IGNITE DANCE

A CELEBRATION OF 35 YEARS OF DANCE IN ORANGE COUNTY

Friday, January 23, 2026 at 8pm

This performance will include a 15-minute intermission.

Performance Sponsor
The City of Irvine

Artist Sponsor
Gerrit & Amy Cole Foundation

In celebration of 35 years of extraordinary dance at Irvine Barclay Theatre, this landmark event brings together seven distinguished ensembles, each with deep ties to Orange County and a legacy of captivating performances on the Barclay stage.

Carefully curated to illuminate the depth and breadth of the art form, the evening showcases classical ballet, Chinese dance, Bharatanatyam, modern, and contemporary movement—offering audiences a rare opportunity to experience the power, grace, and innovation of dance in its many forms.

More than a performance, this gathering is a tribute to the enduring impact of dance—its ability to inspire, unite, and ignite a lifelong appreciation for its artistry.

PROGRAM

SMUIN contemporary BALLET
(In partnership with National Choreographers Initiative, where the piece was developed)
“SEXTETTE”

CHINESE DANCE COMPANY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
“PULSE OF THE LAND”

UCI CLAIRE TREVOR SCHOOL OF THE ARTS - DANCE
SOLO FROM “CRYPTOGLYPH”

FESTIVAL BALLET THEATRE
EXCERPTS FROM “THE SLEEPING BEAUTY”

-INTERMISSION-

BACKHAUSDANCE
“HIVE”

THE WOODEN FLOOR
Excerpts from “Pieces of Wood”

ARPANA DANCE COMPANY
"Surdas Bhajan"
“Thillana”

SMUIN CONTEMPORARY BALLET
Artistic Director: Amy Seiwert

Sextette (2021)
In partnership with National Choreographers Initiative (NCI), where the piece was developed

NCI World Premiere: July 24, 2021

Smuin Premiere: April 28, 2023

Choreography: Katarzyna Skarpetowska

Music: Johann Sebastian Bach: Violin Concerto No. 1 in A Minor, BWV 1041

Costume Design: Susan Roemer

Lighting Design: Michael Oesch

Dancers: Tessa Barbour, Claire Buehler, Maggie Carey, Ricardo Dyer, Tess Lane, Yuri Rogers

Sextette was created during the global pandemic and it is meant to be experienced as a celebration of the resilience, perseverance and the creative spirit of artists everywhere.

Founded in San Francisco in 1994, Smuin Contemporary Ballet carries forward Michael Smuin’s vision to uplift the human spirit and challenge ballet conventions through bold, innovative artistry. Smuin, who blended classical ballet with pop culture and contemporary styles, believed ballet should speak to everyone—a philosophy central to the Company today. Smuin creates original, evocative, and entertaining work, embracing diverse perspectives and fostering artistic innovation. This mission extends beyond the stage through performances, classes, and community engagement. From 2007 to 2024, Artistic Director Emerita Celia Fushille expanded the Company’s reputation for compelling repertoire while honoring Smuin’s legacy. Since the 2024/25 season, former Choreographer in Residence Amy Seiwert has served as artistic director. smuinballet.org

National Choreographers Initiative (NCI)
Artistic Director: Molly Lynch

Founded in 2004 by Molly Lynch, the National Choreographers Initiative (NCI) has been a premier creative laboratory in Southern California, bringing together choreographers and professional dancers for an intensive 3-week summer residency.

For 35 years, Artistic Director Molly Lynch has championed choreographers and dancers, providing the time, space, and resources needed to create new works. Beginning as the Pacifica Choreographic Project and evolving into NCI, the program has supported 136 choreographers and 185 dancers representing 60 companies—many of whom have gone on to become leaders in the field.

Since its inception, Irvine Barclay Theatre has been the home of NCI performances. This July, audiences will witness the final performance of NCI, marking the culmination of more than two decades of groundbreaking creativity and artistic collaboration. nchoreographers.org

Chinese Dance Company of Southern California

Artistic Director: Cheer Pan

Pulse of the Land (2026)

Choreography: Xue (Snow) Han

Music: Rhymoi Music, Sa Dingding, Andagai Band, and Nair Band

Lighting Design: Xue (Snow) Han & Sean Yu

Visual Creation: Sean Yu

Dancers: Serena Chan, Isabella Chen, Emma Clendenen, Fiona Dai, Alina Gu, Ella Guo, Emma Guo, Beryl Hao, Kylie Liao, Sophia Liu, Mia Lu, Wenfei Ma, Angela Men, Noelle Mullarkey, Nagezha Nijiati, Grace Sun, Katherine Sun, Elina Tsai, Lorena Tsai, Aixi Wang, Grace Wang, Sarah Xiong, Annie Xiao, Nicole Xiao, Ziqian Yong, Claire Yi, Cristina Zhang, Amber Zheng, Sophia Zheng

Tracing the heartbeat of tradition through nature, Pulse of the Land features dances from the Dai, Zhuang, and Mongolian ethnic communities—each shaped by misty mountains, flowing rivers, and open grasslands. With distinct aesthetics and grounded movement, the piece honors ancestral spirit and cultural resilience. Here, movement becomes memory, rhythm becomes ritual, and difference becomes dialogue—a celebration of how we move forward, grounded in the wisdom of place and the power of cultural expression.

