PROGRAM

The Barest Echo (LA premiere)

Choreography: FLOCK: Alice Klock and Florian Lochner 

“The Barest Echo explores the physical and metaphorical power of breath. There is so much beauty and possibility between an inhale and an exhale, a birth and a death. This piece takes us on a journey through it all and we hope the audience breathes with us as we go.” 

-Alice Klock and Florian Lochner

Music: Sapir-Whorf, Heptapod B, One of Twelve,
Kangaru, Jóhann Jóhannsson
Serse, HWV 40, Act I: Ombra mai fu
George Frideric Handel, Renée Fleming, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Harry Bicket.
Orfeo ed Euridice, Wq. 30 / Act Il: Dance of the Blessed Spirits (Arr. by Mathieu Hergzog for Cello and Strings)
Christoph Willibald Gluck, Camille Thomas, Brussels Philharmonic 

Lighting Design: Adapted from original design by Stacy Fireheart

Costume Design: Jennifer Deck

Dancers: Kira Bartoli, Samuel DeAngelo, Morgan Goodfellow, Katie Natwick, Adrien Padilla, Kaitlin Regan, Kyle Schrader, Marco Vega

- Short Pause -

Love and Other Impossibilities (2006)

Choreography: Jennifer Backhaus

INTERMISSION

I Am Dangerous and Blooming (LA premiere)

Choreography: Amanda Kay White
Movement in collaboration with performers, Backhausdance Season 20, community dancers from Chapman University, Orange County School of the Arts, and South Coast Conservatory.

- Short Pause -

Portals of Being (LA Premiere)

Choreography: Peter Chu

“Amidst a realm where intangible algorithms and the skillfulness of artificial intelligence entice and form our digital encounters, can we coexist with this technological sensation while daring to question its influence and allure, acknowledging its intrinsic connection to our very existence?

I want to express my heartfelt appreciation to the exceptional dancers of the 2023-24 Gibney Pro cohort, who have been under the remarkable guidance of Alexandra Wells. Your dedication to incubating and workshopping some movement material and imagery was genuinely inspiring. Thank you for being a part of the process!”

- Peter Chu

Guest choreographers sponsored in part by Valerie Van de Zilver

Matthew Jackson, Stage Manager, Director of Production

*Understudy in tonight’s performance

ABOUT THE COMPANY

Celebrating our 21st Season
Our vision: Dance every day for every body!

Founder and artistic director, Jennifer Backhaus

Backhausdance’s mission is to engage and educate diverse audiences about the relevance and vitality of contemporary concert dance, both as an art multisensory art form and as an essential connection to learning, creative expression and overall well-being. Known for its lush and eclectic movement vocabulary and ensemble aesthetic, the company presents performances with original choreography and guest choreographers throughout Southern California, nationally including an engagement at New York’s renowned Joyce Theater, and internationally on a European tour.

“A fluid, unforced fusion of classical and contemporary dance.”

-The Brooklyn Rail

Dedicated to empowering the next generation of dancers and artists, the company hosts an annual Summer Dance Intensive program, a life-changing experience for teens, emerging, and professional dancers, where over half of the participants receive scholarships, making this powerful program accessible to the entire nationwide and international dance community. 

Backhausdance company members also serve as teaching artists, providing students in grades TK-12, adults and multigenerational audiences through a variety of workshops, residencies, performances, and master classes in cherished partnerships with schools and community-based organizations including the Orange County Department of Education, ArtsTeach program, Segerstrom Center for the Arts (Costa Mesa, and the McCallum Theatre’s Education department in Palm Desert), and the City of Santa Ana Parks, Recreation and Community Services Agency. Since our inception in 2003 we have presented programs for thousands of students and educators in public and private schools across Southern California. Our newest education programs, The Dance for Kindness Project, and Dance Expressions: Creativity and Choreography are closely integrated with social-emotional learning concepts, STEAM and creative expression. Woven into the fabric and soul of Backhausdance is advocacy for inclusivity, equity and celebration of our common humanity, all perspectives and ideas.

MEET THE ARTISTIC TEAM

Artistic Director

Jennifer Backhaus, founder and artistic director of Backhausdance, has been the energetic and creative force spearheading the development and growth of Orange County’s critically-acclaimed contemporary dance company and also serves on the dance faculty at Chapman University. A life-long learner, she holds a BFA in Communications and Dance from Chapman University, and received her MFA in Choreography from Hollins University.

