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!

My Class to "Experience" by Kacy Hill

My Class to "My Song 5" by Haim

My Class to "Bravado" by Lorde

My Class to "The Wire" by Haim

Choreographing for Evoke Dance Company: "Living Like You Do" by SBTRKT

I was recently invited by Evoke Dance Company to choreograph a piece for their end of the year showcase in June. Of course I was very honored they asked me, and I was excited at the opportunity to conceptualize and choreograph an entire piece on my own!

After just three sessions with 19 of the team's members, I finished the three minute piece to SBTRKT's, "Living Like You Do."

I don't have footage of the routine in its entirety, but here is a snippet of choreography from the piece that I taught in a class at Edge PAC:

Thank you Josephine, Justine, Jennifer, and Evoke Dance Company for having me! I can't wait to see it on stage!

Movement is a Lifestyle

I have set many goals for myself this year, and one of them is to further develop my own craft as a dancer and artist. There are many ways to accomplish this, but the approach that I am taking this year is to choreograph and teach more.

That is why I snatched up the opportunity to teach at Movement Lifestyle when the studio manager asked if I was interested. And for the entire month of January I am the featured contemporary teacher. I will even start subbing at Edge PAC as a contemporary/jazz teacher very soon. In fact, my very first class is next Friday (2/1) at 1:00PM!

While I am not exactly a novice at teaching class, I am completely new to the dance education scene in LA. To me, teaching in LA is drastically different from teaching in my home town. For one, a majority of the dance population in LA are professionals. These kind of dancers seek a different kind of training than that sought by recreational and non-professional students. 

For what it's worth, I've very much enjoyed my 3:30PM slot at ML thus far. My classes have been small and therefore very intimate. 

Tomorrow will be my 4th class of the month, and I will be teaching to an awesome Haim song:

You only have 2 more opportunities to boogie with me on Thursdays this month at Movement Lifestyle at 3:30PM, so come while you can!!