2022 PERFORMERS
"There is no sun without shadow and it is essential to know the night."
~ Albert Camus
~ Tribal Baroque ~
Sound Alchemists...
Aliens from a distant world unknown, these independent artists are the ultimate creative outlaws. They call what they do prayforming.
This dynamic duo is:
2002 Oscar winner Thoth, countertenor and violinist, has been prayforming for over 30 years and Lila'Angelique, coloratura soprano and violinist, prayforming with Thoth for more than 12 years, first as mentee, then married in 2015.
www.tribalbaroque.com
~ Ida Mahin and Max ~
Ida Mahin and Maxx are goth fusion style performers and instructors from Germany. They understand dance as a non-verbal, universally understandable language in which aesthetic and cultural-historical impulses from all over the world flow together. Their artistic focus lies in the awakening of characters, storytelling and the mediation of truthful emotions. Their stage creations are heavily influenced by life, visual arts, cultures, concepts, literature, theatre, movies and their deep love to wide spectrum of dark music.
In their workshops, Ida & Maxx devote significant attention to imparting background knowledge far off clichés. They seek to reveal and enhance the individual skills of every single dancer, no matter if advanced or newbie.
~ Ariellah and Deshret Dance Company ~
Ariellah is an international fusion dancer, performer, and instructor with much passion in her heart for life, for music, for love. She has an extensive dance background that spans 30 + years.
Deshret Dance Company was founded in early 2007 by Ariellah, the company’s artistic director and main choreographer. Deshret’s current collaborating dancers are Danielle White, Natalie Nayun, Becca Lavery, and Marjorye Maciel. Each of the dancers contributes their individuality and strength to the dance company. DDC explores matters of the heart and the world and all that interconnects… Wandering between darkness and light…
www.ariellah.com
www.deshretdance.com
~ Mira Betz ~
Active in theater, dance and the performing arts for 30 years, Mira Betz tours internationally as a soloist dancer, choreographer and teacher. Her brain based approach is revolutionizing dance training, encompassing chronic pain, cognition, balance and mobility. Mira Betz received her B.F.A. from the California College of Arts. Mira continues to spread her experience, knowledge and love for dance through her captivating performance and engaging teaching style.
www.miramania.com
~ Anandha Ray~
Rev. Priestess Anandha Ray, MA, MA, DTR has over 30 years international experience as an award winning choreographer and artistic director with Moving Arts Dance, and she currently directs Quimera Ritual Dance. Creating dances that open gateways to understanding the shadow realms has been her life’s work. She served as Cultural Ambassador with US Embassies of Belarus and Poland on annual tours called “Dance Without Borders”, innovated a form of dance inquiry and performance called Shamanic Fusion Dance® (dance as transformational classes/ceremonies/performances), and in her varied career has also served as a Dance Therapist, Assistant Professor and Chairperson of a university dance program, and she is a Pipe Carrier of indigenous dance ceremonies. She is a WisdomKeeper (WisdomVR.org 2019) and an internationally celebrated, multiple award-winning choreographer and humanitarian including selection as a young choreographer for the Martha Graham company (1982). For her contributions in dance she has been inducted into the Women's Hall of Fame, been inducted as an Honorary Kentucky Colonel, and received commendations from the U.S. Senate, California Assembly, National College Dance Festival honorary performances at the Kennedy Center (1986, 2016), Washington DC, received the Las Vegas Dance as an Art Form Award, and has been named a visionary in the arts (Diablo Magazine 2001, 2006). She is an ordained priestess of the Goddess Isis and leads others through 18-month long initiations in these realms, through Shamanic Fusion Dance.
http://anandharay.com/
Vimeo
FILM CREDITS
Sound Score
Edited by
Anandha Ray
“Append”
by Martin Gauffin
Licensed by Epidemic Sound
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/vbyrzL09eH/
“Lida”
Used by permission of Irena Kotvitskaya
By Irena Kotvitskaya
Whispered vocals by
Ann Keeling Friedman
Irena Kotvitskaya
Anandha Ray
~ DJ Zlaya ~
>Body Rapture Oakland/Cold Trinity Belgrade, Voight-Kampff Machine/Étant< - 30 years of Club, Radio, Production, and Conceptual Continuity<
DJ Zlaya has been active in Electro-Industrial scene since the early 90's. The Span of scene activities we has been involved with is as wide as the way scene ground he covered from his native Yugoslavia, to the Midwest of USA, and all the way to California. Since his move to San Francisco Bay, DJ Zlaya has been involved with all staple Bay area dark music institutions such as Strangelove, Death Guild, BodyShock, The Hanging Garden, Satori, Disorder, Last Rites, the Dancing Ghosts...). He is a founder of, an ultimate EBM and Industrial Music programme, Body Rapture, in SF Bay Area.
