Chicago Artist Spotlight Festival: Ayako Kato/Art Union Humanscape Program

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

AND BEYOND

Today, we are gathering on the traditional homeland of the Council of Three Fires: Ojibwe, “those who keep records of a Vision”; Odawa, “Those men who trade”; and Bodéwadmik/ Bodewadomi (Potawatomi), “Keepers of the Fire”; as well as Hoocąk (Winnebago/ Ho’Chunk), “sacred voice people of the Pines”; Jiwere (Otoe), “water flat”; Peouaroua (Peoria), “Comes carrying a pack on his back”; Kaskaskia (Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands), “he who scrapes it off by means of a tool”; Nut’achi (Missouria), “People of the River Mouth”; Baxoje (Iowas), “People of the Grey Snow”; Kiash Matchitiwuk (Menominee), “The Ancient Ones” and “People of the Forest”; Asâkîwaki (Sauk), “People of the Yellow Earth”; Meskwaki(Fox), “Red-earth People”; Myaamiaki (Miami), ” the Downstream People”; Mascoutah (Mascouten), “Little Prairie People”; Waayaahtanwaki (Wea), “place of the whirlpool”; Peeyankihšiaki (Piankashaw), “Those who Separate” (historically separated from the Miami Nation); Kiikaapoi (Kickapoo), “stands here and there” (for their migratory patterns); and Mitchigamea (Michigamea), “great water.” The Indigenous tribes and peoples have been living on this land with 30,000 years of heritage, practicing traditions, and caring for the land and waterways. Today, over 110,000 Native American people are forming one of the largest urban American Indian communities in Chicago.

Billie Warren, a biologist and member of the Pokagon Band of Bodewadomi (Potawatomi), who is giving Water & Soil Ceremony today says, “... when Bodewadomi (Potawatomi) people make any decisions they always honor their ancestors seven generations back by giving thanks for everything that has been given to them. Then they consider seven generations forward and think about how their actions will affect the people that will come after them.” (Please read the full article introduced later under Resources.)

The man-made layers of colonial history and the history of separation throughout the present moment which Indigenous peoples and other minorities have been experiencing on this land will be remembered as lessons to keep improving the ethos of humanity. Let us allow the Indigenous perspective such as the one Billie mentions to navigate us for the future of the community.

What people are we or would we like to be for the land?

Water Song

Sung during Water Ceremony led by Billie Warren

Wichita do e ya

Do e ya, do e ya

Wichita do e ya

Do e ya hey

Wichita do e ya

Do e ya, do e ya

Wichita do e ya

Do e ya hey

Wisha tenaya heya heya

Wisha tenaya heya hey

Wisha tenaya heya heya

Wisha tenaya heya hey

This is the traditional song from the Crow tribe. Two different states of water are expressed as the sounds of water for the first half and the second half: the gentle flow and the turbulent rapid flow.

ETHOS VISION

Nature is a living being, and we came out of it. Water, cells, fibers, membranes, air, heat … We, with our skin and breath, are embodied entities of nature. The earth, Gaia, is also a living, breathing being. When we look at the rivers, they look like veins and arteries of the earth. Rivers, tree branches, and our blood vessels are taking forms to carry what is necessary to sustain life. These forms are fractal, repeating in micro and macro systems inside our organs as well as in the larger environment. We are nature.

Capitalism, defined by humans, takes advantage of nature’s resources under the vision of limitless economic growth. Most of us humans have limits to our generosity and abundance, limits to what we can give and do in order to maintain our health. The earth and nature also have limits and seek balance. Capitalism has been proving only to support and benefit limited human populations, creating innumerable conflicts and injustices.

Humans have been bestowed with the ability to take care of nature and mediate relationships between phenomena. If something positive is possible but is not happening, it is because we are not using our abilities fully. Each human is such a small entity, yet I believe that each of us can be and do something with our own ability and responsibility. We can adopt the ethos of understanding ourselves as part of the earth, seeing and listening to elemental particles in ourselves and acting as siblings. We have nature to take care of ourselves, others, and everything else. The earth shouldn’t be seen, treated, and consumed as a single-use plastic bag.

Indigenous peoples understand and know better how to be human on the earth. Their science, philosophy, and wisdom need to be focused and learned continuously by all the non-Indigenous residents here to take care of this land and one another better. When I visited Mt. Rushmore, I saw the giant carvings of the historic US presidents. I wondered, “Where are the carvings of Native American Chiefs?” Then I found out there is a Crazy Horse monument. The stone used in the performance and placed in the center of the stage is granite from the carving of the Crazy Horse Memorial (given out for its fundraiser), currently in progress in South Dakota. Everything else used for the stage sets and props are mostly found or recycled items, even our costumes. We can do it.

