on the Run

Jane Franklin Dance performs “on the Run” with a concert that features award-winning choreographers and performances by Forty+ Project.  Enjoy movement and dance in the heart of Arlington’s industrial district at Four Mile Run.

• Throw It Up by Ryan Bailey is about an itch within the body that needs to be released; an original rhythm affects each of the five dancers differently. The music is an original composition by the choreographer.

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• Around With You, a new piece by Andie de Vaulx, was created in residency at the Glen Echo Park with new and returning Forty+ Project members. In an increasingly disconnected world, the group was looking for the opportunity to gather and connect through dance. With dancers at all levels, from those who had never performed before to dance professionals, the group worked to harmonize. The partnering, movement style, and expression come from the joy of creating it together. 

• In Jane Franklin’s Shake, developed for Mason Exhibitions Arlington in 2023, performers respond to percussion, silence, and cadence.  In Drums, performers mark silence and exult in the rhythmic pulse. Shake, a trio, vibrates with electric energy. Spoken word by artist Bennie Herron adds memory to the narrative as three poems, “Connected,” “Powdered Milk,” and “Summertime '' bring forward images of childhood.  “Herron’s verse style is informed in part by the socially conscious Hip Hop artists of the 1990s and poets of the Black Arts Movement of the late 1960s, among myriad other sources.” "Testify," by Lauren DeVera, moves to music by the Taco Shop Poets with spoken word by Bennie Herron.

• Linearis inspired by the work of visual artist Christine Ruksensas-Burton, whose “paintings are conversations of colors inspired by her homeland (Australia) as well as modern art, minimalism, modernist architecture, and design.”  Jane Franklin’s work weaves 5 dancers in grid-like combinations, a duet in symmetry, a trio in the shaping of accommodation, and an accumulation of bodies in unison.

• Michala Conroy’s Space Launch (premier) is a high-energy adventure blasting off into the galaxy. The robotic, intense, and curious movement infused with the electronic, hard-hitting beats from ARTBAT & Armin van Buuren, may leave the audience questioning whether they have found the aliens or if they are the aliens themselves. 

• Rob Priore Esta Vida explores themes of commitment and expression.  Surprising movement weaves a story of partnership in juxtaposition to isolation.  The work was selected for Richmond Dance Festival 2022 and was seen at Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival 2022.

About Jane Franklin Dance
Jane Franklin Dance partners with music, media, visual artists, and community participants.  Jane Franklin Dance has been presented at multiple venues and festivals and internationally in Mexico. A recipient of the Community Foundation for the National Capital Region Creative Communities Award, Jane has developed innovative and collaborative projects combining dancers with the round wall skateboarding community, with a life-size kinetic sculpture, with the architecture of a specific site, with dogs & owners, and with interactive live video and sound for numerous public art projects. The City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts selected Jane Franklin for the 2023 Artist Residency Program for the Waterfront Park public art initiative Site See. Jane Franklin is a recipient of the American Association of University Women Elizabeth Campbell Award for the Advancement of the Arts in Arlington, and her video work Four Mile Run Footbridge was selected for PHOTO/VIDEO 13: Juried Mid-Atlantic Exhibition.  Jane Franklin Dance has been recognized by Virginia’s Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts. The company tours for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Paul Mellon Arts in Education Program, and the Virginia Commission’s Tour Directory.

About Ryan Bailey
Ryan Bailey is a dancer and choreographer based in the DMV & NYC. Upon graduating with a BA in dance from UMBC in 2016, Ryan was granted outstanding senior in choreography and dance after he was awarded an American College Dance Association Gala Finalist. He then furthered his education by attending training programs with dance companies in Chicago, NYC, LA, Portland, and Tel Aviv. In 2017, Ryan premiered his company Pacing Bodies first evening-length show funded by Earl and Darielle Linehan, which premiered at UMBC. Ryan was featured on national television on season 14 of So You Think You Can Dance that same year. Ryan has danced professionally for MADBOOTS DANCE company on various projects and performances at Gibney Dance, New York Live Arts, and at the Joyce Theater in NYC. He has also been able to dance for Project 44 Dance Company, performing at the Jack Crystal Theater in NYC. Ryan has performed with Priore Dance, directed by Robert Priore based in D.C. Ryan was also a background dancer for the music video “Moons” by Micah McLaurin. Ryan teaches and choreographs dance at various studios, conservatories, and universities. Recently Ryan set work for Peabody Dance Conservatory and Howard County Dance Company. In the winter of 2024, he will be featured as a dancer in a second evening-length work for Haus of Pvmnt Dance Company in NYC at Abrons Art Center.