https://www.twitch.tv/zlayadj
~ Shadow Girls Cult ~
Shadow Girls Cult is a queer shadow puppetry & visual arts duo based out of Seattle. Incorporating human silhouettes, cinematic shadow puppetry techniques and theatrical lighting effects, they weave surreal tales of trauma, identity and loss (laced with a bit of pure nightmare juice).
Zane Exactly (they/them) is a non-binary puppeteer, theatre maker and visual artist. They are a co-producer of the Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam and were recently named the PNW Regional Director for Puppeteers of America.
Cassie Bray (she/they) is a gender-fluid theatre artist, lighting designer and shadow puppeteer. They are VP of the Puppeteers of Puget Sound, as well as a co-producer of the Fussy Cloud Puppet Slam.
~ Dusty Paik ~
Dusty Paik is an artist and sometime performer that decided to move to New Orleans, smack dab in the middle of April 2020. She hasn’t been out of the gulf south since, and is very pleased to be back in the arms of the bay for shadowdance.
~ Vector Vervain ~
Vector Vervain has been a circus, sideshow, and cabaret entertainer for nearly 20 years.
Noted for choreographing, engineering, booking, narrating and starring in his original touring show,
The Deadlurk Dollymops, as well as joining forces with legendary icon The Enigma for the season-long Sexy Science Sideshow,
Vector has also been seen working with The Super Geek League, members of Squidling Bros, AWOL Dance Collective and Circus Contraption
to name a few. Still working seasonally as carnival sideshow barker and a stagehand, Vector Vervain looks forward to presenting the theatrical debut
of a heinous new machine which has never been exhibited before in his newest piece: Vestigial Twin of the Vampire.
Vector will be joined in this endeavor by local cabaret sweetheart - Your Favorite Unfamiliar Face - Jain Dowe.
~ Natalie ~
Natalie is an international teacher and performer specializing in contemporary and folkloric styles from Central Asia and the Middle East. She has been dancing for over 20 years and teaching for over 14 years. She is the Assistant Artistic Director of Ballet Afsaneh and founded International online dance school Pomegranate Garden Dance featuring teachers and students from all over the world.
Natalie has received numerous grants & awards to study dance and conduct research in Uzbekistan & Tajikistan. She is a passionate teacher and a lifelong student. Her hope is to share the beauty in these regions of the world through dance!
~ Chalala ~
Chalala (Ophelia Coeur de Noir & Charlie Duneaux) have been performing together since 2013. Between them they share skills from ballet to bellydance, and cancan to clowning. You can find them dancing with the Trashkan Marchink Band, frolicking with the 3 Tiny Klowns, and wherever fine whiskies are served.
~ Dave Haas Baroque ~
Dave Haaz-Baroque (he/him) is a regular performer at Kat Robichaud's Misfit Cabaret.. His puppet creations have been featured in the SF Oasis production of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer Live', New Conservatory Theatre Center's 'Sagittarius Ponderosa', the annual Edwardian Ball, the television show 'Creepy KOFY Movie Time' and the Berkeley Playhouse production of 'Into the Woods.'
Dave can be seen performing around town with his troupe Shadow Circus Creature Theatre; a puppet show where rubber dinosaurs get drunk and cuss a lot. He is currently banned from Wal*Mart because of an unfortunate incident with trained raccoons and a Tupperware set.
~ Mistress McCutchan ~
DJ Mistress McCutchan got her start spinning in December 1997 in New York City at the legendary club, Mother. From there, she's spun a variety of parties in multiple cities in the US, Canada, and the UK. Through the pandemic, she continued DJing online on Twitch. She is one-half of the Toronto-based party, Prophecy, as well as the podcast, It's Midnight Somewhere.
~ Juneaux Mayfaire ~
Juneaux Mayfaire is an actor, singer, occasional dancer and all around servant of the muse. When not lending their voice and countenance to collaborative efforts of chaos and whimsy they can be found at the apothecary counter of Voodoo Authentica of New Orleans by day, or haunting the shadowy alleys of the French Quarter... by night.
Master of Ceremonies
~ Loren the Black ~
Beginnings, Endings...
