WinterWorks
March 15 - 16 | Mandell Weiss Forum
directed by Ana María Álvarez
About the Show
This winter dance production will feature three original new works of 3 professional choreographers who are from our dance faculty: Dr. grace shinhae jun (hip hop), Kara Mack (African Diasporic Movement) and Ana María Álvarez (Afro-Latine activist dance theater). All three works will include large casts of performers. Choreographers will collaborate with student designers, and artists from across all areas are encouraged to audition.
Tickets
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The Dancers
Ana María Álvarez's Piece
Alejandro Barajas*, Carly Villongco, Cinthìa Durán, Norma Oralle*, Sage Kowalkowski, Ulises Aguirre, Valeria Corona, Valeria Ruiz, Vivian Wu, Vrisika Chauhan
*- Dance Captain
Dr. grace shinhae jun's Piece
Aanya Choksi, Alexia Demiroska, Carly Villongco, Cece Carton, Charlotte Yu, Elizabeth You*, Emmy Nourse, Gage Stixtrude-Bertelloni, Hannah Lucas, Hongbin Miao, Italy Clark, Itzel Melchor, Katie Gillespie, Kayli Matsuyoshi, Kelly Callejo, Leela Noguchi, Litzy Martinez, Lula Britos, Majesty Byrd, Milo Nguyen, Mira Mitre, Naomi Morrison, Natalia Balderas, Nicole Constan, Safiya Loomba, Saryah Colbert, Ulises Aguirre*, Vivian Wu, Vrisika Chauhan
*- Dance Captain
Kara Mack's Piece
Allen Valencia, Brenda Estrada, Catalina Bilandzija*, Cece Carton, Elizabeth You, Ella Chan, Fabricio Apuy Novella, Gage Stixtrude-Bertelloni*, Hope Sato, Jay Brake, Jillian Curry, Jyzelle Tena, Kaitlyn Fong, Kassidy Gillespie, Lauren Lee, Lynnea Conley, Maile Wong, Majesty Byrd, Mars Stern, Mia Jerphagnon, Nate Smith, Nazia Quadir, Nikki Rejai, Ozlem Erdogan, Ricardo Espinoza, Saryah Colbert, Vy Doan, Yali Alsberg, Yael Sela, Yvente Situ
*- Dance Captain
Stage Management
Production Stage Manager: Alina Novotny
Deck Manager: Huai Huang
Assistant Stage Manager: Becca Moore
Designers
Director: Ana Maria Alvarez
Scenic Designer: Frank Seed
Costume Designer (For Ana Maria): Ting Xiong
Costume Designer (For Kara): Anabel Olguin
Lighting Designer (For Ana Maria): Elba Emicente Sanchez
Lighting Designer (For grace): Vida Huang
Lighting Designer (For Kara): Taylor Olson
Sound Designer: Padra Crisafulli
DJ: Rey Fernandez
Assistant Costume Designer: Kieran Padgett
Assistant Costume Designer: Faith Garcia
Assistant Costume Designer: Lorraine Lee
Assistant Lighting Designer: Stephaney Knapp
EDI Advocate: Vanessa Stalling
Scenic Designer: Frank Seed
Costume Designer (For Ana Maria): Ting Xiong
Costume Designer (For Kara): Anabel Olguin
Lighting Designer (For Ana Maria): Elba Emicente Sanchez
Lighting Designer (For grace): Vida Huang
Lighting Designer (For Kara): Taylor Olson
Sound Designer: Padra Crisafulli
DJ: Rey Fernandez
Assistant Costume Designer: Kieran Padgett
Assistant Costume Designer: Faith Garcia
Assistant Costume Designer: Lorraine Lee
Assistant Lighting Designer: Stephaney Knapp
EDI Advocate: Vanessa Stalling
A Note From Our Director:
“I believe it is the freedom that we are longing for, which will never be given to us, which we have to create, the pulsing life force of the collective body we are birthing, the rhythm of a shared heart”
- from emergent strategy by adrienne maree brown
It has been an immense pleasure to share this evening with a group of incredible artists, students, collaborators, staff and faculty. Whether you’ve been inside of the creative process with us, or are here to witness these works for the first time- we are so glad you are here! Winter Works is a yearly concert produced by the Theatre & Dance Department, where 3 dance faculty members are selected to participate as choreographers. This year Kara Mack, Dr. grace shinhae jun and I designed, led and set each of our works with a cast of students (including several alumni/recent graduates and grad students). Making dance with our students gives us the opportunity to more fully engage and share each of our creative practices. This show is a gift for us all!
How do we learn to accept the humanity of another, not unfairly expecting perfection from our leaders and tearing them down when they fall short? How do we learn to heal with our bodies as our guide? How can the wisdom embedded in our ancestral movement practices help us feel the power of our connection to one another? What are the ways we can access a deeper sense of connection to something bigger than ourselves? How can moving our bodies in community with the groove and with sabor, move us closer to this connection? These are just a few of the questions that grace, Kara, our students, collaborators and I are asking us all to engage with tonight (and beyond). The three works you will see tonight are rooted in choreography as community organizing and converge inside of physical worlds built from purpose, lineage, healing, liberation and love.
Today we share with you this process of making; building sets, designing costumes, creating worlds of light and dark and telling the stories of our bodies and our ancestors. We hope that you can feel each work as a powerful act of imagining futures, reckoning with our pasts and grounding in the now! Every person on stage that you witness tonight and all of those people who are behind the scenes, have been invited to show up as their fullest selves. So tonight we invite YOU into the process with us, join us in moving our bodies together at the end. The dancers will move into the house and you are welcome to get down with us! Let us collectively imagine a future where we are all more free!
with much love and gratitude,
