This Saturday, SPACE- Near and Arnold’s School of Performing Arts and Cultural Education will be entertaining and educating audiences with the first of two seasonal performances.
“Flashback Frenzy” features the work of 80 student performers ages 7 to adult, bringing together a powerhouse team of current SPACE instructors and alumni teachers and choreographers, including Sandy Metzler, Aisha Walls, Amanda Rosenberg-Gutierrez, Kira Gibson and Natalie Meuniot.
The show is directed by SPACE co-founder Laurel Near and Amanda Rosenberg. “The theme for the show is American dance styles. We’re excited about giving the students a performing arts experience on the big stage at Ukiah High, and getting to honor and tap into our teachers’ teachers’ teachers – celebrating the lineage of dance,” Near explains.
Sandy Metzler, a veteran dancer and dance instructor, has been teaching at SPACE since before its establishment as a nonprofit organization in 1995, as well as teaching at Mendocino College. She is also a Certified Laban Movement Analyst, which teaches dancers to observe and practice movement analysis by investigating the relationship and alignment of their bodies as they move through space.
“For past shows, I wrote monologues for the dancers and choreographers to help educate people about dance history. Every few years we revive them. This year we’re featuring Mia Michaels, known by younger people from ‘So You Think You Can Dance,’” says Metzler. Other dancers featured in the monologues include dance pioneers Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis and Martha Graham.
Metzler is taking a new tack this year with the choreographing of these pieces. “I was pretty strict 20 years ago to make sure that the students’ movement styles were historically correct. I’ve let that go a little bit this year. Students are doing a lot of their own research on YouTube, and I’m letting them take their understanding and make the movements their own.”
“We know the names of these dancers, but so many students have never heard of Martha Graham. It’s amazing to see them embody these iconic figures. They learn their lines so quickly, work so hard and are super-interested and super-disciplined,” says Near.
“It’s remarkable to have taught so long and have my students’ children as students,” smiles Metzler.
Aisha Walls has returned to Ukiah to live and raise her family. Walls started dancing with her mother when she was about 3 years old. She discovered SPACE when she moved to Ukiah, taking classes with Ulla Rand and Sandy Metzler.
From there, she became involved with Capoeira, learning from Capoeira master Amunka Davila. Walls became a professional dancer, working with numerous companies and mastering numerous styles, from hip-hop to jazz and ballet. Walls received her doctorate in Physical Therapy, and following that made the decision to return to her hometown.
“I’m excited to get back to dancing. It feeds my soul, and I’m so glad Laurel is pulling me into SPACE,” says Walls. She’ll be announcing the show and will soon be expanding the SPACE repertoire to include an intensive dance technique program.
“Technique gives students the foundation on how to stay safe. It’s the vocabulary you can apply to every dance situation.” Walls’ long-term dream is to help establish a professional dance company.
Natalie Meuniot is currently teaching SPACE’s “Fierce Feet” program, which focuses on modern and contemporary movement for 10- to 11-year-old students. “SPACE is where I fell in love with dance. I saw Aisha dance and was part of Sandy’s Feet of Freedom troupe, which was an awesome experience.
“Our pieces were powerful and moving,” says Meuniot, who received her BA from San Francisco State in theater and dance. She mixes ballet, modern, West African, Capoeira and contemporary dance in her work.
“I love it all. It’s exciting to be here teaching. To become a teacher is a whole new side of my dancer-self.” Her students will be performing a piece celebrating birds in flight.
Amanda Rosenberg has been collaborating with SPACE for years. “I didn’t know SPACE existed when I was young, and I wished I would have. I discovered SPACE at about age 15 when I took a class at the Deerwood Country Club. I was dragged there by a friend of mine. The instructor, Rosie Mendoza, said, ‘You can’t watch, you have to participate.’ I tried it out, I loved it and I kept going back,” says Rosenberg.
At the time, Rosenberg didn’t realize the class was part of SPACE.
