Sleepwalking Ballad

Through the lense of his work, the physical vocabulary of modern dance, which itself traces a zeitgeist of political violence, is used to connect the dancers inner landscapes to a current, increasingly urgent global condition of domination and forever-war. Highly detailed movement and austere scenery combine in an epic of love and violence.


Performers:

Mayila Khodadin (She/Her) is a French-Mauritian contemporary dancer, performer and emerging choreographer based in Berlin. Mayila is working as a freelance dancer, choreographer and teacher, as well as being the co-founder and coordinator for the Off-road Collective, a collective of international emerging, multidisciplinary artists, supporting each other in their journey of developing choreographic works, and organising community outreach classes and workshops. She believes in the power of dance as a medium for reflection, awareness and vehicle for change. 



Alishanee is a dancer and artist from New York City and a co-founder of  the modern dance ensemble Symbolic Movement choir. She holds a BA from CUNY Hunter college with a self-designed degree in dance, theology, and psychology. She has a strong background in flamenco, classical, contemporary and modern forms including Horton and Nikolai technique. She also studied the Cuban Contemporary Technique and Cuban Folkloric at Danza Contemporanea De Cuba. Most recently, she performed at the Joyce Theater, Jacob’s Pillow and premiered her first evening length choreographic work at Hośek Contemporary in Berlin. She just finished a semester at the Martha Graham school and currently performs and trains with Soledad Barrio and Noche Flamenca.



Fox Conner is an American artist and co-founder of the modern dance ensemble Symbolic Movement choir. Their work as a choreographer is rooted in an examination of the connections between the German and American lineages of modern dance, seeking both to preserve a connection to 20th century dance forms and to develop a holistic engagement with modern dance in order to support the creation of new repertories. Their diverse movement background in endurance sports, yoga, bodywork, and clubbing has supported their ongoing study of modern dance techniques, including Graham, Nikolais, Horton, and Jooss-Leder. Their compositions explore the deer-in-the-headlights intensity of being human: heartbreak, eschatology, political violence, religious ecstacy, suicide, homosexuality, and the intersection of personal and collective traumas.



Dominique, a native of Lakeland, Florida, USA,  began their training in dance at Florida Dance Theatre in 2005 becoming a trainee with their professional company in 2008. They moved to Philadelphia and joined Smoke, Lilies and Jade under Zane Booker. After 2 seasons they received a full scholarship to study at the Alonzo King LINES Ballet training program.
Throughout their dance experience Dominique collaborated and danced for artists including Earl Mosley, Brigette Dunn-Korpela, Ferdinand DeJesus, Carol Krajacic-Erkes, Lennie Meek re-staging Lar Lubovich Concerto 622, Norbert De La Cruz III, James Sewell, Amanda Miller, Gregory Dawson, Alonzo King, Sidra Bell, Renee Redding Jones, Kevin Wynn, Yuri Zhukov, etc. Dominique is currently freelancing in Berlin Germany, where they are primarily performing with Sasha Waltz and Guests.