SEATTLE, WA, May 29, 2019 — Seattle Dance Collective (SDC), under the direction of Pacific

Northwest Ballet (PNB) principal dancers Noelani Pantastico and James Yoichi Moore, will

present works by five choreographers from three continents for the company’s debut

performances July 12-14 at Vashon Center for the Arts (VCA). The featured choreographers

represent both established and emerging voices in the world of modern ballet and contemporary

dance.

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Program One includes six diverse pieces of contemplative emotional journeys, high-octane

athleticism and riveting exploration of movement, all designed to inspire audiences and

challenge expectations:

 

The Grey Area (an excerpt) by British choreographer David Dawson

Dawson’s award-winning breakthrough piece points towards a place of no time and no place - a ‘no-man’s land’ - with free-flowing phrases set to Niels Lanz’s haunting score.

 

Mopey by German choreographer Marco Goecke

Set to music by C.P.E. Bach and the 80’s rock band The Cramps, Mopey is an inwardly

reflective, yet volatile solo work—dark, moody and potentially unsettling.

 

Frugivory and Anamnesis by Portuguese choreographer Bruno Roque

Frugivory is a light, unphilosophical take on the idea that the object of our desire can drive us,

or blind us; that we are often “prisoners” of our needs and longings.

Anamnesis touches upon the concept of how defining moments in our formative years leave a

permanently ephemeral imprint that echoes throughout one’s existence.

 

Shogun (an excerpt) by the late Brazilian-Japanese choreographer Ivonice Satie

Dedicated to Satie’s grandfather who taught her the traditional Japanese arts of laido and

Shinto-ryu, Shogun explores the relationship between master and disciple.

 

Sur le Fil (by a Hair’s Breadth) by American choreographer Penny Saunders

Sur le Fil was inspired by Saunders’ thoughts around the mischievous nature of life, and the

common reality we share of having personal secrets that we would prefer kept in the dark.

 

“James and I have carefully chosen pieces to which we connect personally and creatively,” said

Artistic Director Noelani Pantastico. “We are fortunate to be able to delve into the work of these

choreographers who we deeply admire, and to share them with audiences this summer through

the sophisticated artistry and technique of our dancers.”

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All performances will take place at VCA’s state-of-the-art Katherine L. White Hall, offering a rare opportunity to see some of the region’s most accomplished dancers in an intimate 300-seat theater. SDC’s performing artists include eight dancers from PNB and two from Seattle-based contemporary dance company Whim W’Him: Angelica Generosa, Dylan Wald, Elle Macy, Elizabeth Murphy, Ezra Thomson, James Yoichi Moore, Jim Kent, Liane Aung, Miles Pertl and Noelani Pantastico.

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“One of the goals we have laid out for SDC is to deepen our audience’s understanding of what

dance looks like today,” added Artistic Director James Yoichi Moore. “In addition to

demonstrating this on stage, we will complement our performance run with two days of master

classes in the studio to give students further insight into this dynamic art form.”

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SDC’s Dance Immersion Workshop will take place on July 9 and 10. Each day will begin with a

one-hour pilates class taught by former Pittsburgh Ballet Theater dancer and PNB conditioning

coach Kristen Moore, followed by a 90-minute ballet technique class taught by James Yoichi

Moore (July 9) or Noelani Pantastico (July 10). Program One choreographer Bruno Roque will

conclude each day with a contemporary improvisation class.

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PERFORMANCE DATES & TICKETING

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Friday, July 12 at 7:00 pm

Saturday, July 13 at 1:00 pm and 7:00 pm

Sunday, July 14 at 1:00 pm

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Tickets are $45-$75 for evening and Sunday matinee performances.

Tickets for Saturday’s Family Matinee are $10 per student and $25 per adult.

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To purchase tickets online go to seattledancecollective.org or vashoncenterforthearts.org.

To purchase tickets by phone call the VCA Box Office at 206-259-3007.

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SDC DANCE IMMERSION WORKSHOP

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Tuesday & Wednesday, July 9-10, 9:00 am - 1:15 pm

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2-Day Pass: $170 VCA Member | $190 General

1-Day Pass: $85 VCA Member | $95 General

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To register for the workshop go to vashoncenterforthearts.org, or call 206-259-3005.

 

About the Choreographers

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David Dawson

Born in London, David Dawson is one of the leading dance makers working in classical

ballet today, with his signature works garnering praise by critics and audiences worldwide.

