Amy O’Neal is a dancer, choreographer, curator, and dance educator. A sought-after artist for over two decades, she teaches and performs nationally and internationally and choreographs for live performance, dance film, music video and virtual reality. From 2000 to 2010, along with musician and composer Zeke Keeble, O’Neal co-directed locust, an experimental multidisciplinary video, music, and contemporary dance company. Inspired by hip-hop culture and experimental cinema, locust‘s work created social commentary with humor and heavy beats. From 2010 until now, she creates experimental dance work merging Black social dance practices from hip-hop and house culture and contemporary dance while directly addressing race, gender and the sampling nature of innovation. She premiered her first evening-length solo in 2012 where she examined her influences, questioned her relationship to Blackness as a white woman, and paid homage to her teachers and dance heroes. As a practicing guest of Black dance culture, she has participated in experimental and all-styles battles, co-organized and co-produced Seattle House Dance Project, and developed hip-hop curriculum for the University of Washington. Her passion and research meet at the intersection of the hip-hop, house and contemporary dance communities. Within this intersection she explores the complex differences, nuances and layers of hybridized movement vocabularies. For example, in her eighth evening-length work, Opposing Forces, O’Neal and five Seattle-based B-Boys explored fears of feminine qualities in our culture through the hyper-masculine form of Breaking. Opposing Forces toured from 2014 to 2017, and an award-winning documentary about the show called How it Feels premiered in 2019. City Arts Magazine wrote, “O’Neal synthesizes complex themes with a cohesive, penetrating aesthetic. Her latest work transcends disciplines and boundaries. It is a bridge between worlds, a translator for opposing points of view, a force for good.”

O’Neal is a grantee of Creative Capital, National Performance Network, National Dance Project, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Artist Trust, and 4 Culture. She is a two-time Artist Trust Fellow, DanceWEB/ImpulsTanz scholar and Herb Alpert Award nominee with a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts, where she was awarded the first Distinguished Alumni Award in 2014. While at Cornish, she danced and toured with the Pat Graney Company from 1998 to 2001and Scott/Powell Performance from 1997-2004. . O’Neal has been an Artist in Residence at Bates Dance Festival, Headlands Center for the Arts, the US/Japan Choreographer’s Exchange, and Velocity Dance Center. Since 2001, she has worked both on stage and screen with musician/comedian, Reggie Watts, former band leader for “Late Late Show with James Corden.” She has improvised with Watts in NYC comedy clubs, toured together in original stage shows, choreographed his iconic 2010 Comedy Central video F…, S… Stack, and in 24 hours, created an evening-length dance/music show with him. Along with NYC based artist Ani Taj, she co-choreographed Runnin’, a virtual reality music video for Watt’s Wajatta project with electronic music artist John Tejada. Runnin’ premiered at the New Frontier VR showcase at Sundance Film Festival and won Best Interactive at SXSW in 2019.  Also in 2019, she choreographed a virtual reality project for Procter & Gamble promoting more diversity in productions for the advertising and film industries called Look Again which premiered at Cannes Lions Festival in France.

After 20 years in Seattle, O’Neal relocated to Los Angeles in 2016 and started The Rhythm Assembly, a freestyle techniques class merging the social and exploratory natures of hip-hop and contemporary dance at Ryan Heffington’s studio, The Sweat Spot, which closed in 2020. She joined the faculty of the University of Southern California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance in 2018 where she teaches hip-hop, house and freestyle techniques, composition and improvisation, contemporary dance, and lectures on Black social dance history, practice, and media literacy. She feels the most at peace when she can embody her full human experience as an artist and is passionate about creating space for others to do the same.

https://www.amyoneal.com/

“I am a creative producer, development professional, dance artist + arts advocate, committed to finding thoughtful ways to build structures of support and advocacy for Seattle’s diverse dance community. I have ten years of experience developing and producing dance work in Seattle, Portland and in the UK. Areas of expertise: artist-led community-driven programming, artist support + sustainability, incubation and project building, community partnerships, and coordinating experiences that bring people together in public spaces.”