Co-founded by the Pan America Chinese Dance Alliance and the South Coast Chinese Cultural Center, the Chinese Dance Company of Southern California (CDCSC) is a performance-driven ensemble that pushes the boundaries of traditional Chinese dance while staying deeply rooted in its cultural essence. Under the direction of Cheer Pan, CDCSC blends the elegance of classical Chinese dance with the vibrancy of folk and ethnic styles, creating performances that are both visually stunning and emotionally compelling. More than just a dance company, CDCSC is a living, breathing expression of heritage and identity, bringing stories to life through intricate movement, dynamic formations, and the use of traditional props like fans, ribbons and drums. The company has graced prestigious stages, captivating audiences with its rich storytelling and innovative interpretations of Chinese dance. In every performance, CDCSC reaffirms its mission—to bridge the past and present, the East and West, unfolding a narrative that is as personal as it is universal. pandance.org

UCI Claire Trevor School of the Arts – Dance
Kelli Sharp, Chair

Solo from Cryptoglyph (2006)

Choreography: Lar Lubovitch

Restaged by: Katarzyna Skarpetowska

Music: Meredith Monk “Do You Be”

Costume Design: L. Isaac

Lighting Design: Stacy Fireheart

Dancer: Zachary Medina

Composer/Performer Meredith Monk creates songs based on vowels, consonants, and a variety of vocal utterances inventing a cryptic language of her own that is pared down to the essential components of human speech and expressive tonalities. The choreography pictorializes the music through a series of glyphs intended to depict the abstract information nonverbally.

The UCI Department of Dance fosters collaboration, creativity, and connection, embracing diversity and inclusion while striving for artistic excellence. With a history spanning several decades, the department has become a hub for innovation, exploration, and performance. Its programs support dancers, choreographers, and scholars at every stage of their journey. Guided by a distinguished faculty of accomplished dancers, choreographers, composers, musicians, and scholars, students receive rigorous training, mentorship, and opportunities across ballet, modern, jazz, hip hop, and contemporary dance.

The department offers a comprehensive dance education designed to cultivate versatile, skilled, and innovative artists. With state-of-the-art facilities, interdisciplinary opportunities, and numerous performance experiences, students are prepared to make a meaningful impact on the field of dance and beyond. dance.arts.uci.edu

Festival Ballet Theatre
Artistic Director: Salwa Rizkalla

Excerpts from The Sleeping Beauty (1890)

Choreography: Salwa Rizkalla after Marius Petipa

Music: Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

Costume Design: Vita Teatrale

Lighting Design: Stacy Fireheart

Dancers: Toscane Acket, Clara Attlesey, Brielle Aucoin, Katarina Carney, Afina Gosla, Felicity Gundersen, Amelie Hoang, Mandy Hur, Sunhoo Kang, Aurora Kellogg, Keira Kuennemann, Adella Mehringer, Alec Mercado, Aya Nakagawa, Julia Prevost, Anya Rich, Ryan Robinson, Sami Santos, Cameron Schwanz, Silvia Snow

Excerpts from the full-length Sleeping Beauty include: the fairies of the kingdom who are bestowing their special gifts on the Princess Aurora - the Fairies of Serenity, Benevolence, Generosity, Happiness, Temperament and, the most powerful and beautiful of all, the Lilac Fairy; Princess Aurora's Friends celebrating Princess Aurora's 16th birthday; Fabled storybook characters celebrating Princess Aurora & Prince Florimund's wedding – The White Cat and Puss-in-Boots, the Enchanted Princess and Bluebird as well as Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.

