By Colleen Coveney

The UC Santa Barbara Dance Company, along with director Delila Moseley, embarked Tuesday on its annual trip to Europe, where the group will visit Krakow, Barcelona, and Prague for just under three weeks. The company will perform its contemporary repertoire in individual shows as well as in events alongside European dance conservatories.

UC Santa Barbara Dance Company members pose with director Delila Moseley after a recent performance.

The company comprises 10 senior dance majors at UCSB who were selected after their first three years of education for their performance growth and accomplishment, Moseley said. They then spend their fourth year practicing together and working with guest choreographers to expand their repertoire, culminating with the senior trip.

The Dance Company spent about two weeks working with each choreographer to develop and learn the respective dances.

Some dances, like “Group Autogenics” by Derion Loman and Madison Olandt, were “set” on the dancers, meaning the choreographers drew inspiration from the Dance Company members while creating the dances. Others, like “Suite From Mazurkas” by Jose Limon, were already choreographed and the dancers learned them.

The student dancers practiced the compositions weekly and performed them as often as possible in recent months in order to prepare for their time dancing abroad.

“The more times they perform, the more confident they feel and the better they perform,” Moseley said.

Members of the UC Santa Barbara Dance Company perform “Group Autogenics,” choreographed for the group by Madison Olandt and Derion Loman. Photos by Stephen Sherrill.

The annual UCSB Dance Company excursion began in 2011 with the goal of immersing the students in the day-to-day activities of dancers working in a touring dance company.

“This year is a little different because we don’t have as many performances but we have more dance activities,” Moseley said. “So I’m calling it an immersive dance experience, not necessarily a performing tour.”

Aside from performing established pieces in Europe, the Dance Company will also take classes and teach dance classes in Poland, Spain and the Czech Republic. It will even celebrate International Dance Day abroad on April 29, by performing twice in Prague to mark the occasion.

Performing in a traveling dance company is just one of the many career paths dance majors can choose, according to Dance Company member Millie Novak, so the ability to “test drive” the career is invaluable.

Dance majors also have the option to dance for professional sports teams, perform as backup for musical artists, choreograph pieces, and teach dance, Novak said. But a dancer’s “prime” lasts a shorter duration than most other career fields, usually less than 20 years, so time is of the essence when pursuing these opportunities.

“I think the Europe tour will allow me to learn new techniques and different ways of moving [my] body,” dancer Ana Ko Glass said. “I also think it’s kind of cool that I will get to learn more about myself and what ways of moving are fun for me and my body.”

The company is feeling even more excitement than usual because it is the first year back following two years of cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic, said Moseley.

Finding events to attend abroad this year proved challenging, as changing COVID-19 restrictions in European countries caused uncertainty about when and where travel would be deemed safe.


UC Santa Barbara dance majors Ana Ko Glass and Andrew Bauer performed a duet from Jose Limon’s “Mazurkas” at the company’s opening show, “Rebound,” in early March. Photos by Stephen Sherrill.

Moseley was ultimately able to create a trip with help from her network of former students and colleagues, as well as by reaching out to new dance groups, performance centers, and event hosts.

She also used her national network of artists to secure guest choreographers who worked with the Dance Company in Santa Barbara, composing the portfolio of dance pieces they will perform across Europe. Some are former UCSB students or performers, while others are faculty or guests.

“Every single one comes from a different place and has a different background, and hopefully [brings] something new and different to the dancers that they wouldn’t get from anybody else, so they get a good range of experience,” Moseley said.

Aside from learning technical skills, working with guest choreographers exposed Dance Company members to dancers beyond those they would otherwise meet in their undergraduate career.

“I also enjoy hearing about the different kinds of dance journeys that each of the choreographers experienced,” Ko Glass said. “It reassured me that dancing professionally is attainable and everyone is on a different path for themselves.”

The group will be in Europe until early May, but after their return, interested individuals can still watch them perform on May 15 in a show directed by Moseley, titled ​​UCSB Dance Company: Remix.

Members of the 2021-22 UC Santa Barbara Dance Company. Photos by Stephen Sherrill.

Colleen Coveney is a fourth-year UC Santa Barbara student majoring in Psychology and Brain Sciences. She is a Web and Social Media Intern for the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts.