NOVEMBER 13 AT 7:30 P.M. (PREVIEW)
NOVEMBER 14, 15, 19-21 AT 7:30 P.M.
NOVEMBER 16 AT 2:00 P.M.
DANCE
Mé Duniya VOID / ing
Ohr
Wild Hearts and Other Ecologies
OSCAR G. BROCKETT THEATRE F. LOREN WINSHIP DRAMA BUILDING
Theatredance.utexas.edu
CHOREOGRAPHER
Sinclair Emoghene EG Gionfriddo Makaila Natividad Vanessa Anspaugh in collaboration with the dancers
Stage Manager: Rebecca Couch
Assistant Stage Managers: Nicole Chacko, Laura Soares
Archival Team: Laura Baker, Grace Falconer, Merrin Foley, Cassidy Perry, Megan Ramos, Zoë Van Osten
There will be one 10-minute intermission.
THE VIDEOTAPING, PHOTOGRAPHING OR AUDIO RECORDING OF THIS PRODUCTION IS STRICTLY
NOTE FROM THE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Dear Friend,
I have always believed the work of dance to be the same as the work of being human. We are artists, yes, but we are also laborers—our work measured not in data points, but in sweat, breath and the aching vulnerability of being seen in process. The dances you are about to witness are born of this unyielding physical commitment, a stubborn act of creation in a moment that feels increasingly defined by fracture and collapse.
We cannot ignore the tenor of our time. When the scaffolds of society seem to sway, what is the role of our bodies in motion? It is to show the grit required not just to execute a difficult movement, but to keep showing up—to put one foot in front of the other, literally and metaphorically, even when the ground beneath seems unstable.
The artistic brilliance on this stage is not just spectacle; it is a testament to perseverance. In this space, the dancer’s body becomes a living archive of resistance. Every sustained hold, every sharp turn, every breath taken in unison is a small, defiant affirmation that value can still be forged through the effort of connection.
If we let it, the labor of dance transforms into a profound act of hope and truth-telling. It strips away the superficial, leaving only the essential: the relationship between effort and outcome, the power of collective movement and the enduring capacity of our humanity to create its own foundation amidst chaos, to keep us rooted in motion.
We invite you to feel the weight of this labor, and to recognize in it a mirror for your own enduring struggle and strength. Dance has always been, and will remain, a quiet insistence to be radically human.
May we stay radically human, and rooted in motion, together.
EG Gionfriddo Producing Artistic Director
Mé Duniya
Choreography: Sinclair Emoghene
Costume Designer: Allison Normin Johnson
Lighting Designer: KP Pierce
Sound/Projection Designer: Desne Wharton
Music Collaboratio: Jacob Daniels
Scenic Designer:Alik Clay
Assistant Scenic Designers: Valeria Nuñez Estrada, Gustavo Hernandez Pinzon
Rehearsal Assistant: Natalia DePaula
Natalia DePaula, Audrey Friloux, Sydney Gladden, Jesus Gutierrez, Riza Hernandez, Marcel MARS Johnson, Giovanni Ledezma, Valentina Reyes Rubio, Natalie Vargas, Maxima Velasquez, Bailey Whiteman, Wynter Winston
FROM THE CHOREOGRAPHER
Mé Duniya (Hausa for “what is life?”) investigates the futility of existence and the complexities of telling history. Choreographed through theatricality, unconventional movement, sonicscapes and imagined embodied transmissions, the work envisions a cold, drained planet where events never align—an exploration of reverse-dystopianism. Set 450 years in the future, it attempts to reconstruct fragmented pasts, asking how intelligent beings without clear recollections can situate origins to make sense of their world.
VOID / ing
Choreography: EG Gionfriddo
Choreography Assistants: Leo Briggs, Celeste Camfield, Aída Hernandez-Reyes
Music: Jolly Roger Studio, Eliot Gray Fisher, Math Judson
Costume Designer: Aaron Torres
Lighting Designer: Kay Currier-Graves
Sound Designer: Celine Lowe Chang
Projection Designer: Luna Jones
Scenic Designer: Alik Clay
Assistant Scenic Designers: Valeria Nuñez Estrada, Gustavo Hernandez Pinzon Rehearsal Assistant: Audrey Friloux
CAST CAST
Daniela Mendes Albert, Natalia Depaula, Grace Falconer, Emma Flores, Audrey Friloux, Annasofiha Garcia, Katie Jones, Cassidy Perry, Drew Phipps, Kendall Wenmohs
FROM THE CHOREOGRAPHER
The Void is the place where we do the gritty work of growing older. We relentlessly confront and comfort all versions of ourselves: the past, the hoped-for and the present. We can’t bypass the labor in the Void, and we must be willing to leave parts of ourselves behind.
The Void is currently being developed in three distinct configurations: staged here in the Brockett with Dance Repertory Theatre; a proscenium premiere at Texas State University in March 2026 and an experimental, in-the-round, evening-length production with EG’s company ARCOS, running November 21–29, 2025 at Crashbox.
INTERMISSION
Ohr
Choreography: Makaila Natividad
Music: Descend by Christophe Fillipi, The Bottom Line - Sunrise Session II by Ólafur Arnalds
Costume Designer: Aaron Torres
Lighting Designer: Patrick Schoen
Sound Designer: Celine Lowe Chang
Scenic Designer: Alik Clay
Assistant Scenic Designers: Valeria Nuñez Estrada, Gustavo Hernandez Pinzon
Rehearsal Assistant: Kate Mooney
Caroline Buchhorn, Olivia Bursnall, Paulina Cuenca, Gillian Gordon, Jesus Gutierrez, Julia Leitner, Kate Mooney, Zoë Van Osten, Wynter Winston
FROM THE CHOREOGRAPHER
Ohr (pronounced or) — light. What happens when light meets darkness? Shadows recede, edges soften and what once was hidden is revealed. Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. This piece comes from a place of finding freedom in the uncomfortable, fractured process of unveiling—of what is revealed, reshaped and made whole in the light. Thank you to my dancers, collaborators, family, friends and the Lord for dancing with me in this creation process, in the light.
Wild Hearts and Other Ecologies
Choreography: Vanessa Anspaugh in collaboration with the dancers
Music: For Strings by Sarah Davachi, Think Of Me Once In A While,Take Care by Liam McCay, Five Hundred Miles by Mamman Sani
Costume Designer: Aaron Torres
Lighting Designer: Patrick Schoen
Sound Designer: Celine Lowe Chang
Scenic Designer: Alik Clay
Assistant Scenic Designers: Valeria Nuñez Estrada, Gustavo Hernandez Pinzon
Rehearsal Assistant: Leili Givens
Jermey Benavides, Andrea Bernal, Leili Givens, Bryli Lee Jameson, Cassidy Perry, Hailey Potter, Julia Vickers, Jalissa Vitalis
FROM THE CHOREOGRAPHER
I began by asking the dancers where they were right now and what they wanted to do in performance. Every day, I asked them things related to trying to get to know who they were and what they cared about. In the end, I see what we made as a document of the present moment, expressive of this collection of people, each of whom grapples with the many facets of their own aliveness, with the losses and joys of being human. Many thanks to each of them for their generosity and presence throughout the process.
Vanessa Anspaugh is the Haruka Weiser Memorial Commissioned artist and the recipient of the 2025-2026 College of Fine Arts Visting Artist Endowment Grant. CAST CAST
Meet the cast and creative team behind Rooted In Motion.
Scan the QR code to view actor and creative team bios.
