MEET THE ARTISTS

Emily Jones + Hannah Krafcik [PDX]

About the New Work

The Swirl (working title) is a performance duet created and danced by Emily Jones and Hannah Krafcik, currently in development. This work takes optical illusions as a conceptual line of inquiry, where “optics” do not simply refer to the function of sight, but rather to how something is perceived in many senses. This work posits the presence of two as a “set” – distinct entities with similarities and differences – rather than a binary or categorizable pair. In a set, qualities can converge and diverge, and differences can be present without existing in direct contrast. As individuated dancers, Emily and Hannah enact fractals of movement, creating ideating patterns elicit the figment of a status quo. Within The Swirl, they seek to build capacity to inhabit shifting vantages, playing with the way multiple meanings hide in plain view.

About Hannah + Emily

We are Emily Jones (she/they) and Hannah Krafcik (they/them), and we are artistic partners living on unceded lands of Cowlitz, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Clackamas and many other tribes, also known as Portland, Oregon. We make dance performances and transdisciplinary work together. Our artistic offerings explore the tensions between social power dynamics and unnamed personal needs. We maintain that sensory autonomy—the ability to honor and explore one’s own sensory needs and desires—is an essential step in naming, refusing, and subverting coercive power dynamics that touch every aspect of life. 

SYMONE SANZ [SEA]

About the New Work

Seattle has been on a mission to reach authentic connection since the quarantine-era pandemic. The “powerful, predator energy” (-Seattle Dances) laid out in ‘WRETCH’ allows for audiences to see parts of themselves that they may have repressed out of shame; it serves an opportunity to reacquaint with the self and with one’s community from a lens evolved by time and personal expansion. The constant uncertainty, anxiety, and isolation inflated by the pandemic drives the work to necessitate larger-than-life performance that only a stage can hold. ‘WRETCH’ explores universal themes brought to life by punk rock and grunge music that embodies Seattle culture at its core. The punk rock soundscape developed alongside past iterations of this work lift traces of Black culture from Seattle’s history, while the movement onstage evokes scenes from cult-classic horror movies. What you’ll experience encourages you to stand up and headbang along as if you were at a muggy basement house concert. 

About Symone

Symone Sanz is a Seattle-based movement artist, choreographer from Los Angeles. She holds a BFA in dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her “mesmerizing, energizing, and weirdly gripping” (-The Stranger) choreography is underscored by punk rock and grunge music that embodies Seattle culture at its core. Her current research offers space to explore taboo emotions through rigorous feats and durational exploration. Symone has collaborated with artists Heather Kravas, Cherdonna Shinatra, zoe|juniper, and Amanda Morgan, among many others. Her choreographic work has been presented at On the Boards, Velocity Dance Center, Washington Ensemble Theater, Friends of the Waterfront, and 10 Degrees. Symone facilitates movement and euphoria through her Dance Church® classes and supports the community through her board service for Velocity Dance Center and work as an arts administrator.

Stasia Coup [SEA]

About the New Work

This piece playfully documents drag artist Stasia Coup’s real-life endeavors to pursue solo parenthood. Stasia grapples with the emotionally charged transition from No Baby to Baby — a transition which, as a single queer person, requires a staggering amount of planning to accomplish. And yet, Stasia’s highly planned and ordered world will inevitably collapse upon the birth of an actual newborn full of unpredictability, magic, and SO much poop. 

Combining rambunctious childhood dreamscapes and intimate storytelling from the artist, Stasia gets elbow-deep in the sweet, salty messiness of life as she reflects on what it means to surrender to total chaos. Expect diapers, dad jokes, and a stage full of stuffed animals. Laugh and cry along with Stasia as she tries to allow life to happen on its own terms: wild, chaotic and gorgeous.

About Stasia

Stasia Coup (she/her) is the stage moniker of transmasculine performance artist Artie Thomas (he/him). Stasia hails from Seattle’s notoriously weird drag scene, where she has been performing for five years in venues ranging from dive bars, clubs, and living rooms to curated black box theaters. Stasia enjoys turning expectations of drag on their head, pushing boundaries of what drag can be and experimenting with innovative structure. Ranging from magical to mischievous, her work weaves together elements of storytelling, performance art, creative costuming, and postmodern dance. Stasia is known for a signature absurdity, playfulness, and sentimentality, which shine through in most of her creations. 

Stasia’s work has been featured in over fifty local drag shows, perhaps most well-known as a cast member in the experimental drag/art show, Glory Hole. Stasia has also been showcased in On the Boards’ Performance Lab, as a choreographer in Velocity’s Bridge Project, CO-’s Show 6, and as a guest resident for the Drama Tops’ BASE residency Off the Lead.

Cultural Partners

Interested in joining the community of support that is making the Seattle presentation of this work possible? Contact erin@velocitydancecenter.org  to learn how you can be involved.