'Spring Dance Theatre' Breaks Boundaries Through Movement This Month at CSUF

CSUF's award-winning dancers and choreographers close the season in "Spring Dance Theatre," featuring dynamic performances by CSUF faculty and students that are designed to challenge and engage. "Spring Dance Theatre" opens May 4 in Cal State Fullerton's Little Theatre and also features works by guest artists Jamila Glass, Michael Nickerson-Rossi, and Danah Bella.

Filmmaker and Choreographer Jamila Glass is known for creating cinematic journeys of movement, shaping characters, and building worlds that reflect what make us human. In addition to creating work as the Artistic Director of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company (where she joined in 2005 as a founding member), she has choreographed extensively in film and television. Glass' choreography work includes projects on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, BET, and Prada, and garnered mentions in the New York Times, L.A. Times, Essence Magazine, Ebony Magazine, and Mashable. She recently choreographed and co-directed two commercials for Splice, the music industry's highest quality, royalty-free sample library.

Michael Nickerson-Rossi launched and founded the dance company Nickerson-Rossi Dance in 2011. His firm belief in charitable and educational benefits propelled Michael to incorporate his company into a non-profit 501c3. The non-profit mission of Nickerson-Rossi Dance is to provide dance programs to youth, young adults, and adults that focus on dance education, dance as a therapeutic value, and access to professional performances.

Danah Bella has performed and presented her work, taught workshops, and has been artist-in-residence at festivals and universities throughout the United States and abroad. Bella is a founding member of Colectivo Caliban, an artist collective that breaks disciplinary borders through sound and movement. She is currently the Chair of the BFA dance program at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University.

Additional choreographers for "Spring Dance" include faculty member Joshua D. Estrada-Romero and student choreographers Julia Atkinson, Emily Kelly, Jazmine Huerta, and Mila Gonzalez.

"Spring Dance Theatre" features costume design by faculty Kathryn Wilson and students Keiv Lam, Hayden Lalicker, Hannah Creighton, Hahah Clark, and Natalia Morales; lighting design is by Scott Bolman and students Alecia Bennett, Samera Abdelrhman, Dillon Lopez, Jordan Curiel, and Sheridan Vieyra; set design by Andre Polo, Adam Miller, and Harold East.