POP: MICHIYAYA Annex Vol. III: Tushrik Fredericks & Tsohil Bhatia

Performances run June 23-24, 2023, at 7:30 PM EST

EARLY BIRD: First 14 tickets at $15

TICKETS: $20 IN ADVANCE, $22.50 AT THE DOOR

Join us for a post-performance reception following the Friday, June 23 performance.

Annex Vol. III: Tushrik Fredericks & Tsohil Bhatia

MICHIYAYA’s Annex series is a repertory initiative curating emerging choreographers with visual artists to create a new work with dance artists of MICHIYAYA.

Annex Vol. III features a new performance work featuring MICHIYAYA Dance Artists with choreography by Tushrik Fredericks in collaboration with visual/performance artist Tsohil Bhatia.

ABOUT THE FEATURED ARTISTS

Tushrik Fredericks, recipient of Princess Grace Award (Chris Helman dance honor), nominated by TRIBE (Founding artistic director, Shamel Pitts) in 2021, is originally from Johannesburg, South Africa. Growing up he found himself drawn towards the style ‘KRUMP‘. He graduated from the Peridance Certificate Program in NYC in June 2015 and has had the opportunity to work with Ate9 dANCEcOMPANY (Danielle Agami, Artistic Director), Sidra Bell Dance New York (Sidra Bell, Artistic Director) and UNA Productions (Chuck Wilt). Tushrik was an assistant lecturer to Sidra Bell at The University of the Arts Philadelphia for Sophomore students (2016-2018). In May 2021, Tushrik received 3rd prize for dance at the SoloTanz Festival in Stuttgart for his first rendition of his self-choreographed solo ‘(territory) of the heart’, and in May (18 – 20th) 2023, Tushrik will perform the full rendition of ‘(territory) of the heart’ at the Museum of African Diasporic Arts in Brooklyn, NY (MoCADA).

Tsohil Bhatia is an artist and homemaker based in Lenapehoking. They work with their body and its ghost to develop performative inquiries of their surroundings as well as meditations on the everyday. They received an MFA at the School of Art at Carnegie Mellon University and have shown their work at Hair +Nails(MN 2020), Bezalel Academy(PS 2019), the Andy Warhol Museum(PA 2018), Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies(British Columbia CA 2017), HH art Spaces(Goa IN 2017). They’re currently an artist in residence at the Center for Book Arts and have been an artist in residence at Oxbow School of Art(MI 2021), Chautauqua Visual Art(NY2021)Franconia Sculpture Park(MN 2020), HH Art Spaces Residency(Goa IN 2017). They have been invited for lectures at the Pratt Institute(NY 2019), Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology(Bangalore IN 2017), Sexuality, Law and Society Lecture Series at Jindal Law School(Sonepat IN 2017), Critical Ethnic Studies Association Conference(British Columbia CA 2017). Their work has been featured in Hamam Magazine Vol 3. 2021, Emergency INDEX Vol 9 2020 and Arts Illustrated 2016 amongst a few.

ABOUT MICHIYAYA

Artistic Directors Anya and Mitsuko Clarke-Verdery founded MICHIYAYA Dance as a way to combine their voices as artists—Anya, a Black queer choreographer/dance artist from Brooklyn, and Mitsuko, a white & Japanese queer visual/performance artist from Manhattan. Together we create multidisciplinary works that often recount or reveal a contemporary engagement with queerness, resistant relationships to schemes of oppression and power, cultural constraints on the body and interpersonal relationships, and other revelatory themes.

MICHIYAYA is an evolving dance company based in New York City and Pittsburgh. Our performances have spread nationally at venues and institutions such as Yale University, Brooklyn Museum, Andy Warhol Museum, Gelsey Kirkland Theater, Gibney, La MaMa Galleria, among others. Our powerful group of femme voices have been featured in Art Forum, Vice i-D, Thinx, Mask Magazine, and more. Anya & Mitsuko’s vision has been supported by Microsoft, CVS Health, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Opportunity Fund, Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council, and Dance/NYC.

MICHIYAYA’s educational and community initiatives have reached the University California – Santa Barbara, Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program, Center for Anti-Violence Education, Dancing Grounds, GOOD MOVE, and more. They’ve served as 2021 adjunct faculty for Purchase College Conservatory of Dance and were selected as artists in residence at the University of California – Santa Barbara and Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Art & Drama. The duo has also shared their choreography at schools and companies such as the Purchase College Conservatory of Dance, University of Texas – Austin, Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance.

POP: PERFORMANCE OPPORTUNITY PROJECT

POP provides the dance community with increased support for showings and performances.

POP enables dance artists to self-produce performances and showings at Gibney through a curated rental process. Artists can participate in POP through Performances, Showings, or Open Rehearsals. POP Performances offer a three-night run in The Theater (Studio H) at 280 Broadway. POP Showings & Open Rehearsals are more informal showings in our studios.

All events take place at our 280 Broadway location, across from City Hall. The main entrance for this location is at 53A Chambers Street. Gibney 280 Broadway is an accessible venue. This event will take place on the 2nd floor of Gibney in The Theater, which is accessible via elevator from the main entrance at 53A Chambers Street.

Image Description: A light skinned black man with long curly hair looks at the camera. Another photo to the right of that of an Indian nonbinary person with short black hair and facial hair looking at the camera.