Velocity presents Next Fest NW: DISRUPTION

Velocity presents Next Fest NW 2017: Disruption-a weekend celebrating Northwest artists as inter/national innovators in contemporary dance and dance cinema. This year's Next Fest NW artists create new work in response to the theme of disruption. In Seattle's rapidly changing landscape, how will this generation of young artists respond to the question "what does it really mean to be disruptive in these times"?

Next Fest NW performances highlight dance experiments by Seattle dance disruptors Michael "Majinn" O'Neal Jr. and Angel "Moonyeka" Alviar, Taryn McGovern, Sarah Hogland, Alicia Mullikin, Alisa Popova, Sean Rosado, and Seth Sexton.

· Sean Rosado's work 69 Party Girl Salute is a queer glimpse into a gorgeous world of self-deprecation, sensuality, and glitter, performed by Rosado, a stunning dancer recently seen in the work of Crystal Pite at Meany Center for the Performing Arts.

· Seth Sexton's performance installation explores the intersections of movement, visual art, and film, weaving together a play by S. Ansky into a non-linear, mixed-media choreographic painting. An early version of the film produced by Velocity was celebrated by City Arts this summer.

· Taryn McGovern's work You don't have to be your best self around a cactus showcases moving plants-no humans-with humor and reverence.

· University of Washington graduates Michael "Majinn" O'Neal Jr.-company member of Amy O'Neal'sOpposing Forces-and queer Filipinx femme street-style dancer Angel "Moonyeka" Alivar-a nationally competing b-girl-team up for a new work touching on femininity, survivorship, mental health, and being POC.

· Multiracial Chicana artist Sarah Hogland's Su Alma : como el agua explores radical vulnerability in a shamanic solo inspired by intimate interviews with family members absent during her childhood.

· Alicia Mullikin's work embodies her experiences as a Mexican-American woman and was recently commissioned by Au Collective.

Peer panelists Syniva Whitney, Babette DeLafayette, Kim Lusk, and Velocity Artistic Director Tonya Lockyer selected the performance-makers. Collaborations with artists and thinkers from all disciplines were invited to apply. Next Fest NW choreographers are fully produced by Velocity; receive an artist's fee and residency space; and benefit from artistic, promotional, and technical support.

All applicants responded to Lockyer's Curatorial Prompt:

"We live in a time of political disruption, or a deep yearning for it. What alternative do you envision and want to manifest? What do you want to interrupt or change?"

Next Dance Cinema at Northwest Film Forum presents two screenings of local and inter/national dance films. Next Dance Cinema screens work by artists exploring the potential between dance and film, and offers audiences insight into the cutting-edge possibilities of dance on screen. From Berlin to LA, this year's selection of films includes several world premieres. On Saturday, a free community conversation "Marking the Body"facilitated by Syniva Whitney (Gender Tender) takes an interdisciplinary inquiry into the resurgence of Seattle artists marking the body in dance, performance art, film, visual art, and installation.

FESTIVAL EVENTS

Next Fest NW Performances

Dates + Times:

> Friday, December 1, 2017; 7:30PM

> Saturday, December 2, 2017; 7:30PM

> Sunday, December 3, 2017; 7:30PM

Location: Velocity; 1621 12th Ave, Seattle

Tickets: $20 advance ($25 at the door); $17 MVP members; $15 under 25 (w/ ID); $50 Patron

Next Dance Cinema

Date + Times: Monday, December 4, 2017; 7PM + 8:30PM

Location: Velocity at Northwest Film Forum; 1515 12th Ave, Seattle

Tickets: $10 (one screening) / $15 (both screenings)

velocitydancecenter.org Event Page

Speakeasy: Marking the Body

Date + Time: Saturday, December 2; 5PM-6:30PM

Location: Velocity; 1621 12th Ave, Seattle

Tickets: FREE + open to all

ARTIST BIOS

Next Fest NW Performers

Angel "Moonyeka" Alviar is a sick and disabled queer Filipinx femme street-styles dancer who utilizes art creation and organizing to realize a more inclusive and intersectional world for the communities she comes from. Her current projects include WHAT'S POPPIN' LADIEZ?! an ethnographic research project and community event series focus centering womxn in popping and BASTOS ( meaning "rude" or "disrespectful")-an archipelago of experiences exploring Filipinx diaspora, ancestral memory, and kapwa. Moonyeka participates in local and national dance battle competitions and exhibitions; when not battling, Angel coaches REMIX, a young brown girl competition team.

Sarah Rae Hogland (Seattle) is a Chicana movement artist from Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has worked with Lawine Torrèn Dance Theatre in Sölden, Austria and Seattle artists Pat Graney, Alice Gosti and Jody Kuehner, in addition to creating her own solo work. Sarah is also a teaching artist with Spectrum Dance Theater and works as a youth counselor for refugee Latino youth. Her cultural work and artistic practices deeply inform one another and reveal creative movement as a powerful resource for navigating our inner landscapes and external worlds through embodied experience.