From the inception of the company as a non-profit organization in 2003, Jennifer has been committed to choreographing and producing the fine art of contemporary concert dance with a professional company while simultaneously designing and implementing an extensive dance education and performance program for all ages and abilities. Featuring deeply human and emotional creations that are infused with a sense of humor, athleticism and theatricality, Backhausdance has received numerous awards and honors, including Outstanding Arts Organization by Arts Orange County in 2012, and recognized by Chapman University with the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award as well as Alumni of the Year in 2007 for her artistic leadership of Backhausdance. As an award-winning and in-demand choreographer, Jennifer’s works have been commissioned and produced by Brigham Young University, Chapman University, Los Angeles Ballet, McCallum Theatre, Segerstrom Center for the Arts, TDC of the Bay Area and Utah Regional Ballet, among others.

Many of Jennifer’s works have been honored by Regional Dance America, and her piece Disintegration was selected for national performances with the American College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. For Backhausdance, she has created numerous works which have received ten Lester Horton Awards from Dance Resource Center of Los Angeles for Outstanding Achievement in choreography, design, and performance. At the McCallum Theatre’s Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival, Jennifer has been the recipient of three consecutive choreography awards for her work with Backhausdance. In 2022 Jennifer received the Outstanding Arts Advocate Award for her leadership in arts education from the Orange County Department of Education.

Associate Artistic Director

Amanda Kay White is a founding/current company member and associate artistic director of Backhausdance. After finding her voice first as a performer with Backhausdance, she is honored to contribute to the company beyond the stage. She has created site-sensitive works for Backhausdance since 2019 which challenge spatial perceptions and create intimate experiences for audience members.

Amanda Kay White’s creative research delves into the entanglement of bodily knowledge, embodied cognition, and spatial theory through the medium of choreography. Finding points of access to these physical collections of experience and memory makes her work strikingly inventive. Her creations have been showcased at Highways Performance Space, Orange County Museum of Art, Pasadena Dance Festival, Oulu Dance Hack, Centro Negra, Chapman Touring Company, University of Tampa, American College Dance Festival, and the Wayward Artist. Amanda is currently on faculty at Santa Ana College, Chapman University, Orange County School of the Arts, and South Coast Conservatory. 

In 2009 she founded Compass Dance Company, a pre-professional contemporary dance company for emerging artists ages 14 and up. By engaging, expressing, and innovating Compass Dance Company reaches out to the community through dance.

GUEST CHOREOGRAPHERS

DANCERS

Kira Bartoli, a Southern California native, began her dance training at the age of four. She furthered her studies at Chapman University where she received a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Business Administration. She is proud to be back at Chapman, now as faculty in the dance department. Kira served as the Dance Manager and a performer at Teatro Martini Dinner Cabaret Show and has performed in multiple Disneyland parades. Her most recent choreographic endeavors include music videos for JORDY, Cory Wong, and Cyrus Reynolds. Kira has performed works by choreographers Dwight Rhoden, Mauro Astolfi, Ido Tadmor, Ching Ching Wong, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Jhonathan Soutchy, and Shay Kuebler, among others. This is Kira’s sixth season with Backhausdance.

Samuel DeAngelo, originally from Yorba Linda, California, began dancing at the age of eighteen. In 2016, he graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance from Chapman University, with additional awards for performance and choreography. Samuel has also danced with FUSE Dance Company, and has performed choreographic works by Dwight Rhoden, Mauro Astolfi, Ching Ching Wong, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Yin Yue, Ido Tadmor, Jhonathan Soutchy, Andrea Guise, Amanda Kay White, and Jennifer Backhaus. Samuel also worked with Disney Cruise Line, and was in the opening cast of Beauty and the Beast, directed and choreographed by Connor Gallagher. This is Samuel’s eighth season performing with Backhausdance.

Mo Goodfellow (she/they) is a lifelong performer and advocate for the arts. She is a graduate of Chapman University’s prestigious College of Performing Arts with a BFA in Dance as well as a BA in English Literature. Her artistic and professional goals work to combine her degrees in a career dedicated to arts innovation through performance, creation, and activism. Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Mo has an intense passion for concert work, contact improvisation, and site-specific dance. Throughout her career she has had the privilege of working with Alice Klock and Florian Lochner of FLOCK Works, Kybele Dance Theater, Ido Tadmor, and Tommie-Waheed Evans. Mo is currently a dancer with Mackenzie Martin’s GEOMETRY as well as a company member and teaching artist with Backhausdance.

