PROGRAM
6:00pm
Haven
Choreographer:
Diane McNeal Hunt
Music:
"Pilgrim" by Some Were at Sea
Performer:
Candy Jimenez
— Name, Title
This piece premiered in 2021 for Tiny Dances at Taliesin West, work inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright. Diane chose the idea of shelter, using the branches for Haven. These branches were precious as they were part of a collection of branches that Mark drove around curating and collecting. I was always so careful to take great care of those branches. I was always so honored and grateful that she placed her beautiful work on me and entrusted me to make those ideas come to life. I loved performing her work because the process and content made it easy to embody and experience a journey every time I performed the work. It was a ritualistic experience. This piece was later filmed at TCA for a video presentation and later in The Fall of 21 for Rooted in Movement.
Diane McNeal Hunt's movement is immortal. Before being one with all during the time when she occupied her human vessel, she was a Choreographer, Master Teaching Artist and Performer, was recognized as one of the leading dance artists in the AZ and Southwest dance community. She was the Artistic Director/Choreographer for ELEVATE DanceWorks, her choreography had been selected to showcase locally and nationally. Diane lived a full, rich career as a dance artist serving as Resident Choreographer, Outreach Education Director and Performer for Center Dance Ensemble. Diane’s original works were featured as part of this resident Modern Dance company’s season at The Herberger Theater Center, in downtown Phoenix.
Oração Ao Tempo
Choreographer:
Alicia Nascimento Castro
Music:
Maria Gadú, originally composed by Caetano Veloso
Performers:
Alicia Nascimento Castro and Chloe Nascimento Castro
— Name, Title
"Oração Ao Tempo" celebrates the timeless bond between mothers and daughters. By way of intricate movements and emotive storytelling, this dance captures a generational display of time, shared memories, and love.
Alicia Nascimento Castro is an active activist, dance educator, performer, and choreographer living and creating work in Phoenix, Arizona. She is a Black, White, Brazilian, American, woman, mother, and it is at the intersectionality of these identities that informs and drives her work. Alicia has an MFA from Hollins University and a BFA from University of Arizona. She has performed works of master choreographers such as Katherine Dunham, Alvin Ailey, Donald McKayle, Talley Beatty, and Milton Myers with D2 and Cleo Parker Robinson Dance. Alicia performed internationally while living in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais/Brazil, with Mario Nascimento Dance Company, had a leading role in the Beatles musical ‘Because’, and presented solo work Solivagant and Arco-Iris as a member of Rede Sola de Dança. As a teacher and choreographer she was the Assistant Choreographer and Rehearsal Director for Contemporary Dance Company, Sala B directed by Fernando de Castro; taught at the world renowned Grupo Corpo, and also at the dance and art conservatory, Palácio das Artes where she choreographed for the Graduating class of 2015 with a piece entitled Wanderlust. She has taught at multiple universities including Salve Regina University, Grand Canyon University, Glendale Community College, and Aurora Community College. She is currently involved in her own projects, directing a high school dance program, and teaching at Arizona State University.
The Dance Wasn't Always Tiny
Choreographer:
Amy Symonds
Music:
Romante Tiganesti by Grigoras Dinicu; Souvenir by Grigoras Dinicu
Performer:
Amy Symonds
'The Dance Wasn't Always Tiny' takes a fresh perspective on a past creation looking at what new options can exist in a tiny format. It seeks to hold onto the original timing, texture, and quality of the source material while exploring how perceived intentionality can shift simply given a new environment.
