Segerstrom Center for the Arts Summer at the Center

Easily out, bent knees and slowly circumvoluted hips are the basic moves Stephan Seanoa uses to commencement the first 5 minutes of his dance cardio class.

Seanoa, co-founder of Santa Ana-based Tupua Productions, led virtual classes featuring Polynesian, Tahitian and Island dance for the Segerstrom Heart for the Arts. The final session was on Tuesday, only the 15- to twenty-minute videos remain available for viewing on Segerstrom's spider web page dedicated to a variety of classes from storytelling and ballet to making your ain marionette doll.

Live performances were among the first to be afflicted by COVID-19, and they will be the last to recover.

In mid-March, Segerstrom and its resident artists were forced to abandon their 2,000- and iii,000-seat halls. The eye is Orange County's largest nonprofit arts organization that hosts major tours of music, theater and dance. Performances scheduled at the center through the stop of the twelvemonth have been cancelled or rescheduled to summertime and fall of 2021.

A screenshot of Stephan Seanoa leading a virtual serial of Tuesday Night Dance classes featuring Polynesian, Tahitian, and Island dance influences with alive drumming. The video was filmed at the Tupua Productions' studio in Santa Ana.

(Courtesy of Segerstrom Middle for the Arts)

So far, 70% of ticket holders have requested a refund, 26% asked for a gift certificate or to bandy the ticket for a future performance, and iv% donated the purchase price to the middle.

"We're doing pretty well considering circumstances," said center President Casey Reitz. "We've had a very stiff history of solid financial management. I recollect we're well positioned to bargain with this. That said, our ticket sales comprise typically about 75% of our upkeep. When you can't sell tickets, you shrink your upkeep."

Reitz added the rest of the center'due south finances rely on contributions from foundations, individual support and fundraising events.

Segerstrom has avoided layoffs and is withal compensating employees who tin can't work remotely, such equally ushers and ticket takers.

Stocking up on virtual content

Staff who were able to piece of work remotely helped switch over many scheduled classes, workshops and public events to online platforms.

First, teaching artists recorded classes and sent videos to students enrolled in the School of Dance and Music for Children with Disabilities and the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie Schoolhouse.

"Whether they are dealing with downwardly syndrome, cerebral palsy or autism, these classes are a huge boost for [the students'] well-being and their parents — having some help in taking care of their kids," said Reitz.

Talena Mara, the eye's vice president of education, said Segerstrom serves 300,000 people in Orange Canton, San Bernardino County and San Diego through the instruction programs every year. The number includes interns, local teachers seeking professional evolution and incarcerated people.

"We knew that we would accept schools and organizations that were going to depend on it for the programming that they already scheduled," said Mara. "While students were doing schooling from dwelling house, they were still going to need to have resources available."

(Doug Gifford / Segerstrom Eye for the Arts)

In partnership with nonprofit Alzheimer'southward Orange County, Segerstrom also provides movement and wellness activities for those who are living with Alzheimer's and dementia.

"We tin still take that same teacher and connect to them digitally and make sure that they're getting the of import health content that they need for self-intendance and to regulate themselves while they're isolated in their vulnerable population," said Jason Holland, vice president of community appointment. "Nosotros didn't desire to walk away from that."

Classes, usually reserved for enrolled students, along with other customs-based events like free Tuesday dark dance at the plaza, are shared online with the public. The center'southward educational and engagement teams are brainstorming how to turn festivals and showcases into immersive online events.

Their showtime experiment will premier May 17 with the Virtual Spring Carnival.

Reopening plans

The concert industry could take well over a twelvemonth or more than to render to normal according to Gov. Gavin Newsom'due south

4-step plan

for California'south economic and social life.

A Segerstrom task force is putting together protocols that align with county and state health and reopening guidelines.

"We're working with a performing arts center coalition now to put together a report of best practices, then we can inform not merely what's best for the centre but what's best for a lot of arts organizations around the country," said Reitz.

Newsom'south plan left plenty room for interpretation. Reitz is one of the participating members of "reStore Costa Mesa," a city-organized initiative that chosen on major concern leaders in automobile, cyberbanking and finance, restaurants, hospitality and tourism to design a plan specific to Costa Mesa's economic system.

Reitz is still uncertain when and how Segerstrom will reopen but imagines the 14-acre campus could gradually come up back. He sees the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza as a public space that could open up during the second stage. The Samueli Theater could open in stage iii, and the other concert halls nearly likely fall under stage iii and 4.

In the meantime, the center continues to experiment with digital life — and then practice local artists.

A screenshot of Tupua Productions' dancers in a video serial of dance classes featuring Polynesian, Tahitian and Island influences with live drumming. The video was filmed at the visitor's studio in Santa Ana.

(Courtesy of Segerstrom Center for the Arts)

Without their usual corporate and individual gigs, Seanoa's Tupua Productions moved their family-run studio classes to Facebook. Only aught safely bachelor on laptops compares to being in the room. Senano's clientele, frustrated with spotty Wi-Fi and tech issues, is failing.

"Nosotros are crossing our fingers and just trying to figure out how we can stay live during this crisis, " said Seanoa.

The studio is taking requests for social-distancing Polynesian floor shows in the grade of bulldoze-past dances or graduation grams and continues to brainstorm how to move forward with trip the light fantastic.

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Source: https://www.latimes.com/socal/daily-pilot/entertainment/story/2020-05-14/theater-went-dark-but-segerstrom-center-remains-active-online-for-students-and-the-public

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