joel is an independant producing artist and university professor based in Los Angeles.
the following represents his career thus far.
current
assistant professor, dance
university of california, riverside
co-artistic director
casebolt and smith
education
2004 Master of Fine Arts, Experimental Choreography. University of California, Riverside
2000 Bachelor of Arts, Studio Art. University of California, Davis
1995 General Education. Yucaipa Senior High School, Yucaipa, CA
previous employment
2011 - 2013 University of California, Riverside (visiting assistant professor, every winter/spring)
2004 - 2013 Scripps College (visiting lecturer)
2010 - 2012 University of California, Los Angeles (visiting lecturer - every fall)
2005 - 2013 El Camino College (adjunct faculty)
2010 - 2013 Rio Hondo College (adjunct faculty)
2004 - 2008 Cerritos College (adjunct faculty)
original choreography
2014 some of its parts
2014 ...in space
2013 Having Words V.2
2012 ...for six
2012 The Take
2010 The Death Scene (kind of)
2010 O(h)
2009 two minute duet to open the show
2009 Tracking
2008 This and That Happen
2008 In Other Words
2008 Having Words
2008 Seven
2007 Queer Pas
2006 Framed Permeation:Constructing Coincidence
2006 it is what it is when it isn't
2006 Second Skin
2006 After Words
2006 Way Words
2005 Working Through Fourth
2005 No No, She's Straight!
2005 In the space provided
2004 In Four Parts
2003 Tactical Interference
performances, commissions and creative residencies
RAW Dance, San Francisco, CA : commission and residency
Echo Echo Dance and Movement Festival. Derry, Northern Ireland : performance and residency
University of Nevada, Reno. Reno, NV : commission and residency
South Miami Dade Performing Arts Center, Cabaret Series. Miami, FL : performance and residency
92 St. Y Harkness Dance Festival Stripped/Dressed Series, Buttenwieser Hall, New York, NY : performance and residency
DanceWorks Chicago. Chicago, IL : commission and residency
ODC Theater. San Francisco, CA : performance
Winnipeg Fringe Festival, Rachel Browne Theater. Winnipeg, Canada : performance
Toronto Fringe Festival, Helen Phelan Gardiner Playhouse. Toronto, Canada : performance
Walking Distance Dance Festival, ODC Theater Studio B. San Francisco, CA : performance
Spring to Dance Festival, Lee Theater. St. Louis, MO : performance
College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University. St. Cloud, MN : performance and residency
Performing Arts Exchange, Little Haiti Theater. Miami, FL : peformance
CARS Resources, West Hollywood Library. West Hollywood, CA : performance and workshop
Arts Bloc/GLUCK, Culver Center of the Arts. Riverside, CA : performance
St. Joseph's College. Brooklyn, NY : performance and workshop
Actors Company Theater. Los Angeles, CA : performance
Pentacle Gallery Showcase, Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater. New York, NY : performance
Contemporary Arts Forum. Santa Barbara, CA : performance
Balch Auditorium, Scripps College. Claremont, CA : performance
Five Fifths Minnesota Fringe Benefit Concert, Ritz Theater, Minneapolis, MN : commission and performance
Dance Moves Festival, Old Town Temecula Theater, Temecula, CA : performance
Pentacle Gallery Showcase, Jacqueline Onassis Kennedy High School. New York, NY : performance
Minnesota Fringe Festival, Southern Theater. Minneapolis, MN : performance
University of Surrey. Guildford, England : performance and master class
Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, Belfast Circus School. Belfast, Northern, Ireland : performance
Echo Echo Dance Showcase, Echo Echo Studio. Derry, Northern Ireland : performance
Dance Theatre of Ireland Showcase. Dublin, Ireland : performance and master workshop
Backtrack Dance Series, University of California, Riverside. Riverside, CA : performance
Joyce SoHo. New York, NY : performance
Minnesota Fringe Festival, Southern Theater, Minneapolis, MN : performance
Vancouver International Dance Festival, Roundhouse Theater. Vancouver, CA : performance