I’d like to extend deep appreciation to the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago for the incredible effort to make this work happen, gratitude to the Chicago Park District’s Night Out in the Parks for their collaboration and acknowledge the organizations, funders, collaborators, and people who have supported this ETHOS journey and beyond

Thank you for being you, being here today and at this moment, and having been making and sharing your efforts already. Let’s keep stepping forward with our ethos journey!!

ETHOS IV: DEGROWTH/CYCLE/REBIRTH PROGRAM

OUTDOOR SECTION

LAKEFRONT (Friday: 6:00 pm / Saturday: 1:00 pm)

Performance by Oka Homma Singers (live drums and singing) by Niyol Spencer (Head Man), Mississippi Chata/Diné; Dave Spencer (Drum Keeper), Mississippi Chata/Diné; Paul Molina, Kickapoo/Mexican; Jordan Gurneau, Ojibwe; Jasmine Gurneau, Oneida/Menominee; Holly Spencer

Water & Soil Ceremony* by Bille Warren

*No photos and videos are allowed to capture the Water & Soil Ceremony.

Thank you!

Returning Soil & Tree Dance by Dancers

LAKEFRONT to AGORA

Echo Dance (under the bridge)

DIALOGUE at AGORA (Friday: 6:40 pm / Saturday: 1:40 pm)

Dance by Asimina Chremos, Rosely Conz, Carl Gruby, and Ayako Kato

Sound by Andy Slater

Text by Ayako Kato

The Agora sculptures were created by Polish Sculptor Magdalena Abakanowicz. Agora is a Greek word that means a gathering place. Historically, the Ancient Agora was a meeting ground for philosophers, including Socrates, to exchange dialogues.

Today, I invite all of us to reflect on our answers to the question, “What is enough?”

This question comes from Lao Tzu who said, “He who knows he has enough is rich.”

This saying is carved on the stone water basin at Zen temple Ryoanji in Kyoto.

To reflect on this question while the dancers are moving at Agora, please find a friend

to exchange dialogue.

Like these figures, we are walking in different directions.

It seems we started from different places and arrived together just as we are experiencing today.

We meet, we greet, we talk, we love, and so many other things happen, then, eventually we separate. We may not meet again.

We may think that we are not coming from the same origin.

Yet, is that true? No. Once upon a time, we had a common ancestor. Then, we separated. If so, we must be heading toward the same destination. One destination, to the end of the earth along with the end of the sun and the universe.

After this section, we are heading to the Dance Center for participatory Round Dance and the indoor portion of ETHOS IV: Degrowth/Cycle/Rebirth.

At the lobby, there is a sharing station for you to write either on a Tanzaku, a piece of rectangle paper or a QR code to contact me, so please share what you discussed for “What is Enough?”

AGORA to the DANCE CENTER

INDOOR SECTION

LOBBY (Friday: 7:00 pm / Saturday: 2:00 pm)

Tea & Snack Time

Oka Homma Singers invitation to Round Dance in the theater

Oka Homma Singers: Niyol Spencer (Head Man), Mississippi Chata/Diné; Dave Spencer (Drum Keeper), Mississippi Chata/Diné; Paul Molina, Kickapoo/Mexican; Jordan Gurneau, Ojibwe; Jasmine Gurneau, Oneida/Menominee; Holly Spencer

THEATER (Friday: 7:10 pm / Saturday: 2:10 pm)

Participatory Program: Round Dance* on stage

*Please join!! Shoe covers will be provided if you want to dance together on stage!!

“What drumming means for my culture” by Dave Spencer

ETHOS IV Indoor Performance (Friday: 7:30 pm / Saturday: 2:30 pm)

I. Land

Dance by Asimina Chremos, Rosely Conz, Carl Gruby, and Ayako Kato

Sound by Andy Slater

II. What is Seeing?

Performance by Andy Slater, Carl Gruby, Ayako Kato

III. Dreams

Performance by Asimina Chremos, Rosely Conz, and Carl Gruby

IV. No Fish No Mountain

Film “no fish no mountain” (2014) by Ralph Kuehne,

Dance by Ayako Kato

Recorded Piano Improvisation by Ayako Kato

IV. Breathing

Performance by Cast Members

Sound by Andy Slater (electronics) & Ayako Kato (recorded imporvised piano)

Drumming & Singing by Oka Homma Singers and Billie Warren

Dream Text by Carl Gruby

When we learn to navigate life through love and not fear, we can see things more clearly.

If someone is experiencing rage, fear, learn to listen, hold space, or at the very least respect that, as it is a valid and necessary reaction to what they are experiencing.

Reach inside yourself and find empathy. Define your empathetic limits.

Differentiate between what empathy and sympathy looks and feels like for you. Do not empathize at your own expense.

