ManTango Opera Lounge

Premiere: 1993, ArtQuake, Portland, OR

Choreography: Gregg Bielemeier

Performance: Salvatore Bonilla, Atticus Griffin

Original Costume Design: Laurel Leverton

Music: Horacio Rivera, Giuseppe Verdi

Lighting Design: Jeff Forbes

Technical Direction: Del Medoff

Technicians: Taylor Rivers & Del Medoff

A dance that plays incongruently with the dancers and music, ManTango Opera Lounge is a duet for two men. Created in 1993, this work pairs choreographer Gregg Bielemeier's idiosyncratic, loose-limb dance style with his unique sense of choreographic humor. Costumed in sheer brocade outfits reconstructed by Adam Arnold, the two dancers command the space as they perform the synopsis of a relationship — the chase, the passion, and the familiarity that leads to its inevitable conclusion.

Anthem

Premiere: 2022, PICA, Portland, OR

Choreography: Shaun Keylock in collaboration with the dancers

Performance: Sophie Beadie, Salvatore Bonilla, Atticus Griffin, Jillian Hobbs, Anna Hooper

Music: Nico Muhly, Alex Groves

Lighting Design: Jenessa Raabe

Set in the Dark Age of the future, Anthem is an ensemble work choreographed by Shaun Keylock to Alex Groves’ setting of Seven O Antiphon Preludes by the contemporary composer, Nico Muhly.

About SKC

Founded in 2018, the Shaun Keylock Company (SKC) is one of the Pacific Northwest’s leading contemporary dance companies. It is the resident dance company of Conduit Dance, Inc. based in Portland, Oregon. Led by award-winning choreographer and director Shaun Keylock, the company has been an originator of many unique projects and collaborations, from staging the first queer chamber opera “When the Sun Comes Out” to preserving the archives of community dance elders. In the progressive, independent spirit of Portland, its aim is to advance the artistry of contemporary dance and queer performance while fostering an exchange of ideas between artists and communities.

About the Artists

Sophia Beadie began her dance training in her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina at International Ballet Academy under the direction of Lena Forster and Vlada Kysselova. She is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where she earned her BFA in Dance. Sophie has performed with the Terpsicorps Theater of Dance in Asheville, North Carolina, as well as with Dayton Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and PDX Contemporary Ballet.

Salvatore Bonilla is a Puerto Rico native who started their dance training in Mableton, GA at their high school. Went on to receive a BFA from Meadows School of the Arts at SMU in 2017. Has done works by Adam Hougland, Bill T Jones, Jose Limón, Ohad Naharin, Hofesh Schecter, and Joshua L Peugh. Danced with Dark Circles Contemporary in Texas for a couple seasons while attending school as well. After a brief time living in Europe and exploring different techniques, they now reside happily in Portland with a new dance community.

Atticus Griffin is a contemporary dance artist, performer, creator, and educator who began his formal dance training at age 18 in Fort Worth, Texas. He has his BFA in Contemporary Dance from The University of Texas at Austin. Before moving to Houston to join Open Dance Project in Fall of 2021, Atticus was the Color Guard Director at James Bowie High School, performed with NobleMotion Dance, and Ventana Ballet under the direction of AJ Garcia-Rameau and Dorothy O’Shea Overbey.

Jillian Hobbs began her dance training in her hometown of Roseville, California at the Northern California Dance Conservatory. She graduated from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance in 2015 with a BFA in Modern Dance Performance. In 2013, Jillian was selected to study at the Amsterdam School of the Arts in the Netherlands, training in the movement research of Ohad Naharin, Anouk van Dijk, and William Forsythe. Jillian has performed in works by Sidra Bell, Ori Flomin, Adam Barruch, The Holding Project, Katie Scherman, Gregg Bielemeier, and Josie Moseley.