Anatomy Riot, Zen Sushi. Los Angeles, CA : performance
The Moth, Farmlab/Metabolic Studio. Los Angeles, CA : performance
California Touring Project, Diavolo Dance Space. Los Angeles, CA : performance
Looking Left Dance Festival, 418 Project. Santa Cruz, CA : performance
Commuter Festival, Cal Arts Theater. Valencia, CA : performance and master class
Eleven Missing Days, Unknown Theater. Los Angeles, CA : performance
California Touring Project, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. La Jolla, CA : performance
Performance Mix Festival, Joyce SoHo. New York, NY : performance
California Touring Project, CounterPulse Theater. San Francisco, CA : performance
New Dance Festival, St. Joseph Ballet. Santa Ana, CA : performance, commission and residency
Breaking Ground Dance Festival, Tempe Center for the Arts. Tempe, AZ : performance
Garrison Theater, Scripps College. Claremont, CA : performance
4 x 4 Series, Sushi Performing Arts. San Diego, CA : performance
Highways Performance Space. Santa Monica, CA : performance
Conder/Dance Festival, Mesa Arts Center. Mesa, AZ : performance
Burnight Theater Center, Cerritos College. Norwalk, CA : performance
Center Dance Ensemble Showcase, Herberger Theater. Phoenix, AZ : performance
Hothouse Residency, UCLA. Los Angeles, CA : residency and performance
Dance Under Construction 8, Performance Lab UC Riveriside. Riverside, CA : performance
Scorpious Dance Theater Showcase, Phoenix Theater. Phoenix, AZ : performance
Hyesteric Dance Company Benefit Concert, Focus Fish Studios. Los Angeles, CA : performance
Company of Strangers, The Loft. Los Angeles, CA : performance
Grand Performances Summer Series, Downtown LA. Los Angeles, CA : performance
Dance Moving Forward Festival, El Portal Theater. North Hollywood, CA : performance
LA Improv Festival, Highways Performance Space. Santa Monica, CA : performance
4 x 4 Series, Highways Performance Space. Santa Monica, CA : performance
Quincenera, Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica, CA : performance
Susan Rose and Dancers, Green Street Studios. Boston, MA : performance
Susan Rose and Dancers, Performance Lab UC Riverside. Riverside, CA : performance
Angora Matta, Teatro Presidente Alvear. Buenos Aires, Argentina : residency and performance
commercial, film and television
"Chairs" National Commercial for Hummer - Principle Dancer and Choreographer's Assistant
"Be You" National Commerial for Dr. Pepper - Principle Dancer
"Juramento" Music Video for Ricky Martin - Principle Dancer and Body Double
"The Hype" Sketch Comedy Show on the WB - Principle Dancer
"Providence" Comedy/Drama on NBC - Principle Dancer
"Six Feet Under" Drama on HBO - Feature
"A.I." Film by Dreamworks - Principle Dancer
"Erotica LA" Live Industrial Performance for convention - Principle Dancer
"Paris by Night" Live Variety Show and Taping - Principle Dancer
publication
2010 "Versastyle Dance Company: Feel Our Rhythm," Political Moves (Review)
2010 "Surveilance Solos," Political Moves (Review)
2009 "Neil Greenberg's Really Queer Dance with Harps," Eye Spy LA (Review)
2009 "Batsheva Max," Eye Spy LA (Review)
2008 "Out With It" Itch Journal (Editorial)
2008 "Wet Spots: The Story Project," Political Moves (Review)
2008 "IN/EX Dance Project at The Open Space," Political Moves (Review)
selected press quotes
“O(h) involves the choreographers pairing gestural movement sequences with words and proposing big picture questions about appropriation in dance and what makes a work contemporary.” - Gia Kourlas, The New York Times, 3/14
“These two move and sing and make jokes with equal aplomb, targeting the pomposity and obscurity of modern dance.” – The New Yorker, 2/14
“Year in Review: Top 10 Dance Performances of 2013” –Allan Ulrich, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/13
"Year in Review: Best Out of Towners of 2013 - [casebolt and smith's] Having Words is a brilliantly constructed handshake dance for two dancers and an audience, built for DanceWorks Chicago..." - Lauren Warnecke, Windy City Times, 12/13
