Choreography: Charmaine Butcher in collaboration with Alaja Badalich (performs courtesy of AXIS Dance Company) and Caitlin Hicks. 

Performers: Alaja Badalich and Caitlin Hicks 

Music: Biosphere, Mella Dee, The Moments, The Whatnauts

Program Note:

Thank you so very much, Caitlin and Alaja, for your help unearthing the beginnings of what I think may be an extensive process. Weightless Burden means many things to me; The Duo is my first stab at articulating some of my experiences living in my body, those I know are shared with many: grief, nervousness, pleasure, shame, joy, and reluctance towards trust.

Choreography: Kira Fargas in collaboration with Hadassah Perry

Performed by Hadassah Perry

Music: Pathétique 2nd Movement; written by Ludwig van Beethoven, performed by Marioverehrer

You Are There; written by Harry Sukman and Paul Francis Webster, performed by Frank Sinatra

Costume: Styled by Kira Fargas and Hadassah Perry

Choreographers and Performers: Colin Frederick and Moscelyne ParkeHarrison.

Music: Edited by Moscelyne ParkeHarrison

Intel War (Vatican Shadow), Fiera (Arca), Spectacle of Ritual (Kali Malone), Le Code (Myth Syzer), Blue Noise.

Costume Design: vipère by D Calhoun 

Program note: NO CONSEQUENCE explores the dynamics of a “power couple,” the identity of youth and the different lenses of how queer people are perceived together in the public eye versus in private. 

Choreography and Performance: Mio Ishikawa

Music: Drei Intermezzi, Op. 117: I. Andante moderato by Johannes Brahms

Set Design: Mio Ishikawa

Choreographers/Performers: Charmaine & Babatunji

Music: Dreaming of Kelly Pool by Mary Lattimore and Paul Sukeena

Costume: Charmaine & Babatunji

Program Note: everything led to this is a study on the impermanent aspects of a relationship that is continuously in process.

Babatunji (he/him) began as a self-taught street performer, developing a unique approach to various styles of hip hop such as breakdance, popping, and krump. Babatunji has danced professionally with, Post:ballet, SFDanceworks, SFJazz, Ballare Carmel,  Philein/ZiRu productions, Maurya Kerr's tinypistol, and Dawson|Wallace Dance Project. He is a Princess Grace Award and Chris Hellman Award recipient. He is currently a member of Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet. Babatunji is a co-director for OTHER/self.

Native to Eugene, Oregon A(laj)a Badalich (they/she) is a black-queer neurodivergent dance artist, choreographer, and co-founder of Fermata Ballet Collective. She trained at the Alonzo King Lines Ballet training program, across the United States and internationally. Laj has worked closely with choreographers such as Alex Ketley, Nadia Adame, Asun Noales, Robin Dekkers, Alice Klock, Florian Lochner, Maurya Kerr, Roderick George, and Christian Burns. Laj joined AXIS Dance Company in 2022 and made their Jacob's Pillow and Latin American Debut in 2023. Laj believes movement is a universal language connecting us beyond our senses. It is ancestral, a form of storytelling carried through generations, and should be celebrated by everyone. As they continue into their 3rd season with AXIS, they intend not just to share their story but the stories of others. 

Alaja performs courtesy of AXIS Dance Company

Colin Frederick (they/them), born and raised in Warrensburg, Missouri began their dance training at Center Stage Academy of the Performing Arts. They attended the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where they obtained their B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography. After graduation, Colin moved to San Francisco, California where they have freelanced with several choreographers and companies including Garrett + Moulton Productions, Deborah Slater Dance Theatre, Post:ballet, under the direction of Robin Dekkers and Mia J. Chong’s EIGHT/MOVES. Colin has choreographed and co-produced shows with BODYSONNET and is on faculty at Berkeley Ballet Theater.

