Welcome
​Open Space presents Summer Soup
Good evening and thank you for being here!​
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On behalf of my co-founders, Maeve Dougal and Franco Nieto, and all of us at Open Space—thank you for being part of our blossoming community. We love dancing with you.
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​Big love,
​Charlene Hannibal, Executive Director
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Summer Soup is funded in part by
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Our sponsor this evening is LIFX, who have provided all of our smart lights in Creative Container.
Program
​​​​​​​​MILK
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Direction: Lauren Edson
Choreography: Lauren Edson with the artists of Contemporary Dance Wyoming
Dancers: Ariel Clarke, Annie Borden, Ellie Thomas, CJ Hankins, Omar Vargas-Nino
Milk explores the strange and tender ways we find one another, through belonging, separation, and the invisible threads that pull us back toward each other.
Created feverishly over four days in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with Contemporary Dance Wyoming, it has been a pleasure to watch the work live in different spaces, with different people, and in different cities over time. In many ways, it feels like the work keeps coming back, changing each time, while somehow remaining the same.
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Pause
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Do You See Me? Excerpts
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​Choreographer: Franco Nieto
Open Space Dancers: Ariel Clarke, Kylee Killian, Ellie Thomas, CJ Hankins, Omar Vargas-Nino​
Guest Artist: Michael Arellano​​
Composer and Vocalist: Onry
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Inspired by his upbringing in a conservative rural/suburban town, Do You See Me? follows a young man navigating identity, belonging, and self-worth while learning to survive behind layers of camouflage. Masking both his queerness and learning disability to avoid rejection, the protagonist ultimately confronts his fear of being seen and discovers what it means to stand openly as himself. For Franco, who often felt “othered” as a queer, dyslexic artist, dance became both refuge and survival. That emotional landscape lives at the heart of the work.
Created in close collaboration with Open Space Company Artists, Resident Choreographer Noelle Kayser, costume designer Joshua Myrie, and vocalist and musician Onry—Do You See Me? is rooted in vulnerability, trust, and shared humanity. While deeply grounded in queer experience, the work speaks to something universal: the risk of discovering who you are, and the courage it takes to stop hiding.
​​15 min intermission
(drinks in the lobby)
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​​​​​​​​Oh, Echo
Direction: Lauren Edson
Choreography: Lauren Edson in collaboration with the artists of LED
Dancers: Michael Arellano, Kylee Killian, Audrey Wells, Cydney Covert, Cassidy Fulmer & Annika Barlow
Sound Design: Lauren Edson
Projection Design: Kyle Morck
Writing & Voice Over: Lauren Edson
Costumes: Jessica Nebeker
Music:
A Girl Like You by Edwyn Collins
Francesca de Rimini by Tchaikovsky
I’ll Be Your Mirror by The Velvet Underground & Nico
Set the Controls for the Heart by Pink Floyd
You’re So Vain by Carly Simon
Red Right Hand by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Said and Done by Nils Frahm
Always See Your Face by Love
Oh, Echo draws from the tragedy of Narcissus and Echo to explore the ways we deceive ourselves and the stories we tell ourselves about who we are. It asks whether we can loosen our attachment to the self enough to make space for something larger: a connection to another, or to something beyond ourselves.
About the Choreographers + Special Guests
Franco Nieto
Artistic Director and Co-Founder, Open Space
Franco Nieto is a Princess Grace Award-winning dancer and the cofounder and Artistic Director of Open Space. He has choreographed over 20 original works, performed in more than 160 world premieres, and is a sought-after master teacher. He is known for fostering a culture free of judgment and creating a wave of positive change in the dance world. Franco Nieto was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. He made the unconventional switch from football to ballet in his teenage years and has now taught and danced in over 10 different countries and performed with the likes of Lady Gaga and Sir Elton John. He spent 10 years as a principal dancer with NW Dance Project in Portland, Oregon, where he toured the world and worked hand in hand with the leading minds in choreography to create and bring to life countless original works. His early training came from the Vancouver School of Arts & Academics and Columbia Dance, and his formative line of choreography was born from his mentorship with Tracey Durbin. He graduated with his BFA in Jazz from Point Park University. Franco brings his big heart (and his dog, Otis!) to the studio each and every day.​
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Lauren Edson
Artistic Director, LED Boise
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Joshua Myrie
Costume Design
https://www.joshuamyrie.com/about-me
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Onry
Composer and Vocalist
Onry is an award winning singer, dancer, actor and pianist based in Portland, Oregon. He studied music in Ukraine and Moldova and has performed throughout the US and Europe. He's toured with Lyle Lovett, been a soloist with The Maui Chamber Orchestra and Oregon Symphony, and performed with American Repertory Theater and Portland Opera Company.
Some of his notable performances include the Black Clown, Madame Butterfly, Sanctuaries, African American requiem, Show Boat, Carmen, Faust, The Big Night, La Traviata, Pirates of Penzance, and Hairspray.
Onry is on the board of directors for non-profit queer artist collective Future Prairie as well as the African American Requiem at Oregon Symphony. He is a music consultant for Kings School in Seattle, Washington and Active Space, a creative studio for people of color in Portland, Oregon.
Outside of music, Onry enjoys tea, anti-racist activism, philosophy, linguistics, traveling, collecting vinyl records, and spending quality time connecting with family and friends.
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Performing Artists
Annie Borden
Company Artist
Ariel Clarke
Company Artist
Ellie Thomas
Company Artist
Kylee Killian
Company Artist
Michael Arellano
Guest Artist
CJ Hankins
Company Artist
Omar Vargas-Nino
Open Space Too Trainee
Open Space Board of Directors
Gina Condon, President
Sarah Reppenhagen, Secretary
Charlene Hannibal, Treasurer
Maeve Dougal
Franco Nieto
Kelly O'Sulivan
Jane Tighe
Brenna Feeley
Open Space Support
Big Bang Benefactor ($25,000+) James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation
Supernova Sponsors ($10,000 - $24,999) Alan and Sharon Jones, Jessica Nokovic
Light Speed Legends ($5,000 - $9,999) Anonymous, Barbara Berkeley and Wendy Storch, Katherine Disenhoff, The H.W. & D.C.H. Irwin Foundation, Oregon Arts Commission, John Perry, Portland Queer Arts Foundation, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Sarah and Frank Reppenhagen, Maya Strom and Jeremy Sedita, Nephi Sanchez and Sarah Fuhrman, The Harold & Arlene Schnitzer CARE Foundation, Urban Cadance
Starstruck Killers ($2,500 - $4,999) Gina Condon and Eric Cress, Ashley Roland and Jamey Hampton, Jared Hunt Kendal and Dorian Kendal, Allison and Peter Lyneham, Megan and Jesse Milliken, Kaelin and Frank Nieto, Kelly O’Sullivan, Serena Zilliacus and Pierre-Laurent Baudey
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Comet Crusaders ($1,000 - $2,499) Anonymous, Dr. Abby and John Furukawa, Alan Gerencer, Susan and Thomas Hannibal, Harrington Family Foundation, Paul King and Walter Jaffe, Melissa and Mark MacDonald, Annmarie Nava, ¿Por Qué No?, Reegan and David Rae, Elizabeth and Justice Reed, Jack Rutledge, Jane Tighe, Sarah and Stephen Schwarz, Jennifer and Dr. Brandon Togioka, Sarah and Steve Wells
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Meteoric Marvels ($500 - $999) Becker Capital Management, LeeWei Chao, Jennifer and Daniel Clancey, John and Amy Cooney, Brett and Wayne Corrick, Kyle and Charles Fuchs, Paul Fylger, Kathleen Frazlen, Elizabeth and Aaron Grossberg, Andrew Hollandsworth, Terri and Robert Hopkins, Melissa Hurley and Micheal Davis, Bambi and David Kanekoa, Jax Ko, Nicole and Zac Longaker, Michael Maloney, Jackie and Dan Moore, Karen Murphy, David Nokovic, Claire Olberding and Bryan Steelman, Dean Richardson, Dani Rowe and Luke Ingham, Corey Scholibo, and Alex Koglin Clair and Hubert Scrase, Collette and James White
Cosmic Crewmates ($250 - $499) Erin Acker, Emily Devlin, Judith Dougal, Stacey and Frank Febbraro, Malia and Nathan Freeburg, Zach Goodenough, Erin and Elizabeth Grossberg, Regina and Doug Hansen, Robert S. Hopkins, Anna Kapranos, Michell and Chris Kawaja, Linda and Malcolm Mathes, Kelly McCoy and Peter Ostrom, Janet McIntyre, Misty and Douglas Moore, Kolin and Ben Pope, Posies Bakery and Cafe, Anneliese Sitterly and James Arnold, Vy Ta and Brandon Chung, Ray and Darla Tomac, Karen and Russ Swinehart, Meredith Webster, Lucinda Welch and Dennis Nolan, Maryann Yelnosky
Space Cadet Squad ($100 - $249) Katie Bledsoe, Zachary Carroll and Anne Huffington-Carroll, Meghan Dougal-Black, Brenna Feeley, Stewart Fox, Julie Lageson, Valerie Limbrunner-Bartlett, Fuschia Lin, Kari McFarlan, Susan Nichols, Shane Nevius, Daisha Nieto, Susan Nichols, ONRY, Corey Scholibo, Katie Shook, Dina Soriano, Anna-Marie Spence and Mac Strang, Michelle Swinehart and Danny Percich, Corin Tucker, Casey Stewart, Jenny Van Alstyne, George and Marilou Waldmann, Josh Windsor
Stardust Seekers ($25 - $99) Ryan Chin, Justine Clark, Whitney Dorer, Rylen Feeney, Ian Fitz and Absher Cyr, Faith Evander-Baynes, Christine and Jason Griffiths, Erinn Kathryn, Alexandria Kaufman, Ali Krasnow, Sarah Lasoff, Holly MacFee, Douglas Meddaugh, Elliot Mercer, Julia Radick and Elijah Labay, Melanie Roberts, Kathleen Valdez
Nebula Navigators (In Kind) Alan and Sharon Jones, Botanica Floral Design, Bybee Wine Co., Canard, Kim and Mike Chopko, Dance Church, Dove Vivi, Erath Winery, Nathan Freeburg, Fino, Full Plate Farm, Hilary Finck, Janelle Faherty, Frances May, Kinespirit, Löyly, Louise Apparel, Kari McFarlan, McMenamins, The NINES hotel, North Country Productions, Claire Olberding and Bryan Steelman, OMSI, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Oregon Brewery Running Series, Outlaw Lighting, Alyssa Phelps, ¿Por Qué No?, Pacific Groves, Caitlin and Zach Pickens, Posies Bakery and Cafe, Rae Creative, Rose City Dogs, The Reppenhagen Family, TEDxPortland, Stoller Family Estate, White Bird
Corporate Matching Gifts
Google, Nike, Salesforce​​​