Volta Collective, featured at Santa Monica College for the Spring 2024 Masters of Dance Series.

Megan Paradowski (left) and Mamie Green (right) of Volta Collective showing attendants a dance move involving balancing and transferring partner’s weight as part of ‘Volta Collective: Colliding Bodies’ event at Santa Monica College (SMC), Santa Monica, Calif., on Thursday, March 14, 2024. Mamie is a founder and director of Volta Collective dance and performance arts company. She is an alumnus of SMC and organized and directed the event with the help of Vanessa Van Wormer, Dance Professor at SMC. The event is a part of a series of free advanced dance classes open to public and co-sponsored by SMC Dance Department & SMC Associates. (Alexey Nosov | The Corsair)

Megan Paradowski (supporting) and Mamie Green (supported) of Volta Collective showing attendants a dance move involving balancing and transferring partner’s weight as part of ‘Volta Collective: Colliding Bodies’ event at Santa Monica College (SMC) while students of various ages, backgrounds and levels of preparation watch, Santa Monica, Calif., on Thursday, March 14, 2024. Mamie is a founder and director of Volta Collective dance and performance arts company. She is an alumnus of SMC and organized and directed the event with the help of Vanessa Van Wormer, Dance Professor at SMC. The event is a part of a series of free advanced dance classes open to public and co-sponsored by SMC Dance Department & SMC Associates. (Alexey Nosov | The Corsair)

Mamie Green commenting on students’ posture and making suggestions for adjustments mid-move as part of ‘Volta Collective: Colliding Bodies’ event at Santa Monica College (SMC), Santa Monica, Calif., on Thursday, March 14, 2024. Mamie is a founder and director of Volta Collective dance and performance arts company. She is an alumnus of SMC and organized and directed the event with the help of Vanessa Van Wormer, Dance Professor at SMC. The event is a part of a series of free advanced dance classes open to public and co-sponsored by SMC Dance Department & SMC Associates. The event is open to the public regardless of age, background, training or association with SMC, however, most of attendees were students of Dance program at SMC. (Alexey Nosov | The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) Dance Program students performing a newly learned move as part of ‘Volta Collective: Colliding Bodies’ event at SMC, Santa Monica, Calif., on Thursday, March 14, 2024. The event is a part of a series of free advanced dance classes open to the public and co-sponsored by SMC Dance Department & SMC Associates. The class explored highly physical and acrobatic partnering in a safe and grounded way, focusing on telling stories through connection to another body using rebound, theatricality, and gesture. Session introduced Volta's phrasework and repertory, with a focus on how to manage and balance personal and partner weights in unusual contexts. (Alexey Nosov | The Corsair)

Attendees of various age, background and level of preparation practice a newly learned move as part of ‘Volta Collective: Colliding Bodies’ event at Santa Monica College (SMC), Santa Monica, Calif., on Thursday, March 14, 2024. The event is a part of a series of free advanced dance classes open to the public and co-sponsored by SMC Dance Department & SMC Associates. The class explored highly physical and acrobatic partnering in a safe and grounded way, focusing on telling stories through connection to another body using rebound, theatricality, and gesture. Session introduced Volta's phrasework and repertory, with a focus on how to manage and balance personal and partner weights in unusual contexts. (Alexey Nosov | The Corsair)

On March 14, Volta Collective created a space in the Santa Monica College’s Core Performance Center (CPC), where Mamie Green and Megan Paradowski led students in connecting with one another through dance. Volta Collective focussed on demonstrating and teaching students how to balance personal and partner weight in unconventional movements. 

According to VoltaCollective.com, “Volta fuses physicality, theatricality and multidisciplinary approaches to performance.” Volta has been highlighted by the LA Times and has presented their works throughout the US and even internationally. 

The dance series at SMC does not end here but will be held again on May 2 at the CPC 310, on the main campus at 10:15 AM. This session will be directed by Ray Basa, presenting “House Dance”; house dance exercises.