"Explained, Dance Crazes” Screening and Conversation

CalArts Alumnx & Family Engagement

Join us for a special talk and screening of "Explained, Dance Crazes.”

REDCAT (attend in-person or enjoy the livestream conversation from wherever you are)

<h3>You are invited to a special talk and screening of "Explained, Dance Crazes.”</h3>Join us for a special screening of "Explained, Dance Crazes.” The viewing will be followed by a conversation discussing cultural appropriation, privilege, and power dynamics with CalArts Faculty Member and episode Choreographer and Creative Contributor, Ernest Felton Baker; CalArts Faculty Member, and dancer and choreographer, Cristina Benedetti; CalArts Faculty Member, performing artist, and choreographer, Yusha-Marie Sorzano; and Emmy award-winning director, Ora DeKornfeld and episode Producer. Moderated by Rosanna Gamson, Interim Dean of the Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance."From the waltz to voguing, dance crazes have connected people throughout history. But when a dance catches on, who gets the credit - and compensation?" -- "Explained, Dance Crazes” From monarchies to apologies, pooches to plastic surgery, the "Explained" docu series explores a wide range of fascinating topics to illuminate your world.In keeping with current LA County Public Health requirements and Music Center policy, and for the safety and comfort of our community, all patrons and visitors must provide proof of full vaccination. All patrons and visitors must also wear a mask while in our space except when eating or drinking.For guests who can not attend in person, a livestream of the conversation and audience Q&A is available in registration.

Ernest Felton Baker (CalArts Faculty) is a dancer, choreographer and educator rooted in African Diasporic techniques and has a passion to make dance accessible through narrative-based film works. After being named the first and only U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts in Hip Hop Dance by the White House, Ernest was commissioned to perform at the Kennedy Center, Art Basel Miami, HBO’s A YoungArts MasterClass with Bill T. Jones, and in the 360 dance film, HOME, created during the YoungArts: Homecoming residency in his hometown Opa Locka, Florida.Recently, Baker collaborated closely with Emmy-award-winning filmmaker, Ora DeKornfeld as the Creative Consultant and Choreographer for the Netflix series, Explained,Dance Crazes episode. In addition, Baker also choreographed the Off-Broadway play, One Nation, One Mission, One Promise, directed by Victoria Medina at The Players Theater in NYC.Since shifting his practice to unify dance and film, Baker teamed up with filmmakers, Andrew Michael Ellis and Ben Stamper to form the production company, Helix Films. Their collaborations have included a Herschel Supply Co. brand commercial featuring Erica Lall of American Ballet Theatre, as well as JONAH, which won Best Short Film at San Francisco Dance Film Festival, Salamanca Moves Dance Festival and was featured in the Alicia Keys’ campaign for Criminal Justice Reform.With earning his MFA in Dance &amp; New Media from NYU TISCH, Baker then pursued teaching Hip Hop dance and interdisciplinary courses at Wesleyan University, and has taught master classes at NYU, Sarah Lawerence College, The Ailey School, Harlem School of the Arts, and Nkosi’s Haven through ASTEP and artsINSIDEOUT in Johannesburg. Currently, Baker resides in Los Angeles where he teaches at The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance at CalArts. (Panelist)

