DESTINATION DANCE
a site-specific dance tour
Artown on the Quad
Tuesday, July 5, 2022
Tours Depart: 6:00pm, 6:20pm, 6:40pm, 7:00pm
Program
In memory of Kristen Avansino
1. Eyes Wide Open
Choreographer: Eve Allen Garza
Music: “Nocturne Op.9, No.1 In B Flat” by Frederic Chopin, performed by Catherine Manoukian
Dancers: Laura Brown, Jennifer Martin, Jordan Martz, Michelle Mims, Kelly Rubero, Petra Warburton
Site: Morrill Hall (1886)
To all the women that have graced this campus in pursuit of knowledge and equity. This work was inspired by the grandeur of the balcony, reminiscent of days gone by. The dancers movements are in part bound by magnificent “picture frames," and simultaneously inspire the women below to reach beyond.
2. strands
Choreographer: Sarah Johnson
Music: “Kyle (i found you)” by Fred again..
Dancers: Trisha French, Kiera Middlebrook, Sarah Pratt
Editing: Kenzi Fires
Site: Mackay Science (1930)
Inspired by connections made in a common seating space, like threads meeting and separating and meeting again in the weave of a tapestry.
3. Tied
Choreographer: Hanna Walkinshaw
Music: “Heavy Heart” by Aren & The Neighborhood
Dancers: Kristin Austin, Ashley Bumgardner
Site: Honor Court (1997)
This duet explores what it means to grow up and leave our familiar nests. What parts of ourselves are left behind as we mature, and what crucial components never really leave us.
4. Once Every Other Week
Choreographer: Angela Kay Ritchie
Dancers: Kurt Andersen, Leslie Balzer, Linda Berlemann, Patti Casey, Kimberly Ecclestone, Jenna Fortino, Melody Hannah, Scooby Meredith
Costumes: designed and made by Angela Ritchie and Patti Casey, using post consumer containers, bottles, bags, and other goods. Thank you to Sean Casey and Jim Ritchie for your assistance in material preparations.
Additional upcycled art installations made by the Dancers from post consumer goods.
Program Note: We can, and we MUST
Thank you to Home Depot for the generous donation of the recycling bins used in this piece and for your support of our local Arts Community.
Thank you to the Dancers. Your commitment, creativity, open mindedness, laughter, energy, and beautiful dancing have made this piece possible. Thank you for going on this journey with me; I am blessed.
To the Avansino Family: may we also dance in memory of Kristen tonight. That her tragic passing be a reminder that every moment counts, and we are blessed by those with whom we share these moments. Dance On.
Finally, to the Earth and all of its creatures….we must do better for You. Thank you for LITERALLY EVERYTHING
Site: David W. Hettich Memorial Garden (2000)
Walking the campus, I was continuously drawn to the trash receptacles around the Quad. Generally, my work tends to be inspired by the energy and elements of our planet Earth. I find a lot of inspiration in feeling and exploring my physical and energetic connections from deep under the surface to the farthest reaches of our endless sky, and to the spiritual that lay beyond. Exploring how energy passes and moves through one object to another; never forgetting to be thankful for the blessings of this life; and ultimately, that ALL of this is CONNECTED. This piece is an exploration of all of the above…and more.
5. 08-17-29
Choreographer: Christina Carter
Music: “The Other Lover” by Little Dragon & Moses Sumney
Dancers: Abigail Rosen, Noelle Ruggieri, Sydney Tello, Sarah Ziolkowski
Program Note: “To be loving is to be open to grief, to be touched by sorrow, even sorrow that is unending.” bell hooks
Site: William N. Pennington Student Achievement Center (2016)
In the last few years the world has experienced unimaginable amounts of grief - from a global pandemic to continued racial inequality and unrest that left many people in a period of prolonged grieving. Parts of this piece explore finding alternative containers for holding grief - to make mourning feel less like treading choppy ocean waters and more like free floating among the waves. The title is a combination of important months/days/years I experienced both immense grief and immense love.

