Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben & Beth Guerrette.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Beth: We met at what seems like another lifetime ago at a party in New York in 1997, where we instantly connected through a shared passion for music & art and the overwhelming desire and need to live a creative life. We both were born and grew up in Connecticut. I was working in research in neurology and Ben was kicking off his design career, working out of our apartment in New Haven. We married in 2001 and were itching to forge a new path together, contemplating a move to Boston, Rhode Island, New York? After meeting the most wonderful group of LA people at Burning Man the year before, we decided to drive cross country in my Toyota Corolla, with our 2 cats in the backseat & a hitched Uhaul trailer with no business being towed 3000 miles by a Corolla. We landed in the Silver Lake area of Los Angeles in 2005 and began a new chapter centered around love and artistic growth.
I’m a lifelong contemporary dancer, performer, producer and educator. I embraced LA’s performance scene, dancing independently & with contemporary dance companies. I feel so fortunate to have danced at venues like the Hollywood Bowl, King King Club, Choreographer’s Ball, and the Ford Theater. I’m very proud to have co founded & produced DanceSpot, a choreographer’s showcase in Silver Lake, for 10 years before moving to SD. It’s now entering its 18th year, continuing to spotlight emerging and established dance voices from the community.
Ben is a lifelong artist, deeply rooted in graffiti, street art, and visual storytelling. His path has taken him to many different places throughout his career but the one constant has always been digital art of some form encompassing both visual and sound. His experience spans flyer design, video projections and DJ’ing in the late 90’s, to web design for the film industry and building award winning apps designed for creatives.
We became parents in 2007 & in 2011, with our 2 sons Andre & Lucien, we relocated to North County San Diego in search of a firmer foundation & a place to raise our family with amazing public schools as our oldest was about to start kindergarten. Encinitas it was!
In an effort to find “my people” here in Encinitas, I developed a weekly Sunday morning dance workshop, Guilty Pleasures, for adults where I taught fun, accessible & quirky pop choreography that came with a side of mimosas. I thought mimosas would entice & dance would follow, which it did!
I’ve since expanded into teaching adult dance classes, workshops and retreats, in addition to leading youth dance & yoga classes and workshops. In 2017 I co-founded along with Elease Sgarbossa, Bella Lux Entertainment, a platform for dynamic, unique & inclusive dance experiences for movers of all levels. Teaching and rehearsing out of Mbdy.be studio in Encinitas, I choreographed & co produced many shows performed on The Belly Up stage and other local venues. My most passionate project, “my baby,” Cirque du Lux, was an evening length immersive dance performance consisting of 30 performers onstage, with design and costuming by Michelle Bowlin. I’m so proud to say it sold out to multiple audiences at The Belly Up in Solana Beach.
Ben’s continually reinventing himself and has done so again with a new passion and business, centered around designing immersive art and experiences for entertainment, architectural structures, live events and musical collaborations. Shared community experiences take center stage in much of his work while also coordinating local gatherings for community and education around this niche field to share with others. There’s a deep passion in people and the human experience. His largest project to date is City Lights. A collaboration with The Quartyard in the East Village of San Diego and 8 other SD based artists to transform the venue into an immersive light and sound event for the winter of 2024-2025. The event featured large scale visuals, interactive projections, LED and laser installations, music and movement performances. Ben is in talks with The Quartyard to create the next iteration of City Lights for winter of 2025.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The road isn’t always smooth. The saying “Art is hard” rings very true and is a hustle. There have been bumps, fears and doubts, with stretches of loneliness & feeling misunderstood at times. Also, putting ourselves & out art out there is very vulnerable. We’re basically saying “This is our heart & passion. Be gentle with us or tear us apart.”
We really seek out other creatives with whom to collaborate and socialize, yet it can be challenging to find them. Parenting creatively also requires thinking outside the box, a ton of communication with each other, often second guessing and of course disagreements at times.
Covid of course was challenging for us all but we found some expression and release by doing a lighting & dance performance in our driveway for our neighbors, as well as another original light & dance piece at a friend’s tennis court cabaret in Rancho Santa Fe.
With our extended family back east, we deeply appreciate our chosen family, the circle of friends who uplift us, support us, and remind us we’re not alone. That community has been & remains essential.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Beth: I’m pretty popular among the 2-5 year old crowd of north county! I’m a preschool yoga and dance instructor, teaching for over 20 years. I’m at a variety of schools and studios and am honored to help foster a love of movement and establish a foundation of breath and stillness for the future generations. I couldn’t ask for a more rewarding & fun way to spend my mornings. Children are so honest & I swear they keep me young.
In working with adults, I aim to create safe space where dancers can feel the freedom to experiment, push past boundaries, be weird, yell, scream, release it on the dance floor. I often say in class, we can do awkward things. For audiences, I want to do the same, push what they may consider normal, feel something new, perhaps be slightly uncomfortable & then exhale & provide a new perspective. Flip the script, shall we say.
I’m most proud of creating safe space for people to grow in dance. From DanceSpot LA where artists have a stage on which to workshop and explore, to being a founder of Bella Lux Entertainment where dancers of varying experience and age have the opportunity to push past fears and boundaries and live out their dreams, being a part of unique theatrical productions.