Joseph Hernandez is a choreographer and writer based in Seattle, Washington. His work as a choreographer has been presented by The Joyce NYC, Festspielhaus Hellerau, The Semperoper Dresden, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, Theatre St. Gallen, and Whim W’Him Contemporary Dance Seattle, Staatstheater Nürnberg among others. His work The Lavender Follies was filmed for European Television by ZDF Deutschland and has now been disseminated worldwide. He has taught at SUNY Purchase College, Dance Arts Faculty (Rome), and Cornish College of the Arts, well as the Royal Danish Ballet, and Artof (Zurich) summer courses. He served as a founder and jury member for Tanznetz Dresden’s STUDIO ROUND, curating showings and performances/discussions by creators from all over Europe. His installation series Nielsson Conversations was hosted by S T O R E Contemporary in Dresden, Germany. In addition to his freelance work, he was appointed Associate Choreographer at the Northwest Dance Project from 2022-2024.  He left Portland in 2024 to work at Velocity Dance Center full time and to advocate for off-the-wall performance in the PNW.

www.bluescreencontemporary.com 

*Photo By Alice Blangero

Shane Donohue is a Seattle based dance artist currently working as co-top with Drama Tops. He works closely with zoe | juniper as a dancer and rehearsal director. He has set work with, and for, Zoe Scofield at the University of Washington, Strictly Seattle, Whim W’him, Bard Summerscape’s production of “Le Roi Arthus” in 2021. His work has been seen in Next Fest Northwest. He also works as an artistic collaborator and performer with Kim Lusk, Kinesis Project, Scott Shoemaker’s “:PROBED”, and BenDeLaCreme and Jinkx Monsoon’s Holiday Special in the live, national tour and on Hulu. Shane graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point with a BA in Dance.

www.dramatops.com

About the work: a crisis of standing is an examination of failure, flexibility, and firmness in an ever-evolving, metastable form. There are many parts within a person that one must negotiate with in order to find a way to stand.

maia melene d’urfé is a Seattle dancer and choreographer who creates movement as a genuine expression of their sensations, convictions, fears, and musings. They hold a BFA in dance from Cornish College of the Arts and have traveled nationally and internationally to train with renowned conservatories, dancers, and companies. They dance and train with the local contemporary dance, Breaking, and House communities and have worked with companies and choreographers zoe | juniper, Undercurrent, Cameo Lethem, Elia Mrak, Tariq Mitri and Beth Twigs. Their choreography has been presented internationally at Festival Internacional de Danza Contemporanea de Mexico (CDMX), and (upcoming, 2025) Quinzena de Dança de Almada (Lisbon, PT), nationally at ADF (Durham, NC), Estrogenius Dance Festival (NewYork, NY) and Bates Dance Festival (Lewiston, ME), and locally in Seattle, through Northwest Film Forum, 12 Minutes Max, Velocity Dance Center The Hybrid Lab – curated by Amy O’Neal, eXit Space, and Seattle International Dance Festival. In addition, they have produced three dance and mixed media events Liminal, Ode, and ode • K’an, presenting their own work as well as creations by other local artists.  They find their voice through quality of movement, their language through physical facility, and flow through melody and rhythm, all in service of investigating facets of the human condition and how we change and respond to difference and instability within the self, interpersonal relationships, and wider culture.\

*Photo by Jazzy Photo

Since 2008, Risk/Reward has been engaging in community curation of pieces that push the boundaries of performance. The Festival of New Performance presents 4 to 6 pieces as part of our Festival Mainstage production, alongside site specific, installation, and other non-traditional pieces. Performances for the festival are under 20 minutes, by creators residing in (or with deep ties to) the Pacific Northwest region, and are pieces in some form of development. 

We pride ourselves on offering a high degree of professionalism and polish in our dealings with artists, and provide robust technical, administrative, and marketing support for artists. We provide photos and video of all mainstage pieces. We are hoping to provide some degree of rehearsal space in Portland for our mainstage artists in 2025.

How is this program curated?

Risk/Reward convenes a panel of approximately 6 regional artists, administrators, and taste-makers with experience in the contemporary art field to select the pieces for the Festival mainstage from among the applications. While the Festival Director and Producing Artistic Director for Risk/Reward serve on the panel, the rest of the panelists change each year.

What is the Application Schedule?

In 2025, applications will be open for the month of January. 

Applications will be selected and all artists notified by the end of March. 

Artists announced at the end of April.

The festival itself is in the second half of June.

www.riskreward.org

ABOUT THE WORK:

IMMDED IMGEWD is a live performance directed and performed by dancer and choreographer Jobel Medina, alongside filmmaker and musician Elliott “L” Sellers. Together, they explore the dynamics of tension and harmony through their bodies, drums, and cello. Their approach to movement and sound is unconventional, often using instruments not only as musical tools but also as means to create worlds. The piece is both athletic and explosive in its physicality, yet it delves deeply into the real and raw experiences of what it means to be human.

ARTIST BIOS: 

Jobel Medina (b. 1990, Pasig City, Philippines) is a Filipino-American dancer and choreographer based in Los Angeles.

His choreographic practice engages with the inherent contradictions between commercial and experimental modes of performance, negotiating a dynamic space where spectacle intersects with subtlety. His work explores the productive tension between explosive physicality and nuanced restraint, positioning contradiction as a generative force within his creative process.

His work spans the United States and France, and he has collaborated with renowned artists such as Tino Sehgal, Benjamin Millepied, Dimitri Chamblas, Alex Prager, Kim Gordon, Simon McBurney, Shahar Binyamini, Danielle Agami, and Tom Weinberger.

Medina’s choreography has been presented at leading institutions including The Broad Museum (Los Angeles), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), the Musée d’Orsay (Paris), and the Institute of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles).

He holds a Master of Fine Arts from the California Institute of the Arts and has taught at various universities across the United States.

Elliott “L” Sellers is a director, producer, writer, cinematographer, editor, drummer and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles. Sellers has released experimental albums like ‘Glasswerx’ with Chris ‘Mid-Air’ Harbach, made solely with sounds of glass. Ridley Scott hand selected “DREAMS” by Zhu+NERO as apart of Saatchi + Saatchi’s new directors showcase at Cannes Lions. Sellers has directed work for artists such as Raphael Saadiq, Broken Bells, John Legend, Terrace Martin, Simone Biles, Tame Impala, Willow Smith, Lil Miquela, Young Thug, Gunna, Lil baby, 2-Chains, Lil Jon, Offset, Zhu, Ty Dolla $ign, Nico Muhly, Yuna, Lil Wayne, and Portugal the Man.

ABOUT THE WORK:

Created By Simona Deaconescu, Vanessa Goodman
With Simona Dabija, Maria-Luiza Dimulescu
Original Music Monocube
Stage Design Ciprian Ciuclea
Artistic Consultants Olivia Nițis, Marta De Menezes
Production Design Diana Miroșu
Light Design & Technical Direction Hermina Stănciulescu
Production & Distribution Alexandra Mihali

Co-Produced By Tangaj Collective, Action At A Distance, The National Centre For Dance In Bucharest
Co-Finance By The Administration Of The National Cultural Fund In Romania, Canada Council For The Arts
Supported By Biofriction, Cultivamos Cultura, Plastic Orchid Factory, Left Of Main

BLOT, acronym for Body Line of Thought, explores movement in relation to the bacteria in our body. The show presents the body as an interconnected system, strong and fragile at the same time. Designed as a hybrid performance, a mix of conference and choreographic show, BLOT talks about similarities between humans and other animals, such as perspiration, smell, reproduction, physical exercise, and immunity. From micro to macro, the performance addresses how bacteria influence these processes and connect us with the planet. 

