West LA Times

City of Culver City issued the following announcement on Oct. 14. 

MashUp Contemporary Dance Company

presents

bound / less a live premiere event in Culver City

Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 8 PM

Dotsspace Culver City

3951 Higuera St, Culver City, CA 90232  

This outdoor event is a part of MashUp Contemporary Dance Company's 4th annual program commemorating National Women's Equality Day..

Three LA-based choreographers, Victoria Brown, Carissa Songhorian, and Marissa Osato, all Black and Indigenous women of color, lead the creative direction of this dance film. It explores racial tensions within the feminist community, embodying its progress and collective power as well as its setbacks. The event will include a panel discussion on what feminism looks like today and why its evolution is important, in addition to the film and artist Q&A.

Buy tickets on the MashUp website.  

General Admission $25.00

Every year, MashUp Contemporary Dance Company  joins forces with female-identifying creative teams, ideological partners, and/or social justice organizations to celebrate National Women’s Equality Day and commemorate the adoption of the 19th Amendment. This program provides an opportunity to celebrate the successes of feminist movements thus far and to work towards creating a more equitable and inclusive future.

Victoria Brown (Choreographer and MashUp Creative Council Member) has committed her life and career to empowering individuals through creativity and movement. Victoria’s choreography has been deemed “kaleidoscopic,” “glorious,” and “intricate” by LA Dance Chronicle, and she is known for her incredible attention to detail and specificity. Passionate about addressing building equity within all sub-communities of the dance field, Victoria purposefully works in a wide variety of settings. She is the Dance Coordinator for Mira Costa High School’s Dance Team, as well as the Founder/Artistic Director of Artistry Performing Arts. A master teacher, Victoria has taught at California’s Fullerton College, Marymount College, Maranatha High School, Aptos High School, Monte Vista High School, Rosebud Academy, West Valley Dance Company, Nor Cal Dance Arts, Dance Attack, and Theatre 360. Nationally, she has taught at Lamar University Beaumont (TX), Lancaster Dance Academy (TX), Taylor Dance (TX), Dancers Edge North Carolina (NC), Revolution Dance and Gymnastics (TN). Additionally, Victoria toured as faculty with the Soul De Soul Dance Convention from 2014-2017. Victoria’s other professional choreography credits include: Forever 21, NewEgg, Phil Beaudreau, BGC Season 8, Choreographers Ball, MAX'T out, Bud Light, Battlefest, and the LA Follies. She holds a BA in Dance and a Minor in Business from San Jose State University.

Carissa Songhorian (Choreographer), a BFA in Dance and Dance Composition graduate from California Institute of the Arts, began her training at Los Angeles Ballet Academy under the direction of Andrea Paris and Conny Mathot. Throughout her years as a dancer, she has performed professionally with Ate9 Dance Company, Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company (LACDC), Heidi Duckler Dance, among many others. Carissa has also appeared in several short dance films, commercials and pilots for television, Solange Knowles’s “Metatronia,” and a movie that was produced by James Franco. As a choreographer, Carissa has created stunning works for stage and film, which have been described as "precise and poignant" by Stage Raw, and “intriguing” by LA Dance Chronicle.

Marissa Osato (Choreographer), a Los Angeles native, is a choreographer, director, and dance educator who creates emotionally-driven, embodied narratives through a sociocultural lens. Using a hybrid language of contemporary, modern, and hip hop dance techniques, Marissa’s choreography exhibits a sense of rhythm and dynamism, of groundedness and abandon, of stillness and intimacy. Marissa is the co-founder/co-artistic director of Entity Contemporary Dance, an LA-based dance company rooted in a fusion of contemporary dance techniques that has taught workshops and performed original repertory in the U.S., Mexico, and Asia. Marissa earned an MFA in Choreography from California Institute of the Arts and a BA in Dance and BA in Literary Journalism from the University of California, Irvine. As a dancer and choreographer represented by Clear Talent Group, Marissa has worked with recording artists such as Imagine Dragons, Coldplay, Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Patti LaBelle, Chaka Khan, Deborah Cox and Jordin Sparks. Marissa has taught and set choreography at over 50 studios and colleges across the U.S., and has taught master classes in Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Guam, and South America. In 2019, Marissa was selected for the Joffrey Ballet’s Winning Works choreographic residency and the USC Kaufman New Movement Residency. In 2020, Marissa was invited to present her evening length work "The Spectacular Society" at the Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out series (performance canceled due to the pandemic). Marissa is currently an Associate Professor at Santa Monica College Dance Department that encapsulates the spirit of the community.

*COVID-19 Protocol:

- All attendees must provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test (within 48 hours of the event) to attend.

- Masks must be worn at all times during the event unless actively eating or drinking.

- All attendees must sign a liability waiver.

Original source can be found here. 

Source: City of Culver City