Artistic Director Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie returns to Santa Barbara and explores the nuances of street and social dance in ODEON
Courtesy photo.
SUMMARY
- Wed, May 15 | 8 p.m. | Campbell Hall
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- Join the acclaimed dance group helmed by b-girl Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie for this genre-defying performance that brings together and remixes street and social dance forms
- $40 / $15 for UCSB students (with valid ID)
- Tickets & Info: www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu
“Bold, miraculous, spellbinding.” The New York Times
SANTA BARBARA — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Ephrat Asherie Dance on Wednesday, May 15 at 8 p.m. at Campbell Hall. Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie, a New York-based b-girl with extensive training in ballet and modern dance, returns to reveal and explore the complexities of street and social dance forms. ODEON brings together and remixes street and club dances including breaking, hip hop, house and vogue, set to a mix of early 20th century romantic music and popular Afro-Brazilian rhythms.
Ephrat Asherie Dance | Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival 2018 (Jacob’s Pillow)
ABOUT EPHRAT ASHERIE DANCE
Ephrat Asherie Dance (EAD) is a dance company rooted in African American and Latinx street and club dances. Dedicated to exploring the inherent complexities of these dances, EAD investigates the expansive narrative qualities of various vernacular forms including breaking, hip hop, house and vogue as a means to tell stories, develop innovative imagery and find new modes of expression.
EAD’s first evening-length work, A Single Ride, earned two Bessie nominations in 2013 for Outstanding Emerging Choreographer and Outstanding Sound Design by Marty Beller. The company has presented work both nationally and internationally at ArtPower! at UC San Diego, the Apollo Theater, Dixon Place, El Festival Internacional Cervantino, FiraTàrrega, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Joyce Theater, La MaMa, The Momentary, New York City Center, New York Live Arts, River To River Festival, Spoleto Festival USA, SummerStage NYC, Vail Dance Festival, White Bird, Works & Process at the Guggenheim and The Yard, among others.
ABOUT EPHRAT “BOUNCE” ASHERIE
Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie is a NYC-based director, choreographer, performer and b-girl and a 2016 Bessie Award Winner for Innovative Achievement in Dance. Asherie has received numerous awards to support her work including Dance Magazine‘s Inaugural Harkness Promise Award and two National Dance Project Awards. In 2019 she was the recipient of a NYFA Fellowship and is currently a Jerome Hill Artist Fellow. As Artistic Director of Ephrat Asherie Dance (EAD), Asherie’s work has been presented on stages nationally and internationally with commissions from companies including Malpaso and Parsons Contemporary Dance and additional commissions from Vail Dance Festival, Fall for Dance, River to River, Firatatrrega, Works & Process at the Guggenheim and the Kennedy Center.
Additional directorial work includes UNDERSCORED: On Screen at Lincoln Center, FLOORISH, Solo Chini: Un Dia en Nueva York and In the MOment: A Drawing Dance. Her most recent work for the stage, UNDERSCORED – awarded a 2019 Creation and Development Award from the National Performance Network and a 2022 National Dance Project – premiered in November 2022 at Works & Process at the Guggenheim and is currently touring the country. Asherie is honored to have been mentored by Richard Santiago (aka Break Easy) and to have worked and collaborated with Michelle Dorrance, Doug Elkins, Rennie Harris, Bill Irwin, Gus Solomons Jr. and Buddha Stretch, among others. Asherie earned her BA from Barnard College, Columbia University in Italian and her MFA from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee where she researched the vernacular jazz dance roots of contemporary street and club dances. She is a co-founding member of the all-female house dance collective MAWU and is forever grateful to NYC’s underground dance community for inspiring her to pursue a life as an artist.
ABOUT UCSB ARTS & LECTURES
Founded in 1959, UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) is the largest and most influential arts and lectures organization between Los Angeles and San Francisco. A&L annually presents more than a hundred public events, from critically acclaimed concerts and dance performances by world-renowned artists to talks by groundbreaking authors and film series at UCSB and Santa Barbara-area venues. With a mission to “educate, entertain and inspire,” A&L also oversees an outreach program that brings visiting artists and speakers into local classrooms and other venues for master classes, open rehearsals, discussions and more, serving K-12 students, college students and the general public.
Ephrat Asherie Dance is presented by UCSB Arts & Lectures in association with UCSB Department of Theatre & Dance.
Major Sponsor: Jody & John Arnhold
Tickets are $40 / $15 for UCSB students (Current student ID required)
For tickets or more information, call UCSB Arts & Lectures at (805) 893-3535 or purchase online at www.ArtsAndLectures.UCSB.edu.
UCSB Arts & Lectures gratefully acknowledges our Community Partners the Natalie Orfalea Foundation & Lou Buglioli for their generous support of the 2023-2024 season.