CHOREOGRAPHER BIOGRAPHIES

MONIQUE MERCEDES MEUNIER (CHOREOGRAPHER, cíclico) SHE/

HER was born in Hollywood, CA. Her father is Cuban and mother is Ecuadorian. As a young girl in Los Angeles, she earned spots in various commercials, music videos, sitcoms, and short films. At the age of 15, she received a full scholarship to attend the School of American Ballet in NYC. Miss Meunier was asked to join the New York City Ballet one year later. In 1996, she was promoted to soloist and reached the rank of principal dancer in 1997. There she performed numerous roles by Balanchine, Robbins, Martins, Wheeldon, and Forsythe, as well as, Odette/Odile in Swan Lake. In 2002, Meunier joined American Ballet Theater where she added the classics, Tudor, and Kylian to her repertoire. In 2007, she joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet under the direction of Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson. Miss Meunier has staged Balanchine ballets for the Balanchine Trust and has served as rehearsal director for Karole Armitage. In 2010, she became ballet master for Washington Ballet and in 2011 became director of TWB’s Trainee Program and faculty of The School of Washington Ballet. In 2017, she was appointed Associate Professor of ballet at the University of California Santa Barbara. She has also ventured into choreography and has created works for Ballet Nacional del Peru, Kansas City Ballet, Ballet Idaho, St Louis Ballet, and various UCSB performances with guest artists from New York City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, and Dance Theater of Harlem. Miss Meunier is now highly acclaimed for her teaching and coaching and is a permanent adjudicator for Youth American Grand Prix.

NINA LOPEZ(CHOREOGRAPHER, SACRED HEART)SHE/HER is a fourth year student from Palm Springs, California. She expects to graduate with a Bachelor in Fine Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Arts in Communication at the conclusion of the Spring 2023 quarter. Nina had trained extensively in ballet and modern dance prior to university education, and has now gained an increased understanding of these styles and several choreographic principles from her education in the dance department. She produced her first onstage choreographic work (Give You Life, 2022) in the annual Kinetic Lab student showcase in the Spring of 2022. Nina is grateful for her time in the university and eagerly looks forward to applying her knowledge and skillsets in upcoming opportunities post graduation. Her final piece with the department (Sacred Heart) holds a personal and tender significance for her, as she derives inspiration from her Catholic faith and poetic literature that highlights the “belovedness” that each individual inherently possesses.

MADELINE JOSA (CHOREOGRAPHER, LATRODECTISM) SHE/HER is a Dance BFA and History BA double major here at UCSB. She has been dancing for 16 years, training primarily in ballet. Prior to UCSB, Madeline trained at the School of the Sacramento Ballet in the PreProfessional Division. This is her second work to premiere at UCSB, having premiered her first choreographic work, At First Sight, here at UCSB during Kinetic Lab last year.

EMILY ECKERT (CHOREOGRAPHER, A BEAUTIFUL MESS) SHE/HER is in her fourth year at UCSB as a BFA Dance and BA Sociology double major. Originally from Orange County, Emily trained with Festival Ballet Theatre and performed in several of their full-length contemporary ballet productions while additionally exploring commercial dance trajectories. As a member of the UCSB Dance Company, she will take to concert stages in Europe on tour this spring. Emily maintains an interest in the film industry and hopes to combine those endeavors with dance creation and performance.

JESSIE CHIN (CHOREOGRAPHER, IN FLUX ) SHE/HER is a 4th year student at UCSB pursuing a BFA degree in Dance and a BA degree in Communication. She is completing her senior capstone this quarter and is a part of the UCSB Dance Company which will travel to Europe in the Spring. Growing up, she primarily trained in modern, ballet, tap, hip hop, and jazz with a college preparatory company. She is interested in both choreography and performance and is grateful to have the opportunity to explore both in this program.

MIA GRIFF (CHOREOGRAPHER, YUANFEN) SHE/HER is a fourth year student and a member of UCSB Dance Company currently pursuing her BFA in Dance and her BA in English. She grew up training at Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, WA, then later graduated from the Cornish College of the Arts Preparatory Dance Program. She is proud to present the debut of her senior BFA Project, an opportunity she has been looking forward to since her freshman year at UCSB.

AMANDA TRAN (CHOREOGRAPHER, FORBES 6) SHE/HER

is a Southern California native and a classically trained ballet and modern dancer. Her passion for dance and movement brought her to University of California, Santa Barbara where she completed her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography. During her time at UCSB, she performed as an apprentice for Santa Barbara Dance Theater, and was a member of the UCSB Dance Company. Upon graduation, she joined Kybele Dance Theater and performed works at various dance festivals throughout LA county and the US for two years. Amanda found a new love and passion for Pilates and has been teaching for 4 years.

