West LA Times

The Santa Monica College (SMC) Dance Department opens its Spring 2023 Masters of Dance series with a line-up of master classes and learning workshops led by dance professionals. The series starts March 6 with Alyson Mattoon leading a Pilates-inspired workshop on how to tone muscles.

The Masters of Dance workshops are free, and the public is invited to attend as participants or as observers. Seating is limited and on a first-arrival basis.

The workshops will be held in the SMC Core Performance Center (CPC) on the main SMC campus (1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica).

The series is sponsored by the SMC Associates (smc.edu/associates) — a private organization that funds speakers and special programs on the Santa Monica College campus — and the SMC Dance Department.

The Spring 2023 Masters of Dance line-up is:

• March 6 at 10:15 a.m.: Alyson Mattoon: "Banded Mobility and Strength" — CPC 304/308 (main SMC campus, 1900 Pico Blvd., SantaMonica). A Pilates-inspired workshop taught by Alyson ("Aly") Mattoon explains how to use resistance bands and other methods to tone up muscles. The multidisciplined Pilates teacher and movement educator was a principal dancer for a decade with The State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara, and holds a Pilates certification through Body Arts and Science International (BASI), a BA in Performing Arts from the Saint Mary’s College LEAP program, and GYROTONIC® certification. (GYROTONIC® is a registered trademark of GYROTONIC® Sales Corp and is used with their permission). Sponsored by the SMC Associates and SMC Dance Department. 
• April 26 at 10:15 a.m.: Emiko Saraswati Susilo: "Balinese Movement" — CPC 304/308 (main SMC campus, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica). Emiko Saraswati Susilo introduces the fundamental techniques and philosophy of Balinese dance, including its relationship to music and culture in Bali. A dancer/choreographer, voice actor, and musician who revels in the meeting of movement, voice, and music, Susilo has dedicated her life to nurturing intercultural communication. She is the associate director of Çudamani — where she leads international programs and programs that advance opportunities for women in Balinese performing arts — and has taught in Bali and the U.S. and served as director and board chair for Gamelan Sekar Jaya for over 10 years. Sponsored by the SMC Associates and SMC Dance Department. 
• May 18 at 12:30 p.m.: Laura Ann Smyth: "Contemporary Jazz Fusion" — CPC 304/308 (main SMC campus, 1900 Pico Blvd., Santa Monica). Los Angeles-based dancer, choreographer, and educator Laura Ann Smyth will lead a class on rhythm-driven movement that honors African American vernacular jazz roots while sampling contemporary dance practices, and pushes participants to perform, find musical precision, and experience the joy of storytelling through movement. Smyth — a member of Donna Sternberg & Dancers and of JazzAntiqua Dance & Music Ensemble — is a full-time faculty member at Loyola Marymount University and currently a PhD Candidate in dance at Texas Woman’s University, where her scholarship focuses on the intersection of Black jazz-informed dance practices and embodied rhetoric. Part of the Black History Series. Sponsored by the SMC Associates and SMC Dance Department.
• More information is available at smc.edu/dance or by calling 310-434-4100 or 310-434-3467. All presentations subject to change or cancellation without notice.

  Santa Monica College is a California Community College accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC).

Original source can be found here.