Rehearsals before the big show: Global Motion World Dance
On May 8, 2025, students and choreographers gathered at the dance studios on the third floor of Santa Monica College's (SMC) Core Performance Center. This is the practice before dress rehearsals, as dancers and choreographers are working on finishing touches and fine tuning their forms in preparation for the Global Motion performance on May 17 and May 18, 2025.
“Usually whenever we put on a show every semester we will have faculty choreographer, guest choreographer and student choreographer, a guest choreographer is usually the one that is new work that is not offered,” said Sri Susilowati, Co-Director of Global Motion World Dance Company. This semester Global Motion World Dance Company will feature performances from West Africa, Latin America, Mexico, Philippines, Greece and the United States.
From the first auditions at the beginning of the semester, students have been working on learning and mastering their forms in preparation for the recital. This semester features pieces by faculty choreographers including Laura Camellia, Keali’i Ceballos, Angela Jordan and Christopher Scott. Each choreographed for the Salsa, Ballroom Jive, West African and Tap performances respectively.
Guest choreographers this semester include Peter de Guzman, Abigail Fritz and Sandra Martinez. De Guzman specialized in Pangalay, a traditional dance from Southern Philippines.
Susilowati said, “The Philippines (performance), they are creating a piece that is still traditional, but the story line is contemporary.” This never before dance, choreographed by Abigail Fritz and led by Amahah Woodard, afrobeats introduces a contemporary dance to the show, “When the audience comes to see our show we will bring a much wider variety, not only in terms of different forms but also different forms of aesthetic, sometimes traditional, sometimes more contemporary … Hopefully people will get more excited because the art form is not static,” Susilowati said.
The spring show will also perform Flor de Piña (Pineapple Flower) Dance from Oaxaca, a southern state of Mexico. Susilowati said, “We did Oaxaca in 2010 or 11, and that was the first time I saw the pineapple dance, the footwork is completely different … I was really excited to have this again.” The Flor de Piña was choreographed by Sandra Martinez Hernandez, a guest choreographer for this semester's Global Motion.
The student choreographers for this performance include Aiden Cook (Greek Folklore), Simon Lathrop (Musical) and Mayu Oishi (Contemporary Ballet). In addition to leading their perspective choreographies, these students will also take part in other performances throughout the show.
Susilowati emphasizes the importance of programs like Global Motion. “For the students and for audiences just like knowing the culture, you are understanding other people and understanding humanity, it goes back to the global citizen mission,” she said.
A requirement for the performance class is for students to journal. “Global dance students, they have to write a journal and part of that journal we ask the choreographer to give background story and to give culture description, ... I love reading their journal,” Susilowat said.
Students also learn about the culture of southern Philippines, a Muslim majority region in a country majority Catholic, learning about their traditions and how it influences dance resulting in a richer understanding of the dances from Mindanao.
Susilowati said, “Through dance we were talking about history, world history, World War II everything from dancing, you can go into different routes, it touches so many aspects.”
The Global Motion World Dance Company will take place on May 17 and May 18, 2025 at 7:30 p.m., at the BoardStage at the SMC Performing Arts Center. For more information and tickets: https://www.smc.edu/academics/academic-departments/dance/performances.php