About Michala Conroy
Michala Conroy first started out as a competitive gymnast before studying dance at Pittsburgh CAPA. Michala joined the pre-professional company Reed Dance II in Pittsburgh, PA, where she worked with Greer Reed, Antonio Brown, and Daniel Karasik. She received a scholarship to George Mason University (GMU) where she pursued her B.F.A. in Dance with a Pre-Medicine track. While at George Mason, Michala had the honor of participating in residencies and performing works by Rafael Bonachela, Hope Boykin, and Alejandro Cerrudo. She also shared multiple choreographic works during her time at GMU. Michala is currently dancing in the DMV area with Gin Dance Company and Jane Franklin Dance while also pursuing freelance work. When not dancing, Michala teaches dance and works as a Communication and Regulation Partner for non-speaking/minimally-speaking autistics.

About Andie de Vaulx
Andie de Vaulx earned an A.A. in dance from Montgomery College and her B.A. in English from the University of Maryland. Andie has studied for 24 years with many artists, including Chuck Davis, Donna Birchfield, and David Dorfman. She has been the Artistic Director of Equinox Dance Company in Frederick, Maryland, created several works for Forty+, and has been associated with Jane Franklin Dance since 2007.

About Lauren DeVera
In 2010, she received her Bachelor of Arts from the dance program at Old Dominion University. Since then, she has made incredible strides in her career as a performer, choreographer, and educator. She is a distinguished thought leader in the dance community with performance and teaching credits including the Kennedy Center, The Howard Theatre, Dance Place DC, Culture Shock DC (alumni), World of Dance, Carnival, BET, and The CW Network. With a deep-rooted passion for bringing people together, she began in 2010 as a leader, ambassador, and pioneer of KODACHROME VA, a community-based dance workshop series, by curating a selection of decorated teachers–locally and nationally. It was because of her infectiously warm personality and network, KODACHROME attendees of all experience levels kept coming back for more workshops. The quality of teachers Lauren hand-picked was an incredible need for the growing dance community. Later, she expanded her reach through the DMV chapter of Diggs Deeper by serving as the Production Manager between 2014-2017.

About Forty+ Project
Forty+Project celebrates the collective creativity of people past the age of 40. Led by emerging and award-winning choreographers, Forty+ Project is open to people of all physical facilities. No previous performance experience is necessary, just a willingness to explore. Forty+, an adjunct and ongoing project of Jane Franklin Dance, provides a platform for dancers and choreographers to create a community of movement.

About Robert J. Priore
Robert J. Priore founded his company, PrioreDance, in the fall of 2016. He is also very proud to be a founding member of Company | E, where he has had the honor of dancing works by Ohad Naharin, Andrea Miller, Sharon Eyal, Rachel Erdos, Roni Koresh, Marco Cantalupo, and Thomas Noone. Robert continues to hone his craft while being the Choreographer-in-Residence for the CityDance Conservatory as well as an Ignite Artist. Robert received a BFA in dance from Point Park University. Robert was a 2015 recipient of the John F. Kennedy Center Local Dance Commissioning Project and created a special work for the artists of Company | E, Speak Easy. Speak Easy has been on the road, being presented in collaboration with Company | E, in Russia, Azerbaijan, Cuba, and most recently in Ukraine. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, Robert was also named an outstanding arts fellow in his home of the District of Columbia. In April of 2017, Robert traveled to Holguin, Cuba to set an original work on the dancers of CoDanza. In the Fall of 2017, Robert returned to Holguin with fellow dancer Abby Leithart to perform the premier of Casita with CoDanza at the Vladimir Malakhov Grand Prix, where the piece won the audience choice award. In July of 2018, PrioreDance was chosen to perform Priore’s choreography at the InsideOut Stage at the prestigious Jacob’s Pillow. In September 2018, Robert and five dancers returned to Holguin to present an excerpt of Cirque De Nuit for the Vladimir Malakhov Grand Prix. Most recently, Robert was commissioned to create a work for the Mark Twain Prize Award Ceremony, nationally televised on PBS in mid-November 2018. Robert was awarded the Pola Nirenska Memorial Award in 2019 for outstanding contribution to art in the District of Columbia, given to one dance artist annually.