Erick Martinez

Erick Martinez, from Santa Ana, is a third year at UCSB, pursuing his BFA degree in dance. He has been training since his freshman year in high school with the help of his instructor Brenda Torres. He has attended summer and weekend intensives at UCI during his junior and senior year in high school. Through UCSB, he’s worked with Peter Chang, Christina Sanchez, and some faculty members and students. He looks forward to performing more and continuing his study.

With the start of Covid-19 the world has changed in an flash right before my eyes. My every day hobbies and life has felt like it has ultimately been placed on hold. As a student living in the college town of Isla Vista I have noticed a significant shift in the overall emotional and physical energy in this small town. The streets feel more vacant making it feel lonely, yet that openness is expansive and freeing at the same time. I notice small surges of energy in different houses and locations as the town tries to keep the once lively and chaotic energy alive. When I reach my destination after walking the streets I stop and watch the waves crash while the moon and sun lay over the water, thinking about how I feel in the moment.  Shifting Sands is my creative response to these current times – inspired by, and filmed within Isla Vista, CA.