Festival Ballet Theatre (FBT) is Orange County’s premier professional ballet company, dedicated to inspiring a love for dance and enriching the region’s cultural landscape. Founded in 1988 by Artistic Director Salwa Rizkalla, FBT presents a season of exhilarating classical and contemporary performances, provides a nurturing environment for dancers and choreographers, and offers dynamic educational outreach programs. Honoring classical masterpieces while cultivating the next generation of artistic talent, FBT showcases rising Southern California dancers alongside internationally acclaimed guest artists. The company serves as both a home for exceptional professional dance and a platform for sending its artists as ambassadors across the nation. Festival Ballet Theatre’s commitment to artistic excellence and community impact has earned recognition from Arts Orange County, which named it Outstanding Arts Organization of the Year in 2001 and honored Salwa Rizkalla with the Helena Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award in 2014. festivalballet.org

Backhausdance
Artistic Director: Jennifer Backhaus
Associate Artistic Director: Amanda Kay White

Hive (2017)

Premiere: Irvine Barclay Theatre, Irvine, CA

Choreography: Jennifer Backhaus

Music: White Man Sleeps by Kevin Volans performed by Kronos Quartet

Lighting Design: Stacy Fireheart

Costume Design: Jenny Clark

Dancers: Kira Bartoli, Samuel DeAngelo, Morgan Goodfellow, Zachary Medina, Katie Natwick, Kaitlin Regan, Kyle Schraeder, Samantha Waugh

A percussive and intricate repertory piece for the full company, Hive is a complex series of interactions. The unfolding and dissolving relationships are musically driven and create a strong, viscous group dynamic.

Backhausdance, formed in 2003 as a non-profit organization by award-winning choreographer Jennifer Backhaus, is Orange County's premier professional contemporary dance company. Annually, Backhausdance presents professional performances with original choreography and the work of guest choreographers at theatres and various venues throughout Southern California and beyond. The company’s repertory offers a body of original and innovative work appealing to all ages and backgrounds, performing and teaching an eclectic and dynamic dance vocabulary with a wonderful sense of fluidity and strength. Audiences experience the joy and artistry of Backhausdance’s powerful, athletic dances, featuring deeply human and emotional creations that are infused with a sense of humor and theatricality, reflecting on aspects of our common humanity and our place in the world. backhausdance.org

The Wooden Floor
Artistic Director: Jennifer Bassage Bonfil 

Excerpts from Pieces of Wood (2011)

Choreography: John Heginbotham

Restaged by: Jocelyn Magaña Murillo

Lighting Design: Stacy Fireheart, based on the original lighting design by James F. Ingalls

Costume Design: Jennifer Vaughan

Music: Clapping Music and Music for Pieces of Wood by Steve Reich

Dancers: Esperanza Aguilar, Julian Almeida, Victoria Chavez, Alexa Delgado, Diego Dominguez, Genesis Fernandez, Danna Gaytan, Lucero Godinez, Cindy Ibarra, Eva Lambaren, Mia Marquez, Melanie Martinez, Sammy Mejia, Sebastian Miramontes, Emiliano Morales, Kuanari Morales, Emily Munoz, Aranza Nunez, Madison Ochoa, Isabella Pacheco, Destanie Ramirez, Kamilah Ramirez, Zurisadai Ramirez, Lexie Rivero, Kayla Santana, Olivia Torres, Kymberlee Valencia, Constanza Villa-Popoca

Each movement from Pieces of Wood is set to the music of the legendary American composer, Steve Reich. His percussive, elegant scores provide the backbone of the piece. In Music for Pieces of Wood, the dancers behave like a rigorously organized insect colony; each individual dances purposefully to realize the goal of the hive. This seven-minute excerpt includes ideas from the Swarm and Square Dance movements.

Founded in 1983, The Wooden Floor is one of the foremost creative youth development nonprofit organizations in the country. We inspire and transform the lives of young people through the power of dance and access to higher education. In Orange County and through national licensed partners, The Wooden Floor uses a long-term approach grounded in exploratory dance education to foster the confidence and gifts within each child to innovate, communicate, and collaborate – skills necessary for success in school and in life. 100 percent of students who graduate from The Wooden Floor enroll in higher education. Students of The Wooden Floor become change agents and beacons of hope within their own families, their neighborhoods, and our world. Since 1983, The Wooden Floor has touched the lives of over 100,000 young people. TheWoodenFloor.org

Arpana Dance Company
Artistic Director: Ramya Harishankar

Surdas Bhajan

Dancer: Ramya Harishankar

Roli Seaboard: Aaashray Harishankar

A 16th century composition by the blind poet Surdas, who vividly envisioned the many playful antics of young Krishna in his mind’s eye. This interpretive abhinaya is presented in a unique format.

Thillana

Choreography: Ramya Harishankar

Music: Violin Maestro Lalgudi G. Jayaraman; Vocals - G. Srikanth

Lighting Design: Stacy Fireheart

Dancers: Nandini Kannan, Nithya Joseph, Pragnya Ramkumar,

Purnima Suresh, Swara Pimple, Samana Nadig, Shruthika Kunta, Aditi Ramaraju & Avanika Prasad

A celebration of melody and rhythm – “sculpture in motion” – Thillana incorporates rhythmic, cross rhythmic patterns and graceful movements. 