“Rosie said, ‘We have this performance coming up,’ and suddenly, there I was with 80 other people on stage.”
Following the performance, Rosenberg was worried she wouldn’t be able to afford continuing with SPACE. “Laurel said, ‘Just come. There’s scholarships.’ SPACE probably saved my life. I turned from a street kid to a dance kid,” she continues.
Rosenberg worked with Gayle Fillman and Ukiah Gymnastics for many seasons, taught hip-hop at Mendocino College and became an instructor at SPACE after teaching dance at Trinity School.
“That was in 2004. I started to see the world through choreography. People just bring me their children to play with,” she laughs. “I’ve gotten to teach amazing artists like Casey Frey and Gaio Bullshields – and then they come back and teach with us again.” Teens from Rosenberg’s Higher Ground group will be reading the monologues at the performance.
“I’m so overjoyed watching this next generation of dancers. My heart is so full,” says Near.
SPACE’s location in the former home of St. Mary’s Catholic Church continues to serve as a sanctuary for young people. “We sing, dance and act. We leave the news, violence and stress at the door. SPACE is an emotionally safe place to have fun,” says Near.
“When I was a kid, SPACE was where we escaped everything and got out of our heads. It’s one of the special things about dance,” says Walls.
There is an influx of adults returning to Ukiah and re-involving themselves with SPACE, says Near.
“They’re creating and envisioning a dance program in this new world with our new theater, while learning how you fund the program and keep the doors open. Teachers are becoming infused with the mechanics of the program, ensuring we continue offering $30,000 in scholarships, and all of us are learning how to use this brand-new stage,” smiles Near.
There are over 400 students registered at SPACE, and instructors also teach in four area schools for students in grades K-5.
“The elementary students in this session will be able to attend our Fall show free of charge,” says Near. The show is sponsored in part by the California Arts Council.
“Because of their support, we’re able to give voucher tickets to members of underserved communities and education centers, so that kids who never get a chance to come to live shows have that opportunity,” says Near.
Tickets are distributed throughout the county, from Covelo to the Coast. “We stage this show at Ukiah High School because of the high-capacity seating,” she continues.
The interns and assistants at SPACE are the glue that keeps the program running.
“The whole theme of SPACE is that students learn their disciplines through the connection between instructor and child. They make friends and have mentors in the master teachers and interns,” says Near.
SPACE’s teaching model is based upon Patty Wipfler’s Parenting by Connection. “We use ‘Time In’ instead of ‘Time Out.’ Connection comes first. We aim to keep the quality bar high while keeping the wheels turning during class. Our goal is to shine a light on a student’s strengths,” says Near.
Rosenberg recalls a child she taught in the public schools. “He said, ‘I’m not a mover. Then we brought in some African drums. He went up to those drums and he got down,” she says. “Everyone had chills. He was so musically talented. Following that experience, his teacher told me, ‘He makes so much sense now.’ Watching her interactions with him following his drumming was like a coin flip. If that was the only good thing to happen that semester, it would all be worth it,” says Rosenberg.
And following the positive feedback the boy received for his drumming, he began to dance.
“It can be a fun challenge to find the connection with a child. Once you find that, a door opens for them. It’s like spring flowers for your heart,” Rosenberg says.
“Some of those kids may not be connected to the group, but they’re connected to their own dance, and they might end up becoming a soloist. Teachers and parents start to see their kids in a different light, and their world outside of SPACE can change,” Near continues.
Near is looking forward to the first advanced children’s show that will take place in the newly renovated SPACE Theater. “We’ll have school-bus loads of children coming to see ‘Madagascar’ in January for a fully-produced daytime show. It’s going to be awesome,” she says.
There will be two “Flashback Frenzy” shows this Saturday at the Ukiah High cafetorium at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the Mendocino Book Company, the SPACE Box Office and through the website. For more information, visit http://www.spaceperformingarts.org or phone 707-462-9370.