When your empathy limit hits, find sympathy.

What my mother told me since I was young has helped me hold so much love for myself.

“Always keep a piece of your heart for yourself.”

I will forever thank my mother for giving me the strength that I have.

Last Text

It’s not easy to retrieve lost relationships with nature. Yet, at least, we can keep trying because everything is connected.

I am the center.

You are the center.

Then, I am the center, too.

You are the center, too.

Then, there is no center.

Then, everything is the center.

U, me, mother, nature, wind “Warrior Song” or regarded as a “starting” song by Oka Homma Singers

Ponca language:

(vocables in first part of song)

He-thu-ska, ha-ska tha, doM-ba-ga

English Translation:

(vocables in first part of song)

Hethuska, the pure flag, behold it.

END OF THE SHOW (FRIDAY: 8:30 PM / SATURDAY: 3:30 PM)

Caution: Please do not let children imitate what performers are doing with plastic bags such as putting into mouths or placing them on the head and face.

ETHOS IV: Degrowth/Cycle/Rebirth explores decomposing human-centered capitalistic ways of being and practicing symbiotic nature-centered ways of being as stewards of the land.

ETHOS inquires how to improve the ethical characters of contemporary beings along with historical, cultural, and environmental awareness from the fūryū (windflowing) perspective. Ayako as a kinetic philosopher and poet has been searching and practicing an aesthetic and physical restoration for human dignity and beauty, following the ETHOS mantra of 8As: Awareness, Acknowledgement, Affirmation, Allowance, Action, Acceptance, Affinity, and Appreciation in harmony with the cycle of nature.

ETHOS IV: Degrowth/Cycle/Rebirth Creators

Oka Homma Singers: Niyol Spencer (Head Man), Mississippi Chata/Diné; Dave Spencer (Drum Keeper), Mississippi Chata/Diné; Paul Molina, Kickapoo/Mexican; Jordan Gurneau, Ojibwe; Jasmine Gurneau, Oneida/Menominee; Holly Spencer

Water & Soil Ceremony by Billie Warren, Pokagon Band of Bodewadomi (Potawatomi)

Movement & Content Development Collaboration by Andy Slater, Asimina Chremos, Rosely Conz, Carl Gruby, and Ayako Kato

Sound Design by Andy Slater

Film “no fish no mountain” (2014) by Ralph Kuehne

Piano (recorded improvised music) by Ayako Kato

Lighting Design by Giau Truong

Assistant Lighting Design by Adeline Else

Costume by Amanda Franck and Ayako Kato

Access Dramaturg by Maggie Bridger

Technical Management by Kevin Rechner

Stage Management by Siobhan FitzGelard

ETHOS Concept Consulting by Katsushi Hikasa

ETHOS Map Illustration by Katelyn Montgomery

Conceived & Dramatized by Ayako Kato

Choreography by Ayako Kato in collaboration with cast members & Agora section developed from the solo choreography by Angela Gronroos under the theme of Degrowth

Set & Prop Design by Ayako Kato

Scenic Video by Ayako Kato

ETHOS IV: Degrowth/Cycle/Rebirth and the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago’s Chicago Artist Spotlight Festival are generously supported by the, A. Montgomery Ward Foundation, Alphawood Foundation, Chicago Dancemakers Forum, Chicago Moving Company, Chicago Park District, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs & Special Events (DCASE), High Concept Labs, Illinois Arts Council, Morrison-Shearer Foundation, 2023 National Dance Project (NDP) Grant Finalist Award made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts with funding from the Doris Duke Foundation and the Mellon Foundation, Ragdale Foundation, and Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.

BIOS

Billie Warren, an Environmental Consultant and Educator, is an enrolled citizen of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi, who passionately reshapes environmental perspectives. A Biology graduate from Indiana University Northwest, Billie seamlessly blends her expertise, certified as a monarch expert and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Leader. Her specialization in Indigenous food sovereignty and plant medicine around the Great Lakes Region sets her apart. Functioning as a bridge between Western Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Billie’s workshops harmonize mainstream environmental science with Indigenous perspectives, resonating across schools, universities, museums, parks, and BIPOC panels. In 2019, she founded Jibek Mbwakawen, Inc., a non-profit fostering sustainable relationships with ecosystems through Indigenous-focused environmental education. Billie’s leadership inspires positive change, contributing significantly to the collective effort to safeguard the environment from the looming climate crisis. Her journey exemplifies the transformative impact of education and cultural understanding, leaving a mark on the quest for environmental harmony.

