MGS presents a Dance Project & Khemia Ensemble Collaboration

Program

Dance Project & Khemia Ensemble present Multiplicities

Multiplicities is a program that explores the chromatic nature of reality. Just like the discrete colors in a color wheel can be spun to create a kaleidoscopic whirl, our lives take on different hues depending on the time, speed and context under which it is placed. Whether we are the initiators of our own transformations, or are the recipients of initiators that life presents along our path, Multiplicities celebrate the range, the experience and the emotions such markers create to form the patchwork of our lives.

INTERMISSION

*Commissioned by Khemia Ensemble

Choreographer Jiwon Ha was born and raised in Busan, South Korea. As a dancer, educator, and choreographer, she works with multiple forms of dance — contemporary, ballet, modern, and Korean folk dance. That passion for dance has allowed her to dance, teach, choreograph, and organize events in the U.S., Canada, and South Korea. She's a PBT-certified teacher, and currently teaches in the UNC-School of the Arts Preparatory Dance Program and at Elon University. She has been an Artist in Residence with the North Carolina Dance Festival,and her work has been featured in numerous festivals in NC and abroad.

Choreographer Eric Mullis is an NC-based artist whose work bridges the disciplines of dance, philosophy, cultural anthropology, and digital aesthetics. In 2020, he received a Fulbright scholarship to teach dance technology in Taiwan and, in 2023, received a grant from the Knight Foundation to continue research on Motive Forces, a dance theater piece that centers on digital abstraction. Eric has published widely on contemporary dance--most recently Instruments of Embodiment: Costuming in Contemporary Dance.  He is chair of the Philosophy and Religion Department at Queens University of Charlotte and Director of Goodyear Arts, a non-profit arts organization dedicated to supporting independent artists in Charlotte, NC.

Born and raised in Kannapolis, Lilly Beaver is a graduating senior at Elon University obtaining degrees in Dance Performance and Choreography and Psychology with a minor in Teaching and Learning.  An apprentice for Joyemovement Dance Company in Greensboro, Lilly has performed works by numerous artists for Elon, American Dance Festival Footprints Showcase, and residencies affiliated with the NC Dance Festival, as well as dance festivals in Chicago and Washington.

A dancer and administrator from Winston-Salem, Savannah Jenkins holds a BFA in dance with concentrations in performance and choreography, complemented by minors in arts administration and anthropology from UNCG. With many years of dance experience, she has actively engaged in various dance processes and performances. Currently, she is a dancer with the Liminality Project and other freelance processes  and is driven by a desire to delve deeper into the convergence of art and the human condition.

Maya Simmons is a senior at Elon University pursuing a B.F.A in Dance Performance & Choreography and B.A. in English this spring. She is proud to have had her choreography showcased with multiple mainstage performers at Elon.  She is also grateful for many performance opportunities with guests such as Ming-Lung Yang and Maurice Watson at Elon, and most recently at American Dance Festival’s Made In NC with Renay Aumiller.

Michelle Spurlock left a career as a pharmacy professor to pursue her passion for aerial arts after experiencing first-hand its ability to draw non-dancers into the world of creative movement. In 2018 she founded Upside Aerial in Burlington, NC with the mission of supporting adults of any age or physical ability on their movement journey using the uniquely empowering experience of dancing in the air. In addition to teaching aerial dance and managing her aerial arts studio, Michelle choreographs and performs original works on aerial silks, aerial hoop, and dance trapeze throughout the Southeast.

Born and raised in Bermuda, Taylor Railton is a freelance dancer and collaborator based in Charlotte. Taylor is an alumni of SUNY Purchase College Dance - magna cum laude, attended the UNCSA high school program, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and London Contemporary Dance School.  Since graduating, Taylor has performed at the New York Dance Festival and Houston Dance Festival, with Stewart/Owen Dance based in Asheville, and with Eric Mullis on his most recent production, “Motive Forces” in Charlotte. 

Bella Villa is a contemporary and modern dancer with training in classical ballet at Artistic Motion School of Arts & Preparatory Academy. Bella competed in several editions of Youth America Grand Prix as well as performed with the Moscow Ballet in Greensboro. At the age of 15, she found her passion for contemporary dance and trained in Graham, Limón, Cunningham and Release technique.  Bella attended UNCSA and studied Contemporary Dance Performance at Boston Conservatory at Berklee.

Program subject to change at the discretion of the artist(s).