ˈɡaT͟H(ə)riNGs
ainsley e. tharp, Emily Hansel, gizeh muñiz vengel
ˈɡaT͟H(ə)riNGs is a rotating, peer-led class series tailored for the dance community folx in the Bay Area. This communal space is dedicated to training together and supporting each others practices by sharing knowledge collected from years of experience and experimental dance lineage in the Bay. The class series offers a place for emerging artists to exist and thrive outside of institutional spaces, increasing opportunities to explore and expand their teaching practice while creating a dance environment where everyone feels welcome to be a part of and tend to. Each week, a new teacher is invited to teach two classes to explore, play and share their practice with the community. This is our attempt to collect, to organize, to investigate, to come together to share knowledge in a safe space.
In 2021, ˈɡaT͟H(ə)riNGs was co-created by ainsley tharp and gizeh muñiz vengel, with the goal of bringing spontaneity and novelty to the class scene in the Bay, while offering opportunities to teaching artists to share their work out of the institutional environment. For our upcoming Fall and Spring season, ˈɡaT͟H(ə)riNGs 2023 classes will be curated by Emily Hansel, ainsley tharp and gizeh muñiz vengel. Classes will be held in the months of October and November in San Francisco and in the East Bay, with the intention of expanding and cross-pollinate the movement tendencies across the bridge.
ainsley e. tharp
she/her
ainsley elizabeth tharp is a Bay Area(Ohlone land) based alchemist+artist+activist. she grew up in a small Texas town called Victoria(Karankawas land), she carries with her influence from catholic school, celtic folklore, mexican/tijuana culture, and white southern trailer trash. She’s a multimedia witch working to build new systems as an artist and collaborator. She creates visual alchemy as performance using various modes and media, such as movement, magic, ritual, video, projection, lighting, and the sculpting of readymade objects. Her work is queer, transcends boundaries and norms, and surpasses the conventional yes and no. She has performed internationally worked with various artists such as Sara Shleton Mann, nathaniel moore, gizeh muñiz vengel, Keith Hennessy, Kathleen Hermsdorf, Kim Ip, estrellx supernova, Stephanie Hewett, Clarissa Dyas, NAKA Dance Theater, and Tori Lawerence & Co. Her work is femme. Her work is messy. Her work is a piece of the future. She is currently organizing and teaching with the ˈɡaT͟H(ə)riNGs class series with her collaborator gizeh muñiz vengel, and apart of the curatorial team for KH FRESH FESTIVAL 24, and scholarship recipient of Impulstanz Danceweb 2023.
Photo by Miguel Zavala
Emily
Hansel
she/they
Emily Hansel (she/they) is a San Francisco-based dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, arts administrator, and artist advocate. Originally from Rochester, MN, Emily received their BFA in Dance from the University of South Florida. They currently dance for Post:ballet, SFDanceworks, Christy Funsch, Mark Foehringer Dance Project, and David Herrera Performance Company. Emily has also performed Cunningham repertory in “Signals from the West: Bay Area Artists In Conversation with Merce Cunningham at 100” and danced with Robert Moses’ KIN, Garrett-Moulton Productions, Jennifer Perfilio, FACT/SF, ZiRu Dance, The Anata Project, Talli Jackson, and Marika Brussel, among others. Emily is a self-producing choreographer whose work centers the dancer’s experience. Recently, Emily created new work for Post:ballet, received an SF Artist award from the SF Arts Commission, self-produced her first evening-length choreographic work, Four by Four, at ODC Theater, and was named an Individual Artist Fellow by the California Arts Council. Emily advocates for equitable working conditions for dancers, and is a proud member of the Leadership Committee at Dance Artists’ National Collective.
Photo by Maximillian Tortoriello
gizeh muñiz vengel
she/they
Mexicana, based in Chochenyo Ohlone Land. Movement artist, healer, educator, curator and arts administrator,
gizeh is currently the Managing Director of FLACC, curator and organizer of KH FRESH Festival in San Francisco CA, member of Performance Primers and co-director of Gatherings class series in the Bay Area. Her choreographic work has been performed at the GUSH Dance festival, FRESH festival and FLACC festival in San Francisco and 4x4 choreography contest in Tijuana Baja California where she received the award for Best Choreography in 2016. They have performed as a dancer and creative collaborator with NAKA Dance Theater, Kinetech Arts, estrellx supernova, Sara Shelton Mann, Kathleen Hermesdorf and Lizz Roman in the Bay Area; Silla Danza in Tijuana and Ocho Proyecto Gato in Mexico City to mention some. In 2017 she graduated from Centro de Danza y Producción Escénica de Baja California, directed by Lux Boreal Dance Company Lux Boreal in Tijuana, Baja California.
Photo by Kevin Martinez
La Rumba No Para
Andrea Rodriguez
La Rumba No Para, a salsa love story about growing up in San Francisco, La Misión, explores themes of love, loss, and addiction through live performance and multimedia that is set to premiere Fall 2024 at ODC Theater. Coinciding with the production of LRNP, Rodriguez will offer dance and wellness workshops to community organizations corresponding with the themes of the piece, such as mental health, drug addiction and homelessness.
How do we find ways to heal as a community?
The dance and movement workshops will center on finding joy through movement. Using dance from the afro-latin diaspora alongside mind-body modalities of yoga, meditation, breath work, myofascial release and pilates, Rodriguez will lead dance-into-wellness workshops with the community healing expression, releasing tension, and finding calmness in the body through collective and collaborative efforts.
Andrea
Rodriguez
she/her/ella
Born and raised in the San Francisco Mission District's culturally rich Latinx neighborhood, Andrea Rodriguez is a Xicana-Mexican-American multidisciplinary artist. She is a dancer, choreographer, actress, producer and filmmaker. Rodriguez, performed professionally in the Viva Navidad Parade at Disney California Adventure. She is a Game Producer for the Zumba Fitness Video Games, which sold over 9 million units. She starred as Consuelo, the grandmother, in the “On Your Feet” musical. Rodriguez is a recipient of the San Francisco Arts Commission, Artist grant (2020. 2023). She premiered at Brava Theater an excerpt of her latest production, “La Rumba No Para," a salsa love story about growing up in San Francisco, La Misión, which explores the themes of love, loss, and addiction. Her mission is to create compelling narratives for theater, film, games, and virtual reality with the goal of inspiring diverse audiences to get up off their feet.
Photo by Robbie Sweeny
