Velocity Dance Center

// SPEAKEASY SERIES Archive //

 

2018

SPEAKEASY:Interdisciplinary Activities to Build Trust

SEP 16 / 4-6PM
Velocity 1621 12th Ave
FREE + Open to all

Part of the Seattle Design Festival

What are our tools for building trust across difference? We will experience collaborative activities from dance and design that help build trust among teams by activating curiosity, opening communication and fostering empathy.  Facilitated by George Zatloka. Design consultant, DesignArt and Technology Studio and Velocity’s Tonya Lockyer.

 

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SPEAKEASY: IMPROVISATION IN DANCE, MUSIC, AND THEATRE
with Kris Wheeler, Christian Swenson, and Jim Knapp

SAT APR 21 / 6PM–7:30PM
Velocity 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all

Kris Wheeler facilitates a discussion with guests Christian Swenson (HumanJazz, movement + theatre) and Jim Knapp (renowned musician, composer) in this rare opportunity to catch a glimpse of Seattle’s rich history of dance, music, and theater improvisation with three individuals instrumental in our city’s renowned improvisational performance scene. Considerations include: How does a good improvisation differ from a good composition (music, dance, theater)? What are the qualities of a good improviser? How can one develop these qualities? Is the concept of “good” relevant to improvisation. To score or not to score. Can an improvisation be rehearsed and/or directed? Does the presence of audience impact improvising?

Bring your thoughts and questions!

ABOUT THE PANELISTS
KRIS WHEELER’s dancing has focused on creative process and post-modern somatic studies, particularly informed by Skinner Releasing Technique (SRT), Deborah Hay and clinical work in psychology. Wheeler was a soloist with Seattle’s American Contemporary Dance Company, directed by the legendary Joan Skinner; assistant director and soloist with Robert Davidson Aerial Ensemble and guest artist with Deborah Hay Dance Company. She taught SRT around the US and Europe and introduced Contact Improvisation to Seattle in the 70s, teaching CI through the 80s. Currently a psychotherapist in private practice, she continues to dance and perform.

CHRISTIAN SWENSON is known for his pioneering work in “Human Jazz,” a fusion of dance/drama/music for body and voice. Christian trained with dance legend Bill Evans, Korean shaman, and Pakistani master-singer Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. He performed with Bill Irwin, Seattle Symphony Orchestra, and The Jay Clayton/Jim Knapp Collective. Christian has received Fellowships from the NEA,  Washington State Arts Commission and Artist Trust. He teaches in the Theater program at Seattle University.

JIM KNAPP was the program chair of Jazz at Cornish and leader of the Jim Knapp Orchestra. He has received awards from National Endowment for the Arts, Seattle Arts Commission, King County Arts Commission, Meet the Composer and Artist Trust. He was director of “The Composers and Improvisors Orchestra” performing the his own compositions and that of jazz legends like Anthony Braxton and Julian Priester.

The 2018 Speakeasy Series is made possible thanks to the generous support of Robert Stumberger.

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SPEAKEASY: WHAT IS COMMUNITY?

SAT FEB 3 / 2:30PM–4PM
Velocity 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all

Gather together at this Speakeasy event to discover the strength and diversity of the Seattle dance community. Attendees will use drawing and writing to explore the possibilities and characteristics of a thriving neighborhood and then discuss the findings. Facilitated by Christin Call with Marlo Ariz, Laura Aschoff, Vanessa DeWolf, and Markeith Wiley.

 

2017

SPEAKEASY: MARKING THE BODY
PART OF NEXT FEST NW: DISRUPTION
with host Syniva Whitney + artists Zoe Scofield, Seth Sexton, Cherdonna Sinatra, and Emily Curtiss

SAT DEC 2 / 5PM-6:30PM
Velocity 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all

Marking the Body will bring together audiences and artists in a timely discussion in the face of Seattle’s current cultural climate. Syniva Whitney invites you to join them in an interdisciplinary inquiry into the resurgence of Seattle artists marking the body in dance, performance art, film, visual art, and installation. 

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.

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SPEAKEASY: Dancing About Architecture
SUN NOV 5 / 5PM-6:30PM
Velocity 1621 12th Ave
Join Joanna Kotze, Kim Lusk, and architect Ben Maestas
FREE + open to all

Dancing About Architecture will bring together audience, artists, and architects in a timely, interdisciplinary discussion in the face of Seattle’s fast-changing cityscape. This conversation will illuminate how we as humans are constantly affected by the surroundings we pass through and by the architecture we build, and how this relates to choreographer Joanna Kotze’s process and performance.

 

• Joanna Kotze (NY-based choreographer, whose BA in Architecture has influenced her choreography)
• Kim Lusk (Seattle-based choreographer, whose upbringing with an architect father has also influenced her work)
• Ben Maestas (Seattle-based dancer-turned-architect)

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DANCER COFFEE TALK
SEPT 10 + 13  / 11:30-12:30PM
Velocity Kawasaki and Steward Studios
FREE + open to all

As part of our commitment as artists supporting local artist, Velocity invites you to two lunch-time conversations Sept 10 + 13 focused on professional development topics. Velocity staff and established artists share tips on Better Grant-writing and Dancer Resources. Part of our annual Fall Kick-Off

 

♦ Writing Stronger Applications for Grants + Festivals / SUN SEPT 10 / 11:30-12:15PM / Velocity Steward Studio

Join Tonya and Erin (Velocity Programs) for an open discussion. In this session we will workshop the application process, and how to communicate effectively about your work to funding and producing organizations. Bring your questions and your NextFest NW application / work-sample for tips before the deadline on SEPT 18.

