GINA ANGELIQUE, Director/Choreographer
Gina Angelique has made radical social justice theatre and choreography for over 30 years. She was the founding Artistic Director of San Diego’s Eveoke Dance Theatre, an award winning and critically acclaimed company that under her direction became a San Diego icon for soul-shifting theatrical experiences. She was the only choreographer in America to win the Dance USA Dancemaker grant twice, with which she founded the idiom of "docu-dance." In 2007 she founded dancefarm, a catalyst for 'articulture,' or sustainable arts and agriculture practices. In 2014 she founded RiverStars Performing Arts, an intergenerational, rural dance movement and farming project that integrates small-scale agriculture, theatre and dance.
Gina Angelique has made radical social justice theatre and choreography for over 30 years. She was the founding Artistic Director of San Diego’s Eveoke Dance Theatre, an award winning and critically acclaimed company that under her direction became a San Diego icon for soul-shifting theatrical experiences. She was the only choreographer in America to win the Dance USA Dancemaker grant twice, with which she founded the idiom of "docu-dance." In 2007 she founded dancefarm, a catalyst for 'articulture,' or sustainable arts and agriculture practices. In 2014 she founded RiverStars Performing Arts, an intergenerational, rural dance movement and farming project that integrates small-scale agriculture, theatre and dance.
LINDSEY B. JONES, Performer
A graduate of University of Missouri-Kansas City, Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, and San Francisco Circus Center Clown Conservatory, Lindsey is a founding arts educator for RiverStars, a performing arts education program in Cave Junction. She also serves as president of the Cave Junction City Council and facilitates leadership programs in Oregon. She is a creative community builder with a knack for rallying people and integrating arts with community issues. ELIOT FEENSTRA, Performer
Eliot Feenstra is a theatre-maker, scholar, and sometimes farmer. Drawing on training in clown, social practice, theatre, and contemporary dance, his work explores how we relate to the places we live and the arts as a medium for creative, holistic engagement with civic and political issues. He worked with RiverStars Performing Arts from 2014-2016 as a teacher/performer and has taught and performed in Chicago, San Francisco, Portland, Berlin, Toronto and Vancouver. In 2016, Eliot founded the Illinois Valley Whirlwind Play Festival, a 24-hour play festival generating new work through collaborations between local and visiting artists and community members. He recently completed his Masters in Theatre & Performance Studies at York University in Toronto. ISADORA MILLAY, Performer
Isadora Millay is a dancer, actress and burgeoning creator. The performing arts are her passion. After 5 years playing lead parts for RiverStars Performing Arts she is excited to participate in the (w)HOLE as the fracture. ERICKA Aisha MOORE, Performer
Ericka believes in the impact of dance to empower individuals and community. The first person to show her the power of art and how it could change lives was Gina Angelique. Since she began studying dance (jazz, ballet, modern, and hip-hop) seriously at the age of 15, Ericka has been driven to perform and create pieces that speak about the world she lives in. Funkalosophy, her second full-length show created in 2002, revealed how hip-hop subculture contributes to the activist dance theatre movement, while empowering youth and others with a voice concerning their political and social issues. Funkalosophy was reset in 2003 and 2004. The 2004 production was the longest running dance theatre production in San Diego, running 6 shows per week for 9 weeks. Ericka was a professional dancer for Eveoke Dance Theatre from 1997 to 2011, performing in over 21 full-length shows as a principal dancer to critical acclaim. She has also danced with the Colette Harding Contemporary Dance Company and with Peter Kalivas in the The PGK Project. Currently, Ericka is Artistic Director and Dance Team Director at Neisha’s Dance & Music Academy and Adjunct Faculty at Palomar Community College. |
BIANCA (FOX) BALLARA, Performer
Born in Miami, Florida of Cuban immigrant and working class parents and familiar with racism and classism from a young age, Bianca has always had a mind for making the world a safer and more equitable place. Throughout her studies, and knowing that most of her grandparents were farmers, she keeps coming back to the importance of people’s basic needs getting met, such as the need for healthy food and connection to the earth. Bianca moved to rural Oregon six years ago and has since created several LGBTQ land projects in the area and studied Traditional Ecological Knowledge. In addition to being a dancer and performer, she works as a community organizer with Beyond Toxics, a nonprofit dedicated to grassroots organizing for environmental justice. FINN FRANKLIN, Performer
