Ten Tiny Dances Performers' Bios
| STAGE 1 - Alley Way Courtyard |
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Danielle Ross' piece for Ten Tiny Dances, entitled Chatter, is an experiment in confined space and exposed proximity performed by Michelle Rogers, Ross and Vanessa Vogel.
Ross is a native Portlander, but trained in dance and choreography in the Bay Area. She holds a BFA in Dance and Performance Studies from UC Berkeley. In 2010, her work Make the Air Thick premiered at Launch Pad Gallery and her installation Home / Body was shown at Appendix Project Space. In 2011, she curated San Francisco's Fact / SF into Performance Work's Northwest's Alembic Series. She has worked with Emily Johnson, Zoe | Juniper and Linda Austin. Her latest work To Remember is to Jump Around There premiered at the Headwaters Theatre in 2012. Ross is a founding member of FRONT, a Portland-run publication dedicated to contemporary dance. For more information, visit www.daniellerossdance.com. |
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| STAGE 1 - Alley Way Courtyard |
Joaquin Lopez, Rebecca Martinez and Alberto Romero are performing Fronteras, a dance inspired by Mexican folklore. It explores the boundaries that separate us, as well as those that join us together.
Lopez is a musician, poet and songwriter. His writing credits include Voz Alta: Amor Indocumento for Latino Gay Pride; acting credits include Miracle Theatre, Oregon Children's Theatre and Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Martinez is an award-winning choreographer and actor. She directs Viva la Cultura! and tours Latin American music, dance and storytelling to schools. Credits include Miracle Theatre, Sojourn Theatre and Oregon Children's Theatre. Alberto Romero is an actor and dancer in Portland. He has danced Mexican folkloric dance with the group Sol Azteca and has performed with Miracle Theatre, Oregon Children's Theatre and NW Children's Theatre. He is also the creator and a host of the online series, Entre Tu y Yo. |
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| STAGE 2 - Masonic Lodge Courtyard |
Mathias Galley is performing a traditional dance from his country, Ghana. The dance symbolizes a drought that has come and the cause was due to the negative actions and inactions of men against women. The weather can only be reversed when all the men in the village dress like women and dance for hours until the rain returns. The dance is a form of "punishment or deterrent" against cruelty according to the instruction of the gods. The performance will include Habib Iddrisu, Jeff Strang and Mashund Neido.
Galley, a resident of Beaverton, grew up performing traditional African dance in Ghana, his native country in West Africa. His talent and passion for music and dance has driven him to lead renowned groups across many continents. Mathias performs a mix of traditional, freestyle and creative dance. |
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| STAGE 2 - Masonic Lodge Courtyard |
Shared Confinements is Philippe Bronchtein and Simon Thomas-Train's first collaborative choreographer endeavor. This duet addresses the dynamics of living with others. The dancers explore the extremes of proximity while confining themselves to the area of the tiny stage. The movement in Shared Confinements reflects and explores the extremes of both qualities.
Bronchtein graduated from Middlebury College in 2010 with a joint degree in music and dance. He has presented his own choreography at Performance Works NW and the TBA festival, as part of Ten Tiny Dances. He also works as a musical accompanist for Lewis & Clark College, and is active as a folk musician under the moniker Hip Hatchet. Thomas-Train, originally of Keene Valley, New York, graduated from Middlebury College with a BA in Dance and Architectural Studies in 2009. He has been dancing and creating dance pieces for stage and film for the past six years. His own choreography has been presented at Middlebury College, American College Dance Festival National Gala, Brooklyn Rooftop Festival, Rebound Dance Festival and Bard College. Thomas-Trains is thrilled to again have the opportunity to work with his longtime friend and collaborator, Philippe Bronchtein. |
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| STAGE 3 - Ava Roasteria |
Emily Alrick's performance for Ten Tiny Dances consists of a condensed version of a full-traditional bellydance routine in a classic bellydance costume using finger cymbals, a long veil and a balancing sword.
Alrick is a professional bellydance performer and instructor from Ashland, Oregon. She performs and teaches throughout the country, and is known for her crisp technique, theatrical flair and expressive stage presence. In addition to her solo work, she is also the director and choreographer for the award-winning Circus Tribal Bellydance Company based in southern Oregon. She is currently Level 3 certified in Suhalia Salimpour's format, and in conjunction with her studies in the Salimpour format, she continues to study both classical and ethnic dance of various kinds. She also creates one-of-a-kind costume pieces, graphic design and other works of art. With a life-long passion for dance, Alrick strives to present instruction and performances that are educated and thoughtful. She is dedicated to a life of learning as an artist and dancer and will always be a supporter of the arts. |
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| STAGE 3 - Ava Roasteria |
Painted Sky Northstar Dance Company is presenting four, distinct Native American dances. Dancers are George Clements / Paiute, Hoop Dancer; Soraya Mendez / Warm Springs, Women's Fancy Dancer; Matt Clements / Paiute, Grass Dancer; Sofia Butler / Siletz, Jingle Dancer and Colt Nicol / Metis, Native Drum. Hoop, Grass, Jingle and Women's Fancy dance styles are being presented with drum interludes. Each dance style has a meaning, story and connection to Native American culture. "The Dance" is respectful of Mother Earth and the sound of the Drum is the heartbeat.
