ABOUT THE TROUPES

Ojai O’Daiko, which means “Ojai Big Drum,” is a Taiko performing and teaching ensemble, led by the artistic direction of Gavin Takase-Sanchez. Japanese Taiko drumming melds its 6th century Japanese origins with influences of modern percussion styles, creating a harmonious blend of tradition and innovation. Ojai O’Daiko’s diverse group of performers are dedicated to inspiring cultural exchange and community connection through the power of Taiko.

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Kritya Dance Company, directed by Yamini Kalluri, performs with the mission to bring more visibility to Kuchipudi dance, a South Asian classical dance form, and Carnatic music on a global scale. Kritya has both a dance and music ensemble where the 2500+ year old Carnatic music tradition and 500+ year old Kuchipudi dance tradition from South India come together to tell ancient stories rooted in spirituality and social themes.

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Santa Barbara City College Dance program is dedicated to serving the community as a whole and is responsive to the diversity of that community. We equally value all dance forms, levels and styles. We provide education for those with varying goals, either dance or movement as part of a general education, health and well being, and/or dance as a primary or secondary career. The SBCC Dance Company is a 15-20 member student dance company under the direction of Tracy R. Kofford.

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¡Flamenco! Santa Barbara is dedicated to supporting - and elevating - the art of flamenco in Santa Barbara and beyond. They provide need-based scholarships to local students and believe that dance provides growth, creativity, expression and instills confidence, a sense of community, and respect for history. The dance company is led by artistic director Maria "La Chacha" Bermudez, and they perform year-round in the community.

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The Nordhoff High School Dance Company is a group of dedicated dancers who are current students of the NHS dance program. The company is under the current Artistic Direction by Gianna Burright. Kim Hoj began the NHS dance program in 2004 and the NHS Dance Company came to fruition in the fall of 2021. These dancers perform on and off campus in the NHS dance shows, featured events at Nordhoff, festivals and during educational outreach shows to elementary schools and the community. They have the opportunity to learn choreography from other student choreographers as well as professional guest artists and alumni artists such as Taylor Koester, Gianna Burright, Kim Hoj, Michela Villierme and Kelly Carrol.

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Dance Ojai - Bollywood, Salsa, & Jazz Troupes - Dance Ojai troupes, under the direction of Isha Ferraz, have been performing in Ventura County since 2015. Dance Ojai is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to sharing and promoting multi-cultural dance arts that serves the local community with classes, events, and performances. Our goal is to bring people together through the power of dance, and to provide a safe and inclusive space for people of all ages and backgrounds to experience the joy of movement and expression.

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Alias Dance Company was founded in 2003 by director Byron Bucao in Oxnard, California and has since offered thousands of local youth an opportunity to express their passion through the performing arts. The Alias Family consists of over a dozen teams ranging from ages 4 to adult across varying experience. With the help of the thousands of youth throughout the last 15 years, our teams have achieved over 100 awards and titles including features with top recording artists and in television.