♦ Dancer Resources /WED SEPT 13 / 11:30-12:15PM / Kawasaki  

Learn about resources available to you for funding, low-income housing and health care, reduced-fare Orca Cards and more. Please bring ideas and resources to share. We’ll provide coffee and bagels.

 

2016

 

 

 

 

 

 

ART WALK: MARY SHELDON SCOTT
CLOSING RECEPTION + AUDIENCE LAB
NOV 10 / 5:30-6:30PM
Velocity: V2 1525 11th Ave
FREE + open to all

Mary Sheldon Scott, surrounded by a selection of her paintings, shares some of the ideas driving her new choreographic work, The SOLO(s) Project, in a group dialogue reflecting on the work’s Nov 3-6 premiere. Drop-by, bring your questions, stay for the conversation. Refreshments provided.

Velocity’s Audience Labs demystify our performances with equal emphasis on presentation, participation, and social connection.

 

 

A LIFE IN DANCE:
Resources for Those Onstage at Every Stage
MON NOV 7 / 5-6PM
Velocity Kawasaki Studio 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all with RSVP >>

Hosted by Velocity, Spectrum Dance Theater, +The Actors Fund, in partnership with the American Guild of Musical Artists.

A dancers’ resource session for professional dancers, dance artists, college students, pre-professional dancers, those considering or experiencing career transition, and anyone interested in learning about what The Actors Fund offers. Come learn how the Actors Fund serves the dance community. They will answer questions and want to hear from dance artists to learn what they need, and the specific challenges of being a dancer in Seattle. More info >>

 

 

 

 

SPEAKEASY SERIES: DANCER’S SURVIVAL FAIR
MON SEPT 26 / 6-7:45PM
Velocity Steward Studio 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all

Join us for the second annual Dancer’s Survival Fair – a professional development session designed specifically for dancers – this year focusing on marketing + communications. Join Velocity Communications Manager Liz Dawson + special guest Kate Wallich who will share her tactics for using social media, coming up with visual brand guidelines, self- branding, and working with presenters/producers on the ‘brand’ of your performance.

 

 

SPEAKEASY SERIES: LIGHTNING TALKS
Part of the Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation (SFDI)
WEDS AUG 3 / 6-8:30PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all

In this popular evening of performance, presentations, and community dialogue, Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation (SFDI) intensive faculty share what’s currently driving their research and practice.

SPEAKEASY SERIES: THE COLOR OF DANCE – HISTORY OF BLACK DANCE IN SEATTLE
SUN FEB 28 / 5-6:30PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all

Get a first hand account of Seattle Dance History. Learn about Seattle-born African-American dance luminaries. Engage with black dance artists currently working in Seattle today. Hear from Seattle Dance legends on whose shoulders we stand.

Hosted by Dani Tirrell with Melba Ayco / Tyrone Crosby
(Koach T) / Alex Crozier / Jade Solomon Curtis / Edna Daigre
Makeda Ebube / Randy Ford / Maxie Jamal / Afua Kouyate
Kabby Michell / Vivian Phillips / Erricka Turner / Markeith Wiley

Plus, enjoy delicious food provided by Chef Kristi Brown (That Brown Girl Cooks) + desserts by Marlon Brown (Bessie’s Cakes)!

 

 

 

SPEAKEASY SERIES: THREE GENERATIONS – RECENT HISTORIES OF DANCE IN SEATTLE
SUN FEB 21 / 5-6PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all

Seattle Dance legends Bill Evans and KT Niehoff are joined by Seattle dance historian and dance critic Sandi Kurtz, to share their eye-witness accounts of three generations of Seattle dance history. Hosted by Tonya Lockyer.

Join the Facebook Event for Details + Updates >>

 

 

SPEAKEASY SERIES: PARTICIPATE IN PROCESS
SUN JAN 24 / 4:30-6:00PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
FREE and open to all

Bridge Project 2016 artists Ashleigh Miller, ilvs strauss, Nathan Blackwell + Stephanie Liapis, share key aspects of their creative process and bring the audience into their work, followed by an open community conversation.

 

 

 

2015

NEXT FEST NW 2015: UTOPIA
SPEAKEASY SERIES: CITIZEN
DEC 13 / 5PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all

Hosted by Drew Santoro + Laura Aschoff. Next Fest NW artists share their processes + responses to Utopia, and ask the question: What does it mean to be a socially engaged artist in 2015? Join the Facebook event >>

 

NEXT FEST NW 2015: UTOPIA
SPEAKEASY SERIES: COLLECTIVES, CO-OPS, COLLABORATIONS
DEC 6 / 6:30PM
Velocity Dance Center 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all

A look at the alternative ways artists engage in collaboration and resource sharing, present and past, with Vanessa Dewolf (founder of Studio Current and PROJECT: Space Available), members of the new AU Collective + MORE. Join the FB event >>

 

Everything is Material: An Insider Look at European Dance Today
Hosted by Erica Badgeley
OCT 9 / 12-1:30PM
Velocity Kawasaki Studio 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all

Erica Badgeley has spent the last year creating and performing work by up-and-coming choreographers in Europe, a generation birthed from companies and schools like Rosas, Sasha Waltz, Akram Kahn, P.A.R.T.S., SNDO and SEAD. Erica will share her unique view of current European Dance Trends: the history the choreographers bring from their experience as dancers, combined with the new ways they choose to evolve that history. As Tonya Lockyer has aptly observed, we can still see the stem of most of this work originating in the 1970s Judson Dance Theater in New York. Thus the title: Everything is a Material. Join this conversation on European Dance today, and why the cross-continental evolution of  American post-modern dance may have had less traction in our own American dance evolution.

