UC Santa Barbara Dance Company to Perform ‘Full Circle’

It is difficult to fathom a way in which the UCSB Dance Company could top last fall’s dance concert, Within Existence | Existence Within — a performance that showcased the group’s ability to execute intricate and ambiguous choreography. Yet, as time passes and art continues to evolve, it appears that the company’s upcoming season opening concert, Full Circle, coming up March 9-11, might just prove to be even more anticipated. 

Full Circle has already broken new ground, as it embodies the company’s first full concert in UCSB’s Hatlen Theater. Thematically and compositionally, the concert continues the company’s work in studying various social issues through a humanist lens.

While certainly following a theme of humanism, Full Circle offers a new take on performances from the past as it specifically focuses on studying the world from women’s perspectives, with the concert featuring choreography from a handful of female choreographers and performed by 16 of the company’s female and nonbinary dancers. Creatively born from women, produced by women, and performed by a diverse array of dancers, Full Circle has already deemed itself as what is sure to be a fresh and innovative performance.

Described by the company, Full Circle’s choice in choreographers and performers is intentional, for it aims to encompass a diverse and encompassing perspective on the female experience, just “as a circle both encompasses and expands … all with circular ties to the Department of Theater/Dance over a fully rounded span of years.”

With this sentiment in mind, it is no surprise that each choreographer holds a distinct creative vision and perspective on the matter at hand. 

Choreographer Gianna Burright brings a newly commissioned work to Full Circle, asking the audience the ever-pressing, yet fundamentally cryptic, question, “How did we end up here?” — all while investigating love, dreams, relationships, nightmares, joy, and ordinary experiences throughout the piece. 

Madison Olandt’s work, Luna, studies another aspect of the female experience — the idea of the divine feminine. The piece will explore how women’s menstrual cycles can be tied to earthly and astral processes, particularly through that of the moon. Infused with a sense of spirituality and celebration of the female body, Luna links menstruation to the earth, the moon, and the waxing and waning of human emotions in an empowering and grounding piece.  

Christina McCarthy’s The Letter has already proven to be an invigorating piece when performed in Within Existence | Existence Within, focusing on the often harmful spread of information in the modern day. Full Circle’s incorporation of this suspenseful piece provides the public with another opportunity to investigate the power that language has in human society.

With additional work from choreographers Nancy Colahan, Amanda Tran, Weslie Ching, and danah bella, Full Circle will provide the public with a “full circle” of pieces that celebrate women, human life, and all the ambiguity that lies in between. Tickets for this performance can be purchased here, or by calling (805) 893-2064. A pre-show talk with the choreographers will be held on March 10.