TRISK PRESENTS… SPLIT BILL #41 | STEPHEN SHYNES | GRACE YI-LI TONG

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 26, 2023
BROOKLYN, NY -- Triskelion Arts is thrilled to present Split Bill #41 | Stephen Shynes | Grace Yi-Li Tong on November 30 and December 1, 2023 at 8PM. Our Split Bill Series brings together pairings of early-career NYC-based movement and dance artists to premier work in the Trisk theater, programmed through an open application process and selected by an Artist Advisory Board.

Stephen Shynes’ suRREALIST is an exploration of the intricate realms within our conscious and subconscious minds, unraveling the struggle between the tangible world of reality and the boundless landscapes of our dreams. Through a series of episodes, this work invites the viewers to explore not only Stephen’s perspective but also to traverse one’s own thoughts, leaving room for introspection and reflection on an open-ended synopsis. During the duet, the motion development unfolds from character studies and genuine life experiences. The narrative, shaped by the interplay of reality and dreams, is like a dance between the conscious and the subconscious. Each step and gesture tell a story, drawing the audience into a realm where the boundaries between what is real and imagined blur.

Grace Yi-Li Tong’s GUTDANCE is a make-believe ceremony excavating memories of homespace and hurt from the body. Integrating clowning, “reverse karaoke”, facedance, soft sculpture, and an original score, this new interdisciplinary work imagines a universe built from things once trapped within. The performers turn their bodies inside-out and transform their innerwear to outerwear, playing house in this world of their own design. GUTDANCE is a flirtation of opposites: reality and fantasy, pain and healing, obvious and unseen. GUTDANCE is created by Grace Yi-Li Tong and Micaela Pirzio-Biroli in collaboration with Phoebe Frances and Sydney Shu-Yu Chow. GUTDANCE was originally created in Amsterdam, Netherlands with the support of the Netherland-America Foundation. This is GUTDANCE’s U.S. premiere.

TICKETS
NOVEMBER 30 & DECEMBER 1, 2023
8PM

EARLY BIRD:
$20 / $16 HEARTS for Queer Trans BIPOC
$30 SUPERFAN

AT-THE-DOOR:
$25 / $30 SUPERFAN

*All ticket purchases support the artist presenting work. Our SUPERFAN ticket supports the artist presenting work and subsidizes our $16 tickets for Queer Trans BIPOC.
All seating is general admission.

Triskelion Arts, lovingly referred to as Trisk, is a nonprofit organization and live performance venue offering NYC-based dance and movement artists high-quality, sustainable opportunities to create and present work. Trisk partners with artists creating trailblazing work that broadens the cultural dialogue and elevates its community’s many voices and perspectives. Trisk is a home for artists and audiences to connect, to make art happen, to make magic. Trisk presents artists practicing, crafting, mining, experimenting, speaking up, and speaking out. 

Trisk Presents is made possible with generous support from the Howard Gilman Foundation, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the Harkness Foundation For Dance, NYC City Council Discretionary Funding, and NYS State Assembly Discretionary Funding.

https://www.triskelionarts.org/2023-fall-season/split-bill-41
www.triskelionarts.org

Triskelion Arts
106 Calyer Street, Brooklyn, NY 11222
Enter on Banker Street

MEDIA CONTACT:
Miriam Rose
miriam@triskelionarts.org

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Stephen Shynes
Stephen Shynes is an interdisciplinary artist from Washington, D.C. He began his dance training at Duke Ellington School of Arts and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Montclair State University, where he was a recipient of the Choreographic Excellence Award in 2016. Shynes is a creator, story teller, teacher, and collaborator. When creating, he enjoys exploring all genres of art to communicate his message. His choreography has been presented at Joffrey Ballet School, Dixon Place, Martha Graham Studio, The Public Theater, SMUSH Gallery, Orange Dance Festival, In Full Color, The Tank, NOosphere Arts, and the ACE Hotel. He has taught at TRI-C Dance Academy, Gallim Dance, Jersey City Library, Mark Morris Dance Group, Montclair State University, The Graham School, Arts High School, and several studios in the Tri-state area. He is currently a teaching artist at The Apollo theater, a Cuny College Dance Initiative resident artist, and a part of Split Bill series at Triskelion Arts. stephenshynes.com @stephen.shynes

Performing Artists
Gabrielle Roulhac
Gabrielle Loren is a professional dancer, educator, and rehearsal director whose calling is to provide every individual she comes across with the tools to attain their goals. Born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida, she received her BFA in Contemporary Dance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA). After graduation, she joined the Bessie Award-winning Abby Z & the New Utility, where she performed on main stages at Jacob's Pillow Festival, New York City Live Arts and was also hand picked to be one out of seven dancers to perform in Paris, France at the American Center for Arts and Culture. Gabrielle led the foundational team responsible for instilling dance as a core group fitness class at both NYC locations of Chelsea Piers Fitness. She also served as the Artistic Associate at Dorill Initiative, Inc. for a few months. She is blessed to perform works by Kayla Farrish at main stages such as Lincoln Center all the while assisting the internationally recognized choreographer, Juel D. Lane. @gabrielleloren

Kyneijee Wubah
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, Kyneijee began her dance journey at the age of three years old. Her love for movement blossomed as she attended local dance centers such as Gloria Jeans Dance Studio, the Tia Russell Dance Studio, as well as, the ACES Educational Center for the Arts. There she studied a wide range of dance styles, including Ballet, Modern, Tap and West African. She sought higher education at Long Island University and later New York University, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance at the Tisch School of the Arts. Kyneijee has studied under and performed with the likes of Alenka Cizmesija, Ronald K. Brown, Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance, Nai Ni Chen, Rennie Harris and Sidra Bell. Today she resides in Brooklyn, NY, where she is an active freelance performing artist. Kyneijee is also a proud member in Renegade Performance Group (RPG), a Brooklyn-based dance company creating innovative artistic projects grounded in Black and African Diaspora aesthetics and expressions through theatrical, immersive and site-specific performance as well as film, multimedia and technology. Today she continues to diversify and explore her creative instrument through a variety of dance styles, including contemporary modern dance. Kyneijee finds great joy and fulfillment in collaboration and is always searching for opportunities to network. She is thrilled continue the creative process with “suRREALIST”, as she continues to dive deeper into the work. @ky.nij

Grace Yi-Li Tong
Grace Yi-Li Tong (she/her) is a Chinese-American movement and performance artist from the Pacific Northwest. Influenced by clowning, paper collage, and contemporary dance theater, her work ridiculously collages “regular” events onstage to decontextualize bodily and social identity, fairytale, and comedy. In 2021, Grace graduated summa cum laude from NYU Tisch School of the Arts with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Gender and Sexuality Studies. She now works as a choreographer, performer, educator, and arts admin. Recently, Grace has been in residence at ReMo Studios (Amsterdam), and has presented choreographic work at Arts on Site (2023), Art Cake Dance Series II (2022), Laguardia Performing Arts Center with the Emerging Choreographer Series (2022), and Governor’s Island (2021) with The Craft: NY. Film credits include choreographic collaborations with brands Tod’s Shoes and Yayi Chen. @graceytong gracetong.com

COLLABORATORS
Micaela Pirzio-Biroli
is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice unravels, celebrates, and mourns the complex realities of the body. Working across performance, printmaking, sculpture and installation, Micaela translates the universe of the bodymind across multiple dimensions, drawing from personal history to explore themes of ritual, disability, queerness, and biracial identity. Micaela’s work invites viewers into the mystery and paradox of their internal world, devising fantasy in order to create space for self-contradiction, grief and healing. Through the enactment of surreal ceremonies and absurd storytelling, Micaela honors the nonsensical as a force of resistance. Micaela currently lives and works in Philadelphia. IG: @micaela__pb www.micaelapb.com

Phoebe Frances is an artist and musician. They make pop music, video, and digital art. She believes in art and activism. They work as an audio engineer and are making pop music and a computer game. https://phoebe.digital

Sydney Shu-Yu Chow (she/her) was born and raised in Los Angeles, California, where she attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. She then attended the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, where she earned her B.F.A. in Dance and a minor in Web Applications and Programming. She finds joy in moments of connection, dismantling, and experimenting through freelance work and her own reflections on her Chinese American heritage. @sydneeyyc