theatredance.utexas.edu/cabaret-cast-and-creative-team
TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS FABRICATION STUDIO
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR KAREN MANESS
PROJECT MANAGER
DAVID TOLIN
FABRICATION TECHNICAL MANAGER
JASON LEE HUERTA
PROPERTIES MANAGER
ASHTON MURPHY
LEAD FABRICATOR
HANK SCHWEMMER
SENIOR TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
SCOTT BUSSEY
SCENIC CHARGE ARTIST
BRIDGETTE CLIFFORD
EMERGING ARTS PROFESSIONALS
LEAH AUSTIN
JULIA YELVINGTON
GRADUATE PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
BRITTNEY BARTON
GALA DEMARIN
GUSTAVO ADOLFO HERNANDEZ PINZON
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS
GABI HERNANDEZ
MADISON JACKSON
PRODUCTION LEADS
JUNO ADAIR
VALERIA NUÑEZ ESTRADA
FABRICATION PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
NAHLA BELTRAN
JULIANA BRANDAO
SARAH EWING
ERIN GLASSCOCK
ALISA IRVIN
DYLAN LEBENSFELD
CODIE LIGHTFOOT
JOSE SALCIDO
ZOE SALDANA
JADEN WEST
324P FABRICATION PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
HAYLEY JAN CARBAJAL
KEENAN DAVID DAILEY
AVA DEVINEY
JORDYN ECKERS
STELLA GILL
ISAIAH JONES
DAIJHA MAINOR
NATHAN RAMOS
MADDEN SHOEBOTHAM
PROP STOCK MANAGER
JACUELINE MAI
LAURA SOARES
COSTUME PRODUCTION AND FABRICATION STUDIO
COSTUME PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
NANETTE ACOSTA
PRODUCTION ASSOCIATES
DESIREÉ HUMPHRIES
JONATHAN WATERS
STAFF DRAPERS
SARAH BARBOUR
POUA YANG
STAFF FIRST HANDS
JENNIFER BALL
EMILY EOFF
STUDENT FIRST HANDS
ALLISON NORMIN JOHNSON
RILEY O’SULLIVAN
STUDENT STITCHERS
JACOB BENAIL
ALEX SECORD
COSTUME CRAFTS ARTISAN
TANYA OLALDE
COSTUME CRAFTS ASSISTANTS
LAYLA CREAR
AVA SETTOON
STUDIO ASSISTANTS
AMANDA ROSE GEYER
LAYLA ISAAC
WIG HAIR AND MAKEUP SPECIALIST
STEPHANIE WILLIAMS
STUDIO CREW SUPERVISOR CALIFORNIA THORSON
WARDROBE SUPERVISOR
TANIA HERNANDEZ
WARDROBE RUNNING CREW CHIEF
HANNAH COTTEN
COSTUME STOCK SUPERVISOR DESIREÉ HUMPHRIES
COSTUME STOCK ASSISTANTS DEE FITZGERALD
YHENG KITTY JIANG
LIGHTING/SOUND/MEDIA
ACADEMIC PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY MANAGER
EARNEST MAZIQUE
ASSISTANT LIGHTING SUPERVISOR
MICHAEL SHANKS
ASSISTANT SUPERVISING ELECTRICANS
AMANI EDMOND
VALERIA MORALES
SENIOR LIGHTING TECHNICIAN PATRICK SCHOEN
324P LIGHTING FACULTY SUPERVISOR SEB BOONE
324P THEATRE AND DANCE LIGHTING CREW
ABELARDO AGUILAR
EDUARDO BENAVIDES
HADDON BRITT
AMANI EDMOND
ELICIA HARTZELL
PRESTON MARK
DYLAN MARTINEZ FIGUERO
VALERIA MORALES
AKANSHA RANBHISE
AARON SULLIVAN
TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS LIGHTING CREW
JOSE CALVILLO
PJ JETTON
RILEY KNECHT
MICHAEL OKOOTI
BLAKE PERSYN
ETHAN SEBREE
RAIN SNYDER
AARON SULLIVAN
ASSISTANT AUDIO VIDEO SUPERVISOR
K. ELIOT HAYNES
TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS AUDIO CREW
SARAH APPLE
KALEB AZIZ
MEDIA GRADUATE ASSISTANTS
ARASH BAQIPUR
LUNA JONES
NITSAN SCHARF
DESNE WHARTON
PRODUCTION ADVISORS
STAGE MANAGEMENT RUSTY CLOYES
DIRECTING
KJ SANCHEZ
ALEXANDRA BASSIAKOU SHAW
COSTUME DESIGN
RAQUEL BARRETO ELYSE GRIMALDI
COSTUME TECHNOLOGY DAVID AREVALO
LIGHTING DESIGN MICHELLE HABECK
INTEGRATED MEDIA FOR LIVE PERFORMANCE KATE FREER
SCENIC DESIGN JOSAFATH REYNOSO
SOUND DESIGN PHILLIP OWEN
DRAMATURGY
MADGE DARLINGTON
RESIDENT INTIMACY DIRECTOR ANDY GRAPKO
CREW SUPERVISOR AUSTIN SHIRLEY
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION RUSTY CLOYES
TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS DIRECTOR OF FABRICATION AND ACADEMIC PRODUCTION JEFF GRAPKO
FRONT OF HOUSE MANAGEMENT AND TICKETING DANA MCLAUGHLIN
PR/MARKETING
SYDNEY PATTILLO KATY WIGGINS
PHOTOGRAPHER
SARAH A. NAVARRETE
GRAPHIC DESIGNER MONICA GRIFFIN
MARZENA KRUPA
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