In 2010, FUSE Modern Dance Company was founded in Orange, California by Joshua Romero. Romero, 29, founded the company through a love for dance and choreography during his time in the dance program at Cal State Fullerton.
“After I graduated from Cal State Fullerton, I wanted to keep choreographing, so I came together with other dancers, formed a company, and just kept creating,” Romero said.
Trained by well-known artists and professional dance companies, Romero incorporates different styles of dance to portray life seen through “media, nature, and personal life stories” in FUSE’s dance pieces.
FUSE Modern Dance has performed at many dance festivals and theaters throughout Southern California. Some festivals include: The SoCal Dance Invitational, Orange County Choreographer Festival, Vox Dance Theatre Showcase, Lineage Dance Festival, and others throughout Los Angeles, Inland Empire, and Orange County. FUSE won a 2nd place award in the Palm Desert Choreographer Dance Festival in 2008.
FUSE has gone beyond California borders, performing at the Men in Dance Festival in Seattle, Wash., the Dumbo Dance Festival in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival, and will be traveling to Austin, Texas later this year.
FUSE Modern Dance is currently made up of 11 company members, many of whom worked with Romero at Cal State Fullerton. FUSE hosts dance intensives throughout the year to the public, as well as a dance showcase “Synthesis”, that invites local choreographers and dance companies to join together to create a show that celebrates dance theater.
“Our director has a beautiful athletic aesthetic that weaves its way through our repertoire, a strong sense of style is important for a company to stand out and FUSE does that really well,” said Olivia Hamilton, second-year company member.
The OC-based dance company strives to tell stories of the human life, narrating emotions through personal life experiences. In the company’s latest full-length work “SEVER“ Romero depicts the disintegration of personal and interpersonal relationships. Through the dynamic use of movement and props, “SEVER“ aims to illustrate the disconnection between humans and their natural surroundings.
“People are naturally connected. Through time and different stages of life, relationships start to disappear, we become disconnected from each other and there is no unity, “ said Ilia Acosta, 24, FUSE company member.
“SEVER” marks the fifth anniversary of FUSE Modern Dance Company and is showing at the intimate Diavolo Dance Theatre in Los Angeles, Feb. 20 – 22. Tickets are $20 at the door.
For more information on FUSE Modern Dance Company, visit www.fusemoderndance.com or email [email protected].
