BREAKING GROUND 2023
Friday, January 27
Special Thanks to our sponsors:
Arizona Commission on the Arts
City of Tempe
Fury
Choreographer:
Carley Conder
Movement Generation by:
Kal, Spencer Dennis, Isiah Johnson, Kelsey Metz
Music:
"Discovering" and "Triplets" by Hansson & Karlsson. "Prelude" by Richard Wagner
Lighting:
Jordan Daniels
Costume Design: Cari Smith
Sculpture: Kris Manzanares
Performers:
Isiah Johnson, Kelsey Metz, Kal
“Fury” introduces a trio of flawed superheroes that reveal a captivating dystopia that invites the audience to confront their own opposing desires for destruction and deliverance. Inspired by The Furies, deities of vengeance from Greek mythology, this dance is designed to be provocative, muscular and entirely unforgiving.
"Fury" is a collaboration between choreographer Carley Conder, costume designer Cari Smith, and visual artist Kris Manzanares. Music is by 1967 psychedelia jazz duo Hansson & Karlsson and Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle.
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Carley Conder is Artistic Director of CONDER/dance, founded in Arizona in 2003. Based in Tempe, Carley has invested her time and talents towards providing opportunities for contemporary dance artists in Arizona. CONDER/dance enjoys artist-in-residence status at Tempe Center for the Arts and Carley’s recent projects include creative collaborations with the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Carley’s choreographic work has been presented at Dixon Place (NYC), Center for Performance Research (Brooklyn), Martha Graham Studios (NYC), John Ryan Theater (Brooklyn), and the Diavolo Space (Los Angeles). She was profiled in "Phoenix's 100 Creatives" by the Phoenix NewTimes and chosen as “Best Dancer of 2015” by the Phoenix NewTimes. Carley has been the recipient of arts funding through the City of Tempe, Arizona Commission on the Arts, Target Arts Grants and the Consulate General of Israel. Carley is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Dance in the School of Music, Dance and Theater at Arizona State University.
In Elegant Arrangement
Choreographer:
Jenny Gerena
Music:
Birkengefluester by Marsen Jules
Costume and Lighting Design:
Jenny Gerena
Performer:
Jenny Gerena
In Elegant Arrangement represents the spiritual journey one goes through in the journey of life. This is expressed using the symbolic meanings of the four seasons as inspiration.
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Jenny Gerena is a Phoenix-based choreographer, performer, and teaching artist. She is an alumna of Scottsdale Community College, Sam Houston State University, and Arizona State University, where she received an M.F.A in Dance in 2016. She has presented her work at the Florida Dance Festival, Breaking Ground Dance Festival (AZ), BlakTina Dance Festival (AZ), The Dance Gallery Festival (TX, NYC), Women in Dance Conference (PA), and the Phoenix Art Museum.
Break Time ... Is It My Turn Yet?
BG23 Invited Student Artist
Choreographer:
Shayla Eshelman
Music:
Unholy War by Jacob Banks;
added audio by Richard Bullard
Costume Design:
Shayla Eshelman in collaboration with Cari Smith
Lighting Design:
Shayla Eshelman in collaboration Cari Koch
Performers:
Alex Solano, Eliana Bracamonte, Josie Jones, Kennedy Bekedam, Maniah Greene, Shayla Eshelman, Sophia Loza, Sammy Frankel
One side is tired of having to lean on every body else shoulder; just want's to lean on their own. The other side is tired of being the shoulder everyone needs.
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Shayla Eshelman is an artist, creator, performer, choreographer, and leader. Dance is a way for her to express feelings and life stories through another creative lens. She wants her movement to invoke different raw emotions from the audience when shown. She wants to be able to change and bring joy to kids, adults, and older adults’ lives, and help them remember their mark in the dance timeline. Culture, history, and family bring out such strong emotions that is used through her choreography to convey a strong message and will use this to help others make their mark in the dance world; with their own story.
Where for ART Thou
Choreographer:
Gregg Bielemeier; Staged by Shaun Keylock
Music:
Kevin Volans, Kronos Quartet "White Man Sleeps
Costume Design:
Adam Arnold
Lighting Design:
Jenessa Raabe
Performers:
Sophie Beadie, Liane Burns, Jillian Hobbs
"Where for ART Thou" is an abstract, fast-moving, contemporary dance piece for three dancers. The work utilizes choreographer Gregg Bielemeier's signature dance style that contains a theme of progressive momentum to propel the dancers across the stage, changing directions, levels, and timings.
Shaun Keylock Company is one of the Pacific Northwest’s leading contemporary dance companies. As a commissioner, collaborator, and presenter, SKC performs locally and nationally with the top choreographers, artists, and dancers while proudly celebrating LGBTQ+ identity in dance and the performing arts. Since its founding in 2018, the organization 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.