Following the events that have defined the recent history of our interaction with the environment, it is necessary to look at the body as a system that cannot exist outside the multitudes it contains. Stripped of the social meanings determined by language, in BLOT the body is redefined through a dialogue about our coexistence with microbiological beings. The two female performers work with seemingly invisible connections, but without which the human organism could not function.

ARTIST BIOS:

Vanessa Goodman acknowledges that she lives, works, and creates on the ancestral and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples, including the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), Stó:lō, Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Simon Fraser University and is the artistic director of Action at a Distance Dance Society. She is drawn to art that carries meaning beyond aesthetics, using choreography as a means to explore liminal expressions within the human condition.

Vanessa’s choreographic practice weaves together generative movement and sonic embodiment to create immersive performative environments. Through her work, she seeks to cultivate intimacy between the body and its surroundings, challenging conventional forms of performative hierarchy through collaborative approaches. She has received several awards and honours, including The Iris Garland Emerging Choreographer Award (2013), The Yulanda M. Faris Scholarship (2017/18), The Chrystal Dance Prize (2019 & 2024), the Schultz Endowment from the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (2019), The Isadora Award (2025) and participation in the “Space to Fail” program (2019/20) through Hyde Productions (NZ), Critical Path (AU), and The Dance Centre (CA). Longstanding collaborations include “Graveyards and Gardens” with Caroline Shaw, “BLOT” with Simona Deaconsecu, and multiple works with Loscil (Scott Morgan), Brady Marks, and James Proudfoot.

Through Action at a Distance, Vanessa’s work has been presented in Vancouver by PuSH Performing Arts Festival, DanceHouse, SFU Woodwards, Music on Main, The Firehall Arts Centre, The Dance Centre, The Chutzpah! Festival and The Shadbolt Centre for the Arts. She has been an artist-in-residence at Cutivamos Cultura/BioFriction (Portugal), The Dance Centre, Dance Victoria, Harbourfront Centre, The Shadbolt Centre, and The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, where she was also on the faculty.

*Photo by Adi Bulboaca

*This presentation is part of “Body Narratives. Collective Actions.”, a cultural programme co-financed by the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. The programme does not necessarily represent the position of the Administration of the National Cultural Fund. AFCN is not responsible for the content of the programme or the way in which its results may be used. These are entirely the responsibility of the funding recipient.

ABOUT THE WORK:

“Welcome to the launch of ALAN: the Artistic Language Artificial Network. These days, artists simply can’t pull themselves up by their bootstraps anymore. In answer to this need, we have created ALAN to be the perfect artistic collaborator, here to take the drudgery out of making art. Our unique design synthesizes machine learning, genetic memory, and hallucination, all to meet the need of digitizing and streamlining humanity’s need for creative expression. In an attempt to overcome the expected public retaliation that an unembodied machine can’t dance, ALAN has designated the genre of contemporary post-post-postmodern transfeminist transhumanist interdisciplinary devised screendance-theater performance art as their medium of choice. “

“A fever dream of choreography, code, and contradiction that will glitch, seduce, and recompile itself in real time to prove that creation is not bound to flesh—but to intention, tension, and the sublime chaos of becoming. We are all born in the matrix, and the rest is drag.” -ALAN

ARTIST BIOS:

Jordan MacIntosh-Hougham (they/them) holds a BA from Bennington College, and is currently based in Seattle. Jordan has performed for artists such as Kota Yamazaki, Dana Reitz, Heather Kravas, Morgan Thorson, Drama Tops, and Alice Gosti. They have participated in artist residencies at EMPAC, Velocity Dance Center and Studio Current, and had their work curated by On the Boards, Velocity Dance Center, WHYTEBERG, and Shaun Keylock Company. Coming from a dance and somatics background, Jordan creates performance works that amplify video and telecommunication mediums as queer, transhuman collaborators.