"[casebolt and smith], while skewering conventional thinking about dance, glide through the space with a blithe, airy quality that sustains them through the evening, and they integrate the spoken word and the gesture as well as anybody I have seen since David Gordon a generation ago." - San Francisco Chronicle 8/13
"For those who’ve suffered at the receiving end of Casebolt and Smith’s target subject, it’s like a breath of fresh air and also side-achingly funny. But it’s the clever way the pair integrate themes of gender identity/stereotyping and pose questions about artistic appropriation and the very nature of “contemporary” that add texture to O(h) and leave lots of food for thought. It’s a dance fan’s must-see." - Toronto Star 7/13
"This likeable duo from L.A. are polished dancers, and there is a charming, playful energy between them that easily transfers to the audience. They clearly have thought seriously about dance, and present their conclusions to the audience with a cheeky nod to their influences." - CBC Manitoba 7/13
"The L.A.–based duo Casebolt and Smith combine talking, singing, and full-throttle dancing with a freshness that can delight or startle an audience—or make them laugh." – Dance Magazine, 6/13
"The show’s best moments combine rapid-fire quips with beautifully executed moves, inviting your brain to fire on all cylinders." -The Los Angeles Times, 1/12
"casebolt and smith are a postmodern Agnes de Milles, superimposing their gestural vocabulary with possible interpretations – and the witty range of possibilities may surprise you. At the same time as casebolt and smith lampoon theatrical conceits of contemporary dance, their self-reflexive work finds clever new possibilities in each choreographic building block." -Stage and Cinema, 1/12
"The choreography is enlightening and witty… Exploring themes of personal expression through original song and dance, casebolt and smith give a sophisticated, coherent commentary on the multiplicity of genres in dance." –Flavorpill, 1/12
"Part dance, part theater and refreshingly light-hearted, casebolt and smith’s O(h) is a welcome alternative to the dark-hued worlds of melancholia, depression and manipulative violence in which so many modern dance companies and their choreographers languish." - (Go) LA Weekly, 1/12
"It's funny, sly, wonderfully staged, imaginative, and quite perfect—even when it isn’t perfect at all." -WeHo News, 2/12
"They're clever, sometimes silly, and not afraid to talk as much as they dance." – The New Yorker, 2/10
"[casebolt and smith]…create perhaps the most entertaining, engaging and explicative dance theater on the planet." - Minn Post, 8/10
"In fact, they’re downright funny, especially when they take you inside their highly verbal means of creating a piece." - Pioneer Press, 8/10
"What I especially appreciated was how sophisticated [casebolt and smith’s] foray into dance styles, issues, foibles, politics was, and at the same time how much it appealed to the broad audience the afternoon I attended" - Linda Shapiro, Dance Critic (Dance Magazine, Gay City News) 8/10
"casebolt and smith bring intimacy and directness, and a seriousness of purpose warmly wrapped in physicality, playfulness and humour. They have the rare quality of a light, but sharp political edge in their work, which entertains as it makes you think and re-think." -What's On Northern Ireland, 5/10
"…they seem to have carved out a highly personal niche: vest-pocket dace theater filled with quick-on-draw gestural movement, self-revealing talk and quirky humor with a sense of urgency." –Eva Yaa Asantewaa, Infinite Body, 2/10
"Their comedic timing was impeccable." -The Dance Current, Vancouver, Canada, 3/08
"…you can't help but mutter, ‘How do they do it?’ They fly through the space in lifts and frisky manipulations and prattle on with such ease, that you forget it’s a dance. You don’t want the physical conversation to end." -SanDiego.com, 5/08