ONSITE: Katie Faulkner

We Don’t Belong Here

FREE Performances
Union Square: Thu-Fri, Sept 29-30 and Sun, Oct 2, 2011
Yerba Buena Lane: Thu-Sun, Oct 6-9, 2011

All performances began at 8pm

Do I belong in this marriage? This body? This religion? This club? This nursing home? This career?

Collaborators Katie Faulkner, choreographer and Artistic Director of little seismic dance company, and multimedia artist Michael Trigilio, collaborated on a dance and media response to these questions in a series of free impromptu performances in downtown San Francisco. Commissioned by Dancers’ Group as part of the ONSITE series, We Don’t Belong Here featured 20 Bay Area dancers and explored the relationships between art and commerce, media and the body, and exposed the many questions we carry about our own belonging in the world.

Press Release: pdf

In Dance Article: pdf

Articles & Reviews: The Examiner

Artists
Choreography: Katie Faulkner
Direction: Katie Faulkner, Michael Trigilio
Video, Music & Sound: Michael Trigilio
Lighting: Allen Wilner
Costumes: Keriann Egeland
Assistant: Janet Das
Intern: Hannah Buckley
Cast: Vivian Aragon, Caroline Alexander, Celine Alwyn, Jennifer Bishop, Jesse Chin, Alex Crow, Lauren Crow, Juan De La Rosa, Christy Funsch, Gretchen Garnett, Rebecca Gilbert, Julia Hollas, Ashley Johnson, Jennifer Perfillio, Maggie Stack, Jessica Stephenson, Emmaly Wiederholt, Eva Wilder, Michelle Wong, Lisa Woo

Bios
Originally from North Carolina, Katie Faulkner (choreographer, direction) received her MFA in dance performance and choreography from Mills College in 2002. Since graduating from Mills, Katie has performed the works of Bill T. Jones, Randee Paufve, Stephen Petronio, June Watanabe, Victoria Marks, Abigail Hosein, Kim Epifano, and Ann Carlson. She has worked with several of these choreographers as a dancer with AXIS Dance Company, with whom she performed both locally and nationally from 2003-2007. She has enjoyed teaching dance students of all ages and abilities around the country and at local institutions such as Santa Clara University, Marin Ballet, UC Berkeley, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, and she is currently on faculty at ODC, Mills College, and the University of San Francisco.

In 2006, Katie founded, little seismic dance company. Since its inception, her choreographic and dance film work has received support in the form of numerous commissions, residencies, and awards. Generous support has been provided by the Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, the Djerassi Resident Artist Program, the Marin Headlands Center for the Arts, the Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography, the Theater Bay Area CASH grant, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, ODC Theater, where Katie has been an Artist-in-Residence since 2009. She has received numerous Isadora Duncan Dance Award nominations and awards in categories ranging from choreography to visual design and musical performance. In January of this year she received the top prize at the Joyce Theater A.W.A.R.D. Show!/San Francisco, an audience adjudicated event wherein the winner receives a generous grant toward the making of a new work.

She is over the moon to be making this work with Michael Trigilio and the wonderfully talented dancers, and feels deeply indebted to Dancers’ Group for their vision, generosity, and support.

Michael Trigilio (video, music, sound, direction) is a multimedia artist living in San Diego. Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, he received his B.A. in Humanities from the University of Texas at San Antonio. His fear of religion notwithstanding, he was ordained as a lay-ordained priest in the Zen Buddhist Tiep Hien Order (Order of Interbeing) in 1997, a role from which he resigned five years later. He received his M.F.A. from Mills College in 2003. Michael’s work is inspired by material that balances sarcasm and prayer, giving rise to works that examine religion, humor, narcissism, and demystification.

Michael is a founding member of the independent radio project Neighborhood Public Radio which was included in the 2008 Whitney Biennial exhibition. This work in public-practice/public-culture/public-sonification was hosted in a three-month residency at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles in the Spring of 2011. Michael’s work in video, sound, and radio has been presented in many venues nationally and internationally, notably the Anthology Film Archives in New York, Southern Exposure in San Francisco, the Musee d’Art Moderne et Contemporain in Strasbourg, the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore, and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Michael teaches courses in Media Arts and Sound at UC San Diego.

Caroline Alexander (Dancer) was born and raised in San Francisco where she received ballet training at the San Francisco Ballet School, and graduated with a degree in Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies from UC Berkeley. Caroline has also participated in comedy theater groups, hip hop dance crews, and has begun training in the martial art form, Wing-Chun. In addition to working with Katie Faulkner, Caroline as danced with Palanza Dance Company, Elizabeth McSurdy, The Leigh Riley Project, Lisa Wymore, Andrew Ward, Catherine Galasso, Jessica Swanson and has performed as a guest artist with the Joe Goode Performance Group. Along with dance, Caroline enjoys brewing homemade beer, sewing, and plant-art projects.

A native of San Francisco, Celine Alwyn (Dancer) received BAs in both Dance and Psychology from Santa Clara University in ’02 as well as an MA in Contemporary Dance from the London Contemporary Dance School in ’08. In the U.K., she toured with dance companies Bare Bones and EDge, dancing in works by Garry Stewart, Ben Duke, Stephen Petronio, Athina Vahla, and Rui Horta. Celine performed in Broadway’s production of Bombay Dreams as part of the original cast and most recently played the role of ‘Oceane’ in Cirque Du Soleil’s international touring production of Dralion.

Vivian Aragon (Dancer) was born in Guatemala and raised in Pacifica, CA. She holds a BFA in Dance and a BA in Art History from Purchase College, State University of New York. She also received training at Rotterdam Dance Academy in the Netherlands and Susan Hayward School of Dancing in Montara, CA. She has danced with Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Black Diamond Ballet Theatre, MenLowe Ballet, Napa Valley Ballet, Samantha Giron Dance Project, Alyce Finwall Dance Theater, and as a guest artist with Robert Moses Kin and ODC/Dance. This is her first appearance with Katie Faulkner/ Little Seismic Dance Company.

Jennifer Bishop-Orsulak (Dancer) grew up dancing by the sea in Charleston, South Carolina. She decided to pursue her dream of being a dancer after watching the Martha Graham Dance Company perform. After dancing at the University of Utah, she moved back east to the Big Apple, where she danced professionally with H.T. Chen & Dancers, an Asian-American modern dance company. She also danced with Sarah Hook, Janis Brenner, Della Davidson, Alan Sener, Risa Steinberg and apprenticed with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Co. While on a bus in NYC, she met her husband and they moved to SF. Currently, Jennifer has a Pilates studio where she teaches. Since moving to San Francisco, Jennifer apprenticed with ODC, performed with Mary Carbonara Dances and danced with Janice Garrett & Charles Moulton Productions.

Jesse Chin (Dancer), a new comer to the bay area, is originally from Maui, Hawaii. He recently graduated with honors from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angels, with a dual Bachelors Degree in Dance and Communication Studies. In the past year he has performed at the National American College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and has worked with Mike Esperanza’s BARE Dance Company, performing in the Dance Under The Star Choreography Festival and in the 2010 Boulder Fringe Festival. Jesse is currently an apprentice for Holly Johnston’s LEDGES AND BONES DANCE PROJECT.

Alex Crow (Dancer) is originally from Toledo, Ohio where she began her diversified study in dance technique. She has comprehensive training in ballet, jazz and contemporary dance and earned a BA in Dance from Loyola Marymount University in 2009. As a young dancer she traveled and performed with companies such as The Catz Squad, Company C Dance, and the Ballet Theatre of Toledo. The birth of her professional performance career began with Justin Giles in his debut company SoulEscape in Dallas, Texas. Since then she has had the opportunity to work with choreographers Tina Landon in Rihanna’s 2008 VMA performance Disturbia, Michael Esperanza /BARE (principle dancer/soloist), Damon Rago/ Palindrome Dance Company (featured soloist), and as a company member and teaching assistant for Holly Johnston/Ledges and Bones.

Lauren Crow (Dancer) is captivated by a strong urge to deeply immerse herself in the physical joy that is dancing. She is particularly interested in engaging and researching the unique perceptual knowledges made possible through dancing. Through the generous support and guidance of her mentors and friends, she is currently working on a project that will use technology in order to extend the capabilities of dancing bodies to become dynamic musical instruments.

Janet Das (Assistant) is a bay area native who grew up performing from a very young age. She explored numerous performing arts throughout her adolescence but enjoyed dancing the most. She discovered modern dance as a young adult and immersed herself in a BFA program at CalArts. She also attended Mills College and received her MFA in dance performance and choreography graduating in 2007. In addition to dancing for Katie Faulkner’s little seismic dance company she also currently dances for AXIS Dance Company. Janet is honored to have been assisting Katie for this project.

Juan De La Rosa (Dancer) began his dance training at San Francisco State University, where he received Bachelors degrees in Theatre Arts and Dance. Since then, Juan has been an active member of both the theatre and dance communities here in the Bay Area and has danced with Paco Gomes and Dancers, Kelly Kemp and Company, Mark Foehringer Dance Project, Sean Dorsey Dance, Dance Brigade’s Great Liberation Upon Hearing, and most recently Chris Black/Potrzebe’s Extinction Burst: a dance of lost movement at the Cal Academy of Sciences. He is THRILLED to join Little Seismic Dance.

Keriann Egeland (Costume Designer) graduated from USF last May with a BA in Performing Arts and Social Justice (dance concentration). Her love for the bizarre and the beautiful has brought her to dream up creations for the stage. For more information on her endeavours visit keriannkelly.wordpress.com

Christy Funsch (Dancer) is a dance maker, performer, and teacher. She has had her work presented in New York, Phoenix, Toronto, and throughout California. Christy is a longtime performer/collaborator with Stephen Pelton, Nol Simonse, Sue Roginski, and Julie Mayo. She holds an MFA in Performance and Choreography from Arizona State University where she studied with Daniel Nagrin, and a Laban Movement Analysis certification from LIMS New York. She has been awarded residencies at ODC Theater, CounterPULSE, Djerassi, and the U Cross Foundation. Funsch Solos: Great Loners 1997-2012 will premiere at Z Space at Theater Artaud in March 2012-visit www.funschdance.org

Gretchen Garnett (Dancer) moved to the Bay Area in 2005 and is currently a choreographer, performer, teacher and director of Gretchen Garnett & Dancers. She has performed with companies including danceNAGANUMA, peck peck dance ensemble, Dance Elixir, RAWdance and Janice Garrett and Charles Moulton. Gretchen currently dances with Ishika Seth & Dancers and Aura Fischbeck Dance and is very happy to be a part of this little seismic event. Gretchen received her training through the high school program at the North Carolina School of the Arts and earned her B.F.A. in Dance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Rebecca Gilbert (Dancer) graduated from Mills College with a BA in dance and has been circulating the Bay Area dance scene for the last 8 years. She has performed in projects with Dance Ceres, Dance Elixir, Group A, Erin Mei-Ling Stuart, Kate Mitchell, and various other artists and is a company member of Ahdanco, Artface and little seismic dance company. Rebecca is also the co- founder of the company Barely Complete Productions which has premiered new works and artists over the last 6 years in San Francisco.

Julia Hollas (Dancer) grew up in New Mexico, where she trained with Moving People Dance Theatre, the Santa Fe Dance Foundation (School of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet), and Dance Arts Los Alamos. While earning her degree in Mass Communications at the University of Utah, Julia also studied with the Ballet Department and Department of Modern Dance. Julia moved to San Francisco in 2006 to train with the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, directed by Summer Lee Rhatigan. In addition to dancing, Julia teaches ballet and Pilates.

Jennifer Perfilio (Dancer) holds a BA degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Originally from New Jersey, she danced for many years in NYC, most notably with HT Chen and Dancers, and Stephen Koplowitz. Jennifer moved to San Francisco in 2000 and has enjoyed working with Bay Area artists Mary Carbonara, Heidi Schweiker, Jess Curtis, Charles Moulton, Kim Epifano, Sarah Sass, and others. Jennifer is a co-owner of Pilates on Page, where she focuses her attention on pre-natal and post-natal clients.

Maggie Stack (Dancer) is originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where she began her training at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. She received a BS in Dance from Skidmore College in 2009 and upon graduating moved to San Francisco to train with Summer Lee Rhatigan at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. Since moving to the Bay Area, Maggie has danced with Amy Foley, Christine Cali (Cali & Co.) and Alyce Finwall Dance Theater. She is currently dancing with Malinda LaVelle’s Project Thrust, FACT/SF and Catherine Galasso.

Jessica Stephenson (Dancer) began her dance training in Austin, TX where she was a member of the Texas Youth Ballet under the direction of Deidre O’Connor. She moved to Portland, ME where she became a member of Portland Ballet Company and Ram Island Dance after which she moved to NY to study with David Howard, Trinette Singleton, and others at the Joffrey ballet school. Jessica then went on to receive her BA in psychology from Goucher College where she was an active member of the dance department working with notable guest artists Robert Moses and Stephen Mills. Upon graduating Jessica returned to NY to complete a rigorous 600+ hour pilates apprenticeship under the tutelage of Romana Kryzanowska and Sari Meja-Santos. Jessica enjoys laughing, cooking, and sunshine. She is delighted to be working with Katie, Michael and all of the lovely artists of the ONSITE project!

A Midwestern native, Ashley Trottier (Dancer) fell in love with modern dance at the University of Wisconsin, Madison where she received a BS in the subject. Since migrating to California Ashley has danced for Alyce Finwall Dance Theater as well as for choreographer Peiling Kao. This year Ashley received her MFA in Choreography and Performance at Mills College as well as her certification in Embodied Developmental Movement and Yoga through the School for Body-Mind Centering. She enjoys creating her own dances rooted in questions surrounding power, gender, fantasy and the human experience. She is delighted to be working with Faulkner and Trigilio in the open air of San Francisco.

Emmaly Wiederholt (Dancer) is originally from Albuquerque, NM. After graduating from the University of Utah with a BFA in ballet and a BS in political science, she furthered her dance studies at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance under Summer Lee Rhatigan. She has performed in David Dorfman’s choreography with AXIS Dance Company, with Christine Cali (Cali & Co.), and with Alyce Finwall Dance Theater. She currently performs with Malinda LaVelle’s Project Thrust. Emmaly writes about dance at danceinthebayarea.blogspot.com and has contributed to the San Francisco Bay Guardian and InDance.

Eva Hegge Wilder (Dancer) earned a B.A. from UCLA’s Department of World Arts & Cultures/Dance, with a minor in music history. She is a member of Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre, and has also been honored to dance with Victoria Marks, Barak Marshall, Maria Gillespie and Helios Dance Theater. Eva is a co-director of IN/EX Dance Project in Los Angeles, and has presented her work at the Ford Amphitheatre, Highways Performance Space, UCLA’s Hothouse Choreography Residency; and at Jacob’s Pillow, under the mentorship of Susan Marshall and Suzanne Carbonneau. Eva has a Pilates and CranioSacral Therapy practice in San Francisco.

Allen Willner (Lighting Designer) is a Lighting, Set and Visual Designer. Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Lighting and Stage Design for inkBoat’s “Heaven’s Radio”. Isadora Duncan Dance Visual Design Nominations for Erika Chong Shuch’s “51802”, inkBoat’s “Cockroach”. 2008 Lighting Artists in Dance Award inkBoat “The Line Between”. 2010 Critics Circle Lighting Design Nomination for “God’s Ear” The Shotgun Players. 2011 LAD Award Recipient for Erika Chong Shuch’s upcoming “Sitting in a Circle” @ Intersection for tha Arts Nov. 2011.

An East Bay native, Michele Wong (Dancer) attended the University of California at Santa Barbara and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance in 2009. During her senior year she toured with the student company to China and around California. Upon graduation Michele was asked to join Santa Barbara Dance Theater under the direction of Jerry Pearson and toured with them to Korea for the 2010 International Dance Festival. At the moment she is also collaborating with Capacitor and Ziru Productions. She is privileged to be a part of We Don’t Belong Here. Yeah!!!

Lisa Woo (Dancer) studied dance at the University of Washington, graduating in 2001 with B.S. degrees in Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Microbiology Summa Cum Laude. She was also a graduate student at UC Berkeley’s Molecular and Cell Biology PhD program. She danced in Micaya’s Soulforce Hip Hop Company, performed in Janice Garrett’s Illustrated Book of Invisible Stories Movement choir in 2010, and is currently a full-time massage therapist.