Amy Symonds is a dance professional with a passion for teaching, learning, making, and sharing. She danced with Youth American Ballet performing soloist and principal roles in Nutcracker, Firebird, Giselle, and Paquita. Following this, Amy expanded her training into modern and postmodern techniques at Scottsdale Community College and summer programs with LINES, NW Dance Project, chuthis., Camp Protégé, BEMOVING, and GagaLabs. While living in Arizona, she has worked collaboratively on various shows and projects with CONDER|dance, JordanDanielsDance, Convergence Ballet Company, and Scorpius Dance Theatre in addition to performing as a guest with Center Dance Ensemble and premiering choreographic work at WestFest Dance Festival, Beta Dance Festival, Arizona Dance Festival, and Taliesin West. Most recently Amy had the pleasure of dancing with Wasatch Contemporary Dance whilst training in Utah with Salt2. She is currently enjoying her time investing, engaging, and exploring with the local arts community as a freelance dance artist!
Ipseity45
— Name, Title
Choreographer:
Ignacio Jara
Music:
In My Mind - Gigi D'Agostino / Je te laisserai des mots - Patrick Watson / Ipseity45 - Ignacio Jara
Performers:
Ignacio Jara - Judith Alcala
We are inundated with information from others, restricting our personality. We are educated and trained to co-create the conflicts that cement the illusory action of living. And although we are all playing the same game, we are not able to see it all the time. Time / Life passing by / People looking to connect only with "some" / The goal in the ephemeral / The absurd competition. Until you become aware of time, and the presence of others. Time never stopped passing, you just didn't see it before.
Originally from Chile, Ignacio began his formal studies at the Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano with a mention in Modern Dance in 2012. In parallel since 2013, he has specialized independently in the study of various forms of Urban Dance and Performance. He has performed for various choreographers related to modern, contemporary and performance dance in Chile, participating in various creative processes with Chilean companies, managing to participate in various national and international festivals.
As a performer he has participated in various stages including theaters, schools, universities and television. As a teacher with extensive experience, Ignacio has been able to give classes to athletes and dancers in Chile, Mexico and USA. As a choreographer, he has presented works in Chile, Peru, Argentina and USA.
Moon Rise Countdown
— Name, Title
Choreographer:
Carley Conder in collaboration with the dancers
Music:
"Stardust" by Hoagy Carmichael
Performers:
Hailey David, Leah M. Friedman, Juan Carlos García Gutiérrez, Isiah Johnson
"Everything happens a certain number of times, and a really small number, really. How many more times will you watch the full moon rise?" - Paul Bowles
This work is a continuation of an exploration of memory, aging and the cyclical nature of life.
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 with events such as the Breaking Ground Festival and Tiny Dances. Her professional company, CONDER/dance, enjoys artist-in-residence status at Tempe Center for the Arts and UNESCO World Heritage site Taliesin West. Carley’s 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 a Clinical Assistant Professor of Dance in the School of Music, Dance and Theater at Arizona State University.
Falling
— Name, Title
Choreographer:
Sam Arrow
Music:
The Black Angel's Death Song by The Velvet Underground & Nico
Performer:
Sam Arrow
This is the 2nd creation(re) of this work from 2019 and at conception, it was about death and rebirth, endings and beginnings and it continues to center on those themes. It is a meditation on the universal themes of identity, resilience, and redemption, of falling and rising simultaneously, to capturing the essence of transition and transformation over time.
Sam Arrow (They/Them) is a dance artist creating work that feels both personal and universal. Their art centers on family needs within ableist, heteronormative, oppressive structures. They are a micro activist who draws on their life as a parent and partner, and knowledge about the human body to empower those around them. They trained in dance, including ballet, modern and jazz from the age of 8 and graduated with a BFA in Dance from the University of Arizona and then earned a Doctorate in Physical therapy from the AZ School of Health Sciences. They are a Permanent Artist in Residence with [nueBOX] and business owner of Arrow Physical Therapy, which specializes in pelvic floor health.
Fins and Mittens and Dukes
— Name, Title
Choreographer:
Nicole L Olson, NicoleOlson|MovementChaos
Music:
"Are You Gonna Go My Way" by Lenny Kravitz
Performers:
Jordan Clark, Tyler Hooten, Nick McEntire, Nicole L Olson, Zephyr Tuipulotu
This piece references time by utilizing symbols throughout the ages, both in art of different genres and in pop culture.
