Some of the greatest art was born out of collaboration. We’ve all seen street dancers and the lite feet youth on the subway. The phrase “Showtime!” is embedded in our consciousness with instant visuals of crazy acrobatics and dance moves to your fave tracks.
But what if those kids on the subway or on a busy street were given a chance to train and perform with ballet dancers, yoga enthusiasts, and international cultural performers? Alternative Synergy the Company’s (ASTC) mission is reliant on the process of mixing an artist’s dance skills for an explosion of talent and creativity.
Their events bring this work to the masses. Life Symphony: The Rise is ASTC’s latest project. The dance performances include a combination of contemporary and street style dance techniques paired with a custom soundtrack by a Brooklyn-based recording artist, Busy Beds, and mixed by Italian sound engineer Good Things Records.
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Along with company performances, ASTC runs a summer intensive (#ASTCI9) from July 2 until Aug 17.
The Chief
The Artistic Director of ASTC, Amanda Spilinga makes this possible. Her passion for arts in the dance community includes choreography and artistic direction. She also leads an outstanding educational program which helps individuals of all ages through the discovery of their artistic selves.
She has a degree in foreign languages which lends itself to help communicate with students from all parts of the globe. Amanda’s unique vision comes to life through ASTC. The company completely breaks boundaries between languages, races, social classes, and art forms.
This approach allows for creating shows never experienced before where audiences travel into an experimental and multi-dimensional version of everyday life.
The Squad
Members of ASTC that will be performing in Life Symphony: The Rise include Alex Varga, assistant choreographer to Amanda Spilinga. Varga practiced gymnastics until the age of 13 and later became a fitness trainer until she rediscovered her love for dance.
In only three years she trained in ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary, house, litefeet, popping, hustle, partnering, acro yoga and floorwork. Due to her professionalism and talent, she became an indispensable force for ASTC in such a short time.
Ladell Thomas, aka Mr.Ocean, is known for his animation techniques. He brought the art of popping to ASTC revolutionizing the meaning of dance by introducing a traditionally non-traditional art.
Thomas is also familiar with dancehall and hip-hop making his knowledge of floorwork well-rounded. He is also an actor and improvisational comedian, along with being an instructor in professional dance schools.
Hara Zi will also be performing in the upcoming project. Zi has many interests and talents. Born in Athens, Greece, Zi is a dancer, actress, yoga teacher, and strong chess player. She was studying chemical engineering when she became captivated by dance.
Her first love was ballet and contemporary dance but after moving to New York City she started exploring and training in different dance styles. She is also an accomplished actress. These are just a few of the members on the ASTC Squad for a full list check out their bios here.
Pull Up
ASTC mixes street styles with ballet and cultural dances from around the world to bring about fresh and engaging new choreography while making the art accessible to people of all backgrounds.
See this in action at ASTC’s upcoming event Life Symphony: The Rise on August 22 from 6 pm to 10 pm at the Bogart House in BK. Pull up to the afterparty with Soul Power 3 and peep some live music performances and battles.