SANTA BARBARA DANCE THEATER
PROFESSIONAL COMPANY IN RESIDENCE AT UCSB
About the Company
Santa Barbara Dance Theater holds a unique position as a a professional dance company in residence at UC Santa Barbara, a world-class research institution fostering creative and educational connections between students, company members, guest artists/scholars and colleagues. An integral component of the Department of Theater and Dance, the company was founded in 1976 and will celebrate its 50th Anniversary Season in the 2026-2027 Academic Year.
SBDT is dedicated to collaborative exploration and the creation of new works for performance. The company’s creative process, driven by the Artistic Director’s unique vision and fueled by the talents of accomplished professionals, generates exciting productions and offers an expanding view of human potential to a diverse and growing audience.
Taking the helm for SBDT's relaunch, incoming Artistic Director Brandon Whited is excited to usher the company into a new chapter while keeping its history and lineage in mind. Centering research as a central purpose, Prof. Whited seeks to continue to interrogate and investigate the potential of dance and performance through a critical and self-analytical lens. SBDT will continue with its efforts to promote and present guest artists and feature companies from national and international corners of the dance world. Prof. Whited has also continued SBDT Student apprentice program started by previous Artistic Director Christopher Pilafian as a fertile site for Professional-Student exchange, and on-the-job learning and training for the students.
La Luz/The Light
by Eric Parra
Querida Herida
by Rosie Herrera
47th Anniversary Season -
October 2023
Guest Choreographer Rosie Herrera presented an updated and expanded version of Querida Herida (2018), originally commissioned by the Limón Dance Company. Eric Parra offers the premiere of a commissioned new work, La Luz/The Light based on his family's personal story and Columbian heritage. Artistic Director Brandon Whited's new piece Miles to Go explores the mental, emotional and physical experience of the ongoing injustices endured by members of the LGBTQ+ community. Both guests joined the SBDT Dancers and Apprentices in September 2023 for an intensive creative residency that interfaced with UCSB Dance Summer Students.
Shifting the creative development model of the company toward a project-based framework, Brandon is excited to bring in professional dancers from near and far to engage with the UCSB campus and greater Santa Barbara arts community.
Featured dancers this season are Nicole Powell (Carpinteria, CA), Paige Amicon (Los Angeles, CA), Calder White (Vancouver, BC Canada), UCSB Dance Alum, Derion Loman (Los Angeles, CA), and recent UCSB Dance graduate Dalya Modlin (Orange County, CA) - with apprentice-understudies Riley Haley, Tiersha Lin, Sky Pasqual, Gabi Smith and Chloe Swoiskin.
