Help SoMar Dance Works fund our new concert

We are SoMar Dance Works, a small dance company located in Erie, PA, and we are seeking funds to help with production costs for our upcoming concert, Not Our First Rodeo.

We’re offering this concert free of charge; however, “free” events aren’t truly free. Some of our expenses include costumes, advertising, printing, compensation for our technical director, and a little something for our talented, hard-working dancers.

Who we are:

SoMar Dance Works was established in 1999. The directors, Mark and Solveig Santillano, are full-time educators at Mercyhurst University who run this company on the side. SoMar provides performing opportunities for its company members beyond those available at the university.

SoMar Dance Works is committed to the creation and presentation of original contemporary dance works that enrich, enlighten, and entertain. Founders/Directors, Solveig and Mark Santillano serve as the company’s sole choreographers. Their work is known for its artistry, physicality, wit, and creativity. SoMar premiered in 1999 at the Missouri Fine Arts Academy and has since performed from California to Maine, as well as Gothenburg, Sweden and in Austria’s Young! Tanzsommer festival. SoMar Dance Works has received numerous grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and is in-residence at Mercyhurst University.

We are now in our 26th year, and still going strong.

Mark Santillano, Assistant Professor of Dance at Mercyhurst University, Co-founder/Co-director of SoMar Dance Works. His multifaceted career in the arts span’s decades.

Solveig Santillano, Associate Professor of Dance at Mercyhurst University, Co-founder/Co-director of SoMar Dance Works. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Dance and has toured the world with MOMIX. Solveig and Mark are proud recipients of the inaugural Erie Arts & Culture Artist Fellowship.

About the show:

Our concert, Not Our First Rodeo, is an interdisciplinary, multi-media, pan-genre dance event showcasing dance, video, music, and storytelling. It will feature a company of ten performers presenting original choreography by co-directors Mark and Solveig Santillano.

As the title, Not Our First Rodeo, implies, this is certainly not the first concert presented by SoMar Dance Works. This dance company has been offering audiences innovative work for twenty-six years. While there may not be any barrel races, roping events, or bull riding, there is plenty of variety and entertainment. The hour-long concert is a mixture of world premieres and favorites from the company’s repertory. With tones ranging from silly to surreal, to the sublime.

Featured on the program is the return of Rodeo (on a stick). Originally choreographed in 2020, this dance is inspired by the work of Agnes de Mille and Aaron Copland. One notable difference between the famous ballet and this newer interpretation is the dancers are all riding hobby horses.

“It’s a bit of silliness. And who couldn’t use a bit of silliness from time to time” said co-director Mark Santillano. “It’s light-hearted, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a technically challenging piece of choreography” Santillano continued.

Another dance featured on the program is Not a Pipe. This piece is inspired by the works of surrealist painter René Magritte. The dancers weave in and out of various scenes presenting a tapestry of other-worldly images.

Rounding out the performance is Piercing Darkness, For the Honey and You, Tributary of Life, Tippy Tops, Kalyana Mitra, and a new film version of Old Friends.

Dancing on the program are Emma Berkheiser, Katie Bleu, Kenzie Krommes, Maia Richards, Mia Semieraro, Madeleine Sipos, Moira Sullivan, Colton Swiger, as well as founders Mark and Solveig Santillano

SoMar: Not Our First Rodeo

Saturday February 22nd @ 7:00 pm, and Sunday February 23rd @ 2:00 pm

Walker Recital Hall

Mercyhurst University, 501 E. 38th Street, Erie, PA 16546

Free and open to the public

Final thoughts:

All donations help us do our part in keeping the arts alive in our community. And that, in our opinion, is a worthwhile calling. Our needs are modest, but our gratitude is enormous. Thank you, in advance, for your generosity.

And, if you’re around Erie, PA come on by and see the show.