Co-Presented by RAWdance and ODC Theater
Land Acknowledgement / About “Shadow (part 1)” / About “The Healer” / Bios / Special Thanks / About RAWdance / About ODC Theater / Upcoming Events
Land Acknowledgement
We would like to acknowledge that ODC Theater and RAWdance’s home base are located in Yelamu, also known as San Francisco, on the unceded territory of the Ramaytush Ohlone people, who have continuously lived upon this land since time immemorial. RAWdance’s East Coast branch is situated in Lenapehoking, the Lenape homeland. We ask you to join us in acknowledging the Ramaytush Ohlone and Munsee Lenape communities, their elders both past and present, as well as future generations and encourage you to learn more about the land where you reside at native-land.ca.
Shadow (part 1)
Choreography: Wendy Rein and Ryan T. Smith
Performance: Carly Johnson, Wendy Rein, Ryan T. Smith, and Victor Talledos
Director of Photography: Ben Estabrook
Editing: Ryan T. Smith
Original Score: Surabhi Saraf
Scenic Design: Chad Owens
Lighting Design: Del Medoff
Understudy Dancer: Katherine Disenhof
Audio Describer: Alisa Rasera
Special thanks to original cast members Carly Johnson and Adam Weinert, as well as pinch hitters Nick Wagner and Stacey Yuen, for their choreographic contributions to this work. And thank you to Victor Talledos for gracefully stepping in to help us realize this production.
About “Shadow (part 1)”
Shadow (part 1), choreographed by Ryan T. Smith and Wendy Rein, brings a quartet of dancers from San Francisco and New York for the first chapter premiere of this deep dive into our digital debris and data-defined identities. With a soundscore by Surabhi Saraf, set design by Chad Owens, lighting by Del Medoff, and cinematography by Ben Estabrook, Shadow (part 1) digs into the reverberations of surveillance, digital tracking, and feedback loops of/on the body to create a tenebrous world on screen. Part 2 of Shadow will premiere next year as a gallery installation combining film, augmented reality, and live performance.
The Healer
Choreography: Katerina Wong, with the performers
Performance: Michaela Cruze, Juliann Witt, Katerina Wong, and Stacey Yuen
Cinematography: Jenny Chu
Editing: Loren R. Robertson
Original Score: Daniel Berkman
Scenic Design: Chad Owens
Lighting Design: Del Medoff
Understudy Dancer: Katherine Disenhof
Costume Coordination:Jhia Jackson
TCM Consultation: Shawna Seth
Text: Szuson Wong, Doctor of Energy Medicine
Audio Describer: Rachael Dichter
Video production: Loren Robertson Productions
Community Performers
(family, friends, mentors, and all around incredible women):
Suzy Acquisto, Alex Carrington, Katherine Disenhof, Julie Doupé, Cristina Ibarra, Amy Miller, Elizabeth Sheets Orcutt, Michelle Ramos, Wendy Rein, Arielle Tonkin, Becca Welna, Robin Wong, & Agnes Yoon
This work is dedicated to Dr. Szuson Wong, a holistic healer and loving aunt. Special thanks to Joe Goode Performance Group’s The Feedback program and Shawna Seth for their support in The Healer‘s development.
About “The Healer”
The Healer is a holistic online experience and virtual dance performance. After months of isolation, anxiety, frustration, loss, grief, and uncertainty, The Healer creates space for personal reflection, communal breath, and universal release. Choreographed by Co-Artistic Director Katerina Wong in memory of her late aunt, Szuson Wong, The Healer mines the ancient history, systems, and beliefs of Traditional Chinese Medicine to magnify and marvel at humanity’s innate ability to overcome physical and emotional suffering
*Live Captioning and Audio Description services are available for this performance.
For d/Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing audience members, captions have been provided by CaptioningStar and RAWdance. For blind and visually impaired audience members, RAWdance partners with Gravity Access Services to offer audio described versions of our videos. Audio description is an audio track spoken by a professional audio describer to audience members with visual impairments to provide clear and engaging descriptions of the meaningful visual details of a video.
Bios
Daniel Berkman (Music Composition, The Healer) is a Bay Area multi-instrumentalist, composer, electronic…
…musician, producer and innovator of electro-acoustic music. He has several acclaimed albums to his credit including film soundtracks, ballets, works for kora, cello, viola da gamba, guitar, keyboard instruments, ukelin, LyraVR and electronic music under his moniker Colfax. Daniel has been a composer and musical accompanist for the San Francisco dance community since 1998, working with Janice Garrett and Dancers, Lizz Roman and Dancers, Berkeley Ballet Theatre, Post:Ballet, ODC, San Francisco Ballet, and many others. DANIELBERKMAN.COM
Michaela Cruze (Performance, The Healer) obtained her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from Chapman University…
…in 2011. Upon graduation, Michaela apprenticed with Kolben Dance in Jerusalem, Israel. Michaela returned to the States in 2012 and moved to San Francisco. She has performed with Scott Wells, Christine Bonansea, and Detour Dance. She is a current company member of FACT/SF and LEVYdance. Michaela is also a personal trainer and small business owner. movewithmichaela.com / @michaelascruzen
Katherine Disenhof (Understudy Dancer) was born and raised in Mill Valley, California, where she studied…
…classical ballet at Marin Ballet. She graduated from Stanford University in 2012 with a BA in Human Biology and received the Louis Sudler Prize in the Performing and Creative Arts. Katherine was a Company Dancer with San Francisco’s Robert Moses’ Kin from 2013-2017 and with Portland’s NW Dance Project from 2017-2020, touring domestically and internationally with both companies. In 2012 she joined the staff of San Francisco’s Alonzo King LINES Ballet and currently serves as their Marketing Manager.
Jhia Jackson (Costume Coordination, The Healer) is an artist, scholar, and organizer who regularly engages in…
…interdisciplinary projects. At the core of her practice is the belief that art and life are not distinct. She has performed with Movement of the People Dance Company, dNaga Dance for the World Parkinson Congress, Alexandra Pirici, and Epiphany Dance Theater among others. She is the founder of Emerging Black Bay Artists, a Joe Goode Co-Production artist, and a doctoral candidate in sociology at UCSF.
Carly Johnson (Performance, Shadow) A California native, Carly received early training…
…at the age of two. She continued her studies at SOTA, Alonzo King LINES Ballet and completed her BFA from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. Carly has had the pleasure of working and performing with various artists including Ja’Malik of Ballet Boy Productions, Carmen Rozestraten, Nelly Van Bommel of NØA Dance, Sidra Bell, Andrea Miller of Gallim Dance, Robert Moses’ KIN, Dexandro “D” Montalvo, Tanya Bello’s Project.B, RAWdance and had the opportunity to perform as Baryshnikov’s silhouette in his show Letter to a Man at Zellerbach Theater.
Del Medoff (Lighting Design) is an Oakland-based lighting designer/technician who has designed for…
…dozens of Bay Area companies including Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, Deborah Slater Dance Theater, Christy Funsch, Peiling Kao, Sharp and Fine, 13th Floor Dance Theater, Bellweather Dance, and many more. He has always felt strongly connected to dance and is grateful to the community for giving him a home. You can’t have a light without a dark to stick it in. – Arlo Guthrie
Chad Owens (Scenic Design) has created original staged designs for more than 100 productions, for…
… companies including Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Cal Performances, Aurora Theatre, and West Edge Opera. Set Design and Art Direction for film include Blue Jasmine, Milk (Oscar and Art Director’s Guild noms for best production design), Chasing Mavericks, Haywire, The Pursuit of Happyness (sic), The Wild, Haiku Tunnel, Woman on Top, and Bunraku. Owens has also worked extensively as an Art Director for TV, and an Associate Designer on Broadway. He is based in Oakland.
Wendy Rein (Choreography/Performance, Shadow) A native New Yorker, Wendy has been dancing and breaking furniture…
…since age 3. With a BA from Brown University, she brings over 20 years of professional experience in the field to her work as a performer, choreographer producer, curator, and teacher. She worked with Misnomer Dance Theater before moving to San Francisco, where Wendy co-founded RAWdance with Ryan Smith and had the privilege of performing with artists such as Amy Seiwert, Deborah Slater, Alma Esperanza Cunningham, Nancy Karp, Mary Carbonara, and Todd Eckert, among others. She also worked for many years both in front of the camera and behind the scenes on a series of dance film projects with RJ Muna. Wendy moved to NY’s Hudson Valley in 2019 as the company expanded to two locations.
Surabhi Saraf (Music Composition, Shadow) is a media artist, composer, and performer based in Brooklyn, NY…
She is the recipient of the Fleishhacker Foundation Eureka Fellowship Award and the Djerassi Resident Artist award. She is a current resident at Harvestworks NY, and was a 2019 technology resident at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn. Surabhi has performed at Soundwave Biennial ((8)); Thessaloniki Contemporary Art Biennial, Greece; Currents International New Media Festival, Santa Fe; San Francisco Electronic Music Festival; and Max Mueller Bhavan Goethe Institut, Mumbai and New Delhi, among others. She has had solo exhibitions at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai, and Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco. Her work has been featured in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Blouin Art Info, Art Practical, and KQED Arts. SURABHISARAF.NET
Ryan T. Smith (Choreography/Performance, Shadow) is a queer dance-maker, performer, curator…
…and connector. A Co-Founder of RAWdance, he has served as Co-Artistic Director since 2004, creating dozens of works for stage, alternative locations, and film with creative partner Wendy Rein. As a dancer, he has performed for artists such as Amy Seiwert, Alma Esperanza Cunningham, and Stephen Pelton. He was a member of the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company from 2005-2016, touring nationally and internationally, and participating in several collaborations with artists and organizations in Kochin, Kolkata, Guangzhou, and Jerusalem. Originally from outside of Boston, MA, Ryan received his B.A. in Theatre Arts and French Literature from Brown University before moving to San Francisco. In 2019, after 16 years in the Bay, he moved his primary residence to High Falls, a small hamlet in New York’s Hudson Valley.
Victor Talledos (Performance, Shadow) began his training at Conservatorio de Danza…
…in Mexico City, graduated from Escuela Superior de Musica y Danza de Monterrey, Mexico, and studied at the Ailey School. He has danced for various companies in Mexico and NYC. In the Bay Area, he has worked for Robert Moses’ KIN, Copious Dance Theater, Labayen Dance SF, Alayo Dance Company, and The Anata Project. Victor has shown his own work in San Francisco and NYC and he has been a guest choreographer for Labayen Dance SF, Emote Dance Theater, and Copious Dance Theater. He has taught Horton, Modern, and Ballet at San Francisco Dance Center, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, Lone Star Ballet in Amarillo Texas, and Westlake School for the Performing Arts, and workshops in Mexico City and Monterrey, Mexico.
Juliann Witt (Performance, The Healer) was born in Marin and began dancing at the age of three…
As a young dancer she trained at the California Academy of Performing Arts and attended summer programs with American Ballet Theatre and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. Juliann received her BFA in Dance Performance from SUNY Purchase and performed briefly in NYC post graduation. Since returning to the Bay Area she has had the pleasure of dancing with many great artists and companies including DTSF, Nol Simonse, Bellwether Dance Project, Dexandro “D” Montalvo, Fullstop Dance, Robert Moses’ Kin, Liv Schaffer, Concept o4, and the San Francisco Symphony. She has been a member of RAWdance since 2018, and is incredibly grateful to have participated in numerous performances with these incredible artists!
Katerina (Katie) Wong (Choreography/Performance, The Healer) has performed with over 15 Bay Area…
…dance companies since graduating from Princeton University and moving west, including RAWdance, Printz Dance Project, PUSH Dance Company, LEVYdance, Concept o4, and the San Francisco Symphony. Katie’s choreography has been commissioned by PUSH Dance Company, FACT/SF, Cutting Ball Theater, California Academy of Sciences, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, and ACLU of Northern California. In 2017, she was the first dance artist to tour nationally with Pop-Up Magazine, which culminated in a performance at Lincoln Center. She is a 2019 Dance/USA Institute for Leadership Training mentee, a 2020 Women of Color in the Arts Leadership Through Mentorship participant, and a member of APAP’s Emerging Leadership Institute Class of 2020, and an invited artist of the 2019 Asylum Arts Bay Area Jewish Artist Retreat. After a long history with the organization, Katie stepped into a new Co-Artistic Director role with RAWdance in 2019. katerinawong.com / @katerinawong
Dr. Szuson Wong, Ph.D., R.N. (Text / In Memoriam, The Healer) was an energetic healer, international speaker, and…
… accomplished author. Szuson began her healing career and calling under the tutelage of her grandfather, becoming a Registered Nurse then earning a degree in Acupuncture from the Beijing International School of Acupuncture, followed by a Doctorate in Energy Medicine, thereby integrating knowledge and practices from the East and West. With 30 years as a health and wellness practitioner, her passion was to empower people to transform their lives and communities.
Stacey Yuen (Performance, The Healer), a Bay Area native, received her BFA in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts….
She went on to work with Seán Curran and the Santa Fe Opera, and to travel to Greece to perform in works by Johannes Wieland and Stella Zannou at the one small step dance festival. She spent three seasons as a dancer and rehearsal director with the Sticky Trace Company in Germany. Since returning to the Bay, Stacey has worked with Robert Moses, Katie Faulkner, Jennifer Perfilio, Lenora Lee Dance, Alyssandra Katherine Dance Project, and RAWdance. staceyyuen.com
Special thanks
A deep thanks goes out to the extraordinary artistic team who offered their creative energy, intelligence, and patience to make these works a reality! Many thanks as well to those working behind-the-scenes, including the ODC Theater staff, Aiyana, Twyla, Katherine, John, our board, our volunteers, and the many funders and donors who have made this production possible. Thank you to Fernando Padilla for his assistance with the set of Shadow (part 1). Sharing our gratitude to Wythe Bowart, Nuria Bowart, Matt Haber, and Lynne Steinsieck for the bamboo donations for The Healer set. Thank you to John O’Brien and Meg Young for helping to accommodate the dancers for the filming of that work. And of course thanks to all the family, friends, partners, students, and fuzzy creatures who support us in all that we do!
About RAWdance
RAWdance champions the power of movement as an indispensable source of connection and a visceral medium to illuminate the issues of our time. We commit to creating adventurous, thoughtful, and welcoming programming that challenges what contemporary dance is, where it happens, who it includes, and the role it plays in our lives.
RAWdance is an award-winning contemporary dance company known for transforming theaters and public spaces through a mix of performance, curation, and collaboration. Under the artistic direction of Ryan T. Smith, Wendy Rein, and Katerina Wong, the company’s nuanced, charged dances pose questions ranging from the broadly social to the intimately personal. SF Chronicle described the company as ”witty, whip-smart, and beautiful to watch.” Critical Dance called RAWdance a “rare treasure” that “combines choreographic excellence, innovative structures, groundbreaking concepts and impeccable performances.” Founded in San Francisco in 2004 by Smith and Rein, the company grew to include Wong as a third Artistic Director in 2019, while also expanding to two locations — New York’s Hudson Valley as well as its home base in San Francisco.
RAWdance was proudly voted “Best Dance Company” by 48 Hills and the San Francisco Bay Guardian’s Best of the Bay in 2019, 2020, and just this month for 2021.