Department of Theater and Dance Donors

Mr. and Mrs. Marc Adelman

Ms. Susan L. Alexander*

Mr. Frank S. Alvarez

Mr. David B. Anderson*

Irwin Appel and Julie K. Fishell

John and Jody Arnhold°

Cynthia and Scott Austin

Joel F. Barsky, D.M.D

Elaine and Todd Bauer

Lisa and Gary Beeson

Ms. Myrna H. Bernard

John and Jill Bishop

Constance S. Brainin, Ph.D.

Ms. Deborah Brevoort

Mr. and Mrs. Chuck A. Burright

Mr. Dan Castellaneta and Ms. Deborah Lacusta

Luiza Yuk Wah and Leland Chan

Ms. Christine Chien

Cynthia and Chris Chin°

Margaret Leonard and Clare Sheils

Toni Corwin

Ms. Lilyan Cuttler and Mr. Bernad Seder

Randee and Ken Devlin Family Foundation

Mr. Michael K. Douglas*°

William Eisenhower

Dr. Amr El Abbadi and Ms. Janet E. Head

Ms. Elizabeth Engelman

Ms. Jordan M. Finley*

Carolyn and James Flanigan

Ms. Juliet Fry and Mr. Steven K. Glikbarg

Mark and Karen Gill

Louis J. Glass

Ms. Amelia Gomez and Jeffry A. Sherbakoff

James and Mary Hahn

Stephen and Anne Hahn-Smith

James Hanway

Noah and Robin Harpster*

Arlene Hutton

Miss Laura B. Isham*

Ms. Sylvia A. Jackson Arreola*

Mr. Stephen E. Jacobsen and Ann E. Erickson*

Mr. Bob Johnson and Ms. Lisa Reich

Charlotte Johnson

Ms. Katya Bloom and Mr. Hugh Martin

Kelly

Ryan and Lydia Kim

James and Debbie Kimball

Benjamin and Laura King*

Bill and Linda Kitchen

Ms. Ada Ko

Julie Ladner

Steven Lafranchi and Natasha Nicholson°

Ronald and Beverlie Latimer

Ms. Barbara Lebow

Mr. Philip A. Levien and Ms. Darlene S. Craviotto-Levien*

Russell and Pamela Lombardo

Thomas Lousen

Mr. Bernard A. Magier

Dr. David Marshall and Dr. Candace J. Waid

Mr. Myles M. Mattenson

Ms. Meredith McMinn*

Karen Meena

Michelle Meena

Joseph Michael and Ruth E. Mercado

Mr. Don M. Minami

Heather Myrick

Thurman and Lucinda Newsome

Ms. Jane C. Novak

Michael Novak

Dr. Donald D. O’Dowd

Nancy Okeefe

On Pointe Dancewear LLC

Dr. Dean N. Pananides*

Dr. Pauline J. Paulin*

Ms. Felicia T. Perez*

Phyllis M. Perez

Ms. Aurora Perry

Dr. Frederick J. Perry*

Mr. Tyler Pon and Ms. Alice I. Youmans

Ms. Carol M. Press and

Dr. Nicholas Tingle*

Mr. Albert L. Reid, Jr.

Todd and Sherry Reinart

Honorable Susan J. Rose

Charles and Gayle Rosenberg

Richard and Cissy Ross

Sister Judith M. Royer*

Dr. Rona J. Sande

Santa Barbara Foundation

Ms. Anne M. Shanto*

Dr. Tonia Shimin and Mr. Steven Eakin

Gregory and Dale Stamos*

Ms. Deborah Steffen*

Mrs. Elizabet L. Tessier*

Ms. Anne Torsiglieri

Bickley Townsend

Mr. Edward F. Underhay°

Victor Gomez Insurance Agency

Mr. Dana White

Jan* & Don O’Dowd Performance Fund

Towbes Fund for the Performing Arts, a field of interest fund of the Santa Barbara Foundation

Office of the Dean of the Humanities & Fine Arts

°Donors who have established Endowed Funds to the Department *Alumni of UCSB

If you are interested in making a gift to the Department of Theater and Dance please contact

Leslie Gray, Senior

Director

of Development

LESLIE.GRAY@UCSB.EDU or visit us on the web at theaterdance.ucsb.edu

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This list notes gifts made between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.

We apologize for any errors or omissions. Please contact Leslie Gray, Senior Director of Development.