They (premiere)
Choreography & Performance by Akhil Joondeph, Amit Patel & Ishika Seth
Music by Vishal Bharadwaj
Music Editing by Akhil Joondeph

This work is inspired by the concept of Ardhanarishvara, the Hindu God represented as half woman-half man. It signifies the union of masculine and feminine energies and the power, strength and balance that comes from that union. It is an ode to gender fluidity and an acknowledgement of its deep roots in ancient history and mythology.

As a first-generation born Indian-American, Amit Patel strives to fuse his Eastern culture with his Western training to create an idiom of Indian contemporary dance. He has a significant digital presence, extensive stage performance experience and has toured all over the world teaching classes and creating safe spaces for the LGBTQ+ community. Amit is equally notable for his rebellious pieces in heels, which challenge the norms of sexual identity in dance. His goal as an artist is to create work and community that has the potential to unite, inspire, and empower people across generations and cultures.

Ishika Seth (she/her) is an Indian immigrant, choreographer, dancer, dance educator, writer & parent. She combines Indian and Western aesthetic and movement styles to create an idiom of Indian Contemporary dance movement. Her eclectic training in modern dance, contemporary, jazz, yoga, mayurbhanj chhau, ballet and Bollywood enable her to constantly explore and expand her movement vocabulary and art-making. She obtained her BA in Dance from SJSU and was the Assistant Artistic Director of Mona Khan Company from 2011-2021. She recently co-directed "Unearthed:Untold Stories from the Ramayana" along with Amit Patel at ODC and is also a dancer with Noorani Dance. She strives to create works to challenge social, cultural and political constructs and to amplify marginalized voices.

Akhil Joondeph (he/him) is a dancer, dance teacher, student, and choreographer rooted in the San Francisco Bay Area. He has trained extensively in Odissi and other indigenous Indian dance forms, and has been performing with the Mona Khan Company since 2008, for which he has choreographed, composed, and created curricular framework in the last 4 years. In his works, he strives to find common ground between his many artistic lineages, spark meaningful conversations through abstract movement, and consciously tell stories and amplify voices that are lost within the community.  He is currently a student at Wesleyan University studying anthropology and dance.

time eater (premiere)
chinchin hsu in collaboration with brianna elyse torres
Music by Sound Ideas, Bad Bunny, Essie Jain
costumes by Yaozu Kon

stop, reset, reclaim, undo or repeat? - a movement collaboration between brianna torres and chinchin hsu, two women on an attempt to imagine birth and death as we exchange our ancestral and cultural rituals on how we process time, grief, celebration, and move through it all. we humbly bow to the generations of women that came before us.

Chinchin Hsu (she/her/她), was born and raised in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. she moved to the U.S. in 2004 and now resides on Ramaytush lands; a southeast asian immigrant, a teaching artist, now a dance mama of two little humans. she has trained in tai-chi, chinese martial art, chinese ballet, western ballet, various modern techniques, improvisation and composition. being away from the stage for 2+ years, 2 births later, chinchin is curious how imaginations and motherhood combine themselves in this process of creativity and how they will manifest a stage sharing performance today. she thanks brianna for their playful collaboration and loving trust in making of time eater.

brianna elyse torres (she/her) is a New York-Puerto Rican movement artist, healer, and birthworker currently rooted on Lisjan Ohlone lands. brianna is an alumni of the san francisco conservatory of dance. she is a deep believer in movement as a way to heal, grieve and access collective joy. brianna is excited to return to dance after 2+ years away from the art form. she is honored to collaborate with chinchin as they work through the cycles of grief, decolonization, groove, liberation, birth and love as a practice. con mucho amor.

death: a choreographic problem
a curious foe
a friend
you are crossing cornerstone blvd
take a right
to witness
the static, the sorrow, the in between
the where
the waves are crashing
the sorrow
regret
smells like rock bottom
unforgivable
the drought of feelings
slip
oh no, a tsunami of tears
open the flood gates
the ceremony has begun
arrivals
departures
no more pickups
the earth airport
stuck
stale
air
last breath
big inhale
the sorrow
crushed
are the memories
escaped my fingers
oh, where the sand should be
i’m closing into darkness
unfoldings
charted territories
a known fact
the sorrow
seeping
roundabout realizations
i’m leaving on empty
exchanging meals for sleep
a never ending
lucid dream
a nightmare
a waking terror

