Stephen Brown Dance Company, Salt Lake City

SB Dance creates original performance works that experiment with form and content. Our pieces use movement, theater, imagery, sound and object. We are very serious r-teests.
	Whereas the standard dance concert is a variety of 10-30 minute pieces, SB Dance puts together longer designs (usually an hour or so) that demand fluid transitions and conceptual compactness. Projects take roughly a year to develop. They are like children who grow up too fast and become living examples of how screwed up we are.
Our artistic team includes dancers, theatrical designers and often all brands of artists. The goal is to be a workshop where project members have the time and resources to brainstorm, research and tinker. An added bonus is driving each other crazy with opposing ideas and nasty habits.

Stephen Brown (director of SB Dance, performer)
Stephen began his training at high school dances. He was too terrified to move, so he would lean against a wall and act hip. Rewarded by this posing technique, he coolly slid into professional ranks, performing with diverse modern companies in New York and the West, including Creach and Koester, Mark Morris Dance Group, Sharir Dance Company, Repertory Dance Theatre and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. Right about here, it should be noted that Stephen underwent a strange academic interlude that ended in 1991 at Columbia University with a BS in biological sciences, Summa Cum Laude.

Like a Drosophila on rot, Stephen began concentrating on choreography and presenting work at festivals and showcases throughout the country. In 1997, he formed SB Dance, a nonprofit that has slowly mutated into a group of misfits trying to lose their funding. As director, Stephen has a finger in every pot. Then he puts it in his mouth. Gross.

Josh Larson (performer)
Now with Repertory Dance Theatre, Josh has danced with Ririe-Woodbury, Tandy Beal and many others. He has been an important part of SB Dance since the beginning. His birthday falls just before SB Dance premiers its new work. It's a great day spent building props, frantically rehearsing, loading-into the theater and then, around 10pm, singing happy birthday. Tough luck, eh?

Liberty Valentine (performer)
A former member of Ririe-Woodbury, Liberty still performs with the company for their Nikolais concerts. She first worked with SB Dance in 2000. Yeah, she's really beautiful. No, she doesn't want to date you.

Thayer Jonutz (performer)
After receiving a BA in modern dance from BYU, touring internationally and joining Repertory Dance Theatre, Thayer asked himself "What now?" Then he farted. (He's a prodigious farter.) Soon afterwards, he agreed to work with SB Dance. He's very popular. Here's a sample email exchange with a SB Dance patron about TJ.
SB Dance writes:"Jonutz Roofing: free consultation with hot male dancer."
Patron replies:"Wish I needed a new roof."
SB Dance:"Not only can he roof but you should see his hammer."
Patron:"If he dances for you, I probably will."

Lynne Listing (performer)
Lynne Listing received her BFA from Western Michigan University and an MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is currently a member of Repertory Dance Theatre, and guest teaches and choreographs in the Utah schools. She likes what she does and who she does it with but really wishes Thayer would fart a little less.

Christine Hasegawa (performer)
A former member of Ririe-Woodbury, Christine has been rawking it with SB Dance since 2000. She's a ball in rehearsals. Here's a sample conversation:
SB: Chris, do you mind dancing hard for 5 minutes and then crawling into a very small, dark and hot steel container with little air for another 5 minutes? And doing a costume change in there?
CH: Fine
SB: Chris, how about you approach this mark completely nude, crying as hard as you can until Libby slaps you in your face?
CH: Fine

Nathan Shaw(performer)
Poor Nathan, the new guy. In his first appearance in front of a SB Dance audience, he had to wear a ball gag and leathers. He's butt naked in his second show. He's a member of Raw Moves Dance Company and Repertory Dance Theatre.

Mattson McFarland (set and object designer)
Born and raised right here on Earth, Mattson McFarland works in many mediums, often all at the same time. These include visual arts, performance, conceptual art, installation and various media arts. I'm sure he would be happy to drone on and on about them. This is his third season with SBDance.

Stefanie Slade (lighting and production design)
A devoted believer in theater, Stefanie Slade finds herself seeking a balance between blur and precision. She keeps involving herself in projects that push her every direction. She considers her involvement with SB Dance to be part of her pilgrimage. She wants to start a cult but can't think of a good name yet.

James Harry Fagedes (graphic design)
Sitting in front of a computer for days on end is a lot like dance. That's why Jamie fits in so well. He's been web mastering, art directing and running to Kinkos for SBDance for over three years now. See him strut his stuff at jamesharry.net NOT .com! Don't say dot com! Da bells, da bells!

ASSOCIATED ARTISTS

Juan Carlos Claudio (performer)
Currently a member of Ririe-Woodbury, Juan has also worked in New York with Sean Curran and Bill Young. He has been a part of SB Dance since 1999.

Carolyn "Winnie" Wood (theater director, writer)
Winnie has had a long and complicated career in the performing arts. Atfer graduating in 1976 with a BA in Theatre and Dance, she began a long association with the Repertory Dance Theatre in Salt Lake City. In 1980 she was a founding member of Dance Theatre Coalition. Winnie wrote and performed radio comedy for DesertAire, heard on KRCL once a month for ten years. She has acted and danced in, directed, choreographed and produced theatrical producions in the Salt Lake area for almost 30 years. In 2001 she received one of the Mayor's Artist of theYear Awards. She served as President of the Performing Arts Coalition and was instrumental in the completion of the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center. Now on the faculty of the Wasatch Academy in Mt. Pleasant, Utah, Winnie and her husband Bob Sorenson are the owners of Native Wines, a hertitage and wild fruit winery.

Angela Ellsworth (performance artist)
Her website says it best

Victoria Hindley (image design)
To name just a few of her professional gifts, Victoria is a writer, graphic artist and book designer. She is Creative Director of the Red Butte Press & Book Arts Program at University of Utah. A collaborator on Frank's Ticker and Flagrante Delicto, Victoria always has something to say about and contribute to new SB Dance creations.

Lisa Moran (assistant director, performer)
Born in the Land of 10,000 Lakes and still marked by the accent, Lisa. grew up in Salt Lake City and received a BFA from the University of Utah. She danced with Utah's Repertory Dance Theatre for eight years, performing works ranging from Isadora Duncan and Doris Humphrey to Merce Cunningham and David Parsons. Later, she attended The Ohio State University, picking up a MFA, certifying in Labanotation and teaching Dance Kinesiology. She began working with Stephen long long time ago.

Ricklen Nobis (composer, musician)