Taryn McGovern is a Seattle transplant whose work has been performed in New York, Denmark, Germany, and Finland. She is currently creating locally and enjoys being an artist in residence at Studio Current. Taryn has been chased by an elephant, and she once received the "Lives Dangerously" award from the Chebeague Island Community Sailing School. Her personal philosophy is to show up, be kind, and pee when you can.

Alicia Mullikin is a Chicana choreographer, dancer and teaching artist whose work is linked to her experiences as a Mexican-American woman. Alicia believes that art and social change are deeply connected and aid in the development of active thinkers through her teaching. In doing so, she hopes it leads to individual empowerment and global awareness. She is currently on staff at Seattle Academy of the Arts and Sciences, eXit SPACE School of Dance, and Bainbridge Ballet. She is honored to be an eXit SPACE artist in residence for the 2017/18 season and to be supported by On The Boards in a special segment of Open Studio, curated by Dani Tirrell.

Michael "Majinn" O'Neal Jr. is an African American professional dance artist and teacher who utilizes his training in both street and classical dance styles to find and express his whole self. Michael believes that to be the best dancer and person he can be he should be versatile and push his own comfort zone. Through dance Michael has grown to become a dancer and teacher who loves to see his students growth as well as grow with his students. One of Michael's biggest goals in dance is to build a stronger community between the classical and street dance worlds.

Alisa Popova majored in dance at UW, and then mildly, luke-warmly participated in the Seattle dance scene for about five years, dreaming of making work but not doing so. Then in 2015 she took up creating performances more seriously. Performance art is her favorite, but, paradoxically, Alisa can't wait for this show to wrap the F up so she can hole up in her work room and paint thick goopy fat abstracts, and sculpt with Sculpey. But don't worry, Alisa plans to continue developing this work and other performance works in the future. Don't you worry. *^+*^+~@*+*^+=~@~=+^*+*@~+^*+^*

Sean Rosado is currently in the process of rediscovering what it means to be human, without the need for comprehending the past to acknowledge the present.

Seth Sexton is a Seattle-based multimedia artist whose current work emphasizes large-scale painting choreographies. He was raised on a farm in Chimacum, Washington. He attended the University of Washington and received a BFA in painting in 2003. Having returned to Contemporary Dance practices in 2013, he continues to incorporate the rituals and patterns of agrarian society with visual and performing arts. He has showcased his collaborative multimedia choreographies at Seattle-based institutions such as Velocity Dance Center, On the Boards, Jack Straw New Media Gallery, Soil Gallery, Bumbershoot, and others.

Syniva Whitney is an experimental artist working in the fields of theater, dance, film, and visual art. For the past seven years, Gender Tender, their performance project, has been their method for generating work. Coined "dancetalkcomedyserious" by GT performer Will Courtney, Syniva's methods are a natural reflection of their queerness, non-binary gender, and multi-racial identity. Their performances showcase their love of conceptual art, drag, popular culture, and embodiment practices. Life has taken them far from their birthplace and early training as a teen at the Iowa Shakespeare Conservatory. They received their BA in art practice and theory at the Evergreen State College and went on to hone their skill for making risky performance while receiving an MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. They've exhibited their work nationally and performed in venues large and small in Minneapolis, Portland, and most extensively in their hometown, Seattle.

Velocity is Seattle's forward-thinking laboratory and essential incubator for dance and emerging ideas. Velocity fosters new works, critical conversations, artists, community, and teachers. A national nexus for dance, Velocity is recognized as a leader in a new dance development in the US. With artist-driven, community-centered artistic and education programs, Velocity is instrumental in making Seattle a destination city with one of the most active dance communities in the nation. With artist-led classes and workshops daily, performances weekly, three annual dance festivals, and ongoing humanities programs that activate thoughtful conversations, Velocity is a portal for those new to dance and an important community resources. Home to hundreds of independent dance artists and renowned for producing innovative, cutting-edge work, Velocity has featured performers and master classes by art stars Tere O'Connor, Pat Graney, Reggie Watts, Miguel Gutierrez, Anouk van Dijk, Deborah Hay, Faye Driscoll, 33 Fainting Spells, KT Niehoff, Zoe Scofield/Juniper Shuey, Danielle Agami, Monica Bill Barnes & Co, and many more. Velocity is Seattle's only dedicated contemporary dance venue where groundbreaking work and disciplined practice coexist.

Velocity advances contemporary dance and movement-based art by fostering the creative explorations or artists and audiences through an invested commitment to education, creation, performance, inquiry, community participation, and inter/national exchange.

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