- brianna elyse torres

Boys, Boys, Boys! (premieres September 2022, Seattle, WA)
Choreography & Performance by Elby Brosch & Shane Donahue
Music by Genuine, Phil Collins

Drama Tops’ newest voyeuristic endeavor reflects on our queer elders, generational traumas, pop music, white privilege, and Pride™ branded rainbow OREOs. We are just two queers grappling with life’s biggest questions; Are we hot enough to survive in this economy? Queer commidifaction will make you rich if you’re pretty and white… but aren’t we? How do we deal with being half victim, half perpetrator? We wrestle, push, and scream into each other’s bodies searching for answers as we flirt with the surreal. Watch us take control of our queer lives in “Boys, Boys, Boys!”

“Boys! Boys! Boys!” is presented by Velocity Dance Center through their Made in Seattle new work incubator. This project is underwritten by John Robinson.

Seattle's hottest post-modern, nightlife performance duo, Drama Tops was born with the artistic partnership of Elby Brosch and Shane Donohue. They began making work together five years ago with the creation of a solo on two bodies. The dynamic between their trans body and cisish body has created beautiful moments of frustration, competition, tenderness, and comedy. Drama Tops blends the worlds of nightlife and concert modern dance to create an interesting and unique blend of accessible, funny modern dance. You may have seen the Drama Tops perform in their self produced show, Drama Tops, this is for you, at Washington Hall, at On the Boards in Northwest New Works, at Velocity in Fall Kick Off, at Kremwerk in Family Meal and Catharsis, in Heels! At Cha Cha, and at a pop up party at Photon Factory.

Elby Brosch (he/him) is a dancer and choreographer who moved to Seattle after receiving his BFA in Dance from the University of Illinois. He is the co-creator and co-choreographer of the Drama Tops, a queer performance duo with Shane Donohue. Drama tops has produced their own work and has been presented by On The Boards in Northwest New Works and by Velocity Dance Center in Fall Kick Off and Next Fest Northwest, as well as Heels! at Cha Cha, Family Meal, and Catharsis. He is also a performer in Scott Shoemaker’s “:PROBED”, and BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon’s Holiday Special in the live show and on Hulu, as well as with Christin Call, Mark Haim, Dylan Ward, Babette DeLafayette Pendleton, Shannon Stewart, and Alyza DelPan-Monley. Elby is honored to be a Velocity Dance Center “Made in Seattle” Artist alongside his bff, Shane.

Shane Donohue (he/they) is a Seattle based dance artist currently working as co-top with Drama Tops. He also works closely with zoe | juniper as a dancer and rehearsal director. He has set work with, and for, Zoe Scofield at the University of Washington, Strictly Seattle, Whim W’him, Bard Summerscape’s production of “Le Roi Arthus” in 2021. He also works as an artistic collaborator and performer with Kim Lusk, Kinesis Project, Scott Shoemaker’s “:PROBED”, and BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon’s Holiday Special in the live show and on Hulu. Shane is honored to be a Velocity Dance Center “Made in Seattle” Artist alongside his bff, Elby.

Number 6 (premiere)
Choreography by Charles Slender-White
Performance by Katherine Neumann, LizAnne Roman Roberts, & Charles Slender-White
Music by Joel Corry & Jax Jones Feat. Charli XCX
Costumes by Sporadic Assembly

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.

Charles Slender-White is a San Francisco-based queer contemporary dance artist of mixed European and Roma descent. He is an instigator, organizer, dad, husband, and the Artistic Director of FACT/SF. Charles is one of 36 Countertechnique Teachers worldwide, and he has taught, performed, and made choreography across North America, Europe, Russia, and in Hong Kong and Australia. Charles is currently a faculty member at the American Dance Festival, and a Guest Curator and Resident Strategist at ODC Theater. Charles graduated with honors from UC Berkeley with degrees in English Literature and Dance & Performance Studies.

Katherine Neumann (she/her) is a dancer and choreographer based in San Francisco. She holds a BFA in contemporary dance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). Katherine has worked professionally with FACT/SF, Robert Moses’ Kin, the Mari Meade Dance Collective, ka·nei·see | collective, Stephanie Unger & Artists, Alyssa Mitchel, Alex Law, Hannah Ayasse, and Hannah Young.