Finn Franklin is a multi-media artist, and has been with RiverStars Performing Arts since 2017. He is homeschooled and has travelled most of the USA with his family. Previous shows Finn has performed in are: SuperReal, Red Gold, Candyland, and Quaketown. He loves frogs and small shiny objects. KARI KVITTEM, Performer
Kari Kvittem has been living, farming, and teaching in southern Oregon for the last 5 years. She is the Dance Arts Educator with RiverStars Performing arts where she teaches, choreographs and co-creates bi-annual productions. Prior to moving to southern Oregon, Kari studied liberal arts at the university of Florida and subsequently worked with Emergency Communities in Louisiana. She is passionate about creating relevant , place-based art that challenges, engages, and explores social and political issues and is excited to perform in our upcoming show! SOPHIE TRAUB, Performer
Sophie Traub is an internationally known performing artist and theater/film creator, as well as the co-director of The School of Making Thinking. Hailing from Toronto/New York, she recently completed her Masters in Theatre and Performance Studies at York University in Toronto, focusing on the politics of cultural production and group dynamics in collaboration. She has trained extensively in movement theatre techniques such as Viewpoints and Suzuki, and holds a long background of working in experimental devised theatre productions and in film. She is more recently engaged in climate-concerned initiatives within the cultural sector, and is a research assistant for the Climate Change Theatre Action and the Center for Sustainable Practice in the Arts, as well as a curatorial assistant for the Canadian National Arts Centre’s Cycle on Climate Change. She also works in mixed-media production with ToasterLab, specifically on GROUNDWORKS Performance Project at Alcatraz with Dancing Earth. |
PRODUCTION TEAM
CHRISTOPHER HALL, Lighting Designer
Christopher Hall has woven farming and performing arts throughout his life. He grew up on a farm in Vermont and co-founded Eveoke Dance Theatre before homesteading, building a farmers market, fundraising for local non-profits and researching the political economy for the past 10 years. He spent his previous career as a theatre producer, designer, and production manager running a nonprofit organization. He fought the meanies in downtown San Diego redevelopment as a publicly elected official and as a board member of a land use and transit planning organization. He graduated from Earlham College and attended UC Irvine school of design and production.
Christopher Hall has woven farming and performing arts throughout his life. He grew up on a farm in Vermont and co-founded Eveoke Dance Theatre before homesteading, building a farmers market, fundraising for local non-profits and researching the political economy for the past 10 years. He spent his previous career as a theatre producer, designer, and production manager running a nonprofit organization. He fought the meanies in downtown San Diego redevelopment as a publicly elected official and as a board member of a land use and transit planning organization. He graduated from Earlham College and attended UC Irvine school of design and production.
ALISA OCEAN, Costume Designer
Enjoys being around creative inquisitive people and she is grateful for the opportunity to be involved in artistic community projects. She has played the role of seamstress and helped in costume design for several RiverStars performances. Alisa values the transformative quality of theater and dance, and is happy her family has been so immersed in experiencing it with her.
Enjoys being around creative inquisitive people and she is grateful for the opportunity to be involved in artistic community projects. She has played the role of seamstress and helped in costume design for several RiverStars performances. Alisa values the transformative quality of theater and dance, and is happy her family has been so immersed in experiencing it with her.
EARTHEN WATSON, Documentarian
Earthen Watson is a producer, director and editor of documentary films. His recent community projects include the curation of a film shorts program for Ecosex: Celebrating Lover Earth (2018), and organizing for Oregon Documentary Camp (2018). Earthen was editor for over 30 long-form interviews for the Big Joy Interview Project at the Georgia State University Library Archives (2017). Earthen is co-editor of the award-winning feature documentary film Return of the River (2014).
Earthen Watson is a producer, director and editor of documentary films. His recent community projects include the curation of a film shorts program for Ecosex: Celebrating Lover Earth (2018), and organizing for Oregon Documentary Camp (2018). Earthen was editor for over 30 long-form interviews for the Big Joy Interview Project at the Georgia State University Library Archives (2017). Earthen is co-editor of the award-winning feature documentary film Return of the River (2014).