the bridge project 2017
“The Bridge Project is one of Velocity’s great gifts to the city.”
— The Stranger
PHOTO LOREN OTHON
THE BRIDGE PROJECT 2017
JAN 26-29 / 7:30PM
Post-show conversation on SAT JAN 28
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
TICKETS $20 / $25 at the door / $18 Under 25 w/ ID / $17 MVP / $50 Patron
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: Liz Houlton, Laura Aschoff, Renee Boehlke, + Esra Cömert-Morishige.
Inspired by science fiction and theories of parallel universes, Liz Houlton explores a silent world void of any outside force. It’s a freedom laced with confinement, a forced hiatus of what’s “real.” Laura Aschoff’s movie archetypes will disintegrate into their own shadows, cracking the great myth of “White is Right” and dismantling the underbelly of white fragility – if only in the theatre. Renee Boehlke investigates a world of multivalent realities separated by gates of fragile illusions. And, informed by her studies in biology, Esra Cömert-Morishige draws parallels between human experience and the experience of the rest of the natural world, aiming to transcend the barriers of human-engineered systems that keep us isolated from the earth.
This year we are happy to continue the Bridge Project UW Dance Residency, a partnership of Velocity and the University of Washington Dance Department. This award goes to a graduate of the University of Washington who has been choreographing in Seattle, outside of school, for three years or less. Esra Cömert-Morishige is the 2017 award recipient.
about the artists
LIZ HOULTON is a Minnesota native and California Institute of the Arts alum, and has presented works with Capitol Hill Art Walk at LoveCityLove, Seattle International Dance Festival, Seattle Fringe Festival, and Chop Shop Bodies of Work 2016. Her work “Close Quarters in a Large World” was commissioned by Minnesota Dance Theatre for their Fall 2015 Season, as well as performed at the Cowles Center by MDT School students that same year. Throughout her time in Seattle she has been fortunate enough to have received Creative Residencies with Velocity Dance Center, as well as the Argento Dance Grant during it’s inaugural year in 2016. Although she has spent summers at Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet, Miami City Ballet, BodyTraffic, and the Limon Workshop West, Liz considers herself a thoroughly contemporary artist, functioning in-between genres to blur expectations and encourage authenticity. elizabethhoulton.com
Seattle-based artist LAURA ASCHOFF is a performer/director/organizer whose investment in humanity presses her to make politically conscious, awake art. It’s her mission to offer audiences a critical lens, and a way in to their own truths. Her process consists of much dialogue, improvising and writing. Her work with the GRIEF GIRLS has been seen At Next Fest NW, SOIL Art Gallery, Base: Experimental Arts & Space, and Out on a Limb in Olympia. Laura is a managing artist at Studio Current, where she curates the experimental body-based class series “Under Current.” @griefgirls
RENEE BOEHLKE is a choreographer and director. Her live works have been presented at diverse venues in Seattle, and her films have been screened in the US, Mexico, and Romania. In 2017 she was awarded the Bridge Project residency at Velocity Dance Center and a self-directed artist residency at Grünewald Guild. She graduated with a BFA in Dance cum laude from Cornish College of the Arts in 2016 and also studied and interned at American Dance Festival. Additional current projects include videography for Cornish dance concerts and assisting Jessica Jobaris with the production of A Great Hunger. reneeboehlke.com
ESRA CÖMERT-MORISHIGE is a dance artist based in Seattle, Washington. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Washington as an interdisciplinary honors student, receiving a B.A. and a B.S. with majors in Dance and Biology. She has had the honor of performing extensively in the Seattle area, with renowned choreographers and directors such as Robert Moses, Mark Haim, Molly Scott, Hannah C. Wiley, Rachael Lincoln, and Jennifer Salk. Esra is fascinated by how humans naturally express fear, tenderness, power, and sexuality when these components are stripped away from social performance. She explores these concepts in her choreographic work.
ARGENTO DANCE GRANT: A GRANT FOR SEATTLE DANCERS
“Cafe Argento’s motto has always been that ‘only good things happen here.’
Velocity has been a part of those good things every step of the way!”
– Faizel Khan
Thanks to Café Argento owner Faizel Khan, Velocity is pleased to announce Argento Dance Grants have been awarded to three Seattle dancers participating in The Bridge Project 2017. In keeping with Velocity and Argento’s commitment to helping make Seattle a viable place for dancers to develop sustainable and prosperous careers, awards aim to support local dancers who demonstrate financial need.
Argento Dance Grants include:
- Cash grants ranging from $250-$1000.
- One year free MVP Membership, providing discounts to Velocity classes, events, and studio rentals.
- 6 hours of free studio rehearsal time.
The 2017 Argento Dance Grant recipients are Christopher Constantino, Shane Donohue, + Marcella Sweeney. Congratulations!
Velocity’s presentation of The Bridge Project 2017 is made possible thanks to the generous support of 4 Culture, ArtsFund, The Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, The Seattle Foundation, NEA Art Works, The Boeing Company, The Glenn H Kawasaki Foundation, Jeremy Steward + Eric Hartmann, and Case van Rij. The Bridge Project UW Dance Residency is a partnership of Velocity and the University of Washington Dance Department.