Jesse Freitas (he/him) is a software engineer based in Seattle with an MS from the University of Washington, and a background in computational linguistics. He is part of a team that builds AI powered writing tools responsibly that help people be more clear, concise, and inclusive. Jesse has worked in the industry for seven years and is passionate about improving the way we interact with each other through technology including how we present ourselves authentically and communicate online.

All Over The Map is a mini outdoor dance festival taking place at the Picnic Pavilion on Granville Island, Vancouver BC each summer. Building on New Works and CMHC Granville Island’s 20+ year partnership, All Over The Map is a fun, family-friendly performance series that features a mixed program of 10 – 12min works from a diversity of dance and movement artists. It is a great opportunity for emerging artists who are looking for new opportunities to share their work, and has a long history of supporting cultural practitioners who are exploring the bounds between cultural and contemporary forms.  WEBSITE *application now closed

This statement guides how we make choices and how we invite artists into collaborations with us. It’s a living commitment—evolving as we do.

At Velocity, we support dance driven by experimentation—not defined by a specific style or aesthetic, but by a commitment to research, risk, and inquiry. Our curatorial approach is rooted in our values: artist leadership, equity and inclusivity, leading with relationship, curiosity and rigor, and liberation for all. We support artists that work to shift harmful or outdated norms. We prioritize depth, clarity, and process over product. To us, excellence means thoughtfulness, innovation, and resilience. 

We are drawn to artists who experiment with how dance is made, shared, and experienced. We want to know how you’re working not only with movement, but with process, collaboration, and engagement with intended communities. We seek artists researching deeply within their movement form, considering the social and political realities shaping their work, and the many ways performance can communicate and have impact—before, during, and after the show. We’re also interested in artists reimagining how work gets made: experimenting with new strategies, challenging models of authorship and power, and reshaping how we plan, fund, and talk about dance. 

At Velocity, we curate to cultivate. We see artist development as a relationship that grows over time. Our programs are designed to support this ongoing process, allowing us to build trust and understanding, deepen our collaboration, and expand the scope of our shared work. We believe meaningful partnerships require mutual investment, shared risk, and shared reward. When we curate, we’re not only thinking about what’s ready now—we’re also thinking about how we can grow with an artist so we’re ready to take on larger, more ambitious projects together when the time is right. 

Our decision-making is collaborative and led by artists. Curation at Velocity is led by the Executive Director and the programming staff, and often includes the wider Velocity staff and invited community artists, who serve either as project-based panelists or more long-term advisors. We prioritize hiring administrators who are artists themselves, so that our processes remain artist-led.  

The FACT/SF Summer Dance Festival is one of FACT/SF’s Fieldwork programs. The Festival spans two weekends in mid-August in San Francisco, and brings together an array of contemporary dance works by choreographers from the Bay Area and beyond. The purpose of the Festival is to juxtapose a variety of works to spur dialogue, support artists and artistic growth, and present to audiences a range of perspectives.

In a typical year, FACT/SF invites six choreographers/groups to share work. One choreographer/group is often invited to share a longer work (in the 30-45 minute range) in the Festival’s first weekend, and five choreographers/groups are invited to share shorter works (in the 10-20 minute range) in the Festival’s second weekend. FACT/SF shares its own work on both weekends alongside the curated artists. All choreographers/groups are paid to participate, and FACT/SF provides a small travel stipend for choreographers/groups traveling from outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. Of the six curated choreographers/groups, 2-3 are typically from the Bay Area and 3-4 are typically from other regions.

How is this program curated?

The FACT/SF Summer Dance Festival is curated by an 8-person panel via an open application process. All applying artists are paid $30 to apply for approximately one hour of work. The application process is a simple Google form + a 30-minute conversation with two of the panel members.

What is the Application Schedule?

Applications typically open in September for the upcoming festival. The 30-minute conversations between the artist and the panel happens the first two weeks of October, the curatorial meeting happens right after the conversations have concluded, and notifications are sent out during the third week of October.

Website