Oka Homma - a Chicago-based Drum group, presents intertribal songs of the Southern Plains. Oka Homma formed in March 2023 to contribute to a resurgence of arts engagement needed to mobilize and build community. In addition, the Drum aims to re/introduce cultural practice amongst Chicago’s intergenerational Native American community. Through song, these singers share a small taste of southern plains culture with the Midwest populace. Today’s performers are: Niyol Spencer (Head Man), Mississippi Chata/Diné; Dave Spencer (Drum Keeper), Mississippi Chata/Diné; Paul Molina, Kickapoo/Mexican; Jordan Gurneau, Ojibwe; Jasmine Gurneau, Oneida/ Menominee; Holly Spencer

Oka Homma Singers: Photo by Seeger Gray

Andy Slater is a Chicago-based media artist, sound designer, teaching artist, and disability advocate. Slater is the founder of the Society of Visually Impaired Sound Artists and director of the Sound as Sight accessible field-recording project. He holds a master’s in sound arts and industries from Northwestern University and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is a 2022–23 Leonardo CripTech Incubator fellow and a 2018 3Arts / Bodies of Work fellow at the University of Illinois Chicago. In 2020, he was acknowledged for his art in The New York Times (“28 Ways to Learn About Disability Culture”).

As a blind member of the extended and virtual reality community, he is using his voice as a creator and advocate to help shape the industry to be more accessible for disabled people. His current work focuses on advocacy for accessible art and technology, alt text for sound and image, sci-fi, spacial audio for extended reality, and sound design for film and video games. He is a teaching artist with the Midwest Society for Acoustic Ecology and Experimental Sound Studios. He is also a member of the Atlantic Center for the Arts’ Young Sound Seekers advisory board.

Slater has exhibited and performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco, the Transmediale festival in Berlin, the Ian Potter Museum of Art in Melbourne, Critical Distance in Toronto, Experimental Sound Studios in Chicago, the Art Institute of Chicago, Flux Factory in New York, and the Momenta dance Company in Oak Park, Illinois. https://www.thisisandyslater.net/

Andy Slater: Photo by Teresa Slater

Asimina Chremos is a multimedia artist working on dance, textile art, writing, and beyond. She is also a curator, educator, and artist career consultant. She has over thirty years of experience in field of arts and culture, including spans as artistic director of Links Hall Chicago, award-winning choreographer and dancer, two-time performer at the High Zero festival of experimental free improvisation, dance editor at Time Out Chicago, program specialist at the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, practitioner of Continuum with Mary Abrams and Contemplative Dance Practice with Barbara Dilley, and Aikido with the Aikikai of Philadelphia (receiving her Black Belt in 2023). Her current workshop series SCREENBODIES artistically and creatively touches on the relationship between human body-mind and the use of videoconferencing through

laptops and phones. Her name Asimina (ah-see-MEE-na) means “silvery” in Greek. Website: https://asiminachremos.space/

Asimina Chremos: Photo: Courtesy of the Artist

Rosely Conz is a Brazilian dancer, choreographer, scholar, dance teacher, and screendance maker. Her creative and scholarly research focuses on issues of immigration, identity, and diversity through media such as screendance, live choreography, and as a theme of her lectures. She is also studying Afro-Brazilian dances and how they have the potential to decolonize dance in tertiary education in the United States, both in the studio and on the concert stage. She has performed and choreographed professionally for dance companies both in Brazil and in the USA and had her work funded by grants such as Pine River Arts in Michigan, FICC (Fund for Cultural Investments), and Capes in Brazil, additionally to being a CHA (Center of Humanities and Arts) Fellow and recipient of the Gail Pokoik Scholarship in Boulder- Colorado. Her work has been presented at festivals and conferences nationally and internationally in Mexico, Brazil, Ireland, Canada, South Africa, and Barbados.

Rosely has a BA in Dance, an MA in Performing Arts from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp - Brazil), and an MFA in Dance from the University of Colorado at Boulder. She has taught at Michigan State University (MSU) and Alma College. Presently she is an Assistant Professor of Dance at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS). https://www.roselyconz.com/

Rosely Conz: Photo by Richard Pfister Carla Gruby is a Chicago-based movement performance artist. They graduated with a BFA in dance from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana, and have since been merging their practices of dance and performance art using different mediums and influences from their own every-day experiences in the context of current socio-political climates. Gruby focuses on creating intentional visual images and landscapes that utilize the body. Some of this process can be viewed by their practice called PoorPaintings (some pieces are documented via instagram). They explore work

with personas, identity, and systemic social structures, as well as re-purposing and re-contextualizing physical materials. Gruby has been very influenced by Jennifer Monson, and continues to pull ideas from her large-scale projects and environmentally connected dance philosophy. Gruby has recently begun studying for their certification as a Pilates instructor, to further merge their goals of enhancing their teaching and movement studies.

