SHOW PROGRAM
LILACS
sept 12-15, 2024
Red Eye Theater
2213 Snelling Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55404
Director: Annika Johansson
Dancers: Kendall Edstrom, Annika Johansson, Rachel Lieberman, J H Shuǐ Xiān, Elayna Waxse
Costume Design: Abby Johansson
Lighting Design: Alice Endo
Stage Manager / Board Op: Lily Conforti
Breathers
Dancers: Kendall Edstrom, Annika Johansson, Rachel Lieberman, J H Shuǐ Xiān, Elayna Waxse
Sound: Leon Vynehall
Connection and friction of community
Time Collapse
Dancers: Rachel Lieberman, Elayna Waxse
Sound: Cosmo Sheldrake
my grief is a wind tunnel
Dancers: Kendall Edstrom, Rachel Lieberman, Elayna Waxse
Sound: Sarah Neufeld, Colin Stetson
The ways we process grief differently and collectively, cycles and circles and caught up in the middle of it all
From the Creator of 1998's Hit Dance Show, The Golden Bird Gold
Dancer: Annika Johansson
Always trying to get back to the wisdom of my three-year old self.
Gatorade Player of the Year
Dancer: Kendall Edstrom
Sound: CAKE
MINNEAPOLIS, MAKE SOME NOISE FOR YOUR GATORADE PLAYER OF THE YEAR!
A celebration of quiet excellence.
YOKE / do you really see me
Dancers: Kendall Edstrom, J H Shuǐ Xiān
Sound: Poliça, Vaughn Monroe, Paris Hilton
Based on Annika’s experiences pre and post top surgery; an awkward out-of-body burden, a search for congruency, the support of a partner.
LATE TO THE GENDER PERFORMANCE
Dancers: Kendall Edstrom, Annika Johansson, Rachel Lieberman, J H Shuǐ Xiān, Elayna Waxse
Sound: Edith Piaf, Divine Interface
Trying and failing to present yourself and construct yourself. Clothes and makeup and body discomfort. The pressure and struggle of the people around you. The chaos of not having it all figured out.
salvage
Dancer: J H Shuǐ Xiān
Sound: White Noise Radiance
A quiet moment to reflect, gathering the pieces.
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Bios
Lily Conforti
Lily Conforti is a performer, choreographer, dance teacher, and Stage Manager from the Twin Cities. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with degrees in dance and physiology in May 2021. She is interested in articulation of movement with music, and creating multimedia dance works that are new and exciting for audience members. Lily is the founder and choreographer for Corpus Dance Works. She started the group in 2019. They have performed in the MN, Indy, and Calgary Fringe Festivals, Candy Box Dance Festival, Inbox at Artbox, DanceBarn's Vol III CollabArts, and in other local festivals. The group creates under a collective goal of combining dance and other artistic genres such as Dance and Theater in their most recent hour long show 'All the Hullabaloo'. Lily looks to push storytelling, whimsy, and artistry to the forefront of her work and also to remind audiences that art can be serious while also being a silly, fun time. Along with her own dance choreographies, Lily has performed in work by Kjara Wurst, Gallim Dance, Honey Works Dance, Black Label Movement, and Alternative Motion Project. She has provided technical help for Dance Projects by ME and is excited to be working with the cast and crew of LILACS!
Kendall Edstrom
Kendall (they/she) is a dance artist and educator from and based in Minnesota. They graduated with a BFA in dance from the University of Minnesota in 2019, and have since danced professionally with Alternative Motion Project, ARENA Dances and Taja Will, and Christopher Watson Dance Company. Kendall is a teaching artist at Young Dance and at the moment is most interested in performing dance that highlights quiet details, tends to the vulnerable humming of curiosity and rides the waves of play and pleasure.
Alice Endo
Alice Endo is a multi-disciplinary designer and technician for live performance, working mostly in lighting and scenery. Past projects include work with groups such as Theater Mu, Red Eye Theater, Threads Dance Project, TU Dance, Full Circle Theater Company, Exposed Brick Theatre, Artistry Theater, GREAT Theater, Twin Cities Horror Festival, and MN Fringe Festival. She holds a B.A. in Performance Design and Technologies from Macalester College.