Charmaine Butcher (they/them) is a dance artist based out of San Francisco. They received training from Alonzo King LINES Ballet's Training Program in San Francisco. Charmaine has worked with Coriolis Dance, Post:ballet, the Seattle Opera, Sharp & Fine, and Verlaine & McCann’s Burlesque Nutcracker. Charmaine is a co-director for OTHER/self.

Mio Ishikawa (she/her), Japanese movement artist based in New York City, works collaboratively across multiple artistic mediums. Ishikawa is a performer with Sidra Bell Dance New York and Punchdrunk's Sleep No More NYC. Ishikawa trained at the Juilliard School (BFA 2019).  Ishikawa is a recent recipient of 2023-2024 Center for Ballet Art NYU Juilliard Fellowship in support of her upcoming creation. She is a co-founder of BODYSONNET and associate director of the collective.

Moscelyne ParkeHarrison (she/her), director and co-founder of BODYSONNET, is a dance artist from the Berkshires, Massachusetts. She is currently based in San Francisco where she is the Associate Artistic Director, Resident Choreographer, and company dancer with Post:ballet. She is a graduate of The Juilliard School (with the Artist as Citizen Award). She has received commissions from Post:ballet, LINES Training Program, The Juilliard School and Metropolis Ensemble. She is currently in process for an evening length immersive theater show as artist in residence at the Midway. Moscelyne’s film ‘say i am you’ was recently selected for the San Francisco Dance Film Festival and Dance Camera West. Moscelyne is a co-director for OTHER/self.

Caitlin Hicks (she/they) grew up in San Diego and completed her BFA in Dance Performance at UC Irvine before moving to the Bay where she has been living and dancing since 2015. Caitlin has been a recent performer and collaborator with Post:ballet, Sharp & Fine, REYES Dance, Bellwether Dance Project, Garrett + Moulton Productions, and The Residents.

Hadassah Perry (she/they) is a queer artist and musician currently based in San Francisco. She grew up in Riga, Latvia where she began her studies in dance and piano. In 2016, she moved to occupied Israel to study with the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company. 

 In 2018, Hadassah joined New Dialect directed by Banning Bouldin. There she worked closely with and performed works by Roy Assaf, Ariel Freedman, Rosie Herrera, Ana Maria Lucaciu, Peter Chu, and Alex Ketley. Alongside her performance career, Hadassah has been commissioned to choreograph original works for New Dialect’s Third Voice Installation, Pollen Arts Festival, Kindling Arts Festival, SafeHouse Arts RAW ENCORE, and Barnard University. In the Summer of 2021, Hadassah joined UNA Productions directed by Chuck Wilt. 

Hadassah is a creator and co-director of the Contemporary Program at the Westlake School for the Performing Arts with her partner Kira Fargas, in Daly City.  

Kira Fargas is a queer, first generation, Filipina American movement artist and choreographer. She was raised in the Bay Area and began her dance training at the Westlake School for the Performing Arts. In 2017, she received her BFA in dance from the University of Arizona.

After graduating, Kira moved to Nashville, TN, to dance with New Dialect under the direction of Banning Bouldin. She recently made her return to the Bay Area, and dances with UNA Productions under the direction of Chuck Wilt, and EIGHT/MOVES under the direction of Mia Chong. Kira has also worked closely with Rosie Herrera, Alex Ketley, Ariel Freedman, Roy Assaf, KT Nelson, and Rena Butler, and in 2022, Kira attended Springboard Danse Montréal, where she performed works by Hofesh Schechter (staged by Kim Kohlmann) and UNA Productions.

Kira co-directs the Contemporary Training Program at the Westlake School for the Performing Arts with Hadassah Perry, and is extremely passionate about progressing the field with the upcoming generation

Dante Ison - Lighting Designer

Byron Ramos - Stage Manager

Grey Tartaglione - CounterPulse Director of Programs

GG Torres - CounterPulse Technical Director

Krys Swarn - CounterPulse Technician

Em Thurin- CounterPulse Presenting Associate