Artists for the 2017 CHOP SHOP: Bodies of Work Festival Announced

CHOP SHOP: Bodies of Work celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2017 with a retrospective of artists from the festival's history - plus one new to Seattle.

New Zealand School of Dance / Christina Chan (Wellington)

MOVETHECOMPANY / Joshua Beamish (Vancouver, BC)

The Stone Dance Collective / Eva Stone (Eastside)

Anatomiae Occultii / Adam Barruch (New York City)

Bryn Cohn + Artists / Bryn Cohn (New York City)

The Foundry / Alex Ketley (San Francisco)

Project20 / Donald Sales (Vancouver, BC)

Mark Haim (Seattle)

"These eight artists are not only crowd favorites, they collectively encompass a perspective of contemporary dance that demonstrates why they are among the most well-respected dancemakers of this generation: craft, form and structural arc," explains festival producer Eva Stone.

All the artists feature in both 2017 festival performances, held Saturday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, February 19 at 3:00 p.m., at The Theatre at Meydenbauer in Bellevue, Wash. Both performances present the same program. Tickets for the festival go on sale November 25 atbrownpapertickets.com.

CHOP SHOP Artist Bios

New Zealand School of Dance / Christina Chan (Wellington)

Established in 1967, and celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2017, the New Zealand School of Dance (NZSD) has an international reputation. It is known for producing versatile and employable dancers, skilled in classical ballet and contemporary dance. The School's unique training develops qualities that meet the needs of the dance profession while extending the boundaries of the art form. The architecturally designed, purpose built facilities are located in Wellington, New Zealand. Around eighty gifted young dancers study full-time at the School. In recent years this has included students from around New Zealand, the Asia/Pacific region, and further afield. An impressive faculty of teaching staff, choreographers, and international guest tutors assist students to achieve two or three-year qualifications in dance performance. This is the first CHOP SHOP appearance for the New Zealand School of Dance.

Winner of the Sprouts Choreographic Competition in 2011, Christina Chan trained at the Boston Conservatory where she was awarded the Arthur B Whitney Medal. Chan's journey began with the Singapore Ballet Academy. She then furthered her studies at the New Zealand School of Dance before moving to the U.S., where she graduated summa cum laude with a BFA in Dance in 2010. She has since had a busy homecoming as a full-time dancer with Frontier Danceland and working on projects with T.H.E Dance Co and the Singapore Dance Theatre (SDT). Chan admits that her creative process is different with each new piece, "I find myself breaking my own creative patterns quite accidentally," she says. "I can be very spontaneous and yet sometimes very formulaic with putting things together. I still very much enjoy playing with basic compositional tools. People are my biggest inspiration."

MOVETHECOMPANY / Joshua Beamish (Vancouver, BC)

MOVETHECOMPANY is the recipient of artistic residencies throughout North America, including the Banff Centre, Jacob's Pillow, and a term as the National Incubator Artist for the American Dance Institute in Washington, D.C. Notable recent presentations include The Joyce Theater, The Royal Opera House in London, Princeton University, London's The Place, New York's Guggenheim Museum, a Jacob's Pillow world premiere, a Fire Island Dance Festival Commission, Chicago's The Harris Theater and Chicago Dancing Festival, Seoul International Dance Festival, Artists in Action in Mumbai, and a 24-dancer evening commissioned by the Bangkok International Festival to celebrate 50 years of Canadian and Thai political relations.

Canadian choreographer Joshua Beamish founded MOVETHECOMPANY in 2005. His works have since toured extensively throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. He has been commissioned by The Royal Ballet, New York City Ballet Principal Dancers Wendy Whelan (Restless Creature) and Ashley Bouder (The Ashley Bouder Project), The National Ballet of Canada's YOUdance, Compania Nacional de Danza de Mexico, South Africa's Cape Town Opera and Cape Dance Company, Toronto Dance Theatre, and with Cirque du Soleil at World EXPO Shanghai, among others. He is a founding member of The Joyce Theatre's Young Leader's Circle Committee, a Jerome Robbins Foundation grantee, and an alumnus of the NY Choreographic Institute, a division of the New York City Ballet. This year's festival will be the fourth presentation of Beamish's work at CHOP SHOP, following madness, to speak of nothing by Coriolis Dance Collective in 2015, Piercedby MOVETHECOMPANY in 2013, and Trap Door Party by Bellingham Repertory Dance in 2011.

The Stone Dance Collective / Eva Stone (Eastside)

The Stone Dance Collective, directed by Eva Stone, originated in London, England in 1993 and became a permanent part of the Seattle/Eastside dance community in 1995. This project-based company has experienced various stages of activity over the past 20 years, but it is most important to note that cake is served, without exception, after every rehearsal. The Stone Dance Collective has appeared in all ten editions of CHOP SHOP.

Eva Stone's approach to choreography evolved from learning the art form in reverse, choreography before technique, and is unique with its intent based in humor and authentic human connection and emotion. Her work has been presented at On the Boards, Men in Dance, the ArtsEdge Festival, Bumbershoot, and the Seattle International Dance Festival, where she has also served as a guest curator. Her work has been commissioned throughout the Northwest by companies such as Spectrum Dance Theater, Seattle Dance Project, and Bellingham Repertory Dance, and has been seen as far afield as Europe and Russia. As a commissioned choreographer for Regional Dance America/Pacific Stone has created works for South Bay Ballet in Los Angeles, Mid-Columbia Ballet, and Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre. Most recently, Professional Division students from Pacific Northwest Ballet School performed her work at McCaw Hall.

Anatomiae Occultii / Adam Barruch (New York City)

Anatomiae Occultii is the epithet that encompasses all of the performative and visual/design work of Brooklyn-based artist Adam Barruch. Founded by Adam and co-collaborator Chelsea Bonosky, it strives to produce work that explores the interior landscapes of the human experience. The term Anatomiae Occultii is taken from an occult diagram that maps the human subtle anatomies belonging to various mystical traditions.

Adam Barruch began his career as a young actor, performing professionally on Broadway and in film and television, working with prominent figures such as Tony Bennett, Jerry Herman, and Susan Stroman. He later received dance training at LaGuardia High School for Music & Art and Performing Arts. After three years, he graduated early and was accepted into the dance department at The Juilliard School. Based in Brooklyn, Adam currently creates and performs work under the epithet of his own company, Anatomiae Occultii. He has also created works for companies such as Ailey II, Keigwin + Company, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, River North Dance Chicago, BalletX, GroundWorks Dance Theater, and Minnesota Dance Theatre, as well as for dance icons Margie Gillis and Miki Orihara. Adam was the recipient of a 2014 Lotos Foundation Prize in the Arts and Sciences, and in 2015 was choreographer-in-residence at the Lobero Theater in Santa Barbara, California as part of their annual DANCEworks Residency. Currently an artist-in-residence at the 92Y Harkness Dance Center, Adam is now working on a new physical theater production of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Barruch's choreography has been featured twice previously at CHOP SHOP, with Belladonna in 2014 and Folie à deux in 2012.

Bryn Cohn + Artists / Bryn Cohn (New York City)

Founded in 2011, Bryn Cohn + Artists is a New York-based contemporary Dance Company hailed by the Brooklyn Buzz as "groundbreaking, primal, graceful, surreal, and supernatural." BC+ A has performed in premier venues throughout the country including Danspace Project, Gibney Dance, 92nd Street Y, 14th Street Y, Ailey Citigroup Theater, Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Boston University Theater, Nazareth College, Dixon Place, The Martha Graham Theater, Judson Memorial Church, Center for Performance Research, Abrons Arts Center, Baruch Performing Arts Center, Salvatore Capezio Theater, Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, Triskelion Arts, and Brooklyn Arts Exchange among others. BC + A annually collaborates on site-specific immersive experiences with art galleries and fashion organizations including Foley Gallery, Castle Fitzjohns, and Bene Rialto as a means of making dance more accessible within the public sphere. BC + A has received awards and funding including from The Alfred Z Solomon Charitable Trust, SILO Residency through DanceNOW, The Far Space Residency through The Field, and most recently was named Inception to Exhibition's Fan Favorite and won a fully produced performance. This is Bryn Cohn + Artists second appearance at CHOP SHOP, following their 2014 performance of Cohn'sIf you sink.

Described as a "dancemaker who does not shy away from much" (DIY Dancer), Bryn Cohn has been commissioned to create original works for Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Billy Bell's Lunge Dance Collective, The Big Muddy Dance Company, Grand Valley State University, California State University - Fullerton, The Pushing Progress Contemporary Training Program, fashion designer Betsey Johnson, and The Youth America Grand Prix. She received a full feature profile in Dance Teacher Magazine in July 2016. As a sought-out educator and lecturer, Cohn has participated in education engagements at California Institute of the Arts, Gibney Dance, Loyola Marymount University, Velocity Dance Center, Peridance Capezio Center, Nazareth College, California State University - Los Angeles, and Renaissance Arts Academy. She graduated with a Bachelor's of Fine Arts from California Institute of the Arts in dance performance and composition.

The Foundry / Alex Ketley (San Francisco)

The Foundry was created in 1998 and since its inception has pursued a number of projects originating from a variety of creative entry points. Examples of this are traditional stage works, films, gallery installations, and pieces exploring the social implications of performance in the lives of rural Americans. The company is directed by nationally recognized choreographer Alex Ketley. The Foundry first appeared at CHOP SHOP in 2015, performing Ketley's Poem Triptych.