Cristina Benedetti (CalArts Faculty) was born in Verona, Italy. She moved to Paris at a young age for her passion of dance, where she had intensive training in the dance art forms of locking, popping, house dancing, hip hop, and freestyle. Nevertheless, Cristina knew she had to take it a step further if she were to learn even more about the various dance styles. Los Angeles became her new home in 2006.For more than two decades, Cristina has been an active presence in the most renowned clubs and community events involving the above art forms throughout both Europe and the United States. She has performed with artists such as Twenty One Pilots, Lady Gaga, T-Pain, Common, Macy Gray, Ben Vereen, David Guetta, Kelly Rowland, Jamiroquai, Judith Hill, BOA, and Dierks Bentley, as well as companies such as Nike, Adidas, Google, McDonald's, Old Navy, Sony, Skechers, Prudential, and Sterling to name a few.She is a member of The Groovaloos, and together, won the international dance competition on NBC, Superstars of Dance (January 2009), produced by Nigel Lythgoe. With the Groovaloos, she performed at the Ellen Degeneres Show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and the Off-Broadway show Groovaloo.Since 2010 she was hired to choreograph for international artists and events such as Black Eyed Peas, iLuminate, Michelle Obama’s Kids Inaugural Concert, Groovaloos, Nike, and Israeli artist Meital Dohan. In December 2019, she choreographed for Black Eyed Peas Ft iLuminate on the season 17 finale of The Voice. She also has assisted and gave choreography contributions to world-known choreographers in projects for Britney Spears, Old Navy, The Foster’s on ABC Family, So You Think You Can Dance, and more.In 2014 she created, directed, and choreographed the It’s House Music video featuring Pop icon Toni Basil, which went viral with over eight million viewers and articles on Inside Edition.From 2007 to 2018, Cristina was holding her weekly House Dance Class at the famous Debbie Reynolds Studio in Los Angeles and has been teaching workshops in different countries like Italy, Mexico, the Philippines, Japan, and moreToday she is the Associate Creative Director for Groovaloos, the Corporate Creative Director for iLuminate and she continues to travel across the globe to choreograph, direct projects, teach dance workshops, and share her experiences with local communities. (Panelist)

Ora DeKornfeld is an Emmy award-winning video journalist and filmmaker whose work has been showcased on National Geographic, The Atlantic and The Webby Awards. The Mexico City-based writer has created for the Los Angeles Times, The New Yorker, CNN and Netflix, and was a former journalist at The New York Times. DeKornfeld’s work often sheds light on the human condition behind divisive political issues in the U.S. It’s a focus seen in USA vs. Scott (Mountainfilm 2020), a film she co-directed with Isabel Castro that explores the legality and ethics around humanitarian aid for migrants. (Panelist)

Originally from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Yusha-Marie Sorzano is a relentless performing artist, choreographer, educator, and mentor who has worked in concert dance, theater, television, and film. She received her primary instruction from New World School of the Arts, Armour Dance Theatre, and The Dance Theater of Harlem. A National YoungArts Foundation winner in dance in her senior year of high school, Ms. Sorzano went on to attend the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program and in her junior year was invited to join Ailey II. She has been a member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Morphoses, TU Dance, and BODYTRAFFIC. She has also performed as a guest artist with Benjamin Millepied's LA Dance Project. Ms Sorzano is currently a member of Camille A. Brown &amp; Dancers, where she is part of the original cast of the Bessie-nominated Black Girl: Linguistic Play, and Ink, the 2nd and 3rd installments of Brown’s acclaimed trilogy on race, culture, and identity. As a choreographer, Ms. Sorzano has created works for The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet Idaho, Santa Barbara Dance Theater, New Century Dance Project, The Ailey School, California Institute of the Arts, and Zeitgeist Dance Theatre, where she is a founding Co-Artistic Director. She is also part of the creative team for We Won’t Sleep, a new musical about the life of Jeannette Rankin, the first woman to serve in Congress.Ms. Sorzano has been the recipient of an Alvin Ailey Organizations New Directions Choreography Fellowship, a National YoungArts Foundations Dance Artist Fellowship, a Watermill Center Fellowship, and a Jerome Robbins Dance Division Research Fellowship at the New York Public Library.

A native New Yorker, Rosanna Gamson studied composition with Hanya Holm and Bessie Schonberg, and earned a BFA and MFA in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts under the chairmanship of Lawrence Rhodes. She performed internationally as a member of Andrew DeGroat &amp; Dancers, and in the dances of Yvonne Rainer, workshop performances of Robert Wilson, and in many others’ dance projects. Gamson studied with poets Charles Simic, Louise Glück, and Thomas Lux and her poems have been published in a number of literary magazines and journals. Since moving to Los Angeles, Gamson has created ten evening-length dance theater works as Artistic Director of Rosanna Gamson/World Wide. (Moderator)

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