
Welcome
​Open Space presents OPEN ENDED
Welcome! Tonight's show will feature our international dance collaboration with Outrun the Bear (Megan Doheny and Ilya Nikurov), who will be performing a self-created duet, "Once, & For All," and premiering "While We're Us," featuring Open Space’s artists. Open Space’s resident choreographer, Noelle Kayser and local filmmaker, Matthew Tomac will be premiering "dust", a 9 minute dance film shot at the Oregon Coast.
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A special thanks Oregon Contemporary and RACC for your continued partnership with Open Space.
Thank you for being part of our blossoming community- we love dancing with you!
​Big love,
Franco + Char + Maeve
​Franco Nieto, Artistic Director
Charlene Hannibal, Executive Director
Maeve Dougal, Director of Education
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Open Space Artists
Annie Borden, Ariel Clarke, Audrey Wells, Bryaunna Kostelnik, Elise Gonsalves, Franco Nieto, Kylee Killian, Sophia Mladineo and Ellie Thomas (Apprentice).
Open Space Too Artists
Kiri Massen, and Omar Vargas​
Choreographers
Megan Doheny, Noelle Kayser and Ilya Nikurov
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Once, & For All
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Choreography: Megan Doheny and Ilya Nikurov
Dancers: Megan Doheny and Ilya Nikurov
What the hell is happily ever after?
Reflections on learning that love and happiness are two different entities, with nonlinear trajectories in common. Much is expected, nothing is guaranteed. Deconstructing the fairytale, all the while discovering the joys and challenges that make up the story of how another being can become a home.
dust
Choreography: Noelle Kayser
Cinematographer: Matthew Tomac
Dancers: Audrey Wells, Bryaunna Kostelnik
Being loved by, and caring for, my elders is important to my understanding of life and self. "dust" explores themes of legacy and mortality. It pays tribute to generational cycles of caregiving and is a reflection of my experience caring for my father as he died of cancer.
-Noelle Kayser
dust is funded in part by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.
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INTERMISSION
enjoy a drink in the lobby :)​
While We're Us
Choreography: Megan Doheny and Ilya Nikurov in collaboration with dancers
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Dancers: Audrey Wells, Annie Borden, Ariel Clarke, Bryaunna Kostelnik, Elise Gonsalves, Ellie Thomas, Franco Nieto, Kylee Killian, Sophia Mladineo, Kiri Massen, Omar Vargas.​​
Original Music by Dylan Tedaldi
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A world of dreamy landscapes where external layers soften, where we find ourselves in the playful, raw, unfiltered connections to one another.
What is shared is fleeting.
What is shared is endless.
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Program
About the Choreographers + Special Guests
Franco Nieto
Artistic Director and Co-Founder, Open Space
Princess Grace Award winner 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 internationally. Nieto was a principal dancer with NW Dance Project in Portland, Oregon, where he toured the world and worked with leading minds to create countless original works. His early training came from the Vancouver School of Arts & Academics, Columbia Dance, and mentor, Tracey Durbin. He graduated from Point Park University, with his BFA in Jazz. Nieto is now Artistic Director and founder of Open Space Dance.
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Outrun the Bear
Megan Doheny (USA) and Ilya Nikurov (RUS) met working as dancers for the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company (KCDC) in Israel, and began creating performance works together in 2015. From 2016-2020, they worked as choreographers for the International Dance Journey Program, in addition to creating works for KCDC's main company as a part of the Alternative Stage Platform in Israel. In 2021, they established their collaborative dance project, "Outrun The Bear," performing and screening their works in theatres and festivals in Israel, the United States, the Netherlands, Portugal, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Japan, Mexico, Singapore and South Korea. In 2023, Megan was an Artist in Residence at LA Dance Project as a part of Launch:LA, and a guest artist at Chapman University.
Megan and Ilya's works investigate the fantasies derived from the present moment's complex/ beautiful/ difficult realities. Warping the familiar and embodying the imagined, Outrun the Bear wishes to create experiences for the viewer that lead to questions and fresh perspectives.
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Noelle Kayser
Resident Choreographer, Open Space
I’m Noelle Kayser, a Chicago-based, locally and nationally commissioned choreographer, director, actor, dancer, and sound designer. I am the inaugural resident choreographer for Open Space Dance, a 2024 Whim W’Him Choreographic Shindig Recipient, and the 2025 BalletX Choreographic Fellow. As a dancer I’ve performed works by Ihsan Rustem, Robyn Mineko Williams, Alice Klock, and Wen Wei Wang among many others. I’ve served as a guest Ballet Mistress at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and was the founding rehearsal director and dancer for PARA.MAR Dance Theatre (2022 Dance Magazine Top 25 to Watch). As an actor, recent accolades include the 2024 Jeff Award for Best Ensemble in The Penelopiad at The Goodman Theatre and co-starring in Death in the Desert, which won Best Short Drama at the Breckenridge Film Festival. I am also a proud Springboard Alumni.
While all of my disciplines inform and build on each other, choreography is my primary focus and the lens through which I explore the human experience. Through dance, I distill complex ideas into physical form, using movement as a medium to connect the individual to the collective, the personal to the universal. I believe in dance's unparalleled ability to forge connections and cultivate empathy—between individuals, within communities, and with the environment, playing a significant role in how we grow and mature as a community. Through both linear and non-linear narratives, I engage with personal and collective histories, to unpack questions dealing with identity, existence, and connection.
​Matthew Tomac
A cinematographer based in Portland, OR, Matthew is the founder of RUN THIS BLOCK, a video production company specializing in documentary and commercial content.
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Performing Artists

