Interview with Angie Bunch about Culture Shock Dance and the San Diego Fringe Festival

Angie Bunch is the Chief Artistic Director and the founder of Culture Shock Dance Troupes Inc. Through Culture Shock she has brought a fresh new perspective on dance to San Diego during their 20 year history and now embarks on a new adventure by participating in the San Diego Fringe Festival for the first time. Their first premiere performance is Saturday, July 5th at 9:30pm at the Lyceum theatre."Culture Shock Cabaret" is a great introduction to the style, athleticism, and the energy that Culture Shock is known for in their works. A mix of pieces both old and new, including their recent hit "Culture Shock Nutcracker - A Holiday Hip hop Theatrical, this is a show that is guaranteed to entertain.So what convinced her to join up with the Festival this year? “Kevin (Kevin Charles Patterson, Executive Producer and Director of the Festival) called me up and said I want you to do Fringe and I said ‘oh, ok’,” Angie says with a laugh. “I had no idea what I was saying yes too, but it’s going to be a blast.”“Fringe is brand new for us, we were not participants last year and the whole concept is new for us...Originally I was going to focus on a “through the ages” presentation, but these guys as so young and so fresh that I let them go with it. It’s mostly new material, there are a handful of choreographers and there are a lot of free-style dancers, which is nice, because they have their own identity in that regard. But we are also pulling in a few pieces from the 'Nutcracker' – so that will be fun.”Because the Fringe Festival is a new place for performances for them, what is it that she wants Fringe audiences to walk away with after their show? “Because hip hop is common in terms of music, it’s popular now and sure there is still underground stuff, but we kind of bridge a lot of those gaps and pull together stuff that people can hopefully connect with. That’s my goal -there is something for everybody even if you’re not a street dancer. There is something you are going to feel, you are going to resonate with in the performance– it could be that dancer, it could be that music, could be that style, it could be that freestyle – who knows?”What do you think you will connect with? You won't know until you go!Culture Shock is performing at the San Diego Fringe Festival at the Lyceum Theatre Saturday, July 5 at 9:30pm, Sunday, July 6 at 8pm, Friday, July 11 6:30pm, and Sunday, July 13 at 5pm. For information on Culture Shock go towww.Cutlrueshockdance.org.Check out the San Diego Fringe Festival and all of it’s offerings in dance, theatre, music, and more now through July 13th. For more information on the Fringe Festival go to www.SDFringe.org.