CORE VALUES
Social Change:
Offering both brave and vulnerable viewpoints in our performance work, we encourage critical, creative, and reflective thinking.
Co-Creation:
Co-creation is at the center of our creative process.
We honor each community’s unique history.
Inclusive Dance:
Creating opportunities for all bodies to connect, collaborate, and create with the belief that dance is expansive and takes many forms.
Deep Listening:
Prioritizing deep listening with community partners and collaborators in order to activate spaces and nurture trust.
FOUNDER
Christine Suarez is a choreographer, performer, educator and activist. Born in Caracas, Venezuela and raised in Baton Rouge Louisiana, she founded Suarez Dance Theater in 2003. Her career as a dance-maker and dance educator is deeply rooted in creating community and healing. Her work has been seen in theaters, galleries, churches, synagogues, houses, sidewalks, parks, and beaches in over 20 cities -including P.S. 122 (New York), REDCAT (Los Angeles) and The Schwartz Theater (Atlanta). As a dance educator, she has partnered with public schools and community centers all over the United States. She holds an MFA in choreography from UCLA's World Arts and Cultures Department and a BA in Theater and English Literature from Emory University. Christine was awarded a Santa Monica Artist Fellowship in 2017 and named a “Cultural Trailblazer from the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs in addition to receiving Artist in Residence grants from LA DCA. She is a co-creator of a Dance for Veterans - a program that builds creative expression, social cohesion and bodily authority at Greater Los Angeles VA Hospitals.
BOARD
Tessa Blake (chair)
Carolina San Juan (vice chair)
Kai Hazelwood
David Petrarca
Mark Rizzo
Mike Stutz
Shelby Williams-Gonzalez
FUNDERS
The City of Santa Monica Cultural Affairs
Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture
California Arts Council
City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs
Center for Cultural Innovation
Flourish Foundation
Network Ensemble Theaters
– as well as many, loyal individual donors.