Painted Sky Northstar Dance Company is an intertribal Native American Community Outreach Dance Company (located at the THPRD Garden Home Recreation Center) that blends Native American and contemporary styles of dance with story, song and music. For more information, visit www.paintedsky.org. |
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| STAGE 4 - Vacant Lot |
Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya is presenting two ancient, classical dances from the repertoire of Charya Nritya, bringing to life the deities of Lokeshwara and Vajrapani. Lokeshwara is widely beloved throughout the Buddhist world while Vajrapani is a wrathful Buddha, dancing upon the negative forces he has overcome and laughing with glee as he feasts on raw painful negativity, the very means to enlightenment.
Prajwal Ratna Vajracharya is a priest of one of the Newah Vajrayana lineages of the Kathmandu Valley and a ritual master of the Charya Nritya dance. Vajracharya began his training in dance as a spiritual discipline at the age of eight, receiving formal instruction mainly from his father. With the survival of the Charya Nritya threatened by modernization, and at his father's wishes, he began to bring these Tantric Buddhist practices, which had existed for thousands of years in secret, out of the temples and into the world. Vajracharya lives in Portland, where he presides over the Nritya Mandala Vihara, the first Nepalese Buddhist Temple outside of Nepal. For more information, visit www.dancemandal.com. |
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| STAGE 4 - Vacant Lot |
Jessica Hightower's piece for Ten Tiny Dances is entitled Pockets. Nostalgia, specifically the role time plays in our remembrance of past comforts, is the inspiration for this work. We cannot grab, taste or replicate those moments of clarity from our pasts, yet they flood our brains and bodies with such sensation that time freezes ever so briefly.
Originally from Colorado, Hightower received her high school diploma and BFA in modern dance from North Carolina School of the Arts. She has performed, choreographed and taught in France, Japan and throughout the U.S. Locally, she has had the pleasure of working with Oslund+Co., Keely McIntyre, Top Shake Dance, Tere Mathern, Faith Levine and Katrina O'Brien. She is in her fourth season with Suniti Dernovsek and David Stein's Portland-based company Bobbevy. |
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| STAGE 5 - Farmers Market |
The Kalabharathi School of Dance will be presenting two unique dances during Beaverton's Ten Tiny Dances: Peacock and Snake Dance. Based on the old folk tradition of depicting nature in the classical South Indian dance style, the dancers portray the peacock and snake. The dancers will depict the peacock, while eating, preening, dancing and hunting, and that of the snake, while being hunted.
Anandha Tandav - The Joyous Dance Shiva and Shakthi. This joyous dance of the Indian god of dance, Shiva, together with his consort, Shakthi, has been exclusively choreoographed for the 4' x 4' stage. Usually danced on a full stage, this particular piece is exquisite with its quick, rhythmic footwork and fascinating sculpturesque poses as they appear in the temple halls of Southern Indian. This piece is performed by the leading dancers of the Kalabharathi School of Dance, in authentic, traditional costume.
Celebrating its 22nd year in Oregon, the Kalabharathi School of Dance is committed to promoting and presenting Bharathanatyam, an ancient South Indian dance form, through instructional classes and professional performances. The goal is to preserve this classical art form in all its elegant structure and to promote it as a cultural bridge so that we may share the beauty of this artistic expression. Through the multi-cultural approach, audiences of all experiences and backgrounds enjoy this rich, classical dance style. |
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| STAGE 5 - Farmers Market |
Kristine Anderson's playful contemporary dance for Ten Tiny Dances is a short study of friendships and the enjoyment that comes when in good company. Performed with Rachel Slater, Anderson and a chair, this trio will carry the audience into the memory of sharing a cup of coffee, telling small secrets and having a fair share of laughter, too.
Anderson completed her MFA in Dance at Mills College with high honors in May 2011, and has since been making and performing dance works in Portland. She has apprenticed with ODC / Dance Company, and performed works by Brenda Way, Molissa Fenley, Yvonne Rainer ("Trio A"), Robert Moses, Agnieszka Laska and many others. She is currently the President of the Dance Coalition of Oregon. |
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