I’m also super proud to be a representation of a dancer over 40 who continues to train, create, teach and inspire, and to do so with grace, whimsy and a side of rebelliousness.
Ben: Over the past 8 years, I’ve produced many projects all in the light & sound space covering quite a bit of ground with many local venues and art focused organizations. Even some that I’ve organized with creative partners or on my own.
My proudest project to date is an installation titled SERVICE. In late 2023, I set the goal to find space where I could set up and showcase a semi-permanent installation that could be experienced at any time. I was able to procure a small 10’ x 10’ room in North Park within Connect San Diego which had a location on 30th St at the time. I produced an intimate immersive experience in the space.
Upon entering the small black room, guests are greeted with subtle moving light on LED strips along the perimeter of the room and a single glowing red button. Pressing the ominous glowing button triggered a 6 minute light and sound experience that played out all around the viewers on the walls, floor and ceiling accompanied by an originally composed dramatic score I created. Due to unforeseen circumstances the space to showcase service was lost and it had to be shut down leaving a limited number of people who got to experience it.
100’s of hours were poured into creating SERVICE and I wasn’t satisfied with letting it go. In early 2024 I had the vision to create a free standing version of the piece. Knowing little about fabrication of any kind, I consulted with Barrio Logan based design and fabrication studio, Tecture. While it was cost prohibitive for Tecture to build the structure, they were kind enough to give some direction on how I might be able to do it myself. I spent the next 3 months learning and building.
The free standing version of SERVICE was showcased at Tecture’s gathering for the San Diego Architectural Foundations Open House event. It was a highlight of the event praised and appreciated by many attendees. I collaborated with Tecture on our first project, a 15’ illuminated palm tree sculpture that was used as a center piece for a local conference. They recently completed their second project, a 4 story art and light piece that’s permanently installed in the lobby of an office building in Sorrento Valley.
SERVICE has been featured at local art events including Vanguard Culture’s urban art event ENVZN, at The Soap Factory in Logan Heights and the North Park Music Festival.
Live audio visual performances also play a major role in my art practice. Since 2018 I’ve performed with creative partner Tim Gmeiner on our project ‘With Flying Colors’, an ever evolving performance based within a 16’ ring of light or other light structure. Tim and I have performed at small private locations, in a cathedral for Project Blank’s ‘Working Title’ and within the very small Beatbox Records in Barrio Logan.
Our most recent project was a live audiovisual performance with large scale visuals and live musicians on a 32 channel spatial audio system in the Experimental Theater at UCSD titled ‘Dreams Dyed Blue’. As a creative duo, we continue to explore what’s possible with live audiovisual performance.
Tim is producer and hip-hop lyricist working on his doctorate in the Computer Music program at UCSD.
What are your plans for the future?
Beth: I’m now expanding more into the field of movement therapy, working with the MS population, blending healing, body awareness, and creative expression. I’m also diving into producing film projects & live performance experiences with Ben. I strongly believe in the healing power of movement and am planning even more opportunities for people to dance with joy, from beginners to professionals and everyone in between.
In addition to his role as immersive experience design, Ben has kicked off a new creative studio, Ten Six Pines, that will expand his existing art practice. The Ten Six Pines studio, located in Little Italy, provides interactive and immersive light and sound solutions for entertainment, retail and the hospitality industries. He’s bringing together an elite team of creatives, developers and engineers to work with businesses worldwide.
Ben’s upcoming projects include collaborations with local and international musical acts, a San Diego based Michelin recognized chef, immersive events at local venues among other ventures.
Ben is also growing a monthly community meetup focused around educating and providing networking opportunities for San Diego artists interested in learning immersive creative design. Future considerations include weekend workshops and multi-day retreats in around SD.
We’re very excited and motivated to be in talks with local artists and venues to produce a unique, immersive and edgy theater experience for San Diego, to premiere in 2026. Stay tuned for that folks!
Our path has never followed a traditional blueprint. Navigating life as artists, partners, and parents means we’ve had to create our own rhythm, often improvising as we go. We’re always collaborating on ideas, projects, parenting, and everyday problem-solving. We aim to look for creative solutions rather than default answers. Communication is a cornerstone for us in everything we do. Whether designing a show, building something by hand, or navigating a challenge as a family, we treat life as a canvas to co-create.
As parents to teenage boys, wildly creative in their own ways, we try to lead by example, encouraging them to live by their passions, honor and celebrate their individuality, and express themselves fully. We’re intentional about creating a safe space not just for them, but for their friends & others in our orbit to be seen, heard, and supported.
To us, creativity is everywhere. It’s in the food we cook, the places we explore, the architecture that inspires, the way light hits a wall, the rhythm of music, and the quiet moments of reflection. We’re constantly seeking, often finding inspiration in overlooked or unexpected places: hidden pockets of San Diego, road trips, global travel, or simply in conversations.
We live with curiosity, and we choose collaboration over competition, both in our work and in our relationship.
At the heart of it all, we are two people building a life that reflects what we value most: artistry, trust, connection, family, and the freedom to create something meaningful together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.benguerrette.info/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancrb/, https://www.instagram.com/sweat_w_beth/, and https://www.instagram.com/benguerrette/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bguerrette/
Image Credits
Ben Guerrette
Beth Guerrette
Jen Of Stardust & Earth