INTERMISSION
After The Rain: Clearance
Choreographer:
Bobby Morgan
Music:
Deep Xcape - "After Da Rain (Original Mix)"
Performer:
Bobby Morgan
Is this experience happening to me or for me? Transmuting the curve balls life can throw at us into something that contributes to our evolution on a soul level. The rain representing what's needed for crops to grow, life's chapters of rainy moments are sometimes necessary for growth & lessons. This piece touches on the power we all have to recreate ourselves.
This piece is an excerpt from Bobby's full length production "Remembrance: Under The Same Moon" that will premiere this May in NYC.
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Bobby is a freelance choreographer, DJ, spiritualist & student of life based in NJ/NYC. His mission as an artist is to assist in raising the vibration of the collective & the planet in these times of darkness, uncertainty & uncharted territory. Through movement & sound, his intention is to always remind us of the importance of human connection and keeping the heart space alive. Having background in many styles such as: ballet, jazz, hip hop, house, voguing, modern, contemporary; one thing that is a main source of passion across all those different genres is his love of music. Sound has the ability to create different realms in the imagination. For him, music is usually the source of where movement stems from. Growing up being apart of both concert, and commercial dance worlds; one of Bobby's missions as a choreographer is to curate spaces for those that live in between both of those worlds.
Tomorrow We Go Left
Choreographer:
Kal
Music:
Água Futurism by Ben LaMarGay
Costume:
Kal
Performer:
Hailey David, Kal
Queer rage continually works in tandem, clearing space for deep communal care and intimacy. Those able to see its potential beyond destruction have found comfort in its flame, so I invite you to make a bed.
Kal is a movement artist and educator originally from Phoenix, where he most notably trained with Ballet Arizona and Scottsdale Community College. His work Canned was performed at The Kennedy Center in 2018 as part of that year's ACDA national gala. He's since continued creating in collaboration with artists such as Ching Ching Wong, Teddy Tedholm, Courtney Mazeika, and Mathew James. Kal last presented at Breaking Ground in 2019 and is honored to have been invited back for this year's festival.
Things Done, Things Left Undone, Things To Come
Choreographer:
Piper Morgan Hayes
Music:
Nico Muhly | Drones in Large Cycles
Costume Design:
Piper Morgan Hayes
Performers:
Piper Morgan Hayes
Regrets, Successes, Encouragements, Fears and Failures.
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Piper Morgan Hayes is a Dance Lecturer at UW-Whitewater. She has taught at several colleges throughout Wisconsin and often accompanies students at the American College Dance Association festivals. Choreographically, her work is seen in the annual DanceScapes production, on campus Theatre/Dance Musical productions and both local and nation-wide performances. She guides students in Tap, Jazz and Contemporary dance courses with focus and open discussions on the importance of non-Eurocentric dance practices and their rootedness of African culture and arts. In addition, she performs as a company member with Li Chiao-Ping Dance Company in Madison that tours throughout the country.
Caminando
BG23 Commissioned Artist
Choreographer:
Liliana Gomez
Sound:
Mi Tesoro by Cornelio Reyna, Poem by Ruby Morales and Liliana Gomez, generated by stories from the cast with sound design by Jisun Myung, and Vortex Tres: Los Colores Que Bailan by Llinas
Lighting Design:
Esteban Rosales
Performers:
Erik Emilio Canales, Martha Patty Hernandez, Zarina Mendoza, Daniela Prieto and Steven Redondo
“Caminando” is a personal story of love, family, migration, an ode to our parents. The work is filled with stories of our childhood, music we heard at family gatherings, the food at the fiestas; the nostalgia of home. This work follows our journey as we walk in the footsteps of our parents while we collectively and individually find our path for what's next. Tonight's presentation is a short extract from Liliana's first evening length work; Caminando, a forty-five minute work with many layers, art, collaborators and is set to premiere in 2023.
Liliana Gomez is a choreographer, producer, and teaching artist based in Phoenix, AZ. She is passionate about sharing dance within her community and has choreographed for public spaces such as galleries, canals, gardens, libraries and more. Along with choreographing original dance works for Universities, Community Colleges, High Schools, and local dance companies. Liliana manages the Phoenix BlakTinx Dance Festival which presents the work of Black and Latinx choreographers. She is the Dance Department head at Phoenix Center for the Arts, and teaches a weekly class. Liliana is a 2020 cohort member for NALAC Leadership Institute, participated in the National Presenters Forum at Jacob’s Pillow, and has been an artist for Dance in the Desert; A gathering of Latinx Dance Artists. Her creative process is inspired by her lived experiences as a Mexican woman, an immigrant, a wife and a mother.
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