Staff
Wendy Rein, Co-Artistic Director
Ryan T. Smith, Co-Artistic Director
Katerina Wong, Co-Artistic Director
Aiyana D’Arcangelo, Program Manager
Megan Kurashige, CONCEPT series Coordinator & Co-Curator
Katherine Disenhof, Interim Digital Marketing Manager
Twyla Malchow-Hay, Interim Program Manager
Board
Melissa Hudson Bell
Rebekah Enderle, Treasurer
Iris Fluellen, Fundraising Co-Chair
Pam Kramer, Co-President
Alexandra McClure, Secretary
Elizabeth Sheets Orcutt Fundraising Co-Chair
Sean Waugh, Co-President
Supporters
The creation of Shadow (part 1) was supported by the Kenneth Rainin Foundation. The creation of The Healer was supported in part by Joe Goode Performance Group’s The Feedback program. RAWdance is thankful for the support of The Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, Grants for the Arts, ODC Theater, and many generous individuals.
Audio Description by Rachel Dichter (The Healer) and Alisa Rasera (Shadow (part 1)) of Gravity Access Services is generously supported by the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, and The Kenneth Rainin Foundation.
Individual donations are essential to ensure that RAWdance can continue to create and present relevant, accessible, and exceptional dance now and into the future. Click here to make a donation.
About ODC Theater
ODC Theater Staff
ODC/Dance Artistic Director/Founder: Brenda Way
Executive Director: Carma Zisman
ODC Theater Creative Director: Chloe L. Zimberg
ODC Executive Associate: Garth Grimball
ODC School Director: Kimi Okada
ODC Fellow: KT Nelson
Director of Production: Jack Beuttler
Director of Marketing & Communications: Kellyn Lopes
Operations Manager: Dennis Lickteig
Digital Content Producer: Matt Shrimplin
Public Services Manager: Michael D. Lee
Writer in Residence: Sima Belmar
Theater Publicist: John B. Hill
Mission and Impact
ODC Theater exists to empower and develop innovative artists. It participates in the creation of new works through commissioning, presenting, mentorship, and space access; it develops informed, engaged, and committed audiences; and advocates for the performing arts as an essential component to the economic and cultural development of our community. The Theater is the site of over 150 performances a year involving nearly 1,000 local, regional, national, and international artists.
Since 1976, ODC Theater has been the mobilizing force behind countless San Francisco artists and the foothold for national and international touring artists seeking debut in the Bay Area. Our Theater, founded by Brenda Way and currently under the direction of Julie Potter, has earned its place as a cultural incubator by dedicating itself to creative change-makers, those leaders who give our region its unmistakable definition and flare. Nationally known artists Spaulding Gray, Diamanda Galas, Molissa Fenley, Bill T. Jones, Eiko & Koma, Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, Ban Rarra, and Karole Armitage are among those whose first San Francisco appearance occurred at ODC Theater.
ODC Theater is part of a two-building campus dedicated to supporting every stage of the artistic lifecycle-conceptualization, creation, and performance. This includes our flagship company, ODC/Dance, and our School, in partnership with Rhythm and Motion Dance Workout down the street at 351 Shotwell. For more information on ODC Theater and all its programs please visit: odc.dance.
ODC Theater is a proud member of Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Western Arts Alliance, Dance/USA.
ODC Theater relies on the generous support of donors like you.
To give to ODC Theater, visit odc.dance/give.
Support
ODC Theater is supported in part by the following foundations and agencies: Grants for the Arts/San Francisco Hotel Tax Fund, Anonymous Foundation Partner, New England Foundation for the Arts / National Dance Project, The Koret Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, San Francisco Arts Commission, MAP Fund, The Kenneth Rainin Foundation, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Zellerbach Family Foundation, Sam Mazza Foundation, and The Fleishhacker Foundation. ODC Theater is a proud member of Association of Performing Arts Presenters, California Presenters, Dance USA, Dancers’ Group. ODC Theater relies on the generous support of donors like you. To give to ODC Theater, visit odc.dance/give.
Upcoming Events
RAWdance presents the CONCEPT series: Digital Edition 3
Friday, December 10, 2021 / Online