Thursday through Saturday, June 2-4, 2022 at 8:00pm (Doors open at 7:30pm)
$35 General, $20 Artist/Student
Shaun Keylock Company presents LOVELY BEAUTIFUL, a mixed repertory dance program, June 2-4, 2022 at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art. Through an intergenerational, historical perspective, in this program SKC draws from its extensive catalog of works by two of Portland’s most beloved modern dance choreographers, Josie Moseley and Gregg Bielemeier, and premieres a new work by SKC artistic director Shaun Keylock.
“Our spring production,” says Keylock, “is all about just lovely, beautiful dancing. We have pared back many of the stage elements to reveal the depth of talent of our dancers and choreographers and we can’t wait to share this program with the Portland community.”
The program brings together four short pieces by Bielemeier, Moseley, and Keylock for a premiere at the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, Annex, on June 2-4, 2022 at 8:00pm. Each of the three artists represents their own emblematic, inclusive, and committed work ethic that embodies SKC’s mission of advancing radical contemporary dance and queer performance in Portland and beyond.
Tickets start at $20 and are on sale now at shaunkeylock.com — use our code: ART20 to get 20% off your ticket.
The program includes:
● Lovely Beautiful (1996), Bach/Bielemeier
A chamber work created by resident choreographer Gregg Bielemeier, Lovely Beautiful is an ode to classic modern dance. In this early dance work, set to Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations, Bielemeier pays homage to his teachers and the pioneers of the art form while highlighting his signature loose limbed movement style, quick wit, and subtle humor.● With (1995), Lurie/Harrison/Moseley
Josie Moseley’s duet With received acclaim from critics and audiences alike when it premiered in 1995 for Oregon Ballet Theater. Described as “poetic” and “expansive,” the distinct moods of each of the four sections nods to Moseley’s own spirit and influences as both a woman and a mother. When White Bird presented her company for the first time, the performances sold out.● S.K. Swan (1998), Von Drehle/Bielemeier
S.K. Swan is a marvelously goofy solo created in 1998 for Bielemeier’s feature length production, Odd Duck Lake. Set to music by Portland band, 3 Leg Torso, the work highlights Bieleiemer’s penchant for big, sweeping gestures juxtaposed against a collage of wacky costumes and characters.● World Premiere, Muhly/Groves/Keylock
In Shaun Keylock’s new work, the desire to live is at odds with the realization of one's own mortality. This world premiere, set to selections from Nico Muhly’s O Antiphon Preludes, combines Keylock’s background in modern dance movement with classical technique, creating a lush, meditative landscape that embodies a keen sense of rigor and clarity. [Shaun Keylock’s new work is supported in part by a commission from the White Bird 2019 Barney Creative Prize].The program will be performed by Keylock’s six member dance company: Sophie Beadie, Annie Borden, Jillian Hobbs, Nicholas Le-Jurica, Aaron Peite, and Luke Dakota Zender.
This production will run 75 minutes with one intermission.
LOVELY BEAUTIFUL is presented by Shaun Keylock Company, sponsored by Ronni Lacroute, R Scott Gill & Bill Stegeman, with funding support in part by White Bird Dance, the Oregon Community Foundation, and the Collins Foundation.
ABOUT SHAUN KEYLOCK COMPANY
Shaun Keylock Company (SKC) is a contemporary dance company based in Portland, Oregon under the artistic direction of dancer and choreographer Shaun Keylock. SKC advances contemporary dance while fostering an exchange of ideas between artists and communities. The company is known for its distinctive visual style that is at once both technically sound and radically subversive, often exploring the many facets of LGBTQ+ identity.
Through modular exhibitions, screenings, performances, artist residencies, and education programs, SKC acts as a platform for new movement research and interdisciplinary collaboration. In these programs, SKC balances supporting the work of choreographer Shaun Keylock with a commitment to serving the needs of established and emerging artists, providing opportunities to participate in cultural experiences that further stimulate new ideas and enhance the understanding of contemporary dance and queer performance today.
SKC has been supported by grants from the Oregon Arts Commission, Oregon Community Foundation, Collins Foundation, and the Regional Arts & Culture Council. Most recently, the company was featured in the U.S. debut of the chamber opera “When the Sun Comes Out” presented by Portland Opera.
CONTRIBUTING ARTISTS
Gregg Bielemeier is an Oregon-born dance artist who has worked on the West Coast and in Europe as a featured choreographer, performer and teacher for over 50 years. He is a frequent improvisor/collaborator with musicians, actors and visual artists, creating suave, witty dance works that have been described as “wonderfully inventive,” by the Los Angeles Times, and as “marvelously goofy,” by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Shaun Keylock is an award-winning choreographer, director, teacher and dancer based in Portland, Oregon. Driven by his long-standing interest in new movement research and cross-disciplinary collaboration, his work has led him into dialogue with an array of artistic forms, including dance, film, theater, and visual art. The result of these interactions have garnered the attention of leading festivals and institutions, ensuring Keylock’s position at the cutting edge of contemporary dance in the Pacific Northwest.
Josie Moseley has captivated audiences for more than 25 years with her solo performances and group pieces set on various artists and companies worldwide. As a teacher and choreographer, she explores movement that is expansive, passionate, and humanistic. White Bird brought her company to the stage for the first time with sold-out performances. Josie was greatly honored to create a work, under a commission, for the Martha Graham Dance Company. Dance Magazine recognized her as one of the “100 most influential choreographers of 2010.”
Jenessa Raabe holds a BFA in Technical Theatre from Western Oregon University. She has worked with many Portland dance, theatre, and circus companies, including, Nightflight Aerial, Echo Theatre Company, Third Rail Rep, Rainbow Dance, and Portal Theatre. She regularly works the International Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland and has toured throughout China with BodyVox.
DANCERS
Sophie Beadie began her dance training in her hometown of Greenville, South Carolina at International Ballet Academy under the direction of Lena Forster and Vlada Kysselova. She is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati, where she earned her BFA in Dance. She has performed with the Portland Opera, PDX Contemporary Ballet, Dayton Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, and the Terpsicorps Theater of Dance in Asheville, North Carolina.
Annie Borden is from Seattle, Washington and trained with the Pacific Northwest Ballet School. In 2017, she graduated from the University of Arizona with her BFA in Dance. While in school, she performed works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and Ohad Naharin. Annie has also trained under Alonzo King, Peter Chu, Banning Bouldin, Guy Shomroni, Yaniv Abraham, and Yin Yue. Since living in Portland, Annie has worked with Katie Scherman, Kristalyn Gill, Meredith Wilde, and Gregg Bielemeier. This is her second season with Shaun Keylock Company.
Jillian Hobbs graduated from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance ‘15. In 2013, she was selected to study at the Amsterdam School of the Arts in the Netherlands, training in the movement research of Ohad Naharin, Anouk van Dijk, and William Forsythe. Jillian has
performed with Sidra Bell Dance New York, The Holding Project, WolfBird Dance, and Katie Sherman + Artists. This is her fourth season with Shaun Keylock Company.
Nicholas Le-Jurica is an artist and educator from Portland, Oregon. In high school, he studied at the Arts and Communications Magnet Academy and The Portland Ballet. He received his BFA
in Dance from the Juilliard School. In 2019, he joined the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he performed works by Nick currently serves as Community Engagement Director for The Portland Ballet where he leads the Outreach Program.
Aaron Peite began his dance training at the age of 15 with Joni Damiano Bartel in Osburn, Idaho. He is a graduate of Idaho State University where he received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance in 2019. While studying at ISU, he trained with Kathy Diehl, Lauralee Zimmerlee, Molly Jorgensen, and Sergiu Brindusa. He has had the opportunity to perform works by Bill Evans Dance, Hubbard Street Chicago, Lenora Lee Dance, and Falcon Dance Company.
Luke Dakota Zender is an artist, dancer and movement director interested in cultivating relationships between bodies and states of consciousness. Originally from Wyoming, he was shaped by mountains and expansive open range, each integral to his understanding of art and culture. As an artist and storyteller, Luke seeks to use multiple mediums and invites the art of collaboration into his process in an effort to find a more universal experience, cultivating collaboration and community.