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 while earning a BFA at the University of Oklahoma. LizAnne has been collaborating with FACT/SF for the past decade. She has performed in the Bay Area for over fifteen years, and has participated in tours as close to home as Santa Cruz, CA, and as far as Sofia, Bulgaria. LizAnne thanks you for sharing in the work with us today.

This Time Tomorrow (premiere)
Choreography & Direction by Megan & Shannon Kurashige, Sharp & Fine
Performance by Eric Garcia and Moscelyne Parkeharrison, with development by Caitlin Hicks
Music composed and performed by Max Judelson & Jordan Glenn
Costumes by Emily Kurashige

Sharp & Fine will perform a new duet choreographed by sisters Megan and Shannon Kurashige that invites us to explore how remembering the past and envisioning the future are inextricably connected acts of imagination and hope.

Sharp & Fine is a San Francisco-based contemporary dance company co-founded in 2011 by sisters Megan and Shannon Kurashige to facilitate choreographic work that grows out of a shared history of experience in both classical ballet and contemporary dance and a desire for deep collaboration with artists from different disciplines. S&F creates narrative performance work that brings together physically exuberant choreography, emotionally nuanced text, live music, and multi-disciplinary collaboration. Our work is informed by the technical rigor of classical ballet, the human intensity of contemporary forms, and the conviction that telling a story built on personal truths is a powerful and communal act of communication and empathy. S&F works with composers, musicians, writers and a group of dancers who have helped us continuously develop and refine our creative process.

Eric Garcia is equal parts devised theater artist, dance filmmaker, drag queen, and community organizer, with a penchant for queer maximalism. He is the Co-Artistic Director of Detour Dance, Co-Host of the monthly drag cabaret Clutch The Pearls (as Churro Nomi), and Managing Director with Fresh Meat Productions.

Moscelyne ParkeHarrison is a choreographer and dance artist from The Berkshires, MA. Moscelyne’s choreographic works have been performed at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, Alice Tully Hall, the Hudson Guild Theater, The Studebaker Theater (Chicago), the Foundry West Stockbridge and Triskelion Arts. She has received support from the Anthony Quinn Foundation Fellowship, Berkshire Taconic Foundation, and Metropolis Ensemble for her choreographies.

Resonant Body (premiered June 2022, Pittsburgh Playhouse, PA)
Choreography & Performance by taylor knight and anna thompson
Music by slowdanger

slowdanger's co-artistic directors taylor knight (they/he) and anna thompson (they/them) re-examine ocular-centricity in dance performance in Resonant Body, a duet performance and extended research-based project. Theorizing that every movement we make, in some form, is sound, Resonant Body examines how our impact resonates physically in space through sonic memory. Research includes impacting the body against structures such as thunder sheets and utilizing technology to record, loop and amplify the sonic remnants of the body’s impact within space, and is furthered by continually questioning how we define sustainability and resilience within capitalist mechanization.

taylor knight & anna thompson are co-founding artistic directors of slowdanger, a multidisciplinary performance organism based in Pittsburgh, PA. slowdanger uses a systematic approach to movement, integrative technology, found material, electronic instrumentation, vocalization, physiological centering, and ontological examination to produce their performance work, which utilizes ritual practice to delve into circular life patterning including effort, transformation, and death. Through the process of making each piece, slowdanger deepens their understanding of energy, synergy, action, gender, time, and storytelling. Their work has been presented by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Arts, Springboard Danse Montreal, Carnegie Museum of Art, Place Des Arts, Université du Québec à Montréal, Usine C, Dance Place, The Andy Warhol Museum, theCURRENTSESSIONS, BAAD!, Triskelion Arts, New Hazlett Theater, Kelly Strayhorn Theater and more. They have facilitated workshops at Carnegie Museum of Art, Gibney, Peridance, Painted Bride Arts Center, BAX, Slippery Rock University, Middlebury College, Point Park University, Carnegie Mellon University and more. slowdanger was one of Dance Magazine’s 2018 “25 to Watch” and has been supported by The Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant, The Heinz Endowments & Pittsburgh Foundation Investing in Professional Artists Award, and The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Special Presenters Initiative with Dance Place.