 

SPEAKEASY SERIES: DANCER’S SURVIVAL FAIR
SUN SEPT 20 / 5:30-8PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all

Professional development sessions designed specifically for dancers covering a variety of topics including budgeting, marketing, goal-setting + touring, followed by a networking happy hour.

 

 

SPEAKEASY SERIES: ART IN PRISONS
SUN SEPT 13 / 5-7PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave

Resources:
Prison Arts Resource Sheet
Keeping the Faith: The Prison Project / Pat Graney Company

The arts have a transformative impact on people who are incarcerated in America, and the artists who work with them. This Speakeasy focuses on cultural workers creating and collaborating inside of America’s prisons and juvenile detention centers.

In America’s criminal justice system, prisoners are separated by physical, racial, socio-economic, and geographic boundaries. Artists on the outside and inside are collaborating and creating fascinating work in many disciplines across these boundaries. Please join us for this important conversation.

Hosted by Leigh Sugar with Pat Graney, Lillian Hewko, Eli Hastings, Aaron Counts, + Daemond Arrindell.

LEIGH SUGAR began working with incarcerated individuals through the Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP), where she facilitated creative writing workshops with men incarcerated in Michigan state prisons. She also edited PCAP’s annual Michigan Review of Prisoner Creative Writing for three years. Now based in Seattle, she teaches yoga to incarcerated youth through Yoga Behind Bars, and is currently curating and editing an anthology of writing by non-incarcerated artists who teach creative workshops in prisons.

PAT GRANEY is a Seattle-based artist working in dance/installation. The Pat Graney Company has toured to most major American cities as well as abroad.  Ms. Graney is the recipient of Fellowships for her work including a Guggenheim and the NEA. She is a US Artist Award recipient and an Alpert Awardee. Ms. Graney received the Arts Innovator Award from Artist Trust/Dale Chihuly Foundation in 2011, and in 2013 was awarded a Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. 2014 is the 20th Anniversary of Keeping the Faith/The Prison Project (KTF), which began in 1992 and led to a fully developed program in 1995. KTF is an arts-based educational program for incarcerated women and girls, and has been conducted in over 20 prisons across America as well as abroad. Ms. Graney is currently creating a new work entitled ‘Girl Gods,’ set to premiere at On the Boards October 1-4, 2015.

LILLIAN HEWKO, Incarcerated Parents Project attorney at the Washington Defender Association, assists defense attorneys representing incarcerated parents and develops legislative policy and advocacy strategies to help reduce the chances of family separation and parental incarceration. Lillian co-founded the Incarcerated Mothers Advocacy Project (IMAP), which uses the reproductive justice framework to center incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals as leaders in advocating for systemic change. As an Equal Justice Works Fellow at Legal Voice in 2013, she helped lead the passage of the Children of Incarcerated Parents Bill. A 2011 graduate of the University of Washington School of Law and a Gates Public Service Scholar, she identifies as a queer, mixed-Latina from a working-class background. Reproductive justice and prison abolition ideals are integral to her work and led to her desire to use law as a tool to create social change.

ELI HASTINGS is a therapist, author and teaching artist.  He started out with a desire to do human rights work internationally, but the siren song of creative writing got him. Through teaching and writing nonfiction narratives, and ultimately through working for years with Pongo Teen Writing in Juvenile Detention, he’s relieved to find that he is indeed doing human rights work through Pongo as well as his private practice, Changing Stories Counseling.” In 2013, Eli published his own healing narrative – a memoir, Clearly Now, the Rain – after the traumatic death of his closest friend due to her own trauma, mental illness and addiction. 

AARON COUNTS has seen firsthand the transformative power of art. He has written and read with professors, prisoners, dropouts, and scholars. He is a long-time teaching artist with the Writers-in-the-Schools program, and is the lead engagement artist for Creative Justice, 4Culture’s arts-based alternative to incarceration for King County youth. Aaron holds an MFA from the University of British Columbia, and is the co-author of the curriculum, Reclaiming Black Manhood. His writing has recently appeared in Specter Magazine, Bestiary, Aldebaran Review, The Furnace radio series, and Rufous City Review.