Anna Hooper received her dance training at numerous local dance schools and companies. She studied at SUNY Purchase College & Taipei National University of the Arts, graduating in 2018 with a BFA in Dance Performance and Composition. Anna has performed dances by Kyle Abraham, Sidra Bell, Sue Bernhard, Merce Cunningham, Tracey Durbin, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Sara Parker, and Jonathan Riedel. She is proud to have assisted Kyle Abraham in rehearsals with New York City Ballet, in addition to dancing in the film Cunningham directed by Alla Kovgan.

Pivot (world premiere)

Concept, Direction, Choreography & Performance: Keanu Brady, Katherine Neumann, & LizAnne Roman Roberts

With choreographic contributions from: Jax Blaska, Eric Garcia, Del Medoff, & Charles Slender-White

Music: Michael Wall, The Sugarman 3, Natura Ferox, Charli XCX, Touch Sensitive

Lighting Design & Technical Direction: Del Medoff

Technicians: Taylor Rivers & Del Medoff

FACT/SF is a San Francisco-based contemporary dance company, founded in 2008 by Charles Slender-White as a platform for organizing collaborators, building community, and creating choreography. FACT/SF regularly performs in the San Francisco Bay Area, maintains a core group of local collaborators, and has developed an extensive international network of partners. FACT/SF has premiered 42 works, with tours throughout the US, across Russia, and to Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Macedonia. FACT/SF’s Fieldwork programs provide support and material resources to contemporary dance artists outside FACT/SF.

About the Artists

Keanu Forrest Brady (he/they) is a San Francisco-based dance artist working at the intersection of contemporary improvisation, hip-hop and post-modern movement forms. Keanu received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Modern Dance at the University of Utah. Over the years, he has worked closely as a performer and creative collaborator with various San Francisco based companies and arts nonprofits such as LEVYdancy (2017-2021), AXIS dance company, ODC, Kinetech, and Sarah Shelton-Mann, alongside other local choreographers and drag performers. Within the United States, he has worked on stage and screen with Carl Flink, Eric Handman, Satu Hummasti and Scotty Hardwig, among others. His performance work has allowed him to tour within the United States and Internationally. He is currently a company member of FACT/SF since 2018, as well as serving on the board of directors as Dancer Liaison as of 2022. If you are unable to find him dancing in the studios, stages and streets of San Francisco, you can find him on instagram, @keanu.dance.

Katherine Neumann (she/her) is a San Francisco based dance artist. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Katherine received her early dance training at Danspace in Oakland, under the guidance of Beth Hoge. She holds a BFA in contemporary dance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. Katherine has worked with Robert Moses’ Kin, the Mari Meade Dance Collective, ka·nei·see | collective, and Stephanie Unger & Artists. She is currently a company member of both FACT/SF and Liss Fain Dance.

LizAnne Roman Roberts (she/her) fell in love with dance at age four after seeing Giselle on TV in her hometown Tulsa, Oklahoma. Honored and humbled to have been working in the profession of her dreams for over twenty years, LizAnne began her career with Tulsa Ballet while finishing high school and earning a BFA at the University of Oklahoma. She has been dancing in the Bay since 2008, and collaborating with FACT/SF since 2012. LizAnne is a certified Pilates instructor, and mom of two. She dedicates this performance to Josh - to ten years and to one. 

Jax Blaska (FACT/SF Operations & Production Manager, they/them) is a San Francisco-born creative collaborator. Jax works in production and arts administration across theatre, dance, performance art, and installation, with Bay Area organizations including FACT/SF, Detour Dance, EyeZen Presents, and Cutting Ball Theater. They hold a BA with honors from Yale University, and can occasionally be found performing in alien drag (Nasturtium!). For the 2023-24 season, Jax will be the inaugural Directing Apprentice at Cutting Ball Theater. Jax is proud to have been with FACT/SF for two years and is deeply grateful for the creative community and dear friends they have found here.

