2024 PERFORMERS
"There is no sun without shadow and it is essential to know the night."
~ Albert Camus
~ Sha Sha Higby ~
Sha Sha Higby is known internationally for her mythical evocative and haunting performances using puppetry and masks, in the exquisite and ephemeral body sculpture she creates and moves within. It is a metaphorically rich and intimate journey in elaborate multi-layered costume,micropuppetry, and projection. Based on the symbolic plight of our skies and forests, and ourselves.
Sha Sha will work as a Giant in full costume using micro puppetry. There will be serene forests of animals and birds followed by a stylized battle with demons of fire in the forests. After being extinguished by the oceans, it begins to snow. What is to happen next?…as this Giant watches over... The fishes search through the remains for flying souls that might be caught.
some video of Sha Sha ‘s recent exhibition:
Sha Sha at BGSU Fine Arts Center
www.shashahigby.com
~ Anandha Ray's Quimera Ritual Dance ~
Anandha Ray, MA, MA, DTR, is an innovative creator in dance, inventing new methodologies in the teaching and performance of dance over a career that has spanned over 3 decades. An award-winning choreographer, her work shines light on the invisible and gives voice to the unspeakable, bridging the gap of understanding our humanness. Highlights of her career include directing international tours of 9 countries, working as a Cultural Ambassador for the US Embassy (2004-2005), as the artistic director of Moving Arts Dance (1980-2011) touring extensively throughout the US and in Europe, Assistant Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer for Labayan Dance Theater, and currently directing Quimera Ritual Dance and Absoluta in international tours for performances and workshops. She founded and directed the the Moving Arts Dance Studio Theater (2002-2010), was the Director of the Dance Program at the University of the Pacific (1990-1992) and at Yavapai College (1980-1984), served as summer dance faculty at Santa Monica College (1986), and was the director of various other community dance programs, as well as founding and directing dance outreach programs for title one schools, and currently leads residencies, lectures, and choreographs for universities and festivals nationally and internationally. In her extensive career she has produced over 300 dance concerts throughout America and in Europe. For her contributions in dance she has been inducted into the Contra Costa County Women’s Hall of Fame and as an honorary Kentucky Colonel, has received commendations from the US Senate and the CA Assembly, was named as one of 25 Women Leading the Arts and as a Visionary for the 21st Century, and she received the Las Vegas “Daffy Award” (Dance as an Art Form -2009), the Cingular Award for Community Service (2006) and has received numerous grants and awards. She has received national choreography awards including receiving the highest national award granted by the National College Dance Association (selection for performance at the Kennedy Center, WA DC, 2016 and 1986), the WestWave Choreographic Commissioning Project Award (SF 2014), sjCHOREOfest Award (CA 2007, 2011), selection for the gala concert of the American National College Dance Festivals (OR & WA 1986, WA 1988, NM 1990, AZ 2016), Choreography Award from the American Dance Festival (NC 1986) and selection as a choreographer for the one and only Martha Graham Company Festival (AZ 1982). Her work has been presented, commissioned and performed by numerous professional companies, universities and colleges. Ms. Ray danced principal roles in choreography of Merce Cunningham, Laura Dean, Tandy Beal, Cliff Keuter, Jose’ Limon, Doris Humphrey, Margaret Jenkins, Claire Whistler, Duncan McFarland, Rhonda Martin, Michael Lowe and Viktor Kabaniaev. among her many revered mentors and teachers including Beth Lessard, Margaret Gisolo and Bill Evans. She has a bachelor of arts degree from ASU in Dance Education and two masters degrees in dance from UCLA (Choreography with a second emphasis in Kinesiology and a second masters degree in Dance/Movement Therapy) and her BA in Dance Education from ASU.
~ Tracy Lynn ~
Tracy Lynn is a movement artist and teacher who melds modern fusion dance, yoga asana, and arm-balancing. For more than a decade, she has helped students utilize movement to transmute heaviness, trauma, and rewrite their body stories. She uses performance to reclaim the self, embody strength, and recognize both light and dark that coexist within us.