Carla Gruby:

Angela Gronroos is a dance artist and improviser. She was born in Bangkok, Thailand, raised in Anchorage, Alaska, and now resides in Chicago, Illinois. Her training as a performer started in Judo, for which she competed twice at the national level. She later studied modern dance, contact improvisation, and Butoh, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dance from Columbia College Chicago. She co-created STäD, a collective of improvisers consisting of Suzy Grant, Angela Gronroos, Tina Peterzell, and Donnell Williams, whose lives have converged, departed, and overlapped over the past 20 years. Her current practice includes learning Chicago Footwork from Mike D. Chicago, compositional improvisation with Suzy Grant and Zack Bird, and grasping the fundamentals of Ballet from Tuli Bera.

Ralph Kuehne, is a filmmaker, photographer and artdirector based in Lucerne and Zurich. His professional background includes a wide range of disciplines: experimental-film, theatre, dance, fine arts and animation-film. He studied at the Aalto University of Art & Design Helsinki (Fi), University of Art and Design Basel FHNW (CH) and University of Art and Lucern HSLU (CH). www.ralphkuehne.ch

Maggie Bridger is a sick and disabled dance artist, fiber artist, organizer, and scholar interested in reimagining pain through the creative process. Maggie is a 2022 City of Chicago Individual Artist Program grantee and has held artist residencies through High Concept Labs, the Chicago Cultural Center’s Learning Lab, Synapse Arts, and Chicago Dancemakers Forum. Her work has been shown at Elevate Chicago Dance 2022, The Art Institute of Chicago, Cottey College, CounterBalance, and The Plant, among others. Most recently, she premiered a new version of her ongoing work, Radiate, as part of The Steppenwolf’s LookOut series. She is a co-founder, along with collaborator Sydney Erlikh, of the community-run Inclusive Dance Workshop Series and a founding member of Unfolding Disability Futures, a local collective of disabled performing artists. She has worked with organizations such as Synapse Arts, 3Arts, and High Concept Labs in various capacities as an access worker or consultant.

Maggie is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Disability and Human Development. Her writing has been published in the Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, Le Sociographe and the Journal of Cultural and Literary Disability Studies. She is Membership Manager for the Dance Studies Association and serves on the organizing committee for the Chicago Dance Studies Working Group. Learn more about Maggie at www.maggiebridger.com

Maggie Bridger: Photo by Matthew Gregory Hollis

Giau Minh Truong (he/him) was born in Vietnam and lived in a refugee camp with his family for two years in Indonesia before arriving in the USA in 1982. Giau oversees Links Hall’s production and technical needs for artists and performances, maintains Studio A performance space, and does curatorial work focusing on developing use of tech in performance.

Our stage manager, Siobhan FitzGerald, brings experience garnered from stage managing in the vibrant cities of San Francisco and Chicago, at renowned theaters, including Annoyance Theater and Second City. She is honored to be a part of this ethereal and impactful theater experience.

Ethos Map Graphic Designer Katelyn Montogmery (Kat Monty to the graphic design world and friends), is a current senior at Columbia College Chicago. Born in Texas and moving to Chicago at age twelve, she has a rooted love for this city and all the art it has to offer. Kat is a recent transfer from Colorado State University and she is honored to be a part of such a beautiful event through her new school. Having a deep appreciation for dance and movement herself, she could not think of a better project to be a part of. A special thank you to Ayako for providing inspiration throughout this creative process and being open to wonderful conversations.

Described as “moving everyday sculptures, artfully cast in naturalness” (Luzerner Zeitung, Switzerland), Ayako Kato is a kinetic philosopher/poet, originally from Yokohama, Japan. Since 1998, Ayako Kato/Art

Union Humanscape has been pursuing contemporary experimental dance/choreography/improvisation in deep collaboration with over 80 musicians and composers, presenting in Europe, Japan, and the US. Advocating the principles of fūryū, Japanese for “wind flow,” cyclical transformation and human motion in nature, Ayako creates solo, ensemble pieces, and movement installations for traditional stages and large scale site-specific locations. Ayako received the Sybil Shearer Fellowship at Ragdale 2024 and a 2023 National Dance Project (NDP) Grant Finalist Award in preparation for ETHOS IV: Degrowth/Cycle Rebirth, a 2023 United States Artist Fellowship, the 2022 Esteemed Artist Award from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events; the 2021 Artist Fellowship Award in Choreography by the Illinois Arts Council; a 3Arts Residency Fellowship at Camargo Foundation, France and Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, CA; a 3Arts Award; Meier Achievement Award, High Concept Labs Fellowships; the Best of Dance by the Chicago Tribune; a Links Hall Co-MISSION Fellowship; the Hall of Fame by Newcity Stage’s 50 People Who Really Perform for Chicago; a Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist Award and beyond. She is grateful for everyone who has supported and guided her to move forward together with her belief that dance uplifts people and generates peace. ayakokatodance.com

THE DANCE CENTER PRODUCTION CREW

TECHNICAL DIRECTOR: Kevin Rechner

MEDIA/TECHNOLOGY COORDINATOR: Jane Jerardi

SOUND ENGINEER: Dante Giramma

STAGEHAND: Paris Anderson

THE DANCE CENTER PRODUCTION BIOS

Paris Anderson is a dance major and enjoys being backstage as well as being on stage. Paris has studied at Arizona school for the arts for technical theatre and arts management, graduated from Chicago High school for the arts and is currently an undergraduate at Columbia College Chicago. She has experience in costume making, set design, props design, stage management and arts management.

