JOHN PASSAFIUME choreographer
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I have been a New Yorker all my life. My dance roots are molded by the city’s rhythms and stories. The works made for my company John Passafiume Dancers, have some reference to that history, but also speak to notions about personal identity, my Italian American background, the experience of trauma, and the uneven and often complex nature of our relationships to one another. Additionally as a choreographer, I have always had a strong connection to, and preference for, sound, which has brought me in touch with a wide variety of soundscapes, musical genres and artists. It is an instinct that has deeply influenced my approach to making works. My background also includes significant periods of teaching dance. I have taught for all levels, and worked both in private studios as well as universities. In addition, I have taught in public schools, which has offered some of the more surprising and rewarding exchanges that I have had with young people. For over ten years now I have directed the Summer Dance Lab program, and for its duration was the Director for the Walla Walla Dance Festival. I love to move. I love to create shapes and to feel the different rhythms of my body coalesce into a dance while immersed in a choreographic space shifting between inner and outer realities. In Kristin’s music I feel shapes. I hear a voice that I connect to that inspires me to make more. Together we create a fertile field, a wonderful landscape within which we can play, attuned to our corresponding resonances. A number of years ago I talked over the idea of making a dance work to Wilde’s fairy tale with Kristin. She seemed immediately hooked, and all in. Several years later now that we’re moving forward with the project, she is bringing the maturity of that original enthusiasm, along with a depth of experience to bear. It has been a few years since I could last be in a sustained creative process, enveloping myself, making movement with dance artists. To have this opportunity to work with Kristin on our current project, though because of its hoped for scale gives me pause, also fills me with an enormous sense of anticipation. I believe that we can create something distinct and not yet done before. I once read that Wilde wrote his fairy tales so that he could read them to his children at bedtime. It seems fitting to me, after having spent time away from the dance world raising a family and fulfilling other work related commitments, that the current project should be the one that engages me and brings me back into the dance community. It is with a sense of great enthusiasm and exhilaration that I look forward to building the work with Kristin and our collaborating visual artist Mercer, and to continue to build the team of artists who will bring this project to fruition. |
KRISTIN VINING composer
With roots in the Pacific Northwest, I am an active composer, pianist, and teacher in Walla Walla, WA and beyond.
I am thrilled to have my hands full of amazing cross-disciplinary projects, but my favorite and most authentic personal expression through music happens when collaborating with John Passafiume. When we are in the same room, choreography and music are being developed simultaneously. When John moves, I hear music. When I play music, John dances--a fluid cycle of reflecting dance through music, and music through dance. This unique artistic synergy flows from mutual inspiration and respect and has significantly impacted my development as a composer and artist. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to develop our artistic rapport for the past 16 years. In 2010, John shared Oscar Wilde’s beautiful fairy tale, “The Fisherman & His Soul,” with me along with the dream to create an original work of dance and music. From my very first reading, the story and project grabbed my heart. This inspiring story is rich in imagery and meaning and it won’t let me go. Eight years later, I wholeheartedly believe that, more than ever, this is a story whose time has come. |
MERCER HANAU visual artist
To visit my website click here.
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I am an artist from Portland, Oregon and a recent graduate from Whitman College with a B.A. in Studio Art and a minor in Film & Media Studies. Most of my work involves digital media or printmaking. I draw inspiration from intersections of science and culture, often featuring animals, defamiliarized objects, religious imagery, and a touch of the surreal.
Creating artwork for this project ties into my career's recent theme of connecting visual and musical forms of expression. In 2017 I co-organized a student art exhibition to complement and contextualize Whitman College's Winter Chorale Concert, Under the Same Moon. Currently, in addition to working on The Fisherman & His Soul, I am producing video accompaniment for the Beaverton Symphony Orchestra's performances of Pictures at an Exhibition in Portland, Oregon. |