DAEMOND ARRINDELL is a poet, performer, and teaching artist. Faculty member of Freehold Theatre and co-facilitator of poetry and theater residencies at Monroe Correctional Complex for men; Writer-In-Residence through Seattle Arts & Lectures’ Writers in the Schools Program; and mentor artist for Creative Justice – using art as an alternative to incarceration for youth in the court system. He has performed in venues across the country and has been repeatedly commissioned by both Seattle and Bellevue Arts Museums. In 2013, he was selected for the Jack Straw Writers program, published in Specter magazine and chosen for “13 for ‘13,” a joint project between the Seattle Times and KUOW, profiling thirteen influential people in Seattle’s art scene. In 2014, he was a VONA Voices Writers’ Workshop fellow. More recently Daemond performed alongside Sherman Alexie and has joined the faculty of TAT Lab, the Washington state Teaching Artist Training Lab.

 

SPEAKEASY SERIES: HISTORY OF CONTACT IMPROVISATION THROUGH THE BODY
THURS JULY 30 / 1:30PM
FREE + open to all

A lecture demonstration and conversation facilitated by Karen Nelson with Andrew de Lotbinère Harwood, Ronja Ver, and Katherine Cook.

 

 

SPEAKEASY SERIES: LIGHTNING TALKS
WEDS JULY 29 / 6-8:30PM
FREE + open to all

In this popular evening of performance, presentations, and community dialogue, SFDI intensive faculty share what’s currently driving their research and practice.

 

 

STRICTLY SEATTLE FREE LUNCHTIME TALKS
This is your chance to dive further into topics specific to dance artists. All Lunchtime Talks are FREE + held in Velocity Founders Studio 1621 12th Ave.

LUNCHTIME TALKS: Injury Prevention with Seattle Dance Clinic and Alana O Rogers
JULY 7 / 1:30-2:15PM

LUNCHTIME TALKS: Nutrition with Alia Swersky
JULY 9 / 1:30-2:15PM

LUNCHTIME TALKS: Making It Happen: Self Producing with Dylan Ward and Tonya Lockyer
JULY 14 / 1:30-2:15PM

LUNCHTIME TALKS: The Seattle Dance Scene with Tonya Lockyer, Kate Wallich, Jody Kuehner, Anna Conner, + Bryon Carr
JULY 16 / 1:30-2:15PM

LUNCHTIME TALKS: Dance as a Career with Pat Graney, KT Niehoff, Zoe Scofield, + Shannon Stewart
JULY 21 / 1:30-2:15PM

SPEAKEASY SERIES: THE BLINDNESS THAT OCCURS WHEN I’M NO LONGER ABLE TO SEE WHAT I’M CREATING
SAT JUNE 6 / 1-3PM
Youngstown Cultural Arts Center, Movement Studio
4408 Delridge Way SW, 98106
FREE + open to all

Hosts: Dayna Hanson, Heather Kravas, Peggy Piacenza

You’re working alone, in the midst of a creative process. Perspective on your work slips away. What do you do? Pursue the blind alley? Call in a trusted adviser? What does that person see, and through what lens? This Speakeasy event uses new projects by Dayna Hanson and Peggy Piacenza as a springboard for conversation about blindness, clarity, and perception in the choreographer’s creative process. The audience will have unique opportunities to engage with each artist’s work and to join the conversation. (Photo by Tim Summers)

This Speakeasy is made possible in partnership with the Youngstown Space Program.

 

SPEAKEASY SERIES: ARTISTS RAISING KIDS
SUN MAY 10 / 6:30-8:30PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to all

Hosted by Maya Soto, Karin Stevens, Laura Rodriguez. Join us on Mother’s Day to celebrate artists raising kids. Meet other working artist parents, share challenges and inspiration.  All families and kids welcome.

 

AUDIENCE LAB with Alice Gosti
May 3 / 5-7PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
FREE and open to all

Audience labs demystify Velocity performances with equal emphasis on presentation, participation, and social connection. Alice Gosti will share video clips of artists who inspired her immersive performance practice, including Britain’s DV8 Physical Theater and Flemish legend Jan Fabre; take participants through an experience of the ideas driving her new work, How to become a partisan; followed by a group dialogue, facilitated by a guest artist, reflecting on the work’s April 25th premiere.

 

SPEAKEASY SERIES: DELFOS DANZA CONTEMPORANEA DANCE COMPANY
APR 8 / 12PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
FREE and open to all

Join this conversation with the co-director of DELFOS DANZA CONTEMPORANEA, Claudia Lavista, and Seattle dance icon PAT GRANEY. Lavista and Graney will discuss contemporary dance in Mexico/Seattle; and how they, and other artists, are impacted by what is happening their countries artistically, politically, and economically.

DELFOS DANZA CONTEMPORANEA is Mexico’s premiere contemporary dance company and ranks among the best companies in Latin America both artistically and as leaders in the field.  Delfos is a world class company based in Mazatlán, Mexico which inspires audiences, students and communities with outstanding performances and in-depth residencies. Their performances evoke emotion and introspection embodied by their physical grace, athleticism and vibrance. Celebrating twenty plus years, Delfos Danza Contemporanea tours throughout the world, creating enduring relationships wherever they go, seeking opportunities for collaboration and exchange and passionately committed to dance education.

“…An unforced tour de force.” Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times

This Speakeasy Series and Master Class is presented through The Velocity Sessions, a partnership with UW World Series. Photo by Lois Greenfield

 

SPEAKEASY SERIES: A CONVERSATION WITH BANDALOOP
FEB 26 / 7PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
FREE and open to all

Join a performance/conversation with the artists of Bandaloop, a pioneer in vertical dance performance whose work has been presented in theaters and museums, on skyscrapers, bridges, billboards and historical sites, in atriums and convention halls, in nature on cliffs, and on screen. Join Rachael Lincoln (Assistant Artistic Director, Dancer) and dancers Melecio Estrella + Roel Seeber, hosted by Velocity’s Artistic Director, Tonya Lockyer.