Kaitwan Jackson is a native of Washington, DC, where he began dancing at the Dance Institute of Washington under the direction of the late Fabian Barnes. He has trained with Dance Theatre of Harlem, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Bodytraffic, and University of Arizona. His professional experience includes work with Lula Washington Dance Theatre, Pasadena Dance Theatre, No)one. Art House, Inspire Danz Co, and Company E. He has performed works by Lula Washington, Tamica Washington-Miller, Nacho Duato, Robert Garland, Penny Saunders, Matthew Neenan, Rennie Harris, Dimitri Chamblas, and Chris Emile. He holds a B.S. in Public Policy with a concentration in Philanthropy, Nonprofits, and Social Innovation from the University of Southern California. This is Kaitwan’s first season with Backhausdance.

Sophia Lang, originally from Simi Valley, California, began dancing at the age of three. Her passion for dance led her to Chapman University, where she graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Business Administration. Since graduating, Sophia has worked and performed at several locations around Orange County including the Disneyland Resort and at the Teatro Martini Dinner Cabaret Show. She has had the opportunity to perform works by notable artists such as Dwight Rhoden, Ido Tadmor, Jennifer Backhaus, Amanda Kay White, and Tommie-Waheed Evans. This is Sophia’s fourth season with Backhausdance.

Katie Natwick began dancing at the age of eleven in her hometown of Escondido, California. Having discovered a deep passion for movement, she furthered her training at Chapman University where she received a BFA in Dance Performance. Throughout her career, Katie has had the opportunity to perform with companies including DANCE AEGIS, Kairos Dance Company and Nickerson-Rossi Dance, as well as choreographers Dwight Rhoden, Walter Matteini, Ido Tadmor, Ching Ching Wong, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Mauro Astolfi, Amanda Kay White, Jennifer Backhaus, Robin Conrad, Sean Greene, Jess Harper, and Dale Merrill, among others. This is Katie’s eighth season with Backhausdance.

Adrien Padilla is a dancer and choreographer residing in the small town of Rosemead, California. Padilla earned his BFA in Dance at Cal State Long Beach and Graduate Certificate in Arts and Culture Outreach and Advocacy at the University of Denver. Adrien is also a teaching artist within the BD education team helping spread the art of movement and dance to local communities and schools. Aside from dance, Adrien works behind the scenes as the assistant technical director of the Martha B Knoebel Dance Theater at CSULB, and is a photographer focusing on dance and conceptual photography as well as solitude art. Padilla has had the privilege to work with artists Keith Johnson, Dwight Rhoden, Norbert De La Cruz III, Whyteberg, Jessie Lee Thorne, and Tommie-Waheed Evans to name a few. This is Adrien’s sixth season with Backhausdance.

Kaitlin Regan is an alumni of Chapman University with a BFA in Dance Performance. She has had the opportunity to perform both nationally and internationally with Backhausdance and is in her 12th season with the company. She has performed the works of Jennifer Backhaus, Dwight Rhoden, Ido Tadmor, Walter Matteini, and Yin Yue, among others. As an influential dance educator in Southern California, Kaitlin helped develop an adaptive dance program for students with special needs. She is currently on faculty at Impact Dance Center, and the Art of Dance and Ballet Academy.

Chihiro Sano (she/her), originally from Japan, joined Backhausdance as an apprentice and has been a full company member starting in 2010. Since joining the company, Chihiro has performed at venues including McCallum Theater in Palm Desert, at Irvine Barclay Theater, at the American Dance Festival in North Carolina, Carpenter Center in Long Beach and Joyce Theater in New York City. She has worked as an assistant to Artistic Director Jennifer Backhaus on freelance projects such as the East Valley Dance Project/Studio Project in Palm Desert, the Temecula Community Theater Dance Project and Trolley Dances Riverside. Chihiro currently serves as Education coordinator and is passionate about sharing her love of dance and yoga with people of all ages and abilities. Chihiro is excited to come back to BD as a performer after her health battle. She is so grateful for her kidney donor and her mother who donated her kidney in exchange.

Kyle Schrader is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer born and raised in Huntington Beach, California. Kyle moved back to Orange County/LA area after graduating from Pace University in New York City in 2021, where he got his BFA in Commercial Dance with concentrations in Choreography and Pedagogy and a minor in Business. During his time at Pace, Kyle worked with a variety of choreographers, some including, Mandy Moore, Dee Caspary, Alexandra Damiani just to name a few. Kyle has trained in a variety of dance styles in both the classical and commercial realms of dance. Kyle has also trained in programs including American Ballet Theatre, Alonzo King’s Lines Contemporary Ballet, and Art’s Umbrella. Kyle has danced at the Comedy Store, in the Hollywood Christmas Parade, and for Huntington Beach’s Philharmonic Symphony. Currently, Kyle is represented by Go2Talent Agency. This is Kyle’s first year as a company member with Backhausdance.

Marco Vega (he/they), began dancing at the age of 16 under the direction of Cassie Dalena. He received a BFA in Dance Performance and a BA in Education Sciences specializing in Digital Media from the University of California, Irvine in Spring 2021. There, he trained under faculty such as Tong Wang, Molly Lynch, Diane Diefenderfer, Charlotte Griffin, and Lindsay Gilmour; and guest artists Lar Lubovitch, Kate Skarpetowska, and Dante Puleio. Additional training includes the Whim W’him Summer and Winter Intensives under the direction of Olivier Wevers and Karl Watson, the GALLIM Summer Intensive as an Emerging Artist Scholar under the direction of Andrea Miller, and the BEMOVING Summer Dance Program under the direction of Bret Easterling. Joining Backhausdance in Fall 2021, they have had the opportunity to originate roles in works by Ching Ching Wong, Tommie-Waheed Evans, and Amanda Kay White, as well as perform work by Dwight Rhoden. This is Marco’s third season with Backhausdance.

Samantha Waugh (she/her) is a dance artist and educator working in Southern California. After moving from her hometown of Austin, Texas, she graduated from Chapman University with a BFA in Dance Performance. Passionate about arts education, Sammi has taught and created curriculum for private studios, community centers, and elementary schools across Southern California, and served as the Director of the Early Childhood Music and Dance program at OC Music & Dance for 3 years. In addition to assisting with the development of Backhausdance’s educational outreach programs, she currently is a part of the Dance Faculty at The Wooden Floor. Throughout her performance career, she has had the opportunity to work alongside many notable artists, including Dwight Rhoden, Ido Tadmor, Jennifer Backhaus, Sean Greene, Amanda Kay White, Tommie-Waheed Evans, Amy Morrow, and Nicole Hagen, among others. Samantha has performed in many project-based festivals around the LA area, and has presented her own choreographic and movement research works. This is Samantha’s sixth season with Backhausdance.

APPRENTICE

Anne Elise Garrison is a dance instructor, choreographer, and visual artist based in Long Beach, CA. Originally from South Carolina, Anne Elise relocated to California to earn her undergraduate degree at Chapman University, completing a BFA in Dance Performance and a Minor in Nutrition. She has had the privilege of studying under artists such as Wilson Mendieta, Liz Curtis, Will Johnston, and Bret Easterling and has performed the works of choreographers such as Ido Tadmor, Kelly McGill, João Ducci, and Mara Hancock.  In addition to teaching in studios across SoCal, she also holds sports nutrition workshops and college prep courses for students interested in the performing arts.

Backhausdance Artistic Staff

Jennifer Backhaus, Founder and Artistic Director

Amanda Kay White, Associate Artistic Director

Kimberly Olmos, Managing Director

Matthew Jackson, Director of Production

Nancy Warzer-Brady, Education and Community Engagement Director

Chihiro Sano, Education Coordinator and Rehearsal Manager

Samantha Waugh, Summer Intensive Coordinator, Graphic Designer and Administrative Assistant

Kira Bartoli, Marketing and Social Media Manager

Sophia Lang, Marketing Assistant

Board of Directors

Michael Kerr, President
Christopher Blank
Sue Colombo
Jim Colombo
Joann Leatherby
Benny Mor
Alex Stimpson
Valerie Van de Zilver

SPECIAL HEARTFELT THANKS

Backhausdance gratefully acknowledges LA Dance Project and Caleb Wildman, Lighting Programmer.

With deep appreciation to the Sandi Simon Center for Dance, Department of Dance, College of Performing Arts, Chapman University, and Lawrence & Sarma Lapenieks Rosenberg and Ashlee Duree from Anaheim Ballet for their continued support and for providing state-of-the-art studio space in which our Season 21 performance was created and rehearsed.

For Booking Information:

Cadence Arts Network
Rachel Cohen
rachel@cadencearts.com
www.cadencearts.com
310.701.9191

Visit our website: www.backhausdance.org   

Get social with us! @backhausdance