Dance alumnus uses choreography to explore, teach new styles
Alumnus Alex Swift Almaraz began dancing as part of his high school’s hip hop team, but said he learned about hip-hop culture and began seriously training during his time at Versa-Style Dance Company, a hip-hop and street dance company based in North Hollywood with deep ties to UCLA. For his senior project, Almaraz drew on his vast knowledge of social, street and urban dances to quickly transition between styles like locking, house and Chicago footwork, an energetic and fast-paced dance derived from house dance.
"Alex Swift Almaraz’s first tattoo reads, “Live hard, die free.”
Alex Swift Almaraz, a UCLA alumnus, learned to dance hip-hop in high school and choreographed dances as part of the UCLA dance department's senior project. He has taught in prisons and alongside dance companies, and he plans to continue sharing his passion for dance after a trip to Chicago and Amsterdam in an effort to learn more about the specific dance styles he performs. (Niveda Tennety/Daily Bruin) The tattoo reflects a mantra he would later devise, taking inspiration from the words of house dance pioneer Marjory Smarth: “Live true, dance free.”
Almaraz, a UCLA alumnus, will share his passion for teaching and performing hip-hop, house dance and Chicago footwork this summer. After graduating June 16, Almaraz began his career as a solo artist at the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theater in Downtown Los Angeles. Now, Almaraz will teach at local Los Angeles intensives, such as one offered by LA Dancefit Studio, and was asked to perform his solo at a juvenile detention center, bringing lessons about creating, analyzing and teaching dance with him.
“I feel I’m starting to communicate myself with all these dance forms and I’m making them a huge influence in my own practice,” Almaraz said.
Almaraz began dancing as part of his high school’s hip hop team, but said he learned about hip-hop culture and began seriously training during his time at Versa-Style Dance Company, a hip-hop and street dance company based in North Hollywood. Almaraz’s hip-hop solo, entitled “A Tattooed Man,” was originally choreographed as a part of the UCLA dance department’s senior projects course. The course allows graduating seniors to gain experience choreographing, designing lighting and creating a piece from start to finish, dance professor Dan Froot said.
For his senior project, Almaraz drew on his vast knowledge of social, street and urban dances to quickly transition between styles like locking, house and Chicago footwork, an energetic and fast-paced dance derived from house dance, Froot said. While Almaraz initially wanted to incorporate other styles of dance he has learned at UCLA, he said his REDCAT performance will focus more on his hip-hop roots to better represent his preferred style.
“(He) had the experience of building a dance composition over time and being in dialogue with mentors, designers and other dancers as he’s building it so that he is in a constant conversation about the work,” Froot said.
Froot facilitated the 20-week class and helped the students develop their work. Almaraz said over the course of the class, he relied on feedback from Froot and his classmates to develop his piece. Almaraz said the most surprising lesson from his time at UCLA was to read more academically, but also to read into how choreographic decisions can express an idea or theme."— Hannah Ferguson, Jun. 24, 2018
This post is an excerpt. Read the full article on the Daily Bruin website.
Read more about Versa Style here.
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