Ramya Harishankar is the Artistic Director of Arpana Dance Company (ADC), a leading Bharata Natyam school and company in California that celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2022. She was named a California Arts Council “Legacy Artist,” received an Individual Artist Fellowship in 2023, and was honored as a “Distinguished Citizen” by the City of Irvine in 2022. Her accolades also include India’s Kala Seva Bharathi Award (2012) and Arts Orange County’s Helene Modjeska Cultural Legacy Award (2007). Harishankar has performed around the world and teaches workshops and master classes throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, Australia, and India. Her short dance films, Bhumika and Aasha…Until We Meet Again, have been screened at international festivals, earning multiple awards. Harishankar co-founded a nonprofit that later became the Ektaa Center, which continues to advance Indian classical arts in Southern California. Under her leadership, Arpana Dance Company has toured internationally, created 20 full-length productions, and raised more than $150,000 for global charities. arpanadancecompany.org

Bob Romney, Chairman
Community Leader

Gary Fabian, Treasurer
Chief Financial Officer
Kind Lending

William Parker, Secretary
Professor Emeritus Physics and Astronomy
University of California, Irvine

DIRECTORS

Eugene Choi
Betty Martinez Franco
Harason Horowitz
Terry Jones
Mike Kerr
Jennifer Klein
Dr. Tiffany Ana López
Bonnie Lubock
James Mai
Sherry L. K. Main
Jerry Mandel, Ph.D.
Christopher Ramsey
Richard and Cheryll Ruszat
Kathleen Treseder, Ph.D.
Stuart Winston
Anu Worah

HONORARY

Larry Agran
Mayor, City of Irvine
 
Howard Gillman, Ph.D.
Chancellor
University of California, Irvine

Public Partners
City of Irvine and UC Irvine

Official Health Care Partner
UCI Health

Corporate Sponsor
Haskell & White LLP

$50, 000+

Tom and Mayumi Adams

Paul and Bonnie Lubock

Thomas Rogers and Sally Anderson

Worah Family Foundation

$25, 000-$49, 999

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Judy and Wes Whitmore

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Eugene and Carol Choi

Paul and Anne Devore

Farhang Foundation

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Harason Horowitz

Mark Chapin Johnson Foundation

Terry and Judy Jones

Mike Kerr and Jenny Backhaus

Liza Krassner

Jerry and Whitney Mandel

Goran Matijasevic

Dot and Rick Nelson

Mary Watson-Bruce

William and Janice Parker Family Fund

William and Pat Podlich

Robert E. Romney

Richard and Cheryll Ruszat – Montessori Schools of Irvine

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Stephen and Mary Auerbach

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As a partner in the annual National Choreographers Initiative, Irvine Barclay Theatre is also pleased to acknowledge all those who support this important contribution to American dance.

National Choreographers Initiative 2026
Molly Lynch, Artistic Director

Honorary Producer 

Bobbi Cox

Joanne and Dennis Keith

Barbara Roberts

Michelle Rohé

Richard and Elizabeth Steele Endowment Fund

Choreographer Sponsor

Terry Causey

Sophie and Larry Cripe

Judi Gorski

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Dancer Sponsor

Ellen Breitman and Brien Amspoker

James Carter

Croul Family Foundation

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Artistic Sponsor

Alan Andrews and Molly Lynch

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Gillian Finley and Robert Labaree

Carol Hamilton

Nancy and Ned Kriz

Dr. Rosalyn Laudati and Dr. James Pick

Kathryn Lynch and Robert McDonnell

Rachelle Menaker and Eddie Schuller

Marica Pendjer and John Miller

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Paula Tomei and David Emmes

Lynn Weiser and Mike Tompkins

Patron Sponsor

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David Carmichael

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Dance Shoe Sponsor

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Ivar Roth, Concierge Podiatry & Spa

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Dance Partner

Ellen Fujikawa

Mike Kerr and Jenny Backhaus

Maurice and Alexandra Mandel

Edward McPherson

Rita Mitchell

Mitsuhiko and Reiko Nakano

Dr. Janice Gudde Plastino

Rosalind Russell

Joseph Sheridan

Dan & Jeanne Stokols

Robert Strang

Mary Vensel White

Update as of 7/14/26

DONATE TODAY

Please consider making a donation to support the work of the National Choreographers Initiative. We need your contributions to support the dancers and choreographers involved in the project. Be an angel to the arts-dance! Thank you!

Send your donation to: NCI 3334 E. Coast Hwy #276, Corona del Mar CA 92625