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BREAKING GROUND 2025
Saturday, January 25

Special Thanks to our sponsors:

Arizona Commission on the Arts

City of Tempe

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...everything that has breath

Choreographer:  

Hannah Victoria Thomas

 

Sound:

Sound bite from "What is a Praise House?" by South Carolina Education TV, "This Old Soul of Mine" with spoken text by Hannah Victoria Thomas and "Old Songs Medley" by Bishop Carlton Pearson. Edited by Hannah Victoria Thomas

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Lighting Design:  

Hannah Victoria Thomas and Cari Koch

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Costume Design:

Hannah Victoria Thomas

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Performers:  

Hannah Victoria Thomas

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This work is an ode to the dances and songs born from praise houses built by enslaved
African Americans; a place to gather, sometimes in secret, for prayer. It explores the concept of "praise as resistance," challenging the oppressive version of Christianity imposed on them.
Through this resistance, praise became a means of survival, transformation, and resilience, inspiring the creation of hymns sung in the Black church.

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This work is particularly special to me because I don’t often explore praise as an artistic choice outside of church. However, historically, praise has been a source of strength for my people, helping them “get by” and “get over” day by day. I hope this piece, in its fullness, feels like a warm hug, smells like a Sunday afternoon meal, looks like a moving prayer, and sounds like the deep sigh and loud “Hallelujah” of a Black mother or grandmother.

I deeply believe there is both historic and spiritual value in uncovering the nuances of the songs, dances, and social justice pillars rooted in Black faith, specifically Christianity, that have carried and sustained my people. Regardless of one’s faith, I hope this work educates and emphasizes what praise has looked like across generations in my own family and within the broader Black community.

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Hannah Victoria is a curator, educator, artist from Atlanta, GA. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance and Choreography from Arizona State University, and currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Oregon. Driven by a passion for curating spaces where creativity and vulnerability flourishes, Hannah's choreography is a fusion of contemporary and traditional styles, with deep roots in the dances of the African diaspora. Hannah Victoria unveiled her latest creation, "(Precept)itation," an evening length dance work exploring rain, restoration, and faith that premiered at the University of Oregon. This “residency to performance” model reflects her commitment to cultural representation, storytelling, and community building. Beyond dance, Hannah finds inspiration in her faith and pursues interests ranging from fashion to sound engineering.


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Fourteen

Choreographer:  

Steven Redondo

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Sound:

Daniel Thorne

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Lighting Design:

Jordan Daniels

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Costume Design:  

Phil Steverson

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Performers:  

Daniela Prieto, Steven Redondo

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"Fourteen" focuses on personal anxieties of being brown, being a woman, and being queer. Specifically, anxieties around political policies and rhetoric that target identities, state and nationwide.

Steven, a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, has built a distinguished professional artistic career through collaborations with many local organizations. His journey in the world of dance began in high school, igniting a passion that led him to pursue education at Arizona State University for a couple of years. Steven’s professional career took off when he started showcasing his solo work at Experimental Art Nights with [nueBox]. His initial pieces, titled “One,” “Two,” and “Three,” were innovative explorations of audience engagement and improvisational skills. 

 

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.mɿoꟻ&Flow.

Choreographer:  

Vo Vera

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Sound:

Early BBC radiophonics: Private Dreams and Public Nightmares (1957); Conebuster - Eye to Eye; ODESZA - Intro

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Lighting Design:

Vo Vera

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Costume Design:  

Vo Vera

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Performer:  

Vo Vera​

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Pronounced Form & Flow, this work explores the concepts of Form and Flow as creative movement birthing spaces, tangential to Vo Vera's own street dance technique, Framing. Framing is a result of Vo Vera's graduate school research, wherein he developed and codified the technique with over 100 unique vocabulary moves and an 11-rule framework.

Vo Vera is a multidisciplinary movement artist with over two decades of practice as a self-trained street dancer and movement instructor. Originally a Bboy, he thrives on creating work that explores movement language synthesis and intentionality.

 

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Celestial Divides

Choreographer:  

Nicole Hennington

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Sound:

Tim Hecker - "No Drums"; "The Piano Drop"; "Music for Tundra Pt. 2"

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Performers:  

Madison Bender, DeQuan Lewis

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Sometimes we feel as if we shatter into a million pieces, scattering ourselves among ideas, people, and experiences. Occasionally, we find a way to reassemble, but at other times, we feel a profound divide within. Celestial Divides tells the story of how the molecules within us strive for harmony, even amidst great tension. This piece explores the delicate moments of unity and fragmentation, illustrating how we navigate our relationships with ourselves, others, and the world around us.

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Nicole Hennington spent her first two decades in Arizona where she graduated from the University of Arizona with a BFA in dance and a minor in finance. As a choreographer, Nicole was commissioned by GroundWorks DanceTheater in 2022. In 2023, she was a choreographer for the Inaugural Carmel Dance Festival's Dance & Choreography Fellowship Program and she was chosen to be a part of the Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship at Jacob's Pillow in 2024. Nicole has also choreographed on NW Dance Project and during their Summer Dance Platform program. In 2020, Nicole collaborated with videographer Cory Sheldon to create “Between Presence," which was selected to be played at Midwest RAD Fest and Highland Film Festival in 2022.