This Speakeasy Series was presented through The Velocity Sessions, a partnership with UW World Series.

 

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

Bridge Project 2015 artists Hannah Simmons, Coleman Pester, Adriana Hernandez, and Dylan Ward share key aspects of their creative process and bring the audience into their work, followed by an open community conversation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2014

The 2014 Speakeasy Series was sponsored in part by the generous support of Robert Stumberger and by Velocity Fall 2014 Season Sponsor The Boeing Company.

 

NEXT FEST NW: NEW WEST
SPEAKEASY SERIES: EL NORTE
DEC 11 / 7PM
Velocity Dance Center 1621 12th Ave
FREE and open to all

Speakeasy Series: El Norte starts our conversation about the New West with a look to the Old West and to Mexican-American and Latino-American artists working in our community. Dance artists Nancy Blanco and Fausto Rivera host this performance talk and community conversation, with a film screening by Rodrigo Valenzuela. Join us for a discussion centered on artists of the Latino diaspora and their impact/experience on the undeniably shifting culture of our city.

 

NEXT FEST NW: NEW WEST
SPEAKEASY SERIES: IDENTITY RIOT
DEC 14 / 5:30 PM
Velocity Dance Center 1621 12th Ave
FREE and open to all

In conjunction with Next Fest NW, Velocity presents the Speakeasy Series: Identity Riot where we examine the New West from the perspective of feminism, riot grrrls and African-American and Filipino-American dance culture. Hosted by dance artists Cheryl Delostrinos, Kaitlin McCarthy, Jenny Peterson and Dani Tirrell.

 

SPEAKEASY SERIES:
CONFLUENCE + REBELLION WITH TORBEN ULRICH, BETH GRACZYK + ANGELINA BALDOZ
THURS JAN 16, 7PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
FREE + open to the public

 

Join us for an experiential evening with director Torben Ulrich, dancer Beth Graczyk and musician Angelina Baldozas they share elements of their project Cacophony for 8 Players, and generate discussion around the nature of influence, inspiration and collaboration.

Ulrich will share insights into Cacophony for 8 Players, illuminating a constellation of eight prominent figures of the performative arts — Bharatamuni, Abhinavagupta, August Bournonville, Vaslav Nijinsky, Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Maya Deren and Pina Bausch. Baldoz will perform live on trumpet an excerpt of her recorded overture featuring violinist Tari-Nelson Zagar. Graczyk will guide the audience in a reading of key texts informing Cacophony for 8 Players in a unique style that allows for an interplay of words—cracking open the potential for new understandings and interpretations.

The Speakeasy event concludes with a community discussion and a toast with traditional Danish bitters.

 

2013

NEXT FEST NW AUDIENCE LAB: CLOSER THROUGH OTHER MEANS
NOV 25 + DEC 2 / 6:30-8:30PM + DEC 14 / 4-6PM
Velocity 1621 12th Ave
TICKETS $30 Includes three labs + ticket to SAT Next Fest NW performance

Leading up to Next Fest NW, ticket buyers can join artist and creative wrangler Vanessa DeWolf for Closer Through Other Means, a series of three participatory labs where audience members cultivate new ways of perceiving performance, engage in activities to demystify experimental dance, and experience the ideas guiding this year’s Next Fest NW choreographers. The lab includes a ticket to Saturday night’s performance and Q+A. More info >>

WHAT WE TALK ABOUT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT. . .
With choreographer/filmmaker Dayna Hanson (2013 A.I.R.)
NOV 10 / 7:30-9:30PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
FREE

Seattle-based and internationally recognized dancemaker/filmmaker Dayna Hanson will share the inspiration and process of her latest work The Clay Duke about gun violence and mental health issues. After her presentation, artists of different disciplines will present one work of any medium at any stage of completion. Attendees not showing work are welcome to actively engage in discussion and share feedback. Dayna will facilitate an open and safe dialogue. More info >>

 

SPEAKEASY SERIES:
THE ENGENDERING PROJECT: EVER BETWEENING
OCT 6 / 5-6:30PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Avenue
FREE

Join director/performer Joan Laage (Kogut Butoh), collaborators Kaoru Okumura and Jackie An, with artists Douglas Ridings, Tanja Woloshen and Velocity co-founder Michele Miller in a roundtable discussion focused on gender fluidity and transformation in the creative arts.

VELOCITY OPEN FORUM: THE GOOD LIFE
SEPT 5-14, 2013
A week of multidisciplinary art, book clubs, workshops, Speakeasy Events and conversations taking place alongside Daniel Linehan’s performances Not About Everything + The Karaoke Dialogues: Seattle Trial with a focus on what it means to take an ethical approach to life and art.

Velocity Open Forums invite one and all into an open, freewheeling discourse on issues in contemporary art and society. Open Forums focus multiple Velocity Speakeasy Events around specific Velocity performances. Curated by Velocity Executive/Artistic Director Tonya Lockyer. All events are free unless otherwise noted.