Light, Darkness...
Birth, Death...
Such Absolute Constructs are but Perceptions of Limitation: It is the Journey, the Shadows, the Life that truly matter-
Connections across Time and Space that branch and ripple amongst each other in Infinite Webs and Matrices...
It is with true Honor and Love that Loren the Black once more holds a Nexus point at the umbral gathering of ShadowDance. Never has he felt more connected, nor so One with Many and ALL, than where You are- Here and Now... Save the previous half of these Sacred 'Dances.
The past Three Years have seen Our World through epic Strife and Loss- and for Many, on a Singularly personal Level as well{#BrushAndFloss}.
As we re-unite in Celebration of the Darkness So Dark There is Light, let our Joy at Survival kindle and shelter frail Hope...
and may we Meet again Soon!
VENDORS
~ Coffin Collectors ~
Basically, I built myself a coffin shelf and got frequent questions about where I got it…so I started building them for others…one thing lead to another and now I do it for a living.
Coffin Collector on Instagram
~ Eyescream ~
Artist Ruby Smith creates ornate ritual totem adornments & gothic jewelry, implementing various techniques and mediums. She crafts them in moonlight, while most of the world sleeps, etched with metal scribe, hand stamped esoteric sigils in brass & copper, talisman sculpted in molten metal using Tiffany Technique, art painted with delicate bristles, works torched in flame, or encased in glass like surfaces, encrusted fossils and minerals, embellished with intricate wires, imbued with Vintage remnants and found objects of past lives, antiqued in dark patinas, formed with calloused fingers, and sent out into the world with undying love.
instagram.com/eyescreamjewelry
~ Succulent Sirens ~
Skye Bergen
Artist, designer, maker, creative, gardener, green thumb, musician.
Maria Quintero-Lenihan
Artist, teacher, wife, mother, activist, all around awesome.
These two resourceful women have joined forces to bring the beauty of the natural world to their community of south Sacramento. Whether it is moss art, cactus terrariums, wedding floral design, or botanically inspired jewelry, these two ladies are focused on empowering each other to make amazing things.
~ Blanca's Bewitching Babies ~
Countess Blanca shares her creepy-cute werewolf and vampire babies with everyone who senses their magic. Holding the babies brings out powerful mommy and daddy energy in people who open themselves to the moment. She has been a multimedia artist, a dancer, a teacher and a medical assistant through a long career of helping people. Blanca offers her babies, their stories and their presence in gothic costume in an intriguing photo booth with her partner. Come experience your own special moment with Countess Blanca, Lucian, Luna, Celeste, Gaia, Blaze, Morgan Fae and Dante.
Blanca and the Babies
FINE ARTS
~ Kimberly Harden ~
Kimberly Harden is an artist who believes in the power of telling your story through visual expression. Kimberly uses mixed medias in her work to express and process her own childhood trauma. Kimberly is a self taught artist who used art as a form of therapy and discovered a passion at a young age. This passion led her to pursue a degree in Art Therapy and show others the power they too can possess. Over the years Kimberly experienced first hand the power of taking control of your narrative by being transparent and open to the unique healing power art provides. These experiences in her private exploration lead her to sharing this transparency through art performances. Her hopes are to empower others through the visual transformation her art takes during her performances. Watch as her pieces goes from a dark and desperate narrative to one of power and redemption.
STAGE CREW
~ Janelle Slavik ~
After performing in theatre, music and dance productions for 25 years, Janelle moved to stage production and management. As stage manager of Vaue De Vire, Soiled Dove, Edwardian Ball, Conjure and Requiem Dance Festival for the past several years, as well as heading stage production of Shadowdance last year, she enjoys being challenged in new and unusual ways. She looks forward to a stunning and successful Shadowdance this year.
~ Rockubus ~
Entering the performance world in piratical drag at age 7, ROCKUBUS has been rocking her heart out as classically trained spinto soprano (12+ years with NATS instructor Kathleen Nitz-Kasdorf), professional pianist and vocalist (BM UCSC), burleseque / gorelesque, MC (YaoiCon & Bad Influence Burlesque), dark fusion bellydancer and stage production, including producing Hexenfest's dance showcase since 2017. Her passion for the macabre arts and the underground performance scene runs as deep as her love for gothic subculture, and is honoured to continue to support what she considers one of the most important setpieces within that culture: Shadowdance. ROCKUBUS is also one half of Rockubus Black; Romantic-Era, symphonic-yet-gritty black and world metal.