Dante Giramma is a composer, multimedia artist, and sound engineer from Western Massachusetts. His work spans many mediums including fixed media, generative composition, composition for dance and film, CGI & interactive media, sound sculpture, and multimedia installation. He is incredibly invested in creating artistic experiences that are both playful and impactful, using installation work and collaboration with dancers as a catalyst to explore interactivity and physicality in art and sound.

Jane Jerardi serves as the Media/Technology Coordinator for the Dance Center, providing video documentation for both the Presenting Series and its academic programs. As a part of its faculty, she teaches video for dance and choreography courses. In her role, she has documented and edited over 250 performances, workshops, and events, providing essential documentation to artists and adding to the Dance Center’s leading, regional archive of materials dating from 1980 to the present. An artist working in the media of performance, choreography, and video installation, her work has been presented at galleries and theaters in Chicago, New York, and Washington, DC.

Kevin Rechner has been Production Manager and Technical Director for the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago since 1996. He has a bachelor’s degree in Theatre from Illinois State University and spent 3 years in Paris, France studying Movement Theatre with Jacques Lecoq and Daniel Stein. He has created four solo performance works including I AM HUGO and performed in Emily Johnson’s Thank You Bar at the Dance Center. Technically, he has worn many hats for The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago, Daniel Stein, Akira Kasai, Kota Yamazaki, Momenta!, Hedwig Dances, Urban Bush Women, HT Chen and Dancers, Natya Dance Theatre, Mordine and Company Dance Theatre, The Seldoms and many more. Kevin’s work with Lucky Plush Productions includes Cinderbox 18, The Sky Hangs Down Too Close, Punk Yankees, The Better Half, Cinderbox 2.0, Trip the Light Fantastic: The Making of Superstrip, and Rink Life. Recent lighting designs include Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, and Junie B. Jones, The Musical for The Young People’s Theatre of Chicago.

RESOURCES FOR LIFE OF DEGROWTH, CYCLE, & REBIRTH

Article on Talk by

“Indigenous Perspectives on Ecology and the Economy.” Goshen College Blogs, 17 May 2021.

https://www.goshen.edu/blogs/2021/05/17/indigenous-perspectives-on-ecologyand-the-economy/

Highly Recommended Article

Preserving our Roots: The Challenge of Climate Change to Menominee Forest Management

https://ipsr.ku.edu/hersinstitute/pdf/interns/poster_towey.pdf

Article on Rattle Created by Jason

CREATION STARTED WITH THE SOUND OF THE SHISHIGWEN

https://www.potawatomi.org/blog/2020/03/06/creation-started-with-the-sound-ofthe-shishigwen/

Visit & Support

American Indian Center Chicago

https://aicchicago.org/

Crazy Horse Memorial

https://crazyhorsememorial.org/

Resource Recycle Shop

CCRX (Creative Chicago Reuse Exchange)

An amazing place to get any materials for your art projects and beyond! ETHOS IV’s three pieces of fabric came from this place!!

https://www.creativechirx.org/

Compost

Cardboard Compost

https://www-city-nagoya-jp.translate.goog/kankyo/page/0000060262.html?_x_tr_ sl=ja&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=ja&_x_tr_pto=wapp

Recommended Base Materials for 18 x 14 x 10 inch Medium Moving Box: Coconut Coir 15 qt, Organic Charcoal for Horticultural Use 8 qt, 100% Natural Cedar Chips 2 qt, Potting Soil 4 qt

Eggshells take a long time to decompose. You may separate eggshells, wash them before piling. Spread them on a baking sheet and bake in an oven with 392 °F for 30 minutes. Crush with a food processor to make fertilizer. Here is the YouTube link (sorry, it’s in Japanese, yet you will get an idea)!

https://youtu.be/srSdmYvf9go?si=gPPSZtkwObr-yR2U

Alkine Plants

Alkaline Plants: 67 Trees, Shrubs, Vegetables & Flowers That Thrive by Davin Eberhardt, thenaturehome.com

https://thenatureofhome.com/alkaline-plants/

Here is Why You Shouldn’t Throw Away Eggshells.

https://www.southernliving.com/garden/eggshells-in-garden#:~:text=Eggshell%20 Benefits,soil%20that%20has%20low%20acidity.

