Detour Dance to Partner with 2023-25 Sinatra Artist in Residence
Detour will bring its unique style to campus through collaborations with Sinatra Artist Brian Thorstenson.
Detour Dance, a devised dance theater ensemble based in San Francisco, will collaborate with Brian Thorstenson, 2023-25 Frank Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts, as the first Sinatra Visiting-Artists-in-Residence. Together with Thorstenson, Detour will expand the theatre offerings on campus by creating, staging, rehearsing, and producing a new devised piece with Santa Clara University students.
Dedicated to centering the prismatic experiences of queers and people of color through bold performances and films, Detour will co-teach a workshop-style course open to students from all majors across the University, including those without prior theatre or dance experience, during Winter 2025. This will be accompanied by a course in Spring 2025 for the rehearsal and performance of the devised piece, which will be co-directed with Thorstenson and performed as part of the Department of Theatre and Dance mainstage season.
"Devised Theater is an ensemble-led process where the creator-performers build an entire theatrical production from scratch, utilizing a combination of movement, text, design elements, and non-linear narratives," said Eric Garcia, Co-Director of Detour. "In Detour's work, creator-performers are invited to bring their opinions, aesthetics, and skills as co-conspirators of the project, rather than being viewed as "vessels" for the director's vision. This collaborative framework reveals a level of nuance, depth, heart, uniqueness, and fantasy that is resonant for both the artists and audiences. We can't wait to share our approach to devising with the Santa Clara students."
The Residency will also include
- a screening of Detour's dance film, Up on High, which will provide a glimpse into their artistic approach;
- class visits;
- workshops tailored to Performing Arts students;
- panel discussions focusing on LGBTQ+, First-Gen, and BIPOC issues, and;
- receptions and/or meet and greets for the campus community.
Held in conjunction with Thorstenson’s student recruitment for the production, these activities will serve as platforms to introduce Detour's distinctive immersive work to the broader campus and community, while also providing students space to talk and learn directly from the ensemble.
“No one is creating work quite like Detour—work combining multiple elements to create productions of theatrical flare,” says Thorstenson. “I'm excited for our students to experience the rigorous generosity of Detour's work. I'm also looking forward to my ongoing collaboration with co-directors Eric and Kat. How we've worked together has grown and deepened with each project we’ve done. The Sinatra Project will allow us to continue our ongoing conversations.”