Annika Johansson
Annika Johansson is a dance artist from Minneapolis, Mni Sota Makoce. They create dance for both theaters and public spaces and have shown work at the Casket Arts Building, Minneapolis Sculpture Garden, Red Eye Theater's Works in Progress, and ARENA DANCES' Candy Box Dance Festival. They are passionate about collaboration and investigating process and bring the same curiosity to projects of all scopes. Annika appreciates the chance to work with a variety of local artists and collect creative experiences - they’ve performed most recently with HoneyWorks & Hatch Dance, Sophia Pimsler, and will perform next weekend with Jagged Moves at the Southern Theater. They have a BFA in Dance from the University of Minnesota. When citing their experience as an artist and body, they return to thank the trans and queer elders and friends who helped them ask questions and discover their truest self.
Abby Johansson
Abby Johansson is a mover, creator, and gatherer.
Rachel Lieberman
Growing up in and around Chicago, Rachel trained, performed, and taught primarily with Giordano Jazz Dance. After graduating from Macalester College in 2018, she has performed in works by Contempo Physical, Leila Awadallah, Off-Leash Area, A Cripple’s Dance, Zoë Koenig, ARENA Dances, and Javan Mngrezzo. Rachel is currently a company mover with Analog Dance Works and Black Label Movement. She has also choreographed solo and group works in collaboration with Alternative Motion Project, Franconia Sculpture Garden, Candy Box Festival, and Black Label Movement. Off-stage, Rachel works as a Program Director at Cow Tipping Press, teaching and publishing creative writing by adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities.
J H Shuǐ Xiān
Judith H Shuǐ Xiān is a choreographer, improviser, and sound artist based in Minneapolis. She is a 2017/2022 Q-Stage: New Works and 2019 Momentum: New Dance Works recipient and was part of the 2022 Red Eye Works-In-Progress cohort. She is currently focused on researching ritual & meditation through experimental performance.
Elayna Waxse
Elayna Waxse (she/they) is a Minneapolis-based performer, dance educator, and choreographer. Professionally, Elayna has performed with Minnesota Dance Theatre, Colorado Ballet/Colorado Ballet Studio Company, Black Label Movement, BodyCartography Project, and with Cie. Ismael Ivo at ImPulsTanz Vienna International Dance Festival. They were a member of TU Dance from 2012 to 2019, and were part of the original creation team of Come Through, the collaboration between TU Dance and Grammy-award winning musical group Bon Iver. Through this collaboration Elayna performed at the Hollywood Bowl (LA, CA), and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, D.C.). Their choreographic work has been supported by Minnesota Dance Theatre, University of Minnesota Dance Department (2022 Sage Cowles Visiting Artist), Carleton College Dance Department, Threads Dance Project, and University of Minnesota Opera Theatre among others. She is a 2019 recipient of a McKnight Fellowship in Dance, and most recently served as the Interim Artistic Director of Minnesota Dance Theatre.
SPECIAL THANKS
Thanks to Jules Bither and Young Dance, Mathew Janczewski and ARENA DANCES, Val Oliveiro and Morgan Thorson and MOVO for studio space and coordination.
Thank you to Erin Thompson, Emma Marlar, Leslie O’Neill, Jennifer Glaws, Kiersten Hansen, Bernadette Knaeble, and Kim Schneider for offering support at our open rehearsals and giving feedback.
Thank you to Hennepin County Libraries for free scanners and printers.
Thank you to Kiersten Hansen for the gift of home space and support and random prop supplies and general sibling goodness.
Thank you to Dayton Johnson for costume support and being so ready to help.
Thank you to Brenna Mosser for the use of your industrial fan and helping the imagined come to life.
Thank you to Red Eye Theater for supporting this show with the Curated Rentals Program. What an incredible opportunity and community resource - thank you Emily and Matt and Val and Alice for technical and administrative support.
Thank you to Lily for such great support in the final stages of getting the show up. Thanks for your time management, clear direction, kind heart, and willingness to jump in- we could not have done this show without you.
Thank you to Alice for your vision for lighting up these worlds and crafting the show in such a vital way. Thanks for all your communication and advice and incredible skill.
Thank you Elayna, Kendall, Judee, and Rachel for bringing this show and movement to life! It's been amazing seeing you adapt what's lived in my head and bring such expression and generosity to this project. Thanks for all your work and problem-solving.
Thank you Abby, for your steady encouragement in every stage of this process, and for your costume vision and amplifying the themes of the show. Thanks for knowing me and supporting who I want to be.
Thank you, lovely audience, for taking time to witness, to support dance, and to show up for new work. It's vulnerable to share parts of myself and it feels so valuable to get to do that with you. I hope this show leaves you with a curious thought or a sense of connection or a general amusement.
Thank you to the MN State Arts Board and Minnesota voters for supporting this work!
Annika Johansson is a fiscal year 2024 recipient of a Creative Individuals grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
