BENNYROYCE ROYON
Chameleon
JUN 12 – 13 | 7:30 PM
JUN 14 | 2 PM
Filipino Community Center | 5740 Martin Luther King Jr Way S
Presented through the Velocity’s Regionally Established Creative Incubator Program
Chameleon: A Journey of Queer Joy and Reinvention
Chameleon, a multidisciplinary contemporary dance experience by artist Bennyroyce Royon, offers a profound exploration of reinvention, boundless creativity, and queer joy. This powerful work delves deep into personal lived experiences, confronting past traumas and celebrating the discovery of supportive communities. Through visceral, dynamic movement, innovative visual design, and compelling theatrical elements, “Chameleon” guides audiences on a transformative journey. It illuminates the resilience of the human spirit and the empowering process of shaping an unapologetic future—one that is authentic, vibrant, and filled with hope. The performance serves as a powerful testament to personal evolution and the beauty of self-acceptance.
ARTIST BIOS
BENNYROYCE ROYON
REGIONALLY ESTABLISHED CREATIVE INCUBATOR PROGRAMS
Velocity’s Regionally Established Creative Incubator, Co-Productions, are for Seattle-based artists who want to collaborate with Velocity to share the development, production and presentation of a new full-length work. These artists have experience self-producing their own full-length work, and usually set specific goals for this program that help them grow their long-term artistic mission, vision, and audience, while increasing their work’s technical scale, budget, and impact.
PROGRAM SUPPORT
Velocity’s 2026 season is supported by 4 Culture, the Seattle Office of Arts and Culture, ArtsFund, and Creative West. It is underwritten by John C. Robinson, the Glenn Kawasaki Foundation, in addition to generous support from our community donors. If you would like to join this community of sponsors, please reach out to Erin O’Reilly at erin@velocitydancecenter.org.
John C. Robinson
Glenn H. Kawasaki Foundation
ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION
12th Ave Arts is fully accessible for wheelchairs and walkers. The lobby and bathrooms are at street level, and seating is available without the need for an elevator or stairs. The venue is also equipped with an Assistive Listening Device.
Bennyroyce Royon (he/they/siya) is a queer Filipino-American dance artist and cultural producer creating between Seattle and New York City. Passionate about the performing arts, education, and community building, Royon’s choreography explores identity, culture, and belonging, inspired by love, nature, and the cosmos.
A Juilliard graduate, Royon has performed with notable companies and choreographers, including Aszure Barton, Jessica Lang, Sidra Bell, and Karole Armitage. He has worked on Broadway and with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet. The New York Times highlighted his “keenly focused, succinct way with movement.”
Royon has received choreographic commissions from Atlanta Ballet and Ballet Hispánico, and has earned multiple awards, including the MAP Fund grant, Seattle Office of Arts & Culture’s Hope Corps grant, and the Joffrey Ballet’s Winning Works Choreography Award. His project-based contemporary dance company, Bennyroyce Dance, has performed at prominent venues in NYC and beyond.
Active in his communities, Royon serves as co-chair of the Eastside Culture Coalition, an Artist-in-Residence at the Filipino Community of Seattle, and a Washington State Arts Commissioner. He is also a co-curator for the Base Residency Program. More at www.bennyroyce.com.
*Photo by Jeriel Calamayan