentations subject to change or cancellation without notice.
Photo caption: As part of the Santa Monica College Dance Department’s Spring 2025 Masters of Dance series, Dr. Aparna Sindhoor — Artistic Director of Sindhoor & Natyaveda and a Mysore-style Bharatanatyam dancer — will lead “Expressive Physicality with Indian Dance,” a free workshop inspired by classical Indian dance to prepare dancers/actors to communicate on stage on April 3 at 12:30 p.m. in the Core Performance Center (CPC 304), on the SMC Main Campus (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica).