SUPPER CLUB:
How do we sustain life in our communities?
THURS SEPT 5 / 6:30PM
Velocity Kawasaki Studio 

Through personal stories, honest dialogues + a shared meal we will learn from one another + spark ideas about how to sustain ourselves, socially, economically + environmentally. Hosted by biochemist + dance artist Beth Graczyk (Salt Horse).

> Bring a dish to share! (Drinks + sweets provided)

WORKSHOP + PERFORMANCE:
Daniel Linehan’s The Karaoke Dialogues: Seattle Trial
FRI SEPT 6 – SAT SEPT 14
Workshop: SEPT 6, 8-12 / 1-6PM
Performances: SEPT 12-14 / 8PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12^th Avenue
REGISTER $250 / $215 MVP

Open to movers and performers of all disciplines interested in engaging in a week-long creative process with an international leader in experimental dance. Participants will explore our connection to our identity, both singular and collective and ask: What do we win, and what do we lose by participating in forms of common action? The workshop culminates in all participants performing in three performances September 12-14 as part of Velocity’s presentation of Daniel Linehan (WA/Belgium). More info >>

MASTER CLASS:
Daniel Linehan (WA/Belgium)
SHAKY IS A GOOD THING.
MON SEPT 9 / 10AM – 12PM
UW Dance Program Studios, Meany Hall 4140 George Washington Lane NE Directions + Parking Info
Free and open to the community

HAPPY HOUR BOOK CLUB
How Are We to Live? Ethics in an Age of Self-Interest
MON SEPT 9 / 5:30PM
Liberty Bar 517 15th Ave E

This happy hour conversation focuses on excerpts from bioethicist Peter Singer’s controversial book How Are We to Live? Ethics in an Age of Self-Interest. Read a summary or the Chapter 10 from the full text + join the conversation!

POST-SHOW CONVERSATION (GRAB A DRINK!)
Daniel Linehan’s Not About Everything + The Karaoke Dialogues: Seattle Trial 
FRI SEPT 13 / Directly following the performance
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12^th Avenue

COMMUNITY FORUM:
Dancing in Europe + the US
SAT SEPT 14 / 3-4:30PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12^th Avenue

Daniel Linehan shares his experience carving out a dance career in the US and Europe. Join us for the last event of The Good Life before Linehan’s closing night performance!

STRICTLY SEATTLE 2013 SPEAKEASY EVENTS
Free Speakeasy Events and Brown Bag Lunch Talks taking place alongside Strictly Seattle Summer Dance Intensive

Injury Prevention
July 8 / 1:40-2:20pm
With physical therapists from Seattle Dance Medicine

Workin’ It in The Seattle Dance Scene
July 9 / 1:40-2:20pm
With Velocity Executive/Artistic Director Tonya Lockyer

Dance + Grad School
July 10 / 1:40-2:20pm
With Rosa Vissers, Kristin Hapke + Britta Peterson

Feedback Speakeasy: the tip of the iceberg
July 13 / 11-2pm
With Vanessa DeWolf (Director, Studio Current/PROJECT: Space Available) + guest facilitators

Nutrition
July 17 / 1:40-2:20pm
With Velocity Teaching Artist Alia Swersky

STANCE Writing Workshop
July 18 / 1:40 – 2:20pm 
With Jan Trumbauer (Co-Editor, STANCE: Velocity’s journal of choreographic culture)

What We Talk About When We Talk About… Strictly Seattle Edition with Pat Graney
July 21 / 6:30-9:30pm
Strictly Seattle students and attendees engage in constructive dialogue facilitated by Seattle dance legend Pat Graney and hosts Zoe Scofield (zoe | juniper) + Veloctiy. More info >>

“This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco . . .”: Dance as a Career
July 24 / 1:40-2:20pm
With KT Niehoff (Lingo), Zoe Scofield (zoe | juniper) + Beth Graczyk (Salt Horse)

SEATTLE FESTIVAL OF DANCE IMPROVISATION (SFDI) 2013 SPEAKEASY EVENTS
Free Speakeasy events taking place alongside the 20th Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation

Lightning Talks with SFDI Faculty
July 31 / 6:30-8:30pm
With John Jasperse, Sara Shelton Mann, Chris Aiken, Michael Schumacher, Shelley Senter, Jill Sigman + Amii LeGendre

Dance Innovators in Performance: Post-show Talk
August 1 / 10-11pm
With Dance Innovators in Performance Artists

SFDI Closing Night Performance: Post-show Talk
August 3 / 9-10pm
With Performers + Creators from the Closing Night Performance

SCUBA POST-SHOW CONVERSATION
APR 27 / Directly following Saturday’s SCUBA performance
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12^th Ave
Free

Join Maureen Whiting, Shannon Stewart and Green Chair Dance Group for a conversation about their work and process with Executive/Artistic Director Tonya Lockyer. More about SCUBA >>

HAPPY HOUR SPEAKEASY CONVERSATION
Next Wave?
April 28 / 5:30PM
Boom Noodle 1121 E Pike St
Free

What are the new directions in dance (aesthetic, political, digital. . .) that we see happening in Seattle and the rest of the country? Join the conversation then head over to the closing night of SCUBA.