Nicole L Olson, the artistic director of NicoleOlson|MovementChaos, is a choreographer and performance artist based out of Phoenix, AZ. Her work is based off of the human experience; what we encounter, see, hear, breathe, live, and learn. It is rooted in expression through movement and connection. She communicates through broad, athletic, and subtle movements to create a moment in time of the human condition. Using a wide range of emotions, Nicole tells stories that are ambitious, poignant, relatable, and powerful.
Along with creating work for the proscenium stage, she has moved much of her work to alternative spaces, such as galleries, museums, and outdoor arenas. Public art has become one of her favorite locales. With this artistic shift, Olson has had the wonderful opportunity to collaborate with many artists of different genres; designing innovative works and bridging the audiences between art and dance.
fullfillment is a function of time
— Name, Title
Choreographer:
Leah M. Friedman
Music:
"Mother's Love" by The Vernon Spring
Performers:
Leah M. Friedman
to encounters with people that close with more joy than they started with!
to relationships that come in and out of life, people with whom you can part ways and welcome back, constantly re-meeting new iterations of each other through time.
circular, repetitive, atemporal
Leah M. Friedman is an Arizona-based dancer, creator, and researcher. Originally from Philadelphia, PA, she has performed and worked with Philadanco! The Philadelphia Dance Company, Philadanco’s D/2, Dawn Marie Bazemore/#dbdanceproject, and Waheedworks, and has presented work at the Phoenix Art Museum (2023), Philly FringeArts (2021), and with Proteo Media (2020, 2021). Leah currently dances with CONDER/dance in Tempe, AZ and teaches Graham and contemporary techniques. She is also a PhD student at Arizona State University, studying how people create possibilities for sovereignty and bodily autonomy in the current landscape of digital surveillance technologies.
You Look Like a Flower
Choreographer:
Hailey David
Music:
“You Look Like a Flower” by Richard Caiton
Performer:
Hailey David
The future can look like a flower from far away.
Hailey David, from Phoenix, Arizona, started dancing at age 14 and trained in various genres at Royal Dance Works. Her training since then has consisted of many intensives across the US such as GagaLabs, Ate9 intensives, Chuthis Movement Intensives, Dana Metz Company intensives, and NW Dance Project Summer Dance Platform. In addition to teaching young dancers around the valley, she has danced with CONDER/dance and Dana Metz Company. She has performed works of Carley Conder, Dana Metz, Simon Lace, and Isiah Johnson. Most recently Hailey trained in Israel and Germany.
Would You Like to Proceed?
Choreographer:
Courtney Ngai
Music:
Courtney Ngai
Performer:
Courtney Ngai
Taking a step forward doesn’t always mean it’s a step taken in the right direction. You could also take a step back, pause, or take a lateral step. In this contemporary/popping fusion structured improvisation solo, the artist explores playing with directions informed by her gut feeling. This piece references the feelings of nostalgia and discovery while experiencing Kiyosumi Garden, different subway stations, art museums, and daily life from her recent trip to Tokyo.
Courtney Ngai is an improvisational movement artist and software engineer with a Computer Science, B.S. and Dance minor from Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University. She explores producing movement in the present moment by drawing from her diverse background of various movement styles and technological experience. Bringing a background of twenty-two years of dance experience, she has trained in the styles of contemporary, ballet, tap, house, popping, and latin. Courtney has performed and presented work at American College Dance Association in addition to the works of Carley Conder with CONDER/dance, Irene Ashu, Emma Portner, and Peter Chu. She has also performed her own choreographic works in Tiny Dances, Herberger Pop-up events, and Third Space Dance Festival.
Special Thanks:
Annette Villa of Japanese Friendship Garden
Maddie Lasco - Technical Director
Ashley Koclanis - Assistant Technical Director
Tech Crew - Denise Lopez, Garrison Conder, Kyla Kabat
Box Office - Emma Conder, Kendall Sharpe
Photographs - Rick Meinecke and Carlos Velarde