Bryaunna Kostelnik

Sophia Mladineo

Ellie Thomas

Kiri Massen

Omar Vargas
Open Space Support
Supernova Sponsors ($10,000 - $20,000)
Alan and Sharon Jones, James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation, John Perry, Swell Fund/Oregon Community Foundation, Urban Cadance
Light Speed Legends ($5,000 - $9,999)
Katherine Disenhoff, Jessica Nokovic, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Sarah and Frank Reppenhagen
Starstruck Killers ($2,500 - $4,999)
Jared Hunt Kendal and Dorian Kendal, Allison and Peter Lyneham, Kelly O’Sullivan, Serena Zilliacus and Pierre-Laurent Baudey
Comet Crusaders ($1,000 - $2,499)
Gina Condon and Eric Cress, Dr. Abby and John Furukawa, Suzy Greenburg, Susan and Thomas Hannibal, Harrington Family Foundation, Jessica Hutchins and Stephen Malkmus, Paul King and Walter Jaffe, Melissa and Mark MacDonald, Robert Montgomery, Ann-Marie Nava, Ariel Nemirow, Kaelin and Frank Nieto, Reegan and David Rae, Ashley Roland and Jamey Hampton, See-yin So and Tyler Frank, Jane Tighe, Sarah and Stephen Schwarz, Derek Spears, Jennifer and Dr. Brandon Togioka, Sarah and Steve Wells​
Meteoric Marvels ($500 - $999)
Dr. Carrie and James Allsion, Barbara Berkeley and Wendy Storch, Annie and Brad Carnese, Gary Carroll, LeeWei Chao, Yvonne Cohen, Donna Dresch and Sarah Bibb, Paul Fylger, Kathleen Frazlen, Kyle and Charles Fuchs, Alan Gerencer, Chelsea and Gabe Heller, Anne Huffington-Carroll and Zachary Carroll, Dr. Danylle Kapler, Stephen Karakashian, Linda and Malcolm Mathes, Jess and Bob Monsey, Jackie and Dan Moore, Anne Prior, Dani Rowe and Luke Ingham, Jack Rutledge, Robert Textor, Josh Todd, Katrina Wheeler, Julie Lagesen, Lucinda Welch and Dennis Nolan, Alexander Vassos
Cosmic Crewmates ($250 - $499)
Erin Acker, Nicole Bangs, Dr. Denise and Emily Bilbao, Bradley Chow, Melinda Coats, Sandra Cost, Leah Daniels and Stephanie Backus, Judith Dougal, Malia and Nathan Freeburg, Eric Garcia, Christy and Jason Griffiths, Leahland Hill, Robert S Hopkins, Kelly McCoy and Peter Ostrom, David Nokovic, Santi St. James, Daniel Stearns, Anna-Marie Spence and Mac Strang, Karen and Russ Swinehart, Clair and Hubert Scrase, Ray and Darla Tomac, Jackie and Carl VanderZanden, Shannon and Erik Walcott, Lucinda Welch and Dennis Nolan, Katrina Wheeler, Colette and James White, Kristan Williams, Maryann Yelnosky
Space Cadet Squad ($100 - $249)
Erin Acker, Katie Bledsoe, Sali Borchman, David Rubin, Jen and Danny Clancey, Thane Giles, Ty Givens, Regina and Doug Hansen, Jeffrey Howard, Adra Huston, Glenford Kennedy, Holly MacFee, Bradley Miller, Dennis Morar, Shane Nevius, Portland City Properties, Dina Soriano, Vy Ta and Brandon Chung, The Leotard, Jenny Van Alstyne, George and Marilou Waldmann, Karen and Lester Weideman
Stardust Seekers ($25 - $99)
Katherine Brown, Debra Burke, Whitney Dorer, Galen Ettlin, James Evans, Michael Gearhart, Mary Anne and George Hannibal, Julie Harrigan, Lisa Kaplan, Shaun Keylock, Ali Krasnow, Melissa Lu, Hannah Martin, Kari McFarlan, Douglas Meddaugh, Daniel Newman, Ry Ott, Jenny Peterson, Stacey Shroeder, Amy Smith, David Taub, Teryn Thiesen, Kathleen Valdez
Nebula Navigators (In Kind)
AM Spence Design, Barre3, BodyVox, Botanica Floral Design, Kim and Mike Chopko, Erath Winery, Firelight Yoga, Nathan Freeburg, Full Plate Farm, Fusion Landscape Design, Dr. Alice Gray, Hilary Finck, Janelle Faherty, Jessica Schultz, Judy Heller, Kamp Grizzly, Louise Apparel, Mantel, Mayfly, Mississippi Studios, North Country Productions, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Oregon Brewery Running Series, ¿Por Qué No?, Pacific Groves, Parkside, Caitlin and Zach Pickens, Portland Women’s Acupuncture, Posies, Rae Creative, Rose City Dogs, Sarah and Frank Reppenhagen, TEDxPortland, White Bird
Corporate Matching Gifts
Apple, Google, Intel, Nike, Raytheon Technology, Salesforce