LIFE+ART: Living with the mentally ill
SPEAKEASY CONVERSATION WITH EZRA DICKINSON
APR 14 / 2PM
Velocity Steward Studio 1621 12^th Ave
Free

Ezra Dickinson shares his experience creating solos as gifts for his schizophrenic mother and invites an open community conversation about mental health care and how it impacts our families and society. In conjunction with his upcoming Velocity Made in Seattle premiere Mother for you I made this, MAY 6-19.

What We Talk About When We Talk About. . . with Mandy Greer
APR 14 / 6:30-9:30PM
Velocity Founders Theater 1621 12th Ave
Free

TRANSMISSION
Post-Show Speakeasy Conversation with Jeremy Wade (BERLIN/NYC) + Heather Kravas (NYC/SEATTLE/FRANCE)
Following Jeremy Wade’s Seattle premiere of Fountain
FRIDAY FEB 15
Free

 

2012

VELOCITY OPEN FOR(U)M: REAL/TIME

Travelogue: Cambodian + American Performing Artists in Dialogue
> Speakeasy Screening + Conversation with Peggy Piacenza + Amelia Reeber
DEC 2 / 5PM
Velocity Founders Theater / Pay-what-you-can

In November 2011, three American and four Cambodian performing artists came together for a month-long creative process in Cambodia. Focused on “dreaming the sacred through traditional and contemporary forms of dance” the process culminated in an informal community showing in Phnom Penh. A short documentary film based on their experience was recently completed. Join Seattle dance artists Piacenza and Reeber as they share their time dancing and dialoguing with Cambodian artists.

Book Club Happy Hour
DEC 3 / 5:30PM
Back Room at Liberty Bar (515 15th Ave E) / FREE
Facilitated by Vanessa DeWolf, Adam Sekuler + STANCE Editor Syniva Whitney

TEXT: Movement (preface) by Étienne Jules-Marey. Check out the preface here or just show up!

Shaping Time: Speakeasy Panel + Conversation 
DEC 9 / 4:30-6PM
Velocity Founders Theater / FREE

Internationally renowned composer Wayne Horvitz, filmmaker Adam Sekuler and celebrated choreographer Mark Haim discuss shaping and experiencing time in music, cinema and dance.

Happy Hour Conversation: Dance + The Future
DEC 10 / 5-6:30PM
BOOM Noodle (1121 E Pike)

Dance is in a moment of disciplinary transformation. Join us for an informal conversation at BOOM Noodle reflecting on how the past manifests in the present and what the future looks like. Then head-over to Next Dance Cinema.

STANCE FOCUS ABOUT:TIME >>

 

 

Seattle Women + Provocative Art:

Artists Respond to Elles @ SAM
NOV 15 / 7PM
Velocity Founders Theater (1621 12th Ave) / Pay-what-you-can

This multi-disciplinary think tank begins with mini-discussions + group dialogue followed by an invitation to imagine live, provocative performances in response to Elles. Curated by A K Mimi Allin in cooperation with Velocity Executive/Artistic Director Tonya Lockyer.

VELOCITY OPEN FOR(U)M: RACE + REALNESS

Performing Race: Speakeasy Roundtable with Amy O’Neal
Join Amy O’Neal, Iyun Harrison (Seattle), Robin Sanders (Memphis/San Antonio), Jhon Stronks (Houston) and Susie J. Lee (Seattle) in a panel and community conversation framing the themes of Race in Dance and Racial Realness—the beginnings of a conversation long overdue in Seattle.

SUN OCT 14
Velocity Founders Theater / 4:30–6PM
Pay What You Can

Book Club Happy Hour
TEXT Hip-Hop Realness and the White Performer  by Mickey Hess
Facilitated by Vanessa Dewolf + STANCE Editor Syniva Whitney
SUN OCT 15
Back Room at Liberty Bar (517 15^th Ave E) / 5PM
FREE

BodyBook Club
TEXT Hip-Hop Realness and the White Performer  by Mickey Hess
Facilitated by Vanessa Dewolf
TUES OCT 16
Velocity Steward Studio / 5-6PM
FREE

VELOCITY OPEN FOR(U)M: FAILURE: CONVERSATIONS AROUND ART + THE ECONOMY

Book Club Happy Hour
Facilitated by STANCE Editor Syniva Whitney + Vanessa Dewolf
TEXT But, What Is Queer Art? : A Paradoxical Manifesto by Cassie Peterson

Please join us to discuss the texts, read from them, and enjoy a few drinks and snacks. We’ll do a bit of writing and a bit of reading aloud.  Bring your questions or ideas about these two works.  Do they provoke you? We’ll leave with a few ideas about using this material and our discussions to generate movement and embodiment.

MON SEPT 17
Back Room at Liberty Bar (515 15th Ave E) / 5:30PM
FREE

BodyBook Club
Facilitated by STANCE Editor Syniva Whitney + Vanessa Dewolf
TEXT Failure as a Poetic Dimension by Harald Szeemann
Together in the studio we will explore the readings and ideas in movements and other embodiment processes that give us a physical approach to the language and readings of these texts.

TUES SEPT 18
Velocity Steward Studio / 5-6PM
FREE

The Art of Politics + the Politics of Queer
Speakeasy Roundtable with Keith Hennessy (SF) + Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
A panel and community conversation framing the broader themes of Turbulence (a dance about the economy) with Keith Hennessy and San Francisco-based author and activist Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore. Continue the conversation over a family style meal.

