Help SoMar Dance Works fund our new concert

We are SoMar Dance Works, a small dance company located in Erie, PA, and we are seeking funds to help with production costs for our latest concert, BODY LANGUAGE.

We’re offering this concert free of charge; however, “free” events aren’t truly free. Some of our expenses include costumes, advertising, printing, compensation for our technical director, and a little something for our talented, hard-working dancers.

Who we are:

SoMar Dance Works was established in 1999. The directors, Mark and Solveig Santillano, are full-time educators at Mercyhurst University who run this company on the side. SoMar provides performing opportunities for its company members beyond those available at the university.

SoMar Dance Works is committed to the creation and presentation of original contemporary dance works that enrich, enlighten, and entertain. Founders/Directors, Solveig and Mark Santillano serve as the company’s sole choreographers. Their work is known for its artistry, physicality, wit, and creativity. SoMar premiered in 1999 at the Missouri Fine Arts Academy and has since performed from California to Maine, as well as Gothenburg, Sweden and in Austria’s Young! Tanzsommer festival. SoMar Dance Works has received numerous grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and is in-residence at Mercyhurst University.

We are now in our 25th year, and still going strong.

Our Directors:

Mark Santillano, Assistant Professor of Dance at Mercyhurst University, Co-founder/Co-director of SoMar Dance Works. His multifaceted career in the arts span’s decades.

Solveig Santillano, Associate Professor of Dance at Mercyhurst University, Co-founder/Co-director of SoMar Dance Works. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School of Dance and has toured the world with MOMIX. Solveig and Mark are proud recipients of the inaugural Erie Arts & Culture Artist Fellowship.

Visit our website

About the show:

Our concert, Body Language, is an interdisciplinary, multi-media, pan-genre dance event showcasing dance, video, music, and storytelling. It will feature a company of fifteen performers presenting original choreography by co-directors Mark and Solveig Santillano.

In describing the production’s theme, Mark Santillano emphasized the significance of movement in self-expression. “There is nothing better suited for expressing the human condition than bodies in motion,” he said. “Bodies are real; bodies are visceral. Everybody has a body, so everybody can relate, and when it comes to body language, dancers are naturally fluent. Dancers speak volumes.”

Featured within the concert is the Erie premiere of “Alchemy,” a dance commissioned by the San Diego Civic Dance Company this past summer. Performed to music by Camille, “Alchemy” showcases the creative partnering work for which SoMar is known. Also on the program is the world premiere of the Dr. Seuss classic, “The Sneetches.” Although the story is from 1961, it is full of social commentary that is still relevant today. This playful piece involves the full company set to an original sound score by Mark Santillano.

SoMar: BODY LANGUAGE

Saturday February 17th @ 7:00 pm, and Sunday February 18th @ 2:00 pm

Walker Recital Hall

Mercyhurst University, 501 E. 38th Street, Erie, PA 16546

Free and open to the public

Final thoughts:

All donations help us do our part in keeping the arts alive in our community. And that, in our opinion, is a worthwhile calling. Our needs are modest, but our gratitude is enormous. Thank you, in advance, for your generosity.

And, if you’re around Erie, PA come on by and see the show.