Sep 3

Sep 3 See Why Studios

Go and You’ll See Why

Photos by Natasha Heeszel and Eric Andersen

In a valley that has a well-earned reputation as a creative crucible, the newly opened See Why Studios in Oak View has emerged as a place where dancers, writers, actors, creatives across the spectrum — and really any of us — can get infused with new life force energy, expand our capacity for emotional expression, and become a part of a vital community of people exploring individual and collective growth.

Devin Fulton and some of the principal members of her company, Dev Dance Theater, along with other talented movement professionals, are the alchemists making this magic happen. More than ‘instructors,’ these body-mind guides are top-tier professional dancers, choreographers, writers, actors, somatic psychologists, and theatrical wizards. (If you've seen Dev Dance Theater perform, you already know this to be true; if you haven’t, do get tickets to their upcoming reprisal of A Hot Summer’s Night Dream, September 3rd-6th.

On reading the bios of See Why’s instructors, novices and casual movers might feel a bit intimidated, but everyone is welcome and is bound to leave changed in unexpected positive ways. Devin’s philosophy is that she and her collaborators aren’t training people to dance and create; they’re offering people the tools and opportunities to train themselves. As someone who indulged in half of the sample classes offered at See Why's grand opening in July, and who is a dedicated student of the ‘mirror the embodied masters’ school of movement, I left with more than tools; I left feeling expanded on new dimensions — and thirsty for more of this elixir.

Walking into See Why Studios that day, I saw a sea of bodies sprawled out on the floor like a school of starfish in motion — smoothly curling over to their sides, spiraling upward as if lifted in unison by a wave, then spiraling downward, rolling smoothly around, then up again — over and over — it was entrancing! As stealthy as possible, I slipped into the liquid boundaries of an open space on the floor and immediately found myself synchronizing with this school of buoyant sea stars. Eventually, we came to rest and found our way to our feet, human once more, but feeling awe-fully fluid for bipeds. This shape-shifting movement experience was a sample of the Somatic Floorwork class curated by Audrey Martel.

Moments after returning to terra firma, I found myself carried away by Olivia Valdellon’s sexy Sensual Grooves sample. Moments of burlesque, funk and jazz surfaced in her choreography, evidencing her expansive dance background, and owing to Olivia’s demonstrative moves and clear verbal cues, they somehow seeped into me. Who knew I could move like that? (I’m guessing you’d feel this way, too.

Next came Brittney Nevison’s 90s Hip Hop class. A few decades ago, I had the good fortune of taking hip hop classes with Micaya, founder of the San Francisco International Hip Hop Festival at the Oberlin Dance Commons. Year-round, Micaya got videos from great hip hop groups from around the world that influenced her choreography in real time. It was always fresh. The emphasis on novelty of movement inherent in this dance form makes brain neurons sprout, and who doesn’t want more of that? But it hasn’t been easy finding comparably good hip hop classes in the Valley. Brittany’s class deeply satisfied my craving for new moves — and I want more. Even if you’re a novice, Brittany breaks it down into digestible bites sure to fuel brain-mind growth.

Feeling high after three dance samplers, I almost left See Why Studios before the last creative challenge of the day: Chaney Holland’s Story Writing class. Creative writing’s never called to me, but for some reason, I stayed, and found it thrilling! Chaney put us into three groups of three, and told one person in each group to conjure up a list of people, another a list of places, and a third, a list of problems. After a few minutes of individual work, each group crafted a scene, which we then acted out for the other groups. Three fantastically imaginative vignettes emerged, written and produced in less than 30 minutes — out of nothing but Chaney's creative impulse, simple instructions, and her enthusiastic belief in our ability to collaboratively create a bit of theatrical magic.

My major regret was that I’d missed the first half of See Why Studios' grand opening sample classes, most notably, a Contemporary Dance class with the wellspring of this creative wonderland and founder of Dev Dance Theater, Devin Fulton herself. (Other regrettably missed sample classes included Kerri Base's Adult Ballet with Somatic Principles and Susie Longwill's Dynamic Vinyasa.) I’ve wanted to take a class with Dev for years, since hearing rave reviews from her students at the now-closed Hamsa Studio. While it’s true that my schedule and Dev’s class times have never meshed, the honest reason I haven’t yet taken one of her classes is that I’ve been intimidated by her mastery, and afraid that I’d be way out of my depth. After experiencing a good sampling of the artistic talent she has attracted to her creative endeavors, and the excellence and accessibility of instruction at See Why, I’m going to brave it. There's nothing to fear but a rapid rate of self-growth.