The idea hit me like a stroke of lightning. At the termination of the SUMMERDANCE festival, I had many conversations with dancers and choreographers who had participated. Each conversation seemed to end on the same note: “When can we come back again to Santa Barbara?” each inquired. They described to me the profoundly positive value that their SUMMERDANCE residency had on their careers, particularly the time given them to make new work. And so was born the idea of DANCEWORKS, a residency at the Lobero Theatre, which we used frequently during the SUMMERDANCE YEARS, dedicated to celebrating the creative process and responding to that need as expressed by choreographers.

I hope that everyone who supports this project will have a feeling of ownership and pride in knowing that their contribution plays a vital role in supporting the creation of new contemporary dance in the U.S. Dances created during the DANCEworks residency will become a permanent part of the company’s repertoire and hopefully will entertain and inspire dance audiences everywhere for many years.