February 22, 2024 – Students in the Dance Theatre of Santa Fe will take audiences on a trip through time during their annual “Elements of Style” performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 29-30, 2024, in the Jackson N. Sasser Fine Arts Hall at the Northwest Campus of Santa Fe College (SF), 3000 NW 83 Street, Gainesville. The same program will be featured on both nights.
Tickets are $15 for adults; $9 for seniors, students, children and military service members; and free to SF students, faculty, and staff with college ID cards. Tickets are available from the Fine Arts Hall box office at 352-395-4181 or online from Showpass at showpass.com/elements-of-style-3.
Thirty-six Dance Theatre of Santa Fe students will perform in “Elements of Style.” Approximately 12 students in SF’s Theatre and Entertainment Technology Associate of Science degree program will assist with lighting, sound, wardrobe and stage management.
“The Santa Fe College Dance program is about learning more than technical skills,” explained SF Assistant Professor of Dance Melissa Brenner, who is coordinating the performances for “Elements of Style.” “During rehearsals, students learn about the histories and cultures that gave rise to different dance styles. Students learn to appreciate being part of the lineage of the larger field of dance. The skills that students gain through the Dance program—confidence, rigor, discipline, critical thinking and what it means to be a responsible member of a community—are skills that can transfer into any career.”
Audiences will enjoy eight dances in styles that range from West African tribal celebrations through 1800s ballet up through 21st century contemporary modern dance, jazz and hip-hop. One student-choreographed piece will be included in a program that includes a classic work by Jose Limón and restaged by Artistic Director of the Limón Dance Company, Dante Puleio; Xan Burley and Alex Springer from the University of Florida; and SF Dance program faculty members Mohamed DaCosta, Jessie Dominguez, Calypso Haddad, Herman Ramos and Brenner.
The program will open with excerpts from the first act of “Giselle,” a romantic ballet that premiered in 1841 at the Paris Opera. DaCosta will provide live drumming for an energetic West African dance in a tribal style driven by passion and reverence for ancestors. “There Is a Time,” a Limón Dance Company piece from 1956, is based on the well-known “To everything there is a season” Bible verses in Ecclesiastes that speak to universal life experiences.
“This program showcases everything we do and will give the audience an overview of what dance education looks like at Santa Fe College,” Brenner concluded.
“Elements of Style” is organized and sponsored by the SF Fine Arts and Entertainment Technology Department. For more information about “Elements of Style” and the Dance program, call Brenner at 352-395-4194. For information about tickets, call the SF Box Office at 352-395-4181.