featured choreographers
​Friday, October 13

Natalie Oleinik

Living and working in Nantes, France, artist Natalie Oleinik is a 2011 graduate of the National Circus School of Montreal and a 2019 gold medal recipient at the International Circus Festival in Switzerland. Over the past decade, Oleinik has been a touring artist in French company Les Colporteurs and a performer in the cabaret production Palazzo in addition to choreographing two award-winning, evening-length works: "Cie Catalyst" and "Manor House." Specializing in the ancient art of corde lisse (aerial rope) Oleinik creates conceptual expressions of aerial dance where space and time are her medium of choice. In 2020, she published a book highlighting her methodology titled Sense Space.

Chloe Roberts

Based in New York City, Chloé Roberts is a dancer, educator, choreographer, and Franco-American Fulbright Fellowship recipient in Paris for the 2021-2022 year. Roberts has choreographed and performed internationally for the past 12 years with companies that include Urbanity Dance Company (Boston, MA), Selah Dance Collective (Santa Barbara, CA), Nebula Dance Company (Santa Barbara, CA), The Prague Shakespeare Company (Prague, Czech Republic), and Reject Dance Theatre (New York City). Recent theatre productions include Chicago (Liz/Dance Captain), American Psycho (Choreographer), Grease (Cha-Cha/Dance Captain), How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying (Choreographer), Marilyn Exposed (ensemble), and High Society (Mavis/dance captain). 

Brandon Whited

Brandon Whited is an Associate Professor of Dance and Vice-Chair for the UCSB Department of Theater & Dance. He holds a BFA from UNC School of the Arts, and an MFA from The Ohio State University.  Whited freelanced professionally with various NYC-based companies including Steeledance, Randy James Dance Works, and Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company.  In 2008, he joined Shen Wei Dance Arts, touring domestically and internationally and originating roles in four new works during his six-year tenor. Whited's work has been presented domestically in New York, Maryland, Ohio, Washington, Texas and California, and internationally in Italy with a collaborative installation Loro Sono Loro/they are them, with Sarah Lisette Chiesa. Whited currently serves as Artistic Director for Santa Barbara Dance Theatre.