THURS SEPT 20 / 7:30PM
Velocity Founders Theater ( 1621 12^th Avenue )
Pay What You Can

STANCE FOCUS QUEER NEW WORLDS: IDENTITIES+ECONOMIES+MOVEMENTS >>

 

 

Improvisation as Survival Strategy + Political Tactic
A SFDI Roundtable Conversation

With Julyen Hamilton, Ray Chung, Rosemary Hannon + facilitated by Tonya Lockyer

WED AUG 1 / 7:30-8:30PM
Velocity Founders Theater / 1621 12^th Avenue
FREE

Join this open round-table conversation as SFDI guest artists, festival participants, and one-and-all are invited to respond to performance artist Keith Hennessy’s proposition that improvisation is a survival strategy and political tactic. More Info >>

ARTIST2ARTIST Julyen Hamilton and Angelina Baldoz — Beth Graczyk

 

 

Culture in a Political World: Arts, Academia and the Occupation of Palestine
An Interdisciplinary Panel and Community Conversation
Curated and facilitated by Emma Klein
May 27 / 7 PM
Velocity Founders Theater
Free/ PWYC

Four Seattle-based artists, academics and activists share their perspectives on performance as a site of protest. Representing theater, dance, oral history, and political science, panelists Samer Al-Saber, Prof. Nada Elia, Maia Brown and Emma Klein will discuss our role as cultural consumers in a political world, using South African Apartheid and the current Palestinian/Israeli conflict as case studies. Join this open, critical conversation.

Borrowed Prey: A Round Table Community Conversation 
on empathy, ethics and justice in our relationship to animals that we consume
Thursday, January 26 / 7 PM
Velocity’s Founder’s Theater
Free/ PWYC

Activity and Passivity in Art and Life — Carrie Ahern

 

 

2011

Body Book Club
a reading club for the kinesthetic
Pilot Series: 12/16. 1/16. 2/8*, 2/10
12:30 – 2:00PM
Velocity’s Steward Studio

Text for 2/8 & 2/10: “Exhaustion and Exuberance, Ways to Defy the Pressures to Perform,” by Jan Verwoert

NEW FORMAT!!!
Part I: Wednesday February 8, 7-9:30p  Reading/Discussion at Bluebird Cafe
Part II: Friday, February 10, 12:30-2:00p Movement/Writing at Velocity

*Part I will be an aloud reading/discussion at High 5 Pie at 12th Ave and Union/Madison from 7:00-9:30pm
Part II will be a movement/writing exploration session from 12:30-2:00pm in Steward Studio at Velocity
More about Body Book Club >>

NEXT FEST NW Speakeasy Events

“Do You Love Me Yet?”
A John Boylan Roundtable 
Thursday,  December 8 / 7pm
Founders Theater
Free more info

Authorship meets Theft + Devotion
A Performance Lecture with Amy O/tinyrage
Saturday, December 10 / 5pm
The Project Room
Free

WILD CARD The Works of Theft and Devotion — A K Mimi Allin, Vanessa DeWolf + Syniva Whitney

 

Every Dancer Insured by 2014
Thursday, November 10 / 6pm-7:30pm
Kawasaki Studio
Free
The Actors Fund is holding a seminar to inform Seattle’s dance community
about  accessible health insurance options. Find out what the country’s
health care reform means for artists.  Learn about the various
government-subsidized programs as well as quality care for the uninsured.

So You Think It’s Dance? Show (+ Tell)
Saturday October 22 @ 3pm
Velocity Dance Center / Founders Theater
Pay-What-You-Can

“So You Think It’s Dance?” is a behind the scenes Show + Tell with Seattle artists famous for pushing the boundaries of dance and performance. Jessica Jobaris, The Cherdonna & Lou Show and Douglas Ridings perform and reveal their creative process. Reel Grrl Maile Martinez screens her short film The Cherdonna and Lou Show: The Movie! Local critics Brendan Kiley (The Stranger), Sandi Kurtz (The Seattle Weekly) and Leah Baltus (City Arts) join boylesque star Waxie Moon to chime in with their two cents. Is it dance? Performance art? Protest? Cabaret? Does it matter? Join the conversation and learn more about these fantastic artists.

Hosted by Velocity’s Executive Director Tonya Lockyer. Presented by Velocity Dance Center with the CityArts Festival.

Robert Tyree Reports Back: Workshop + Talk
// ImPulsTanz 2011 // 

Friday, September 30th
Workshop 6p-8p / Talk 8p-9:30p
Velocity Dance Center
Founders Theater / Steward
Pay-What-You-Can

Every summer, artists worldwide find their way to ImPulzTanz…

Portland dancer, Robert Tyree, was selected to attend ImPulsTanz through danceWEB Europe’s scholarship program. He will share practices cherry picked from the workshops at ImPulzTanz 2011 offered by artists:  Jennifer Lacey, Robert Steijn, Marco Berrettini, & Mårten Spånberg.

The workshop is followed by a multi-media discussion+presentation on the festival.
Attend the workshop, the talk, or both. Open to everyone.  Bring food. Velocity’s by donation bar will be open!

Presented by Velocity’s Speakeasy Series.