Delayne (Del) Medoff (Lighting Design & Technical Direction, he/him) loves lighting dance. Really loves it. Like, really, really really, didn't realize how much it enriched his life but now does because he was completely cut off from for 2 years, loves it. He dislikes writing bios. Like really, really really, waits till the last second then frantically pieces together parts of old bios with scissors and glue like some sort of villain in an 1990's abduction thriller, dislikes it. I hope you enjoy the show!

Charles Slender-White (he/him/any) is a contemporary dance artist, educator, instigator, organizer, and the Artistic Director of FACT/SF. Slender-White believes that artists deserve a living wage and that artists’ labor should be recognized, and he utilizes FACT/SF as a framework to realize these values, make art, and engage community. He is one of 44 Countertechnique Teachers worldwide, on faculty at the American Dance Festival, and recently served as a Guest Curator and Resident Strategist at ODC Theater from 2021-2023. Slender-White began his career with Provincial Dances Theatre in Yekaterinburg, Russia, and graduated with honors from UC Berkeley with degrees in Dance & Performance Studies and English Literature.

MISSION AND IMPACT:

ODC is dedicated to the lifecycle of the artistic process. Through our company, school and theater, we aim to inspire audiences, cultivate artists, engage community, and foster diversity and inclusion through dance.

ODC Theater exists to empower and develop innovative artists. It participates in the creation of new works through commissioning, presenting, mentorship and space access; it develops informed, engaged and committed audiences; and advocates for the performing arts as an essential component to the economic and cultural development of our community. This 170-seat venue is the site of over 150 performances a year involving nearly 1,000 local, regional, national and international artists.

Since 1976, ODC Theater has been the mobilizing force behind countless San Francisco artists and the foothold for national and international touring artists seeking debut in the Bay Area. The Theater, founded by Brenda Way has earned its place as a cultural incubator by dedicating itself to creative change-makers, those leaders who give the Bay Area its unmistakable definition and flair. Nationally known artists Spaulding Gray, Diamanda Galas, Bill T. Jones, Eiko & Koma, Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, Karole Armitage, Sarah Michelson, Brian Brooks and John Heginbotham are among those whose first San Francisco appearance occurred at ODC Theater.

ODC Theater is currently under the Creative Direction of Chloë L. Zimberg, and is a proud member of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Western Arts Alliance, Dance/USA. For more information on ODC Theater and all its programs please visit: odc.dance/theater

ODC Theater relies on the generous support of donors like you. To give to ODC Theater, visit odc.dance/support-theater

ODC is on the ancestral lands of the Ramaytush People in Yelamu. We pay respects to elders past and present, who are still here and part of our community. We recognize that regenerative land management is not new, but is a continuation of practices from Native cultures and from our own ancestors. It is our responsibility to steward the land with care, as our elders did before us.

ODC is donating $.50 for each in-person ticket (seat) sold to all performances in the Theater. ODC will donate these funds to the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone land tax fund.

ODC THEATER STAFF:

ODC Founder and Artistic Director Brenda Way

Executive Director Carma Zisman

ODC Theater Creative Director Chloë L. Zimberg

ODC School Director & Associate Choreographer Kimi Okada

ODC Fellow KT Nelson

ODC Chief of Staff Garth Grimball

Assistant to the Creative Director Luna Sofia Ruíz

Director of Production Jack Beuttler

Production Coordinator Chris Chamberlin-Miner

ODC Theater Venue Manager Brian Williamson

Audience Services Manager Katya Ponomarenko

Director of Marketing & Communications Sophie Leininger

Publicist John B. Hill

FRONT OF HOUSE STAFF:

Lynn Layug Schnulle, Senior Associate

Sophia Grimani

Sarah Hampton

Valerie Lam

Annika Mikk

Callie Norberg

AJ Ong Cortez

Jordan Wanderer

Olivia V

ODC TECHNICIANS:

Mary Clare Blake-Booth

Colin Johnson

Liz Kreter-Killian

Del Medoff

Cole Stuart Johnson

Dan Weiermann