Photo by Mike Esperanza.
Sat, August 22 at 7PM Sun, August 23 at 7PM
Tickets $20 Artists/Students: $15 (limited availability)
Purchase Tickets
BARE Dance Company shares an evening with guest artist Annalee Traylor and dancers. The company will premiere a new creation entitled Nocturnal Animals featuring choreographic direction and original music by Mike Esperanza.
CREDITS
Mike Esperanza and Annalee Traylor.
Choreography:
Mike Esperanza in collaboration with dancers.
Annalee Traylor in collaboration with dancers.
Performers:
BARE Dance Company: Megan Anderson, Sam Assemany, Alaina D’orazio, Casey Kitazumi, Erin Love, Lauren Metz, Avery Miller, Graziella Murdocca.
Annalee Traylor: Andrea Soto, Ian Spring, Kendall Ramirez, James Barrett, reh assistant Sky Poole.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
BARE Dance Company, founded in 2005, is a collective of multifaceted artists who collaborate to create dimensional, boundary-pushing work while embracing diverse lives that sustain and enrich our artistry. We believe that a thriving creative practice is rooted in a balance of movement, exploration, and lived experience, allowing us to bring depth, authenticity, and innovation to the stage and beyond.
“It was a delightful romp that melded innovation and fun.” - Rachel Levin, Explore Dance
“This is smart, affecting, technically accomplished work.” - Michael Upchurch, Seattle Times
Mike Esperanza is a multifaceted creative force, celebrated for his transformative contributions to the world of dance and choreography. With an innate ability to merge contemporary aesthetics with authentic storytelling, Mike has captivated audiences worldwide. His journey began in Los Angeles and currently in New York City, where he honed his craft, drawing inspiration from urban culture and the human experience. As an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and artistic director, Mike has choreographed for renowned educational programs and companies such as WhimW’him, Noble Motion, LACDC, Urbanity, Dark Circles Contemporary Dance, leaving an indelible mark on the dance landscape. Mike has presented on prestigious stages including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Sergerstrom Center for the Arts, McCalllum Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Salvatore Capezio Theater at Peridance, The Royal Conservatory in Cordoba, Spain, and the Australian Circus Festival. Mike’s work has been described as “bold, athletic movement and theatricality – the latter clearly the coming together of Esperanza’s many talents – the company epitomizes the dance of the new millennium: shape-shifting, vernacular-blending with a prescient focus on the brave new world in which we live.” ~ Jessica Abrams, Explore Dance. Mike recently danced for Ariana Grande at the 2024 Met Gala as well as her music video “Yes, and?”. Mike es currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Western Michigan University.
Annalee Traylor is a choreographer, director, and educator originally from Huntsville, Alabama. Her work blends dance, theater, sound, and stagecraft into tragicomic performances that create spaces for wonder, contradiction, and connection. Working collaboratively, she approaches creating as a practice of listening, guided by intuition and a curiosity about the mysteries that accompany being alive.
Traylor’s work has been commissioned and performed across the United States and abroad, reaching audiences in Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Salt Lake City, Seattle, Italy, Portugal, and the Netherlands. Her work has been supported by The Goat Farm, Dance Lab NY, the UNCSA Choreographic Institute, Highways Performance Space, Kennesaw State University, The Dance Gallery Festival, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, and Emory University, where she served as the inaugural Emory Arts Fellow in Dance in 2023-24. She has created original works with Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Terminus Modern Ballet Theater, Kit Modus, Texture Contemporary Ballet, and Periapsis Music and Dance, among others. Her evening-length dance theatre work, this thing is real, was one of ArtsATL's "Notable 9 in Dance" in 2024.
Traylor is a high school graduate of UNCSA and holds a BFA from Point Park University and an MFA in Choreography from the California Institute of the Arts. She is a Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Theatre and Dance at Western Michigan University.
@mikeesperanza
@baredanceco
@annalee_traylor