Meet the Pilot Cohort Fellows
JOHNNY HUY NGUYEN (he/him) is a second generation Vietnamese American multidisciplinary somatic artist based in Yelamu (San Francisco) and son of courageous refugees. Fluent in multiple movement modalities – including street dance, contemporary, modern, and martial arts – Nguyen weaves together dance, theater, media, comedy, spoken word, ritual, and installation to create immersive, time-based works that interrogate human experience through a lens that is all at once political, critical, and deeply personal. His solo work, Minority Without A Model – deconstructing Asian masculinity and desire – premiered in 2021 at the United States of Asian America Festival. His collaborative work, HOME(in)STEAD – a site-specific duet with Megan Lowe – premiered in 2022 as an Artist-in-Residence at the David Ireland House, exploring home as an expansive space for everyday actions, imperfections, healing, and freedom. He is currently engaged in research and process for his next solo work, No Country for Mother, premiering in 2023. Nguyễn’s work has been presented by the Asian Art Museum (San Francisco), Kearny Street Workshop, Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco, and SOMArts Cultural Center. He has been awarded grants by the San Francisco Arts Commission and California Arts Council. In addition to his work as an individual artist, he is a member of Lenora Lee Dance Company and has also appeared in productions by KULARTS and the Global Street Dance Masquerade. As an arts professional, he is a development and program associate with Asian Improv aRts (AIR), helping to nurture the viability and sustainability of Asian American artists and organizations both locally and nationwide. @johnny.huy.nguyen
JOCELYN REYES (she/her) is a Latin American contemporary choreographer and dance filmmaker based in San Francisco. A first generation LA native, Reyes holds a B.S. in Cognitive Science and a B.A. in Dance from UCLA, and is the artistic director of REYES Dance. Reyes’ works are informed by her childhood experiences with poverty, domestic abuse, and religion within the context of Latin American culture. She blends athleticism, everyday gestures, humor, abstraction and storytelling to question traditions, belief systems, and toxic behavioral patterns, in order to heal and reimagine healthier ways of relating to ourselves and others. Since 2017, she has self-produced three evening length works and presented choreography in many festivals and curated events. Reyes was a Joe Goode Performance Group co-production artist, and is currently a recipient of the San Francisco Arts Commision and the CASH Grant Award. reyesdance.com
SAHARLA VETSCH (she/her) is a Somali American independent dance/drag artist born and raised in Minnesota. Now residing in the Bay Area, Saharla has earned a degree in Performing Arts and Social Justice with a concentration in dance from the University of San Francisco. Her work centers intersecting identities and how they relate to one another. Her drag persona Major Hammy (he/him) seeks to spread joy and love by being the life of the party, and bringing the freedom of self expression he experiences through dance to others. Saharla has had the opportunity to do aerial dance work with Zaccho Dance Theatre in “Love, a state of grace” and Flyaway Productions in “Apparatus of Repair.” She currently works with Detour Dance and has participated in their “Up on High” film series. She has also performed with Joe Goode Performance Group in “Time of Change.” @the_major_s
Thank you to our panelists
Melissa Bell, Nick Brentley, Giselle Chow, Eric Garcia, Wendy Rein, Ryan T. Smith, Katerina Wong, and Stacey Yuen
Why a referral Process
If you have questions regarding the program or would like to be notified about future opportunities, please feel free to contact us at FELLOWSHIP@RAWDANCE.ORG.