Carbon Farming: A Climate Solution Under Our Feet - NHK WORLD PRIME

https://youtu.be/rvHJKqU-mZo?si=OkpYkJcG8ZFOVawi

City of Chicago Food Scrap Drop-Off

https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/chicago-recycles/home/food-scrap-drop-off. html

Community Composting Pilot Program

https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/sites/chicago-recycles/home/compost.

html#:~:text=The%20goal%20of%20the%20pilot,the%20soil%20at%20the%20 gardens.

Bulk Shops

Eco Flamingo, 4705 N Rockwell St., Chicago, IL 60625

https://www.theecoflamingo.com/

The Refilleri, 1007 N California, Chicago, IL 60622

https://the-refilleri.square.site/s/shop

Refillable dish soap, hand soap, shampoo, laundry soap, and laundry sheets, toothpaste, soaps, kitchen goods, including a small compost bucket with a lid

Listening

Davies, Dave. “Trees Talk To Each Other. ‘Mother Tree’ Ecologist Hears Lessons For People, Too.” NPR, 4 May 2021.

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/05/04/993430007/trees-talk-toeach-other-mother-tree-ecologist-hears-lessons-for-people-too

“Suzanne Simard - Forests Are Wired for Wisdom.” The On Being Project, Krista Tippett, 9 September 2021.

onbeing.org/programs/suzanne-simard-forests-are-wired-for-wisdom/.

Watching

Documentary on Lynn Margulis: Symbiotic Earth

https://hummingbirdfilms.com/symbioticearth/ Available at Amazon Prime

Reading

What goes on in the soil during winter?

https://lincolnlandscapinginc.com/winter-soil/#:~:text=Soil%20microbes%2C%20 like%20all%20living,to%20feed%20carbohydrate%2Dloving%20microbes

Farewell to Growth by Serge Latouche

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?kn=Farewell%20to%20

Growth%20by%20Serge%20Latouche&sts=t&cm_sp=SearchF-_-topnav-_Results&ds=20

Cal Recycle: Compost Pile Microbe

https://calrecycle.ca.gov/organics/homecompost/microbes/#:~:text=The%20 most%20abundant%20type%20of,temperature%20 rises%2C%20 different%20 organisms%20 thrive

What is Wishcycling?

https://www.roadrunnerwm.com/blog/wishcycling

Lean the Recycle Basics by City of Evanston

https://www.cityofevanston.org/government/departments/public-works/services/ trash-recycling-and-yard-waste-services/recycling-do-s-and-don-ts

UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme)

From birth to ban: A history of the plastic shopping bag

https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/birth-ban-history-plastic-shoppingbag

Planet vs. Plastic Glovak Theme for Earth Day 2024

https://www.earthday.org/planet-vs-plastics/

Website Visit

One Year For Earth

https://1y4e.org/

CONNECT

Google Form ETHOS IV Survey

https://forms.gle/o5SD6VESnQnMTt9B9

Instagram: @furyuayajp

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ayako.kato/

Contact: ayakokatodance.com/contact

Website: www.ayakokatodance.com

Dance/Movement Workshop with Ayako Kato:

Art of Being: Symbiotic Life, Saturdays, May 5 - June 1

https://www.ayakokatodance.com/workshop

SPECIAL THANKS

Monica Almendarez, Tatsu Aoki, Matt Bitonti, Em Beckert, Rose Bouboushian, Jen Brown, Julie Chenot, Cornelia Dimalanta, Barry Feldman, Carlos Flores, Lee Fogel, Wills Glasspiegel, Avery Grant, Esther Grimm, Kanako Hiyama, Regin Igloria, Kimya

Jackson, Mabel Kwan, Jamila Kinney, Nance Klehm, Barbara Koenen, Roland Kulla, Kay LaSota, JeeYeun Lee Angee Lennard, Scott Lundius, Martha Machuca, Marcie Mamura, Helen Meier, Deanna Miera, Yolanda Cesta Carsach Montilla, Mabel Negrete, Riko Noda, Russell Norris, Mike Nourse, Jennifer O’Hara, Rachel Parker, Richard & Teresa Pfister, Martha Quintanilla, Laurel Raczka, Cathy Ramsay, Krista Bryski Richard, Carlos Roa, Jason Roebke, Yuria Roebke, Richard Logan, Roell Schmidt, Marita Seaberg, Bob Shiel, Jess Sladek, Sara Slawnik, Josie Smith, Kristin and Nathan Abhalter Smith, Michele Smith, Terry Sofianos, Mary Beth Sova, Meredith Sutton, Fran Swaine, Masumi Tsuchiya, Ilaheva Tua’one, Daniel Tucker, Preeti Veerlapati, Ayla Whaley, Yiheng Yvonne Wu, Linda Williams, Mary Willmeng, Debra Yepa-Pappan, Sara Zalek

ABOUT THE DANCE CENTER

Home to the academic Dance Department and the Dance Presenting Series, the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago values embodied human expression and nurtures an expansive understanding of dance from the established to the experimental.

Centering pluralism, the Dance Center aims to be a nucleus for innovation and creativity—on stage, in the classroom, and beyond.

By partnering with local, national, and international dance artists dedicated to transforming the field, the Dance Presenting Series offers live performances and other shared opportunities for students, faculty, artists, and audiences to connect, witness, research, experiment, practice, imagine, and grow.

We cultivate an environment and culture that prioritizes respect for self and others, and advances an anti-racist, equitable, and just society.

THE DANCE CENTER

Founder

Shirley Mordine

Chair of Dance

Lisa Gonzales

Associate Chair

Dardi McGinley-Gallivan

Dean, School of Fine and Performing Arts

Dr. Rosita M. Sands Faculty

Bevara Anderson

Lisa Gonzales

Susan Imus

Darrell Jones

Dardi McGinley-Gallivan

Kelsa “K-Soul” RiegerHaywood

Dr. Ayo Walker

Jessica Young

Adjunct Faculty

T. Ayo Alston

Keesha Beckford

Malik Camara

Zineb Chraibi

Shaker Cohlmia

Allen Desterhaft

Emma Draves

Colleen Halloran

Carrie Hansen

Daniel “BRAVEMONK”

Haywood

Gina Hoch-Stall

Matthew Hollis

Jane Jerardi

Mary Klonowski

Hau Kum Leung Kneip

Michael McGinn

Pamela McNeil

Jimmy Payne

Emily Stein

Trae Turner

Meghann Wilkinson

Thomas Zwergel Staff

Michael Caskey Music Director, Accompanist Coordinator

Dan DiLuciano

Director of Facilities and Operations

Raynner Garcia

Box Office/Reception

Caity Gee

Administrative Assistant/ Communications

Ize Heinzen

House Manager

Jane Jerardi Media/Technology Coordinator

Ambe’r Johnnson

Box Office Associate

Angelika Lewis

Box Office Associate

Pamela McNeil

Academic Manager

Mia Nelson

Box Office/Reception

Disha Patel

Box Office/Reception

Kevin Rechner

Technical Director and Production Manager

Roell Schmidt

Dance Presenting Series

Producing Director

Meredith Sutton

Dance Presenting Series

Artistic Director

FRIENDS OF THE DANCE CENTER

The Dance Center gratefully acknowledges its donors for their generous support.

$1,000 AND ABOVE

Taylor and Carrie Olivia Adams

Bonnie Brooks

David Colburn

Pamela Crutchfield

William Hunt

Marcia Lazar and Alan Amos

Elizabeth Liebman

Susan Manning and Douglas Doetsch

Kathleen Miles

D. Elizabeth Price

$500-999

Ellen Chenoweth

Melynda Lopin

Robert Mrtek and Marsha Mrtek

Susan J. Stall

Shawn Wax

$250-499

Nancy Church and Charles Jett

Amor Kohli

Jamey Lundblad and Bill Melamed

K. McGriff

Shunda McGriff

Susan F. Rossen

$100-249

Anonymous

Bernadette Casey

Dr. Kurt Christoffel

Margi Cole

Andrea Edwards

Peter N. and Susan F. Gray

Nancy Juda

Arnold and Carol Kanter

Maggie Kast

Philip Martini

Thomas and Shirley Neiman

Stephen Roy and Lloyd Kohler

Judith Sagan

Clyde Whitaker

$50-99

Charlotte and Alan Bath

Dr. Bob

Cornelio Casaclang

Nancy K. DeDakis

Paul E. Fisher

Lisa Gonzales

Colleen Halloran

Dawn Renee Jones

Dardi McGinley-Gallivan

Pamela Hoffman McNeil

Evemarie Moore

Bette Rosenstein

Dr. Elaine Sachnoff

Emily Stein

Mary Beth Van Dyke

This list includes gifts received through April 1st, 2024. If you have donated since then, thank you and look for your name in the next program!

To become a Friend of the Dance Center, please visit dance.colum.edu/donate

DANCE CENTER SPONSORS

A. Montgomery Ward Foundation

The Dance Center is a member of Dance/USA, See Chicago Dance, the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, and the American College Dance Association.

Athletico is the exclusive provider of physical therapy, occupational therapy, sports medicine, athletic training, work rehabilitation, and massage therapy for the Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago.