ALYSON CARTAGENA, Director of Dance
Ms. Cartagena’s training includes the American Dance Festival, International Ballet Competition, Ballet Aspen/Ballet West, Harvard University, two consecutive scholarships to the Joffrey Ballet, Florida State University (BFA), and the University of California, Irvine (MFA)Her recent performance in Loretta Livingston's Blooming, Re-Joyceing, was named one of the Best Dance Performances of 2006 by the LA Times.  Currently Alyson is working on certification in Integrated Movement Studies at Loyola Marymount University and certification in Isadora Duncan technique in New York City.  

Article published: June 8, 2010
Orange County Register

Alyson Cartagena's life is 'the dance'


ALISO VIEJO – Alyson Cartagena of Aliso Viejo is doing what she loves at Rio Hondo College as an assistant professor and director of dance. Light on her feet, Cartagena teaches advanced students, and her company in which she dances, Loretta Livingston & Dancers, was once named one of the top 10 best dance performances by dance critic Lewis Segal from the Los Angeles Times. Read On.

Q: What were your career dreams as a kid?

A: I always wanted to tour and perform as a dancer and fortunately that dream came to fruition having traveled to Japan, Mexico, New York and Texas. I never imagined myself as a professor, but being the director of dance is an extension of my dream with even further reaching success because I am assisting others in reaching their goals.

Q: What is the Rio Hondo Dance?

A: The Rio Hondo Dance Collective is a touring ensemble comprised of Rio Hondo College's advanced dancers. Under my direction, the repertory company performs at area festivals, workshops, and dance concerts, including Evening of Dance and Works in Progress. Collective dancers also represent the college at the American College Dance Festival.

Q: Could you tell us about your role as director?

A: I serve as choreographer, rehearsal director, fundraising coordinator, and producer of the Rio Hondo Dance Collective, as well as teach and manage the dance, yoga, and Pilates courses.

Q: How long have you been dancing?

A: I have been dancing professionally for more than 18 years. My last project was when I was nine months pregnant with my daughter. It was the most beautiful solo I have ever been lucky enough to perform and one of my favorite Los Angeles concerts.

Q: What is your training?

A: The American Dance Festival, International Ballet Competition, Ballet Aspen/Ballet West, Harvard University, two consecutive scholarships to the Joffrey Ballet, Florida State University (Bachelor of Fine Arts), and the University of California, Irvine (Master of Fine Arts).Recent projects include performing in the world premier of Loretta Livingston's "Two Thousand Steps" at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, "Dances for White Rooms" at the Luckman Center, "Read the Bones" as part of L.A. County Library's Soundings series, and "Almost There," a site specific work in Los Angeles' 7th Street Metro station.

Q: Any community volunteering or philanthropic work for you?

A: As an educator, I am always volunteering my time and talent to assist students. This may mean working late nights in the theater or full weekends with dance projects (auditions, workshops, performances, and fundraising activities).

Q: How has what you are doing benefited or enhanced your life?

A: It is my life. All the joys and struggles of the everyday are reflected and mirrored in dance.

Q: What is the best part of what you do?

A: I really enjoy working with all levels of dance students. Nothing is more satisfying than helping a beginner transition from their first dance class to performing on stage. It is also equally satisfying to see a well-skilled or technical dancer transform from a student to professional with full effort life.

"Caught in the Act"
I’d like to nominate Alyson Cartagena for all the time she has spent with providing the school and community with dance performances. In the last month, she choreographed a performance for the Gala, hosted national dance week (offering five different master classes), had the “Evening of Dance” for three nights (Thur-Sat--all packed—standing room only), then performed at Soka University the day after (Sunday), and then once more for the children’s center (Monday). If that isn’t a sign of dedication and hard work, I don’t know what is! In addition to all the dance events, she also helped me and co-coordinated “Summer Shape-Up”. Can we say “SUPERWOMAN!”?

RACHEL LOPEZ, dance artist and former member of Loretta Livingston and Dancers, a contemporary dance performance ensemble based in downtown Los Angeles. Ms. Lopez has also worked with choreographers Ellen Davis, Carol McDowell, Jeremy Hahn, Arianne Hoffman, Diana Sherwood, Kristen
Smiarowski and Meg Wolfe. Rachel has performed in Mexico at El Centro Cultural Tijuana with Grupo de Danza Minerva Tapia and in New York as a part of Movement Research at the Judson Church. Most recently she performed Keith Glassman's work in coffeehouses around Los Angeles.  As a choreographer she has created work for Highways Performance Space, American College Dance Festival, Rio Hondo College, Santa Monica College's Synapse Dance Theater, El Camino College and Kol Neshama Performing Arts Conservatory. In 2010 she was awarded a Durfee Grant and created Thanksgiving for Heroes, in collaboration with the San Francisco Bach Choir, a site-specific dance honoring fallen heroes. Rachel currently teaches yoga, Pilates and modern dance at Rio Hondo College and has taught at Cal State Long Beach, Long Beach City College, American College Dance Festival and Saint Joseph's Ballet. She runs Creative Movement Dance Studio, improvisation and choreography classes for young girls, carrying on the tradition of her mentor Karen Fox. Rachel received a BA in Psychology from U.C. Santa Cruz and an MFA in Dance from U.C.Irvine.
 

Carol McDowell is an interdisciplinary dance artist and educator. Born in California and raised in Hawai’i, she fell in love with modern dance while studying with Betty Jones. Since then, McDowell has danced Kei Takei's "Light," Jack Moore’s "Four Songs," Pooh Kaye’s "Active Graphics," Barbara Dilley’s "Naked Face," Tim Miller's "Cost of Living", and most recently Victoria Mark's "Medium Big Inefficient Considerably Imbalanced Dance." Her own work has been presented at the Craftwoman House, Skirball Cultural Center, Sweeney Art Gallery, Anatomy Riot, Highways Performance Space, The Kitchen, Dance Theater Workshop, Performance Space 122, and abroad. Grants and artist residencies have come from Hothouse/UCLA, Indonesian Dance Festival, National Dance/Media Fellowship, APPEX, Djerassi Foundation, Colorado Arts Council, Aesthetic Education Institute of Colorado, Jerome Foundation, DIA Art Foundation, and Hawaii Department of Education.
Recent projects include collaborative projects with performance artist Mariel Carranza, Jerri Allen & Inez Bush’s “Debating through the Arts,” and choreography for Asher Hartman’s “Annie Okay” presented by Machine Projects at the Hammer Museum. McDowell is completing her PhD in Culture and Performance at UCLA. She teaches dance studies, composition, improvisation, repertory and yoga at CSULB, Rio Hondo College, and West LA College, and has been a guest artist at Pomona College and Bennington College.
 

Shyamala Moorty is a choreographer, interdisciplinary performer, and educator whose work draws on contemporary Indian and western dance, theater, and community engagement. She is co-founder of the Post Natyam Collective (www.postnatyam.net) and has toured individual and collaborative performances to Canada, Europe, and India and since 2004. She has also performed her work locally in venues such as the Barclay theater, the Hollywood Bowl, and the Red Cat. Shyamala has also been making work with TeAda Productions (www.teada.org) since 2002, including two interdisciplinary solo shows: Carrie’s Web, and RISE - which was acclaimed as a “tour de force” in the LA Times. As a performer, she has worked as an ensemble member with Great Leap, the Rangoli Foundation, and as a soloist and principal dancer for the Aman International Folk Ensemble. Shyamala holds an MFA in choreography from UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures, and has taught dance, yoga and pilates at UCLA, Cal Poly Pomona, Cerritos College, Cypress College, LA Trade Tech College, Rio Hondo College and West LA College. Her yoga teacher training was completed at Yoga Works and her Pilates Mat Certification was done with BASI. Dedicated to healing and connecting individuals and communities, Shyamala and also facilitates healing through the arts for women who have experienced domestic violence and other traumas. Shyamala has been honored to received two Durfee ARC grants, and a Long Beach Arts Council Professional Artist Fellowship.


Joel Smith is a director, choreographer and performer with an MFA in experimental choreography from UC Riverside and BA in studio art and theater design from UC Davis. He is the co-artistic director of casebolt and smith, a duet dance theater company, with artistic partner Liz Casebolt. Founded in 2006, casebolt and smith is based in Los Angeles, tours nationally and internationally, is a member of Pentacle (DanceWorks Inc) and has been presented at: Vancouver International Dance Festival, Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival in Belfast, N. Ireland, Joyce SoHo in NYC, Contemporary Arts Forum in Santa Barbara, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Tempe Center for the Arts in Tempe, St. Joseph College in Brooklyn, Southern Theater in Minneapolis, Culver Center for the Arts in Riverside, Highways Performance Space in Los Angeles, and Actors Company Theatre West Hollywood. Smith is also on faculty at Scripps College, UC Riverside, and UCLA.