WE ARE
COLLABORATORS
MEREDITH CABANISS
CHOREOGRAPHER, LIGHTING DESIGNER, VIDEO ARTIST
MEREDITH CABANISS recently graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara after pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. During her studies she was a Regent’s Scholar; member of the UCSB Dance Company; and received undergraduate honors such the Undergraduate Research Award for her departmental Honor’s Project, a Corwin Award for choreography, and other achievements in the department. She also studied with Batsheva Dance Company during their summer dance intensive in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Meredith teaches throughout the Santa Barbara and Ventura area and is the artistic director of Santa Barbara's newest dance company: selah dance collective. In 2013, Meredith's work was selected as a finalist in the Palm Desert Choreography Festival and her dance collective, SELAH, has been invited to perform throughout California as well as in New York and abroad in Prague, Czech Republic.
EMILY TATOMER
CHOREOGRAPHER
EMILY TATOMER began dancing at the age of eight in Livermore, California. While in the Bay Area, she danced for New Urban Dance Company under the direction of John Butterfield. As a student at the University of California at Santa Barbara, she was awarded the scholarship and First Place Corwin award for Choreography. After she graduated with high honors with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Anthropology from UCSB in 2002, she moved to New York City where she trained with Teri and Oliver Steele, Daniel Charon and others. She returned to the west coast in February 2005 and began dancing with Benita Bike's DanceArt with whom she performed for two seasons throughout the Los Angeles area and toured to Boston, MA.
Since returning to Santa Barbara, Emily has been a member of Santa Barbara Dance Theatre, the company in residency at UCSB directed by Jerry Pearson, for six seasons. With the company she has toured to San Francisco, Ireland, Wales, China and South Korea. Locally she has performed in and choreographed for Santa Barbara Dance Alliance's New Works concerts, Cybil Gilbertson's Nectar, and danced for Robin Bisio. As a resident choreographer for NEBULA, Emily created two original works for NEBULA repertory which were debuted in 2012 at Center Stage Theater, 'Take the Bull by the Horns' and 'Snapshots', and created a portion of the collaborative work 'Dreamscape', which debuted in 2014.
ANAYA CULLEN
COSTUME DESIGNER
ANAYA CULLEN designs and creates costumes for dance, theater, opera, and independent films. Clients/projects include: State Street Ballet (CA), Peter Pucci’s Dream on By (NYC/CA), Jennifer Muller / The Works (NYC), American Musical and Dramatic Academy Los Angeles (CA), Santa Barbara Dance Theater (CA), UCSB Dance and Theater Department (CA), Chautauqua Dance Company (NY), Santa Barbara Contemporary Art Forum (CA), Santa Barbara Art Museum Nights! (CA), Aspen Opera Theater Center (CO), Robin Bisio Films (CA), Sentient Films (CA), Santa Barbara Dance Institute (CA), Bird Tribe Collective (CA), SonneBlauma Danscz Theatre (CA), Motion Theater Dance Company (CA), Treignac Project (France), and Catsi Dans (Turkey). Awards and residencies include Artmonk-in-Residence with the Art Monastery Project, Italy, 2012, Creative Resident at Parsons Paris School of Art + Design, 2010 and recipient of the Santa Barbara Fiber Arts Guild’s 2010 LaVelle Ure Memorial Educational Grant.
SHELBY LYNN JOYCE
CHOREOGRAPHER
SHELBY LYNN JOYCE (CHOREOGRAPHER, VISUAL ARTIST) earned a BFA from The University of the Arts (UARTS) in Philadelphia, PA. in Modern Dance Performance with an emphasis in Dance Composition. Upon Graduation she was recognized and awarded by the faculty. Shelby has performed on the east coast with numerous companies and choreographers, more notably including Todd Rosenlieb Dance based in Norfolk, va. and physical theater/acrobatic company Brian Sanders’ JUNK based in Philadelphia, pa.
In 2014 Shelby relocated to sunny Santa Barbara and has been working as a free-lance dance artist with Nebula Dance Lab, Weslie Ching Dance and is honored to be invited to perform with Santa Barbara Dance Theater. Shelby has also created multiple dance works both on the east and west coast and is also a visual artist and Pilates instructor.
BROOKLYN HUGHES
CHOREOGRAPHER
BROOKLYN HUGHES received her BA in Dance from UC, Irvine in 2002 and her MFA in Choreography from the University of Arizona in May of 2010. Brooke began her performance career at 16 dancing in Phantom and that same year performing with State Street Ballet in Carmina Burana and Giselle. A couple years later, while in college she discovered a greater passion for choreography, pedagogy and scholarship. She has been selected for numerous grants in Oregon and Arizona for her choreography and scholarly work. Her choreographic work has been selected numerous times for regional, national and international conferences and competitions. Brooke has presented research on Dance at the National Dance Education Organization Conference in Towson, Maryland, where she was elected to serve on the NDEO board from 2008-2010. In October of 2009, Brooke received the “Outstanding Creative Achievement Award” at the University of Arizona Honors Convocation. In January of 2010, Brooke produced and choreographed a production of dance to benefit The Academy for Cancer Wellness.
Additionally her work has been performed by Airealistic Circus and Flying, AWOL Dance Collective, Grand Canyon University, State Street Ballet Young Dancers, UA Dance Ensemble, Paso Robles Chamber Ballet, Pacific University Dance Ensemble, and Pima Community College, was featured in an Echo Helstrom Music Video and showcased at fundraisers and corporate events in California, Arizona and Oregon. Brooke has studied and worked in film and video in Europe and the U.S. and has enjoyed incorporating film and multimedia into her work in dance. From 2010-2012 Brooke worked on faculty at Pima Community College, and on the Design team with Opening Minds through the Arts where she was a Dance Artist. Now that she is back in Santa Barbara full time, Brooke is currently teaching at Westmont College, The Cate School, Gustafson Dance Theatre and All American Ballet (in Ventura). She feels blessed to have been provided the opportunity to work with Nebula Dance Lab to create this new original work.
ERIN MARTINEZ
VIDEO ARTIST
ERIN MARTINEZ graduated with her BA in dance and art studio from UC Santa Barbara where she received department awards of distinction, departmental Honors Project, and the Patricia Sparrow Award. Upon graduation Erin worked as a collaborative artist with Nugent Dance at Calarts. While living in New York, Erin worked with Lux Dance in New York City performing at Cunningham Studio, Triskelion Arts, and BAC. Erin danced with several choreographers and featured her choreographic work at the Cunningham Studio and Baryshnikov Arts Center.
Erin has danced and choreographed locally for the DoZ Dance company, State Street Ballet, Emily Tatomer, UCSB Dance Company, Dance Unlimited, NECTAR, and the Santa Barbara Dance Alliance New Works Concert. She is a certified Pilates instructor through Body Arts and Science International and is currently exploring art through interactive media.