Alex Ketley is an independent choreographer and the director of The Foundry. His work has received acknowledgement from the Hubbard Street National Choreographic Competition, the International Choreographic Competition of the Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur, the National Choo-San Goh Award, the inaugural Princess Grace Award for Choreography, the BNC National Choreographic Competition, three CHIME Fellowships, four Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography residencies, the Gerbode-Hewlett Choreographer Commissioning Award, the NationAl Eben Demarest Award, and the Artistry Award at the Superfest International Disability Film Festival. In addition, he is a Lecturer at Stanford University's Department of Theater and Performance Studies (TAPS) and is Resident Choreographer at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, a school that is deeply invested in students learning and growing through the engagement of contemporary choreography and methodologies.

Project20 / Donald Sales (Vancouver, BC)

Project20 Performing Arts Society is based in Vancouver, BC and was founded by choreographer and artistic director Donald Sales. The works produced by the company are dynamic, expressive, and personal, using the softly gestural, yet aggressive animalistic language of its Artistic Director. Project20 is a platform provided for the dancers to speak their truths and release genuine feelings and real-time emotions. With a focus on the ability to speak boldly and freely without insecurities, this serves as the deep-grounded foundation for the company's work. The company's mission is to create exciting new work that revives truth in dance and the dancer. Programs include full-length evenings in traditional theatre venues, as well as various performances in non-traditional environments. Project20 first performed at CHOP SHOP in 2015, presenting excerpts from Sales' gR33n.

Trained as a classical dancer at the June Runyon School of Ballet in Tulsa, OK and the Dance Theater of Harlem School in New York City, in 2001 Sales joined Dance Theater of Harlem and distinguished himself by making a strong impression on the Artistic Director Arthur Mitchell. In 2004 he joined Ballet British Columbia as a member of the corps de ballet and was promoted a year later to principal dancer. Sales has since been nurturing his artistic growth by creating works for companies such as Ballet British Columbia and Arts Umbrella Dance Company, and was awarded the Clifford E. Lee Award for Choreography by the Banff Centre for the Arts. Recently he has begun building a team and body of work for his own company, Project20. In 2014 he was given the opportunity to present the company's first full-length work, gR33N, which premiered at and was commissioned by the 2014 Chutzpah Festival. Currently continuing with his work and research, Sales is very excited to share additional new creations in the near future.

Mark Haim (Seattle)

Mark Haim has been choreographing for over 30 years. He has created new works for dance companies such as the Nederlands Dans Theater, Ballet Frankfurt, the Limon Dance Company, Whim W'Him, Joffrey II Dancers, and the Rotterdamse Dansgroep, and has restaged his works on The Joffrey Ballet, the Bat-Dor Dance Company of Israel, Djazzex, and the Juilliard Dance Ensemble, among others. His full evening solo project, The Goldberg Variations, has been performed at the American Dance Festival, the Danspace Project at St. Mark's Church, The John F. Kennedy Center, On the Boards, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and other venues in the U.S, Europe, and Asia. His work for 14 Seattle artists, This Land Is Your Land, opened the ArtDanThe Festival in Paris, and was seen at The Joyce Theater in NYC and the Nasher Museum of Art in North Carolina. Haim has also served as choreographer for Seattle Opera's productions of The Consul and Tales of Hoffmann. In addition to his work as a choreographer, Mark has been on the faculty of the American Dance Festival since 1993 and was the Senior Artist in Residence at the University of Washington Dance Program from 2002 - 2008. He is a recipient of a 1987 NYFA Fellowship, a 1988 and 1996 NEA Fellowship, and grants from the NPN Suitcase Fund, ArtsLink, Inc., and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, and was awarded the Scripps/ADF Humphrey-Weidman-Limon Fellowship for Choreography. Haim's work returns to the CHOP SHOP for the fourth time, having previously presented Buoyant Despite Slump (My Raymonda) in 2010, No More Sweet Hours of Rapture in 2009, and excerpts from The Goldberg Variations in the inaugural 2008 festival.

About CHOP SHOP: Bodies of Work

CHOP SHOP: Bodies of Work launched in 2008, founded on a mission to bring quality contemporary dance to Seattle-area residents. Through the support and presentation of local, national, and International Artists, CHOP SHOP promotes the accessibility of contemporary dance to both new and experienced audiences. Since its inception, CHOP SHOP has presented 53 dance companies, shown 89 dance works, supported over 243 artists, and given festival scholarships to numerous young dancers.

Artists featured in past editions of the festival include Spectrum Dance Theater (Seattle), Joshua Beamish (Vancouver, B.C.), zoe | juniper (Seattle), Adam Barruch Dance (New York City), Kiyon Gaines (Seattle), Grand Rapids Ballet (Grand Rapids, Michigan), //TECTONIC MARROW SOCIETY (Seattle), Gerard Regot (Portland, Oregon/Spain), Price Suddarth (Seattle), Gabrielle Revlock (Philadelphia/New York City), Whim W'Him (Seattle), Donald Sales (Vancouver, B.C.), Mark Haim (Seattle), and Alex Ketley/The Foundry (San Francisco). For more information visit chopshopdance.org. StoneDance Productions is powered by Shunpike.