Jacob Jonas The Company--the 21st Century Dance Company which is quickly gaining acclaim and recognition for mixing contemporary ballet, breakdance and acrobatic movement--presents To the Sea: Dance Concerts on the Pier, a free two-night dance festival on the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday, April 29 and Sunday, April 30 at 6pm. The festival incorporates live performances featuring work from local and International Artists, curated by Jacob Jonas The Company, as well as dance short films curated by festival partners Dance Camera West.
Admission to the festival is free, but advanced RSVP at tothesea.eventbrite.com is required. To the Sea is supported in part by a grant from the City of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica Arts Commission.
Featured artists include Montreal's Les 7 Doigts de La Main (the world-renowned circus company most known for their Broadway show "TRACES"); Tony Testa (choreographer for Michael Jackson, Ariana Grande, and Nicki Minaj, among others); American Ballet Theater's Jeffery Cirio and his Cirio Collective with work by Gregory Dolbashian; Los Angeles' commercial-dance trio The Seaweed Sisters, featuring Jillian Meyers (La La Land), Dana Wilson (Justin Timberlake), and Megan Lawson (Madonna); concert dancer Andrea Schermoly (formerly with the Nederlands Dans Theater and Boston Ballet); Andrew Winghart, whose work was most recently featured in the 89th Annual Academy Awards and in TIME Magazine; and Jacob Jonas The Company, recently named "Best New Force in LA Dance" by LA Weekly.
To the Sea, bringing together world-class talent to an iconic Los Angeles landmark, taking place on the West end of the Pier during sunset. Like the Twilight Concerts on the Pier, Jacob Jonas The Company strives to turn the festival into an annual event, making To the Sea a hub for dance that provides more opportunities for individuals and dance companies to be visible in Los Angeles and to make dance a more valued art form in society.
About Jacob Jonas The Company
Based in Los Angeles, Jacob Jonas The Company (JJTC) has toured North America since its birth in 2014, bringing its mix of contemporary ballet, breakdance and acrobatic movement to stops including New York, Vancouver, Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out Dance Festival and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. JJTC is a 21st Century dance ensemble with a focus on creating works both for a live audience and for the camera. JJTC produces visceral, original pieces based on real-life situations, relationships, and storytelling that relates to audiences on a personal level. Through a collaborative choreographic process, casting that emphasizes diversity and life experience, plus the singular creative vision of Jacob Jonas, JJTC performances provide a mirror that allows audiences to examine their own lives. Also known for its film and photography work and its robust social media presence, JJTC has hosted #camerasanddancers photography meet-ups with social influencers and cultural institutions.
About Dance Camera West:
A non-profit organization dedicated to promoting and developing the vibrant art of dance media. DCW connects diverse cultures and environments through its exploration of dance on screen, bringing hundreds of challenging and provocative films to Los Angeles from around the globe, effectively bridging the gap between the uniquely influential Los Angeles film community and the significant local dance populace. Even more importantly, Dance Camera West utilizes the accessible nature of dance as a non-verbal art form to reach across cultural, geographic, and socio-economic divides by making a special effort to engage a wide range of Los Angeles audiences of varying ethnicities and interests, offering everyone a chance to experience the thought-provoking thrill of dance media.
About #CamerasandDancers:
#CamerasandDancers is a social media initiative encouraging collaboration through the mediums of dance and photography. To date, JJTC has organized twenty four meet-ups around the world with social influencers, museums, tourism boards, and cultural institutions including The Getty Center, Jacob's Pillow, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles Tourism Board, The Royal Ballet, Paul Taylor Dance Company and countless others. These photos carry the weight of peer-to-peer endorsement and keep dance relevant and connected to a younger demographic reaching hundreds of thousands of followers. For more information on #CamerasandDancers, visit jacobjonas.com/camerasanddancers/.
The festival trailer for To the Sea can be found here. For more information about JJTC, please visit www.JacobJonas.com. For more information about Dance Camera West, please visit: www.dancecamerawest.org. Like Jacob Jonas The Company on Facebook, and follow on Instagram.
Videos