~ Paul Mercer ~
Paul Mercer is a pioneer in neoclassical music, a violinist and composer whose sounds and timbres reveal the secret melodies and unlock the hidden stories of ancient violins and violas. His extensive Classical and Hindustani music training combines with decades of busking, playing in bands, managing a violin shop, and traveling to the four corners of the earth to create a distinctive style of layering centuries-old instruments with modern electronic effects. Paul has recorded and toured with artists including The Changelings, DP3, Jill Tracy, Zoe Keating, Brass Knuckle Surfer, and Faith And The Muse, and has composed more than 30 soundtracks for stage and film. His upcoming release "The Whispering in the Wood", the long-anticipated follow-up to his 2013 album "Ghosts", is a collection of improvisations and sonic explorations that unveils the voices of these precious instruments, speaking to us from beyond time.
paulmercer.bandcamp.com
~ Jenny Atomik ~
Former Bay Area resident and former dancer, Jenny Atomik began her journey as an aerialist at San Francisco Circus Center in 2009. She learned from coaches Marina Luna, Jeremy Sheets, Elena Panova, Dominik Wyss, and so many more. While growing into her art with aerial acrobatics, Jenny was a go go dancer for much of the San Francisco/Bay Area Goth Scene. It was her way to not only express herself on the ground, but also a way to pay her way through her Circus schooling. " I owe much of my growth to the SF Goth and Dark Arts performance scene." Since then, Jenny has performed aerial acrobatics both nationally and internationally from Spain, to Germany both performing in varieté and small shows across the world. It was not until 2013 did Jenny dive deeper into her adoration for aerial chains. While travelling across the world, she had the opportunity to learn more about this special craft from so many talented chain artists at that time. Jenny currently lives in Las Vegas, NV where she both performs for corporate events and excels at her second love, which is teaching aerial acrobatics to the community. "I love being able to show people that they are capable of achieving so much more than they might think. It is such a joy for me to see adults and pre-professionals getting things, living in the moment, and enjoying themselves in the air." Jenny is excited and is looking forward to being back at the Shadow Dance stage and sharing her chain love with beloved audience.
~ DJ Iron Fist ~
DJ Iron Fist has been a colossus in the Electro-Industrial scene since the dawn of time—or at least since the late '90s. Forged in the fiery depths of Hell itself and tempered in the industrial wastelands of the West Coast, his iron will has hammered out beats that resonate from the darkest caverns of Chicago to the skyscrapers of Siberia. Since storming into the goth/industrial scene, DJ Iron Fist has left a trail of smoldering dance floors in his wake, collaborating with titans of the scene such as Titanium Temples, Steel Symphony, Ironclad Inferno, and Chromium Cataclysm. He is the mastermind behind Iron Clad Grooves, a cataclysmic event series that has become a mecca for those seeking auditory obliteration.
~ Saudade & Hiraeth ~
Saudade & Hiraeth Is a performance project by Dusty Paik and Meredith Yayanos, conceived specifically for Shadowdance ten years ago and staged intermittently since. Currently, Mer’s a writer and make-it-goer, Dusty is a bartender and sometimes private chef. They like to create music whenever they can. Bellowing and keening by Dusty, thereministrations by Mer.
~ Fluid Girl ~
Chris Young-Ginzburg a.k.a. Fluidgirl is a dynamic performer and dancer, blending over 20 years of experience in a popping, theater, mask and performance with her deep knowledge of the healing arts. Her unique approach combines movement, rhythm, song and storytelling to create transformative experiences that connect the body, mind, and spirit. Whether on stage or in intimate settings, Chris uses her dance and performance skills to inspire and to evoke a sense of wonder, bringing her audience on a journey of self-discovery and curiosity through the art of movement.
~ DJ Keyz~
Music resonates with our souls because it knows how to connect with our emotions, amplify our desires and vibrate our hearts. DJ Keyz does just that—with her rhythmic musical selections—calling to each of us to embrace the dark vibrations within all of us. Her musical choices provide a sanctuary for lovers of the night and dancers of the dark. DJ Keyz has been a staple of the Gothic-Industrial-EBM scene for over a decade in California. With DJ appearances spanning from San Francisco to Los Angeles, DJ Keyz has showcased her ever-evolving talents at various pre-eminent clubs such as Death Guild, Dark Shadows, Die Maschinen, Das Bunker and Noize Faktory. She wholeheartedly supports and nurtures the ever-growing scene in her hometown of Sacramento, by being a constant creative and fundamental force within the community, including her own Goth Night Club that started in 2017 called Necromancy and New Wave Society still present, along with her New Nights called Coven and Absolution every Sunday. As she looks ahead to Shadow Dance, DJ Keyz hopes her musical style will conjure up beauty in darkness and offer a spooky haven for those that seek that deep connection that her music selections can create.
~ Dave Haaz-Baroque ~
Dave Haaz-Baroque (he/him) is a prolific performer and puppet maker in the San Francisco Bay Area. His puppet creations have been featured in Kat Robichaud's Misfit Cabaret, Peaches Christ's Terror Vault, the SF Oasis drag production of 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer Live' the annual Edwardian Ball, the television show 'Creepy KOFY Movie Time' and the Berkeley Playhouse production of 'Into the Woods.' He also produces his own puppet-hosted variety show, ‘Shadow Circus: Voidville.’
Dave can also 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.
Instagram: @creaturetheatre
Facebook:
~ 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.
~ Dany White with Jesse Stanbridge~
For the first time on the Shadow Dance stage, Dany, as a choreographer and lead performer, is joined by Jesse to present a very special and deeply personal piece years in the making.
Dany started belly dance in 2006 and has studied, performed, and taught globally and coast to coast in the US. She is a long-time student and dance partner to Ariellah, Deshret Dance Company member for nearly a decade, past ShadowDance co-producer, a graduate of Rachel Brice's 8 Elements, and a Datura Style Teacher.
Jesse was introduced to bellydance in 2002. Moving to London in 2005, she was determined to foster and shape the UK’s burgeoning bellydance community. In the Bay Area since 2012, she continues to seek every opportunity to study with top instructors. She is a graduate of Key of Spades with Zoe Jakes, an 8 Elements Cultivate, and an advanced instructor in the FCBDStyle group improv format. She also co-directs Tessera Dance with Sofia Salazar-Rubio.
Master of Ceremonies
~ Loren the Black ~
Nigredo, the Alchemical stage of putrefaction - "Blacker than Blackest Black" - is a time for breaking down, separation into prime components for purification. Ideally, one emerges from the Dark re-Made, yet faithful to their Origins... We each await, or celebrate, our individual Dawnings-- conjoined at the Shadows.
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...for Seven years of the past Decade, a Fortune Brightly Blessed.
As the Tarot's cataclysmic Tower sees its survivors witness a new Star rise, may the days until we meet- for the first time, or as Drear Friends -pass with Mercy, Awakening, and Hope Reborn!
VENDORS
~ Odd One Emporium~
I am a self taught oddities artist based in Northern California and I create my art using many different techniques and ethically sourced specimens. I love to create beautiful dark macabre pieces and occasionally cross over to the lighter side. You will find specially mummified specimens, medical wet specimens, bugs,bones, and Taxidermy. I love creating something beautiful from death and giving a second life to the lost.
www.etsy.com/shop/OddOneEmporiumCA
~ Minerva Press ᛗ ~
Minerva Press is Dark Romantic Silkscreen Art & Apparel. Fully handmade, and a love letter to craft.
~ EyeScream ~
Bio coming soon...
~ Slow Charge Coffee ~
SlowCharge Coffee is an Oakland-based coffee roaster focused on bringing the community the sickest specialty coffee. With deep roots in the punk / goth scene in the Bay Area and over a decade ov coffee experience, SlowCharge is excited to provide coffee for weirdos roasted by weirdos ^v^
FINE ARTS
~ Jeremy Rathbone ~
Jeremy Rathbone is a Sacramento artist, best known on the comic convention circuit for his science fiction pieces, many of which were painted live on the show floor. His "Zombots," "Robovikings," and scifi paintings and illustrations have been shown at many public events, publications, and gallery exhibitions. After the passing of his wife in 2017, he put his brush down for what he had thought and intended to be for good. Today, Jeremy's trauma-informed pieces combine the arcane symbols of life and death with the mysteries of infinite space to both express and confront his feelings of grief and his need to connect with life.
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 Soiled Dove, Edwardian Ball, and other past Vau de Vire productions, Conjure, Requiem Dance Festival, Flux Verticle Theatre and Acrosports productions, she enjoys being challenged in new and unusual ways. As stage manager and assistant director of Shadowdance, she has always considered this show to be near and dear to her heart, and looks forward to being a part of it again...
~ 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.