FRESH Exchanges: RIPE ft. Gabriel Christian, Dazaun Soleyn, José Navarrete

FRESH 2018 Exchanges offer nine interactive, inclusive, and insightful gatherings in the frameworks of RIPE [raw + intimate performance experiments], POTLUCK/Social Practice, and Alternative Conservatory at the Red Poppy Art House between January 9th and 25th. Each Tuesday, RIPE [raw + intimate performance experiments] invites two artists who are working on the edge of their form to share excerpts of current projects, speak about their process, and hold a moderated group discussion. Facilitated by José Navarrete, the January 16th Exchange features artists Gabriel Christian and Dazaun Soleyn.
 
Black Bussy by Gabriel Christian
An equestrian movement piece

Dazaun Soleyn
My choreographic interest is in creating work that utilizes and magnifies the individual power and beauty of each artist in the room. In order for me to explore this interest, I foster a relationship-based creative environment that works towards finding the harmony between thought-provoking dialogue and rigorously physical effort.
 
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Gabriel Christian (t(he)y/(t)him) is a multidisciplinary artist and teacher. After receiving a BA in Theatre Studies from Yale in 2013, they shifted coasts from their native New York to the Bay Area. Here, they pivoted from stage performance to reifying queer desire, gender fluidity (or “juicyness”), and black resilience through a broader spectrum of movement arts. They’ve held residencies at Destiny Arts Center, Finnish Hall, and This Will Take Time; performed with director Robert Woodruff and choreographers Debby Kajiyama and José Navarrete, Jess Curtis, and Anne Bluethenthal; and mounted independent work at CounterPulse, SOMArts, and Brava Theater, amongst others. Ongoing projects include BLACK PRESENCE, a bricolage exploration of black presence with twenty-nine black and brown artists, and Lxs Desaparecidxs with choreographer Randy Reyes. Upcoming shows include Revolt She Said. Revolt Again (Crowded Fire) and Queering the Wake (Queer Arts Festival 2018).

Dazaun Soleyn, originally from Brooklyn, New York, graduated as the University of South Florida’s Outstanding Graduate with a BFA in Modern Dance Performance and Choreography. Upon graduation, Dazaun was accepted as a trainee at the Alonzo King LINES Ballet School (AKLBS). With AKLBS, Dazaun has performed works by Sidra Bell, Kara Davis, and Maurya Kerr. He has also attended Springboard Danse Montréal where he performed works by Shannon Gillen’s VIM VIGOR Dance Company. His teaching credits include the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program, University of South Florida, Gibney Dance Center, American Ballet School, Dance Mission Theater, and ODC Commons. Dazaun is currently a company member of Robert Moses’ Kin and a teaching artist in the Bay Area community.
 
ABOUT FRESH FESTIVAL 2018:
FRESH Festival 2018 is San Francisco’s 9th annual festival of experimental dance, music, and performance from January 5-27, 2018. The festival offers four weekends of risk-taking main-stage Performances, three weeks + weekends of immersive studio Practices, and 14 social and interactive Exchanges, hosted by Joe Goode Annex, Red Poppy Art House and F8 Nightclub in San Francisco, and Finnish Hall in Berkeley. FRESH 2018 is inspired by and transmitted through the curiosity of 50+ cutting-edge artists from the Bay Area and beyond.
 

 
Time: Doors 7:00PM / Event 7:30PM
Admission: By donation ($5-10) – No one turned away for lack of funds