On Saturday night, Synapse, the Santa Monica College contemporary dance ensemble, stormed the theater with a series of fiery, powerful and stunning dance numbers that showed the unique capabilities of the human body to tell stories. After six weeks of preparation and six hours of rehearsal each week, the Synapse dancers showcased their new repertory by guest and faculty artists...

They have been touring throughout California and Mexico for years, but for the first time, Santa Monica College's own dance company, Global Motion, took the stage in China for the annual International Tourism Festival in Beijing. Global Motion, which was founded in 1974 by SMC dance department chair Judith Douglas, is currently co-directed by Raquel Ramirez and Sri Susilowati. They...

"The Square," a stirring, harrowing experience that takes the viewer inside the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 and its continuing aftershocks, is a chronicle of the human drama that drove the Arab Spring and defined the second decade of the 21st century. Director Jehane Noujaim filmed the events on the spot that began in January 2011. The documentary focuses on three...

The Santa Monica College cosmetology department presented its second graduation fashion show with a pin ceremony showcasing the creative work of their students on Saturday, Oct. 26. Every three months, cosmetology students graduate and are brought together for the annual graduation ceremony, said John Rogers, chair of the cosmetology department. Rogers said that the graduation ceremony, along with the fashion...

What would an egg dancing the cha-cha look like? Laura Gorenstein Miller, choreographer, artistic director and founder of Helios Dance Theater, found herself imagining this picture for the animated film, “Puss in Boots,” directed by her husband Chris Miller. On Saturday morning, a large audience was treated to the show “Puss in Boots: From Drawings To Dance,” which mixed live...

"12 Years A Slave," the latest film from auteur Steve McQueen, is a film of raw, brutal emotion. Its subject is the enslavement of a free black man in 1841 and his journey through a hell of oppression amid the fields of American slavery. It is history on film laid bare drop by bloody drop. The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor...

Santa Monica College students were exposed to the unsettling images and testimonials of the inhumane treatment of captive orcas, which focused on the core journey of the most notorious killer whale, Tilikum. On Feb, 24, 2010, during one of SeaWold’s routine shows, Dawn Brancheau, who had worked for more than 16 years to become one of SeaWorld’s most well-known trainers,...

The doors of the Barrett Art Gallery at The Broad Stage opened on Saturday to reveal the abstract works of Los Angeles artist Scot Heywood. The gallery show, titled "Scot Heywood: A Survey Of Large Paintings 2006-2013," showcased Heywood's smooth yet direct works which embody the abstract spirit with their defiance of narrative or convention. The paintings on display at...

Unfulfilled love and dark passion enveloped The Broad Stage last Sunday when the Santa Monica College Symphony Orchestra performed the music of Johannes Brahms. Assistant conductor Fang-Ning Lim opened the concert by leading the orchestra through a performance of Brahms' "Tragic Overture, Opus 81." The orchestra is composed of both experienced and beginning students. Preparing for the concert required fast,...

Space, too often romanticized by action and adventure, constantly loses the reality that it is the most inhospitable and dangerous place for life. Director Alfonso Cuarón aims to never let you forget in “Gravity,” one of the most relentlessly terrifying yet beautifully crafted films of the year.“Life in space is impossible,” declares the opening title card of the film, which...