Trained at the Rona Hart School of Dance, Arts Educational School and The Royal Ballet

School, he won the prestigious Prix de Lausanne in 1991 and joined the Birmingham Royal

Ballet that same year. He went on to dance with the English National Ballet, Dutch National

Ballet and Ballet Frankfurt, where he worked with William Forsythe and performed for two

years before deciding to devote his time to choreography. Since 2003, Dawson has been

honored with numerous awards, including ones for The Grey Area, The Gentle Chapters and

Reverence. His creations have been introduced into the repertoires of more than 25 ballet

companies around the world, including many of the most renowned in the field. Between 2004

and 2012 Dawson was Resident Choreographer for the Dutch National Ballet, the Semperoper

Ballet and the Royal Ballet of Flanders. Since 2015 he has held the position of Associate

Artist with the Dutch National Ballet.

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Marco Goecke

Marco Goecke completed his early dance education at the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung Ballet Academy

in Munich, and graduated from the Royal Conservatory in The Hague in 1995. Goecke

established his particular movement language with his first piece in 2000, while working with the

Deutschen Oper Berlin and the Theater Hagen. Since then, Goecke has created more than 40

works and has become one of the world's most sought-after choreographers. In addition to

choreographic residencies with Stuttgart Ballet and Scapino Ballet Rotterdam, Goecke has

served as Associate Choreographer for Nederlands Dans Theater since 2013. Among the many

other companies that have performed his work, Goecke has created pieces specifically for Les

Ballet de Monte Carlo, Hamburg Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet,

Leipzig Ballet and Zurich Ballet.

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Bruno Roque

At the age of 13, Lisbon-born Bruno Roque auditioned and was accepted to study dance at the

National Conservatory Portugal. After graduating, he trained on scholarship at the prestigious

Vaganova Ballet Academy in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and in 1996 was offered a contract with

National Ballet of Portugal, where he quickly rose to the rank of soloist. In 2001 Roque joined

the Royal Ballet of Flanders in Antwerp, and from 2004-2016 he danced as a first soloist with

Les Ballets de Monte Carlo. During his dancing career, he performed works of celebrated

choreographers and worked directly with many of them. Roque’s first creation, Ai Que Vida,

was made in 2007 for a young choreographers evening at Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, and he

has continued to choreograph numerous pieces for the company that have been met with much

success. Since 2015, Roque has been responsible for the choreography, staging and artistic

direction of a pedagogical project, supported by Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and the

Monegasque Ministry of Culture, involving more than 100 children from Monaco primary schools

in acting, singing and dancing, giving them the opportunity to experience the demands of

creating and performing live in a professional setting.

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Ivonice Satie

The late Ivonice Satie studied at the Bailados Municipal School of São Paulo, where she worked

for 14 years at what was then known as São Paulo Municipal Theater Body, now named São Paulo City Ballet (BCSP). For eight years she was a dancer and soloist at the Ballet du Grand

Théatre de Genève, before returning to Brazil to direct the BCSP. Satie was also Assistant for

the Cisne Negro Dance Company. Her works have been danced by internationally-recognized

companies including the Jeune Ballet de France, Wiesbaden City Theater, Croatia National

Ballet, Genève Junior Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Maximum Dance Company (Miami), Dancing

with the Difference (Madeira), Miami City Ballet, Fernando Bujones (São Paulo), and others.

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Penny Saunders

Originally from West Palm Beach, Florida, Penny Saunders graduated from the Harid

Conservatory in 1995, and began her professional career with American Repertory Ballet under

the direction of Septime Webre. She went on to dance with Ballet Arizona, MOMIX Dance

Theater, Cedar Lake Ensemble, and in 2004 she joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

Saunders won the International Commissioning Project In 2011, which launched her

choreographic career, creating pieces for Hubbard Street’s main and second company, and for

numerous others including Cincinnati Ballet, the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Whim W’Him,

BalletX and Tulsa Ballet 2, to name a few. Saunders is currently Resident Choreographer at

Grand Rapids Ballet where she recently completed her first full length work, The Happy Prince

and Other Wilde Tales. She has received support from the New York City Ballet Choreographic

Commissions Initiative, participated in the National Choreographers Initiative, and was the

recipient of the 2016 Princess Grace Choreographic Fellowship.

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About Vashon Center for the Arts

Vashon Center for the Arts is a collaborative and community-based organization that initiates

quality arts experiences for all ages, creates opportunities for artists to perform and exhibit their

work, and provides a center for the arts on Vashon Island.

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About Seattle Dance Collective

Seattle Dance Collective is dedicated to nurturing collaboration between dancers and

choreographers, and introducing audiences to transformative programs of artistic excellence.

SDC was founded in 2019 by Noelani Pantastico and James Yoichi Moore.

For more information, visit the SDC website at seattledancecollective.org, or follow SDC on

Instagram @Seattle_Dance_Collective, Facebook @seattledancecollective and Twitter

@sdc_seattle.

 

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Note to Editor: Photos of dancers and selected pieces are available upon request. Please

contact Elizabeth Dougherty by email at allegrocommunications@gmail.com, or by phone at

206-214-6360.