artistic director

Maria Rendina Frantz: dancer, teacher, choreographer and actor has worked in various mediums, including dance, theatre, performance art, film and television for the past thirty years. Ms. Frantz studied extensively with the companies of Erick Hawkins, Martha Graham, June Lewis and Twyla Tharp and studied choreography with Leonide Massine, Bessie Schonberg, June Lewis and Pearl Lang. Ms. Frantz danced with Dance June Lewis & Company and with choreographers Judith Leifer and Dan Wagoner, and several choreographers, before her first attempt at 'MotionTheatre'™ choreography in 1978. Ms. Frantz earned a M.A. in Dance and Dance Education from Columbia University and a B.A. in Dance from Point Park University. Maria Rendina / Motion Theatre co-produced with the Pennsylvania Dance Theatre and since presented her original works in N.Y.C., Washington, D.C., Maine, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California and in Avignon, France. In 1995 she founded Movement Arts in Santa Fe, NM before moving to Santa Barbara in 1997. She is a member of National Dance Association, Congress Of Research in Dance, Congress of International Dance, Screen Actors Guild, the S. B. Dance Alliance, and the S. B. Performing Arts League. Most recently Maria co-taught with Katherine Duke, Artistic Director the Erick Hawkins Dance Company the Hawkins Winter Dance Intensive in January 2009.

assistant director

Assistant Director, Thea Vandervoort, is a native Santa Barbaran and trained locally and nationally in ballet, modern, flamenco, and Spanish classical dance. Thea holds a BFA in Dance from UC Irvine, and an MS in Arts Administration & Nonprofit Management from the University of Oregon. Ms. Vandervoort has performed locally, regionally and throughout the Midwest. She has taught in professional academies in Santa Barbara, Iowa, Oregon, and Southern California. Thea most recently served as Director of the Mêlée Dance Ensemble at Lawrence University in Wisconsin and rehearsal assistant for Santa Barbara Festival Ballet. Ms. Vandervoort also holds a passion for choreography and K-12 arts education. Thea joined the Motion Theatre Dance Company in 2003.