Seeds Concert

May 9th & 10th | 7:30pm | $0-40

May 9th: Q&A with Seeds Cohort after the show

📍Arts Mission Oak Cliff

Join us for Seeds, a dynamic concert of new work from eight Dallas-based choreographers, hosted at Arts Mission Oak Cliff (AMOC). This two-evening performance showcases original pieces crafted through an intensive crash course in self-producing. Be part of a vibrant night celebrating the spirit and talent of the independent Dallas dance community!

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Meet the Dancemakers

Adam Rech is a Dallas based dance educator and choreographer. His work focuses primarily on the concept of man vs. society - taking inspiration from works of science-fiction and dystopia to provide comparative commentary on the push and pull nature of progressive-artmaking in restrictive political times. Adam began choreographing, while studying with the Ballet Academy of Texas. His earliest work was selected for the 2015 Regional Dance America SW Conference, and he was later invited to attend their summer program as an emerging choreographer. In 2018, Rech was 1 0f 30 international dancers chosen to study in Israel, as part of the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company’s “Dance Journey Program”. After completing the program, he went on to complete his degree at Sam Houston State University. Locally, Rech has premiered multiple works in partnership with Over the Bridge Arts and has restaged his piece “Black Bar” for 6 O’Clock Dance Theater.

Christie Bondade is an assistant professor in the Division of Dance at SMU where she teaches dance history, community engagement and choreography. She is a dance artist, educator, disability justice advocate, equality activist, community mover and dance/movement therapy practitioner. Bondade earned an M.F.A. in choreography from the California Institute of the Arts, Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance and her B.A. in dance with a focus in choreography from Texas Woman’s University. In addition, she completed a three-year graduate level training program, Embodied Neurobiology, for Dance/Movement Therapy (D/MT). This specialized training has imbued her with insights from somatic psychology, current neuroscience research, creative arts approaches and expressive therapies. Bondade’s creative and pedagogical research centers around dance movement/therapy as a vehicle for embodied exploration, care for the whole person with unconditional positive regard and promoting community engagement through the arts. Her vision is to broaden the impact of dance by harnessing its creative and therapeutic potential.

Alexis Stus (she/her) is a choreographer, performer, and interdisciplinary artist based in Dallas, TX. Before its closure, Alexis studied at the University of the Arts as a dance major and business minor. She is currently taking a gap year to explore her next steps. Alexis explores themes of identity, memory, and the intersection of the body and consciousness in her work. Her recent piece, detailing ideas of compulsion, three scratches below the readable surface, will premiere at the White Wave Solo Duo Festival in NYC this February.

Currently, Alexis is interning in software marketing, blending creativity with strategy, and researching the potential of AI and technology in both arts administration and immersive choreography. Alexis currently serves as a member of Arts Mission Oak Cliff Exchange Club; and loves being surrounded by the arts. Alexis' work seeks to push boundaries, foster connection, and expand the possibilities of contemporary dance.

Chloé (she/her) is a freelance performer and choreographer currently based in Dallas, TX. Chloé earned her BFA in dance performance from the Purchase Conservatory of Dance in December of 2023 and was a part of Hubbard Street's professional training program under the direction of Alexandra Wells until 2020. Chloé has performed original works by Johannes Wieland, Peter Chu, Loni Landon, and Jie-hung Connie Shiau. Most recently, Chloé had the opportunity to work with the Pina Bausch foundation and lead Tanztheater Wuppertal rehearsal director, Julie Shanahan, to re-stage a solo from "Masurca Fogo".

Rachana Rao is a distinguished artist renowned for her expertise in Bharatanatyam, Kuchipudi, and Karana, key forms of Indian classical dance. With a deep passion for storytelling through movement, her performances captivate audiences with their grace and emotional depth. Trained in traditional Indian styles, she constantly explores new ways to push artistic boundaries.
Born in India and now based in the United States, Rachana’s dance reflects a unique blend of her rich heritage and diverse cultural influences.
Her contributions to dance have earned her prestigious accolades, including the Natya Mayuri Award , Yuva Prathibha Award and the ICCR Dance Scholarship from the Government of India. As a Graded Artist, Rachana’s work has been featured on national television in India.
Having performed over 500 shows across India and the U.S., she was also honored to perform before the President of the United States and the Prime Minister of India.

Allen LaPoint (He/Him) is a Queer Dancer, Educator, Choreographer, and Researcher with a BFA in Choreography from the University of Houston and an MFA in Dance from Texas Woman’s University. He is an Adjunct Professor of Dance at Dallas College and a Teaching Artist for PreK–Kindergarten students through BigThought in Dallas ISD. LaPoint's choreographic works investigate the human body in relation to nature's phenomena, such as triangles, machines, patterns, and time. He has trained in Horton, Doug Varone technique, Limón, Release Technique, Post-Modern, and West African dance. LaPoint has danced under choreographers Sarah Gamblin and Karen Stokes and was a company member with Suchu Dance and the UH Dance Ensemble. His work has been presented at the Barnstorm Dance Festival, Mind the Gap, Hermann Park, and more. As a researcher, LaPoint focuses on Queer-affirming pedagogy and the intersection of the choreographic process and AI.

Kiara Taylor is a passionate movement artist, performer, and choreographer from Arlington, Texas. She recently graduated from Texas Woman’s University with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Studies. At Texas Woman’s, she was a TWU’s International Dance Company member. Kiara also performed in four MFA Culminating projects from fall 2021 to 2023. She presented her work “Collide” in the Spring of 2022 at the Dance UpClose Dance Division concert. Kiara was a former member of The National Honor Society of Dance Arts. In Spring 2024, Kiara performed in two choreographic works at the American College Dance Association (ACDA) at The University of Texas at Austin. She was also contracted with Jordan Fuchs Company and debuted "Enlace" for the Fall 2024 dance concert at Texas Woman's University. Kiara is interested in rhythmic sound relationships between people and the space that surrounds us. Kiara defines a new language to capture the moments we don’t see.

Timothy Amirault is a Dallas-based dancer and movement creator. A 2013 graduate of Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Timothy earned a BFA in Dance from Sam Houston State University in 2017. During their time in college, they danced with NobleMotion Dance and HopeStone Dance, were featured in the TV show American Crime (Season 2), and participated in The Dance Gallery Festival in New York City various times. After college, Timothy became a founding company member of B. Moore Dance, and now focuses on freelancing and presenting their own work. In April 2022, they debuted their first evening-length solo show, SAD GHOST / pretty boy, and followed it with Snacks, a self-produced dance variety show that featured four new solos by them and additional works by other artists. Timothy’s work continues to expand as they explore aspects of production and mediums outside of movement.

Meet the Facilitators

(Stage Manager/Production Manager) Broadway: The Last Ship.
Off-Broadway: Elvis People.
Nat't Tour: Hamilton, Wicked.
Regional: Million Dollar Quartet; Mamma Mia! (Casa Manana) Giant, Fly,The Wiz, Public Works Dallas (Dallas Theater Center) Tonight At 8:30, Light Up the Sky, Hedda Gabler (Williamstown); Evita, Dreamgirls, Peter Pan, Hello, Dolly!, The Producers, West Side Story (North Carolina Theatre).
Eric is a graduate of UNC-Greensboro, and currently teaches technical theatre at Fort Worth Country Day in Fort Worth.

Kelsey Oliver, an Austin native, is a freelance choreographer, performer, and artist routinely in scrappy, maximalist, humor-struck collaborations. Trained as a dancer, KO has spent recent years dabbling in costume design and curation, styling for Performa/Dance, UT’s Fall For Dance, Frank Wo/Men Collective, Erica Saucedo, Heloise Gold, The Reverie, and many solo & duet works. She likes durational stuff, absurdist stuff, devised stuff, funny stuff, and stuff that gets soakingly athletic. She also loves her queer family with 5 fur floof children.
Kelsey-Oliver.com | @kelsey___oliver

Neil Foote, a member of the National Association of Black Journalists Hall of Fame and the C.E. Shuford Hall of Honor at the Mayborn School of Journalism, is an entrepreneur, educator, storyteller, and strategist. He is CEO of Foote Communications LLC, a public-relations, content management and multicultural marketing firm. He also is Executive Director of Frisco Marketing Strategy for the University of North Texas. He has more than 40 years of experience working in various forms of media as a journalist (Miami Herald, Washington Post), sales manager and Internet strategist (Dallas Morning News/Belo Corp.), and public relations professional (Tom Joyner/Reach Media). Foote has worked with a wide range of clients from the business world, entertainment, and nonprofits, including Ascendant Group Branding, LiquidSoul Media, Denny’s, Dale Carnegie Training, Change.org, Tom Joyner and Communities Foundation of Texas.

Caroline Hodge (Lighting Design, she/her) is a Dallas based programmer and designer who is delighted to be returning for her second year as part of the SEEDS project. Favorite credits include Every Brilliant Thing with Dallas Theater Center, The Perspectives Project with Pegasus Contemporary Ballet, Mini Movement Fest and Seeds with Agora Artists, and Young Frankenstein with Circle Theatre (as an Associate Designer). Caroline would like to thank her family and her colleagues for their support. See more of her work at CEHodgeLighting.com.

This program is supported by

about Seeds

Seeds is a comprehensive project providing emerging and seasoned dancemakers with tools, means and support to create, develop and premiere a new, finished work. This is a twelve-week crash course in self producing a choreographic work ready for future festival & venue showings. Seeds encompasses a subsidized rehearsal space, career development consultations, professional mentorship and numerous connections within the dance community, culminating in a two-evening fully produced performance at Arts Mission Oak Cliff (AMOC) in Oak Cliff, Dallas.

The project is free of charge--no application fees, no production fees, and no rental costs will be charged to the applicant/choreographer. The total value of the program is estimated to be at least $3,000/choreographer. Agora Artists also provides a modest budget to remunerate choreographers, dancers and cover production expenses such as costumes, props and travel reimbursements.

The Seeds project encompasses 5 main elements:

Space Grant

Each choreographer receives up to 20 hours of subsidized rehearsal space, administered through Agora Artists’ partnership with the Arts Mission Oak Cliff. Choreographers will be charged $5/hour for space, one-third of AMOC’s rental rate and a significantly lower rate than many area dance studios.
Professional Development & Mentorship

Participants receive advice from working professionals at each workshop and receive hands-on feedback on staging and directing, writing, costumes, lighting, organization, scheduling and finance. Once the rehearsal process starts, participants meet every other Sunday to brainstorm with peers and to share feedback on their works in-progress. Dancers are also invited to brainstorming sessions, enriching the conversation with multiple points of view.
Production Budget

Each choreographer is allotted a modest budget to be used for personal remuneration, pay dancers/performers, purchase costumes, materials, props etc. Each choreographer will receive a project budget of $1,000 to subsidize their total budget. Detailed budgets will be discussed with the participants in the first workshop.
Performance

Seeds culminates in a fully produced two-night performance in the Sanctuary at Arts Mission Oak Cliff complete with full dress rehearsal and tech.
Network Building

The choreographers selected for Seeds are brought into the program as a group and are expected to support each other along this choreographic journey. They meet every other Sunday for workshops, check-ins, and feedback sessions. Additionally, Agora Artists invites local arts leaders to the concert in hopes choreographers may build relationships with local presenters and arts leaders for future professional opportunities.