The Theatre Arts and Dance Department have announced their special visitors for their upcoming Spring 2021 Guest Speaker Series. The department has certain events for different classes within the major. The events run on from now until the end of the school year in May.

The classes vary from different topics ranging from talking about how theatre and dance can affect people’s lives in all sorts of ways to talking about the importance of dance and theatre in different cultures around the world.

In total, these special guest speakers are professionals in many topics within theatre and dance which makes the panel a very diverse group, consisting of years of knowledge and experience to give to the audience.

Participating classes will have an array of guest speakers that are tailored to that specific class, ranging from two to three speakers per topic. The classes that will be highlighted in this season’s guest speaker series are Theatre 115A, Theatre 373, Theatre 374, Theatre 375 and Dance 310C/410C which covers many significant areas within the major.

Theatre 115 is all about Hip-Hop and dance. This class dives deep into how Hip-Hop has engraved itself in dance and in culture. The two guests who will be coming to Sonoma State University virtually via Zoom is Moonyeka, a storyteller and dance expert who heavily advocates for girls of color and the LGBTQ+ community; and Jasen Valdez, who is an educator, community builder and dance artist. The two each have their own unique deep understanding of hip-hop and music that will be displayed during their own events respectfully. You can catch Jasen Valdez on Monday, Mar. 15th and Wednesday, Mar. 17th from 12p.m. to 12:50p.m.

Even though COVID is limiting SSU to having virtual events only doesn’t mean they can’t get physical. Theatre 373, which focuses heavily on the different dances around the world and how people connect to them, will include a movement session in their events so people can dance and truly celebrate the culture. Farrah McAdam, Rulan Tangen, Uzoamaka Nwankpa and Joti Singh are all dance advocates that each have their own event that will dive deeper into dances from all over the world. These guest speakers are all people who believe in the power of dance and it being a form of expression.

Theatre and dance are forms of art that change and differentiate depending on where a person is in the world. Theatre 374 is all about theatre in Latin America. One event will be headed by Zahira Diaz and Amy Pinto are part of ‘The Imaginists’, which is a local experimental theatre company whose main goal is to continually re-thinks theater. The two have a combined 20 years of experience in performing, creating, teaching, translating and studying theatre and its trends. The second event will be guest hosted by Michael John Garces. He is the Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theatre Company in Los Angeles as well as a highly respected director and playwright. Garces will be on Zoom on Tuesday, Mar. 16, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Dance 310 which specializes in intermediate and advanced dance moves will have Ori Flomin, whose dance background has taken him all over the world, teaching people the power of dance guest speaking. As well as Robert Moses, who has gained high praise for his work in varying styles and genres within his dance company. Moses is local to the bay area and has danced and acted for many companies such as San Francisco Opera and Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and has taught at UC Berkeley and Stanford University. Theatre 375, which is about race and gender in theatre will be discussed by Sammy June and Reena Dutt. The two will be discussing current dialogue in the theater and film industry around race, gender, and representation as well as how they relate to artistic choices and career paths. Flomin will be hosting his event at

SSU Junior and Theatre Major, Sebastian Simpson states that, “These events are all super intriguing and are about topics that are relevant and important. I’m glad we still will have this speaker series even with the pandemic”

For more information on any of these events, please visit https://theatreartsanddance.sonoma.edu/theatre-arts-dance-spring-21-guest-speakers-series to see the specific date and time for each event. Moonyeka will be the most upcoming event on Monday, Mar. 8th, and Wednesday, Mar. 10th from 12p.m. to 12:50p.m.