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Bios
Eve Allen Garza received her MFA in Ballet from the University of Utah (2013) and BS in Business Administration with a major in management and minor in dance from the University of Nevada, Reno (2007). She is a fifth generation Nevadan; born and raised in Reno. Eve is a Teaching Associate Professor for the Department of Theatre & Dance at UNR, teaching all levels of ballet technique, dance appreciation, dance history, and musical theatre styles. Eve is the founder and director of Downtown Dance Collective, a collaborative dance organization that aims to bring together local talent and present accessible performances to our community. She is a registered teaching artist with the Nevada Arts Council’s Artists in Schools + Communities Roster, and an arts integration specialist for the Sierra Arts Foundation where she utilizes the Kennedy Center’s definition of arts integration in her classes and workshops. Eve is currently the Ballet Mistress for A.V.A. Ballet Theatre, continues to perform character roles with the company, and teachings ballet technique at The Conservatory of Movement. www.eveallendance.com
Christina Carter (she/her) is a Black-Filipinx choreographer, collaborating and performing improviser, and performance artist based out of Oakland, CA. Christina is currently exploring her ancestral connection to the fiber/textile arts and how it informs her improvisational choreographic process; in conjunction with finding Black joy and alternative containers for grief processing. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from Mills College; where she performed in works by Shinichi Iova-Koga, Sonya Delwaide, Wanjiru Kamuyu, and trained under Kara Davis, Holley Farmer, Amy O'Neal, and Molissa Fenley. www.christinavcarter.com
Sarah Johnson is a dancer, choreographer, and movement researcher based in the high desert of Reno, NV. Her work is curious and internal, exploring the kinesthetic, spatial, and sociocultural interplay between body and mind. She is interested in generative, collaborative storytelling, and as such her movement is both organic and geometric, with an emphasis on purposeful gesture-work. Sarah is a founding member of the Truckee River Dance Company, an Irish dance performance and education nonprofit based in Reno. TRDCo has operated in the Northern Nevada area for over a decade, performing for festivals and private events as well as hosting summer camps, workshops, and weekly classes. Sarah holds an MA in English Literature and BAs in Linguistics and Dance from the University of Nevada, Reno. Her master’s thesis, Choreographing Language: Embodied Articulation in Original Pronunciation Shakespeare, explores the relationship between spoken language and movement impulse. www.sjohnsondance.com
Aren Long graduated with his Master’s in Piano from UNR in 2021 and is now faculty at the university, teaching and playing piano in both the music and theater departments. He recently released "Heavy Heart" in his album “On Greenwich Way,” an independently recorded album which features over twenty talented musicians from the Northern Nevada area. The album, along with all of Aren’s upcoming projects, can be found at https://linktr.ee/arenlong
Angela Ritchie is a mother of two, dancer, choreographer, and Licensed Veterinary Nurse. She earned her Dance Minor from UNR in 2004. She has danced with Wing and A Prayer Dance Company, CPAC, Bellē Contemporary Dance, co-founded 5 Branches Dance, and has been under the mentorship of Dr. L Martina Young and Diane Rugg. Among others, she has also had the blessed opportunities to work with Sara Bogard, Patti Casey, Cari Cunningham, Jennie Pitts, and Rebecca Bone. She currently lives, loves, laughs, and dances in Reno, NV.
Hanna Walkinshaw graduated from UNR with her BA in dance, Spring of 2021. In her undergrad, she choreographed a range of work from the proscenium stage for live audience, to site specific for film. Hanna currently lives in Sacramento and is enrolled in a Sign Language Interpreting Training Program. She hopes to marry her passion for dance with her knowledge of sign language by teaching dance classes in ASL. She is thrilled to be participating in Destination Dance this year. The opportunity to revisit the beautiful UNR campus and create work again has been incredibly enriching. Hanna would like to thank Aren Long for allowing her to dance with his beautiful music and trusting her with his art.

Tonight's performance is in memory of Kristen Avansino
Thank You
Tour Guides: Cari Cunningham, Yassi Jahanmir,
Nate Hodges, Rosie Trump
Crew: Keely Cobb, Diana McCafferty
Videographer: James Coleman II, Tweaking Reality Studios
Christopher Weir, Scheduling Services
Janell Garcia, Operations Coordinator, Office of the President
Sponsored by
Artown
University of Nevada, Reno
The Edna B. and Bruno Benna Foundation
Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts
The Conservatory of Movement
Satori Dancewear
Wild River Grille
This project is supported in part by the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts"