An immersive nature walk through a winter landscape
December 7th-17th, Arvada
Bitter Moon is our attempt at recovering lost traditions, memories, and mythologies; some were lost thousands of years ago, some were co-opted to create Christmas as we know today, and many are being lost at this moment. This show uncovers how we gather together during the longest night of the year, when the veil is thin, and the wolves run together. We hope you enjoy…
Meet the Team
Meet the Team
Nathan "Bboy Bala" Bala is a dancer living in Boulder, CO. You'll find him most nights in his den at Mi Chantli dance studio, breaking and taking class. He is incredibly excited to "wolf out" in this immersive project.
Originally from Marion, Indiana, Katrin Roach grew up dancing at Community School of the Arts. She graduated from high school from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She continued her dance education at SUNY Purchase College in Purchase, NY, spending one semester abroad in Perth, Australia to study at Western Australia Academy of the Performing Arts. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2020 with a concentration in Choreography. While at Purchase College she performed new works by Nora Petroliunas, Doug Varone, and Annie Rigney, as well as repertoire by Trisha Brown and Ohad Naharin. Katrin has attended Bodytraffic’s company summer workshop, Transformation Danse Montréal summer program, Doug Varone and Dancers winter and summer programs, and B12 contemporary dance summer workshops in Berlin, Germany. She danced with the Relevations Dance Company in Indianapolis, Indiana from 2021 to 2022. Currently, she is teaching at Colorado Conservatory of Dance and is a freelance dancer in Denver, Colorado.
Claire is a Colorado-based dancer, choreographer, outdoor enthusiast, teacher, student, advocate, and environmental artist. Claire started her dance journey at the School of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. She went on to train in ballet, modern, and contemporary dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. In 2016, Claire was introduced to the world of environmental art while enrolled in The Institute for Visual Environmental Communication: Merging Art, GIS, and Climate Science in the Colorado Rockies course at Colorado College. Three years later, after creating multiple Environmental Art projects with a variety of collaborators, she started Claire Kendall Creative Projects as a platform to continue exploring the intersections of dance and nature. This allowed her to uncover a wonderful community of artists in Colorado who share her passions, leading to the creation of Alpine Artist Collective, a nonprofit collective of environmental artists.
Anhthi "Maria" Lindsey is a dancer and educator who has always believed in the power of performance to create meaningful moments. She began her dance career at Movement Laboratory, a pre-professional ballet school based in Lebanon, PA. She received her Bachelor of Science in Dance, the first in her program, at Drexel University in Philadelphia. Post graduation, she performed with Dancefusion, Group Motion, Olive Prince Dance, and Underground Danceworks. Upon relocating to Denver, she began dancing with Hannah Kahn Dance Company, a contemporary modern company, and Alpine Artist Collective, an arts collaboration connecting audiences with nature. She also teaches composition, contemporary, modern, and ballet at Classical Ballet Academy, Motion Dance Center, and Tutu School Cherry Creek.
Grace Cooper began dancing at the age of four at American Ballet Academy in Salem Oregon, the studio where she undertook most of her training. Grace performed in various productions with American Ballet Academy and Eugene Ballet Company, studying ballet, pointe, and modern. Additionally, Grace choreographed and performed in many of her high school’s theater productions. Grace graduated from Colorado State University in 2023 with a bachelor’s in Dance and English. At CSU, Grace discovered her passion for choreography and dramaturgy. She has choreographed for CSU Dance Concerts, as well as other productions in the School of Music, Theater, and Dance. She has worked as a dramaturg for IMPACT Dance Company, and for various projects within the CSU Dance Department. When she’s not dancing, Grace loves to read and write poetry, spend time outside, and drink coffee. She is so excited to be dancing outside with Alpine Artist Collective and Control Group.
Patrick is a 3rd generation non-Native Coloradan. He loves creating things, and he loves spending time in the wilderness, and he's absolutely over the moon that he's figured out how to do both as a job. A terribly paid job, but... well, come see the show, donate to Control Group, and you can help keep this weirdo out in the woods and not lurking around some corporate water cooler.
As a dancer, choreographer, and organizer, Caroline Sharkey is interested in why we're allured by animals in cages, the sustainability of the performing arts industry within non-profit structure, and what it means to live in a body in the 21st century. People and experiences that have formed them include Johannes Wieland, Maurya Kerr, throwing away their last pair of pink tights, and peeling glitter off their body for three weeks straight, among many others.
Irene is an eclectic artist & performer who has collaborated with Control Group for several years. She believes that creative expression is a core necessity for having a true human experience. She celebrates the bridging of worlds in artistic visions such as in Bitter Moon where humans are reminded of their nature as animals. We are wild. Costuming this production certainly reinvigorates that notion.
Silen Wellington (they/he) is a sculptor of sound, artist of people, storyteller, witch, genderqueer shapeshifter, mercurial name collector, and lover, among other things. Avidly interdisciplinary, they like to combine music with other art mediums, be that spoken word, visual art, ritual performance, loud and fiery eye contact, otherworldly and melting trysts, or something else entirely. They were a 2022-2023 American Opera Initiative composer with Washington National Opera for a production at the Kennedy Center. In 2022, they were a Bouman Fellow with the composer collective Kinds of Kings and in 2019, they were the SEAMUS Allen Strange Award recipient. Internationally performed from Hyderabad, India to Invercargill, Aotearoa New Zealand, their work has won competitions & commissions from ensembles such as Ars Nova Singers, Denver’s Playground Ensemble, Resonance Women’s Chorus, and Phoenix: Colorado’s Transgender Community Choir. They have participated in residencies and festivals such as Virginia Center for the Creative Arts & Connecticut Summerfest. Besides writing music, they enjoy writing poetry, harvesting stories, unhinged-unfettered-unapologetic dance, and falling in love.
David Castillo is a chef of sound, turning the raw ingredients of the immediate landscape into sonic nourishment. He is a self taught multi-intrumentalist and producer in the truest sense - an expert collaborator - a vessel to facilitate sound with any tools available, in any performance context. David alchemizes emotional landscapes into sonic proof. As a self taught artist, any medium is an instrument in the process. He has facilitated multiple shows as a sound designer and as a part of larger ensembles. Castillo cultivates duh, a record label for self release and to support the growth of multiple other musicians in Denver and beyond.
words by @s.t3v
headshot by @noemoji
Performed by Nathan Bala, Grace Cooper, Claire Kendall, Maria Lindsey, Patrick Mueller, Katrin Roach, and Caroline Sharkey
Music by Silen Wellington, David Castillo, and Amos Cochran with additional assistance from Nathan Hall
Costume and Scenic Design by Irene Joyce
Stage Managed by Rita DiSibio and Emma Kimball
Source Material and Quotes from Hans Peter Duerr’s “Dreamtime”
Poetry from “Trophic Cascade” by Camille T. Dungy
Bitter Moon is made possible through support by SCFD, Bonfils Stanton, Colorado Creative Industries, The Fort Fund, and many other generous individuals. If you enjoyed the show tonight and would like to support independently produced, socially engaged work and artists being paid a living wage, please consider donating to us this giving season.