On December 6, 2025 at ARC (A Room to Create), Foothills Dancemakers transformed an unassuming warehouse into a warm, glowing haven of movement, memory, and shared artistry. The evening pulsed with a rare sense of ease and genuine connection—bringing together seasoned dance lovers, families, friends, and first-time attendees in a space that felt like a performance venue and a community celebration of creativity. Created with unmistakable love, the atmosphere invited collaboration without pressure and discovery without pretense.
Foothills Dancemakers is a consortium of established modern dance companies in the San Gabriel Valley, founded in 2019 by the directors of Benita Bike’s DanceArt, Pennington Dance Group, Nancy Evans Dance Theatre, and Hilary Thomas’ Lineage Dance. Their mission is “to promote concert modern dance, share resources, and increase visibility for the art form in their region.” Each brings a distinct aesthetic and impressive legacy of artistic and social contribution to Southern California’s dance culture. Together, they pooled their talent generously for an eclectic program of eight works that delighted, educated, and moved the audience.
Excerpt from “Benches,” choreography Benita Bike, Benita Bike’s DanceArt – Photo by Dean Wallraff.
Benita Bike, always brilliant use of props, back story, and intelligent construction of dance did two intriguing pieces this evening. The first, “Benches,” opened the night using the dancers, Genevieve Antonetty, Sara Chan, Riley Jo Parrish, and Emily Wallace’s arms, heads and positions, seated on benches. She configured unique angular movements and dynamics so cleverly constructed as to magically help the audience imagine the moments as a full-on dance number without ever steering away from the benches. The energy and dynamics helped set up the rest of the evening of experimentation.
“Goodman Dances,” choreography John Pennington, Pennington Dance Group – Photo by Dean Wallraff.
John Pennington’s Goodman Dances presented five short Lieder pieces set to the music of Alexander Zemlinsky. Beginning upstage on a line of stools, each dancer stepped forward to tell a story of love through motion and emotion. Flowing costumes by Jim Tsou enhanced the lyrical phrasing of dancers Paige Amicon, Madeline Gruenier, Jeremy Hahn, Danae McWatt, and Edwin Sigüenza.
“Charlatan,” choreography Sophia Bernardo, Nancy Evans Dance Theatre – Photo by Dean Wallaff.
A lovely modern piece was next on the program. The choreographer Sophia Bernardo, a young dancemaker from Nancy Evans Inner Voices created a lyrical piece reminiscent of the style and aesthete of the Humphrey School. Ashleigh Doede, Alice Lousen, Jacqueline Pierce, Jacob Schmieder-Hacker, and Nairi Tahmizyan, delivered a compelling performance that brought us back to the modern baseline so important to remember in these days of drastic change in dance.
“A Musical Journey,” choreography Hilary Thomas, Lineage Dance Company – Photo by Dean Wallraff.
Hillary Thomas, of Lineage Dance Company, has been approaching one of her favorite modes, the Broadway Musical, in a wonderful use of a combination of modern dance, Jazz, and musical staging with song. She succeeded in entertaining with her eclectic exploration. Like a Greek Chorus of talented Company members, Ericalynn Priolo, Hilary Thomas, Teya Wolvington; triple threat movers and vocalist Ali Hoghoughi and Jana Souza with pianist Cynthia Crass, Kander and Ebb, Howard Ashman, Jonathan Larson, Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda were enlivened to change the pace and push the envelope in “A Musical Journey”. It was a delightful potpourri of creative surprises that bridged and brightened the evening to a new level before the intermission.
“Parallel Universe,” choreography Cheryl Banks-Smith and Nancy Evans Doede, Nancy Evans Dance Theatre – Photo by Dean Wallraff.
In the spirit of From The Horse’s Mouth, Nancy Evans Doede and Cheryl Banks-Smith’s Parallel Universe unfolded as a memory piece rich with dialogue, musical collage (Brubeck, Ellington, Joni Mitchell, Tom Waits, Sly…), and tie-dyed hues of chartreuse, mauves, and blues. The result was a playful yet heartfelt journey through history, humor, friendship, and love—an unabashed celebration of “her-story” and deep personal connection that radiated joy.
“From Where I Sit,” choreography Benita Bike, Benita Bike’s DanceArt – Photo by Dean Wallraff.
In the second act, Bike explored the movement of intention, observation and effect on self and others in From Where I Sit. It reflected a brilliant juxtaposition of the observed and observer, danced (and acted) by Genvieve Antonetty, Sarah Chan, Riley Jo Parrish, Emma Vicaña, and Emily Wallace. She used the Cello and Piano works of Nicholas Slonimsky and Lullaby by Howard Skempton and combined intelligent and quietly provocative reflections on the perception of self and others.
“Befriending Mortality,” choreography Hilary Thomas, Lineage Dance Company – Photo by Dean Wallraff.
Thomas then turned to true storytelling in the second act’s Befriending Mortality, a moving tribute to poet Andrea Gibson. Performers Nola Gibson, Jana Souza, and Teya Wolvington, with music by John Guth, illuminated Gibson’s poignant words, celebrated her life and surprising death with warmth, honesty, and emotional resonance.
Pennington, A former Lewitzky dancer and award-winning choreographer, brought his signature full-bodied emotional modern style to the evening, closing with the powerful Ungoverned Spaces, performed by Amicon, Justin Coates, Gruenier, Hahn, McWatt, and Sigüenza—a strong and evocative finale to an evening well enjoyed, expertly paced and gloriously diverse.
Time flew by as the audience was gifted with a rich blend of humanity, humor, drama, music, text, and movement. Foothills Dancemakers offered not just a performance, but a genuine escape—an inspired reminder of what live dance can give us when we step away from our screens and simply share in creativity together.
For more information about ARC, please visit their website.
Written by Joanne DiVito for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Excerpt from “Ungoverned Spaces,” choreography John Pennington, Pennington Dance Group – Photo by Dean Wallraff.
