Join the UW Department of Dance for an evening of live dance performance created by UW Dance faculty and guest artists. This year’s concert will feature Waacking/Whacking choreography by Tracey Wong, a pillar in the PNW W*acking community, as well as Middle Eastern social dances rarely seen on the concert stage, by faculty choreographer Christine Şahin. The program will also include live music composed by Paul Matthew Moore and Gary Palmer in works by faculty choreographers Jennifer Salk and Alana Isiguen.
About the Program
Life is for Living (2024) by Tracey Wong
Guest artist Tracey Wong, a pillar in the PNW W*acking community, premieres this collaboration with UW students and musician p. kruise. Waacking/ Whacking/ Punking is a dance form birthed from the underground clubs in the 70s predominantly by the Black and Brown queer communities. kruise and Wong are creating two original soundscapes that pay homage to disco, funk, soul and house for this dance about collective liberation, safety, being in our own power, and deep connection to self and others.
go in, stay with, move at the speed of trust (2024) by Alana Isiguen
Alana Isiguen’s collaboration with composer and musician Gary Palmer begins with a cast of seven dancers falling into a collective percussive rhythm. They explore ideas of support and reliance through alternating quartets, partnering duets, and, ultimately, a solo. Palmer incorporates knocks of the pedal and plucking of the strings to play off the sounds of the dancers’ feet and hands, and ends with a reflective solo composed by Duke Ellington.
Saidi-Raqs Assaya (2024) and Raqs al Hecha: Hecha (2024) by Christine Şahin
Drawing on living traditions, Christine Şahin presents her interpretation of two dances from the Middle East. Saidi-Raqs Assaya (2024) is lively, energetic and earthy and involves movement imitating the tahtib combative-play movement practice with sticks. Raqs al Hecha: Hecha (2024) revolves around hecha, a rhythm, dance, and musical style, and the traditional song coming from poetry and culture in Iraq. Traditionally danced by the Kawliya communities, modern hecha has taken on a slower heavier tempo and began being performed with daggers in the 1990s.
Wild Card (2024), a reconstruction/revision of Beats Me (2014) by Jennifer Salk
Choreographer Jennifer Salk collaborates with composer/musician Paul Matthew Moore and lighting designer Amiya Brown for this playful, athletic dance about the fine line between collaboration and competition. This reconstruction includes musicians Jonathon Rodriguez and Aaron Butler and sixteen dancers who also contribute creatively. Original cast members Alice Gosti, Lorraine Lau, Sean O’Bryan, and Majinn O’Neal returned to the UW to help stage the dance. Jennifer Salk is an associate professor and former chair of the Department of Dance. Her most recent research involves site-responsive/site-specific dance, including an interactive dance-media artwork created in collaboration with media artist Martin Jarmick.
Wild Card is funded by the Floyd and Delores Jones Endowed Fund for the Arts.
Dance Concert Disclaimer:
Dance is a performance art that explores diverse experiences, emotions, and perspectives. Content in Department of Dance concerts might not be suitable for all audiences. Works can include content related to topics such as race, gender, relationships, justice, and trauma. Audiences may encounter depictions of intimacy, romance, sexuality, and the adult human body. Dance works may also include audio/visual content such as explicit lyrics or language; loud and sudden sounds; strobe lights; stage fog; etc.
When purchasing tickets, guests should use their best judgment regarding the needs and concerns of everyone in their party – especially younger teens and children. Children under the age of 6 are not admitted.
If you have questions about a particular concert, please contact the Department of Dance,visit our Upcoming Eventslistings, or refer to lobby signs when arriving at the show.
COVID Protocols
Our health protocols continue to be informed by UW guidelines. At this time, patrons are no longer required to wear a face covering indoors. However, we respect and support each patron's choice to wear a face covering if that is their preference.
For more information on Arts UW event COVID protocols, see here.
Parking available in the Central Parking Garage: transportation.uw.edu/park