 

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Silent Seething

Choreographer:  

Carissa Campbell

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Sound:

Ptolemaea, Ethel Cain

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Lighting Design:

Carissa Campbell, Pearl Rea

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Costume Design:  

Carissa Campbell

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Performers:  

Sarah Barie, Carissa Campbell, Caroline Cox, Claire Curtis, Madelyn Hofer, Lydia Holmes, Payton Jundt, Marenal Hage, Alexa Lopez, Ruby Maxion, Aimee Paredes, Abigail Reed, Olivia Zator

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Silent Seething explores the complex landscape of anger, with a particular focus on female rage. Anger can overwhelm our thoughts and emotions, making it challenging to pull ourselves or others back from that peak. As women, we’re often told to hold back our anger, to nod and smile, even when spiraling inside. Silent Seething delves into the multifaceted nature of anger, examining its manifestations and the consequences of suppression. Ultimately, it grapples with the idea of insanity — what it means to “go insane.”

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INTERMISSION

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Wild Tongue

Choreographers:  

Maria Gillespie + Nguyá»…n Nguyên + Kevin Williamson

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Sound:

"Only in the Dark", Ben Lucas Boysen; "We Three", The Ink Spots; "I Don't Want To Set The World On Fire", The Ink Spots,

 

Lighting Design:

Cari Koch

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Performers:  

Maria Gillespie + Nguyá»…n Nguyên + Kevin Williamson 

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Wild Tongue radically reimagines home, kin, sexuality, aging and belonging. We confront and celebrate tensions among our multiple language systems and hybrid identities as Latiné, Asian and Queer. As we dance, speak, and write, we uncover emotional landscapes, resist erasure, and ultimately lean into abundance to rewrite positive narratives into our bodies.

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Wild Tongue is a grateful acknowledgement of Gloria Anzaldúa's influence on our ideas of translation, gesture, and language.​

Nguyên, Williamson, Gillespie each received MFAs from UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance and have collaborated and performed together for over two decades. Their works and teaching explore the body as a site of archived knowledge and embodied subjectivities through collective storytelling. Their dances explore ethnicity, language, memory, belonging, and queer pain and pleasure. They have each taught and performed nationally at venues such as The Getty Center, REDCAT, The Ford Amphitheater, CounterPulse, Joyce SoHo, and internationally in Mexico, China, Japan, Thailand, and Austria. The trio reunited in 2022 to develop to “get there from here” (2023). Since then, their collaborative works have been performed in Los Angeles/Scripps College, Breaking Ground Festival, RADFest, and in Milwaukee, WI. The trio is the recipient of 2024-25 Advancing Research and Creativity (ARC) Grant from UWM. 

 

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“Krtghna”

Choreographer:  

Samanvita Kasthuri

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Sound:

“Treasure” by Sampha, “Krtghna” composed by Samanvita Kasthuri, nattuvangam and Mrudangam by Guru Prasanna Kasthuri. Featuring excerpts from Arudhati Roy’s literary works.

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Performer:  

Samanvita Kasthuri

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“Krtghna” interrogates the role of motherhood through the story of Mother Earth, who raises Mankind with love, only to be exploited due to Man’s greed, watching him destroy the Earth’s resources. Heartbroken, but left with no choice, Mother Earth burns up the world. This piece weighs in on the heavy reality of environmentalism, while exploring the notions of greed, sacrifice, and motherhood.

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Samanvita Kasthuri is an emerging choreographer who experiments with the fusion of Indian classical dance styles with hip-hop, contemporary, and many other genres. She has trained in Bharatanatyam and Kathak, and has experience in contemporary through her dance minor program at Saint Louis University. She engages in choreography and composition to create her pieces.

 

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Still Demanding

Choreographer:  

Jin-Wen Yu

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Sound:

“Seven League Boots” by Zoë Keating

 

Lighting Design:

 Claude Heintz

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Performers:  

Cleo Decker, Evelyn Henriksen

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“Still Demanding” is a duet from a 40-minute-long piece, “Resonate,” which explores the shifting world and search for harmony and comfort in the post Covid time. The dancers use seamless and intricate partner work to convey the calm struggle of a longing journey. Their movements symbolize the endless effort to strive for meaningful change.

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Jin-Wen Yu, Ed.D and MFA, has created, performed, directed, and produced over 100 works in the Americas and Asia, including 45 commissioned works for professionals and institutes. Before his study in the USA, he was a soloist for the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre, one of the most prestigious dance companies in the world. Dr. Yu is a six-time gala concert winner of the American College Dance Association Conference. As the President of World Dance Alliance-Americas 2009-2013, he directed international dance festivals in Madison, New York City, and Vancouver/Canada.


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CAKE

Choreographers:

Carley Conder in collaboration with dancers

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Sound:

"Lujon" by Henry Mancini, "Need Your Love" by Curtis Harding, "Moogwalzer" by Der Rauber Und Der Prinz

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Lighting Design:

Jordan Daniels

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Costume Design:

Carley Conder

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Performers:

Juan Carlos García Gutiérrez, Hailey David, Leah M. Friedman, Kina Connor-Ortiz, Amy Symonds

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CAKE celebrates the resilience of those who navigate survival in secrecy. Presented in acts—training, mission, escape, and rendezvous—CAKE explores coded languages, crafted disguises, and intricate missions. Through this lens, it reveals the delicate dance between strength and vulnerability, inviting audiences to reflect on survival as an enduring art.

Carley Conder is the Artistic Director of CONDER/dance, established in Arizona in 2003. Based in Tempe, she has dedicated her career to fostering opportunities for contemporary dance artists in the region through initiatives such as the Breaking Ground Festival and Tiny Dances. Her company, CONDER/dance, holds artist-in-residence status at the Tempe Center for the Arts, where it continues to push the boundaries of dance innovation. Recent projects include the AQUA Project with Opus Ballet in Santa Barbara and a choreographic collaboration with Keith Thompson (danceTactics, Trisha Brown Dance Company). Carley is also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Dance in the School of Music, Dance, and Theater at Arizona State University.

 

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