DISCO RIOT presents: S P A C E Rising Alliance Residency Showcase S P A C E Rising Showcase is the final presentation from Resident Artists Briele Melahn & Giovanna Francisco, Emily Sutherland & Jenna Wu-Cardona, and Karina Wilson & Patrick Li. Through a 10-week artist residency process in collaboration with DISCO RIOT’s community partners Malashock Dance, BalletCenter Studios, and Culture Shock San Diego, our selected Resident Artists delved into research and development of new works. Join us for the culminating event for this process, to see what their creative research and exploration has yielded. Tickets are by donation with no minimum donation amount. About the Artists and Their Works: Karina Wilson (she/her) is a San Diego-based mover with roots in LA. Trained in Balanchine and drawn to contemporary movement, she has explored her artistic style studying at Complexions Contemporary Ballet and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. Karina aspires to engage in diverse capacities, collaborating with others to play and innovate. Patrick Li envisions uniting people from diverse backgrounds through the universal language of dance. Growing up and training abroad, Patrick embraces dance as a potent art form for expressing individuality while exploring common ground. His current movement practice integrates digital innovation with movement to transcend traditional performance boundaries. Karina Wilson & Patrick Li aim to explore how individuals, partnerships, and communities navigate their diverse states of existence. Our focus is on unraveling the dynamics of personal presence, partnership interactions, and collective experience. Technology will subtly underpin these interactions, shaping our lens of interconnected human experiences. Briele Melahn is a newly relocated San Diego artist. After receiving her BFA through the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College she has performed and presented original works in NYC. Melahn works with dance, improvisation, and collaboration to explore the intersection of original movement and intuitive humanness. Giovanna Francisco (she/her) is a San Diego-based movement artist. She graduated from UCSD with her BA in both dance and sociology with a minor in education studies. Giovanna has performed and created work in San Diego as both an independent artist and community dancer. Her movement practice centers dance as a tool for exploration and connection. Briele Melahn & Giovanna Francisco feel inclined to investigate pedestrian and performer boundaries within a live show context. We are questioning what it means to be authentic while simultaneously being on display in front of an audience. How can we merge performance and process? Jenna Wu-Cardona (they/them/she) is a queer and multiracial dancer and artist with roots in Los Angeles and San Diego. They studied education and dance at Scripps College and have since worked with Blue 13 Dance Company, DISCO RIOT’s 2024 Queer Mvmnt Fest, and Dance the Yard. Emily Jane Sutherland is a queer San Diego based artist who recently graduated from San Diego State with their Bachelors in Dance. Emily is a visual artist/ choreographer who uses various art mediums to transform spaces and elevate dance performance. Through the crossover of site-specific dance film with stagework and projection, Emily Jane Sutherland and Jenna Wu-Cardona’s piece will expand on common definitions and understandings of bodies. We question both how we can get more fully into and out of our queer, intersectional bodies in order to experience and bring about the most collective freedom. About the (R)evolution Mentorship Program The 2024 (R)evolution Mentorship Program was designed to offer San Diego-based young artists (ages 20-26) a cohort-style educational, immersive mentorship program focused on offering substantial and sustained support in transitional learning into the San Diego professional dance ecosystem. The program includes free dance classes, monthly professional development workshops and cohort meetings, check-ins with a uniquely designated DISCO RIOT mentors, opportunities to immerse in performance and event production, and a 10-week S P A C E Rising Residency as part of a culminating artistic project. Together we build critical skills for a healthy, autonomous, successful career in the field of dance. We believe the next phase of building a truly sustainable dance ecosystem in San Diego hinges on the integration of young artist voices. About DISCO RIOT: Our mission is to grow social consciousness and connection through collaborative, thought-provoking movement-based art in San Diego. For more information visit: discoriot.org Stay Connected on Facebook and Instagram
