Velocity's BRIDGE PROJECT 2015 to Kick Off Jan 30

4 of Seattle's most promising choreographers create 4 new works in the pressure cooker of just 4 weeks at Velocity's Bridge Project -- turning Velocity into an intense hive of urgency, excitement and dedication. This year's performance features exciting new work by emerging Seattle artists Adriana Hernandez, Coleman Pester, Hannah Simmons, and Dylan Ward.

Adriana Hernandez investigates cultural identity outside of race, ethnicity, and gender; Coleman Pester explores identity through the lens of composition and highly physical dance; Hannah Simmons experiments with visualizing choreographic structures and exploring what it means to quantify a choreographic system; and Dylan Ward presents a highly kinetic work, full of choreographed fidgets and pulling initiations mixed with wide, sweeping movement.

The Bridge Project Creative Residency showcases Velocity's fierce commitment to supporting new generations of dance artists. Each choreographer receives the creative, financial and administrative support they need to develop their work. They also receive the creative support of a cast of dancers, and the choreographic mentorship of Velocity 2015 Artist-in-Residence Alice Gosti. In programming The Bridge Project, Velocity aims to enhance the artistic growth of the choreographers, and provide an entry point into the local performance scene for dance artists new to the community. In 2015, in celebration of 50 years of

UW Dance, Velocity partners with the University of Washington Dance Department to award The Bridge Project UW Dance Residency. UW graduate Dylan Ward is the inaugural recipient.

SPECIAL EVENTS:

SPEAKEASY SERIES: THE BRIDGE PROJECT
SAT JAN 24 / 6PM
Velocity Founders Theater, 1621 12th Ave
FREE and open to all

Bridge Project 2015 artists present what is fueling their current work and creative process in a series of lightning talks followed by an open community conversation.

For tickets for The Bridge Project, call 206-325-8773 or visit velocitydancecenter.org. Shows run Fri-Sun, Jan 30-Feb 1 at the Velocity Founders Theater, 1621 12th Ave. Prices: $18 | $20 at the door/$12 student + senior/$15 MVP.urrent work and creative process in a series of lightning talks followed by an open community conversation.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Born in Southern California, ADRIANA HERNANDEZ grew up in Tijuana, Mexico. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Cornish College of the Arts with a BFA in Dance in 2013. She has worked with Iyun Ashani Harrison, Mary Sheldon Scott, Anna Conner, and other artists in Seattle, San Diego, and Mexico. Currently, Adriana works as a Teaching Artist for Pacific Northwest Ballet's Community Education Programs. She researches and experiments with movement through choreography and teaching creative movement. adrianahdance.wix.com/movementartist

COLEMAN PESTER has built a diverse palate of work over the past five years through travel and education. During this time he founded Tectonic Marrow Society (a multi- disciplinary, collaborative umbrella project) and has premiered dance works in Seattle, Australia, Israel, New York, and San Francisco. Coleman earned his BFA from the LINES Ballet/Dominican University program in San Francisco. In 2012, he acted as the assistant to renowned Choreographer Anouk van Dijk, Artistic Director of Chunky Move (Australia). Coleman recently received a Cornish Arts Incubator Residency at the Cornish Playhouse. He was supported by Velocity's Next Fest NW in 2013. www.tectonicmarrowsociety.com

HANNAH SIMMONS, originally from Boston, is a choreographer, dancer, and performer. Her work centers around the intersection of dance, math, and technology. She received her B.A. in Dance and Mathematics from Bennington College. Hannah has worked with Anna Conner + Co (Seattle), Jose? Mateo Ballet Theatre (Boston), Green Street Studios (Boston), and The Forsythe Company (Frankfurt).Colleen McNeary is a Northwest artist working in Seattle, WA. Her wok is grounded in dance and movement but includes and is inspired by theater, music and the visual arts. Currently she is working as a solo artist, as well as collaborating with the Pendleton House, a multidisciplinary artist group in Seattle, of which she is a founding member. She holds a BFA in dance from Cornish College of the Arts. colleenmcneary.com

DYLAN WARD makes performance and lives in Seattle, WA. Ward's recent work, MELODY NELSON, premiered at Velocity in 2014 and was commissioned by Velocity's Next Fest NW 2013. He is currently engaged in creating "Dogged," a full length duet with his partner Jim Kent, which will premiere at Gay City Arts in April 2015. He is the first recipient of The Bridge Project UW Dance Residency. www.dylanfward.com

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

ABOUT VELOCITY - Mayor's Arts Award and Genius Award winning Velocity Dance Center is Seattle's forward-thinking laboratory and essential incubator for dance and emerging ideas. It is recognized as a leader in new dance development in the US. With artist-driven, community-centered artistic 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 every day, performances every week, three annual dance festivals, ongoing humanities programs that activate thoughtful conversations, as well as weekly community events from social dances to family-style dinners, Velocity is a portal for those new to dance and an important community resource. Home to hundreds of independent dance artists and renowned for producing innovative, cutting-edge work, Velocity has featured performances and master classes by art stars Pat Graney, Reggie Watts, Miguel Gutierrez, Tere O'Conner, Anouk van Dijk, Deborah Hay, Faye Driscoll, 33 Fainting Spells, KT Niehoff, Zoe Scofield/Juniper Shuey, Danielle Agami and many more. Velocity is Seattle's only dedicated contemporary dance venue where groundbreaking work and disciplined practice coexist.