Entity Dance Company

We are back in full swing for another two weeks on the Yeezus Tour, and while this leg of tour is very short I will nonetheless be thinking about all the wonderful comforts of home.

One part of my LA life that will definitely be on my mind is my Entity Dance Company family:

I was invited to join Entity Dance Company by co-directors Marissa Osato and Will Johnston when it was first established in 2009. Since then the company has come to be one of my mainstays of life in LA; through all the chaos of college and instability of the commercial industry, Entity remains as constant and supportive as my own family.

The company "establishes a unique approach to fusing contemporary, hip-hop, modern, and ballet, and celebrates creative exploration to push visual artistry to its limits" (via Facebook). The company holds auditions for new members once a year, and this year I was given the opportunity to teach at the audition workshops with my dear friend Tess Hewlett:

Our audition flier

Happenstance matching during a creative session

Intentional outfit coordination on audition day

Tess and I have uniquely dissimilar instincts, but that made it even more fun to collaborate with her:

Entity has performed in a multitude of community dance events such as Vibe, Urban Paradise, and Ultimate Brawl. But this year the company is focusing on doing something it has never done before: putting on its own full length show. Marissa and Will will be orchestrating and choreographing the entire event on the 18 company members. The show is set to debut in November 2014, and we could not be more excited!

Over the next few months, Entity will be holding fundraiser workshops at various studios and locations around California. Stay up to date with these events via our Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and website!

Entity: Ultimate Brawl 2013 and Will's M.F.A. Thesis Concert

Last weekend I had the opportunity to dance with Entity at Ultimate Brawl (UB) 2013. UB is a hip hop dance competition organized by the hip hop dance group, 909. I always enjoy performing at community dance events because there is a greater sense of respect and support than at non-community dance events. I also enjoy watching the community teams and seeing how they have evolved and/or progressed.

It's been a long time since I was a part of the creative process with Will and Marissa (I believe my last number with them was the Aliyah one), and I was fascinated with how they brought our latest piece to life. Especially interesting to me were the parts where there were two or four dancers. I've never choreographed a duet or a small group, and I loved seeing how Will and Marissa created moments in which two dancers not only danced in sync with each other but also interacted with each other.

I think "As the Sky Settles" is one of my favorite Entity pieces to date. Watch how the different moments in the piece are flawlessly unveiled, and how the piece flows seamlessly from one vignet to another:

Marissa and Will are so talented at what they do, and I feel grateful to be able to learn from them. It's been four years since I began dancing with the group, and I forget how lucky I am to be a part of the duo's unique artistic vision.

Members from top/botom & left/right: Courtney Bradley, Krystal Matsuyama, Alec Guthrie, Emily Silber, Tess Hewlett, Grayson McGuire, Mikael Villela, Ashley Paige (Gomez), Will Johnston, Aimee Ferguson, Me, Marissa Osato, Victoria Acker, Aisha Gibbs (Missing: Bailey Stump, Ray Naval, Anthony Westlake, Diana Schonfield, and Liane Aung)

Entity's next performance will be at Will's M.F.A thesis concert 5/13 and 5/14 at UCI:

The hour-long show includes a variety of work pertaining to Will's thesis research. We've been rehearsing for a few weeks and I've gotten a sneak peak of the other pieces that are in the show. I am blown away by everything I've seen so far, and can't wait to share the stage with all the amazing dancers that are participating! 

RSVP for the FREE show at: mfadanceconcerts13@gmail.com.

Hope to see you there!