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Sarah Bortis (Special Guest)
Sarah grew up on the Oregon Coast studying with Nancy Mittleman
at the Newport School of Artistic Movement and dancing with
Pacific Dance Ensemble. She later attended the Southwest School
of Botanical Medicine in Bisbee, AZ. She finds she often likes
plants a lot more than people, though she does what she can
to adjust this. Growing food is a central theme in Sarah’s
life. She works for Garden City Harvest organizing a community
garden, growing food for Missoula’s food-aid agencies.
If she could, she would meet Bruce Lee and discuss her not-so-secret
suspicion that they are very closely related.
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Amy Ragsdale
Amy was born in Manhattan, carted off to Thailand before
settling in Madison, Wisconsin, before being carted off to
the Philippines and Egypt. As a result she loves to travel.
She graduated from Harvard-Radcliffe, another country in its
own way, with an A.B. in Art History. She still loves to look
at and talk about modern art whenever she can find someone
else who likes to do the same. After performing with Impulse
in Boston, she returned to Manhattan to dance with several
modern companies. She credits her time with Fred Benjamin
for her love of full-out moving, with Bill T. Jones for her
desire to use dance to explore meaningful things, with Sincha
Hong and Laughing Stone for her admiration for minimalism
and strong imagery, with Douglas Dunn for her pleasure in
wit and ambiguity, and is grateful to her graduate school
professors Richard Bull and Cynthia Novack for introducing
her to improvisation. She treasures teamwork when it’s
good, as it has been with her colleagues in the Dept. of Drama/Dance
at The University of Montana, where she was a Full Professor
for 20 years. While there she co-founded The Montana Transport
Co. (Mo-Trans), a modern dance repertory company. She founded
Headwaters, as a contemporary dance, repertory company, independent
of the University of Montana, in 2004. In her next life she
hopes to come back as an otter -- with a voice like Aretha
Franklin’s.
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Ashley Griffith (Special Guest)
Ashley is currently an honors student at The University of
Montana where she is working toward degrees in Dance and Anthropology.
Just a few years ago she considered herself a ballerina, but
the event of college has opened her eyes to the expansiveness
of dance. Ashley hopes to dance and study abroad in Africa
before graduating and then who knows where she’ll be
off to. But, for right now Missoula is the perfect place for
her (she loves squirrels) and Montana will always be kept
close in sight. Ashley would like to thank her family and
friends for their continual support, even if they don’t
always understand.
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Kitty Sailer
Kitty is no longer new to the Missoula dance scene. You may
have seen her dancing on the street with the improvisational
troupe RizkProv, or at a UM Dance Program show in the Montana
Theatre perhaps, or with Tarn Ream and Unity Dance & Drum.
This is also her 37th year dancing for Headwaters. Prior to
these adventures, Kitty danced with the Lake Erie Ballet,
the Loudoun Ballet, Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre, and with
various other folks along the way. As a kid, she rocked out
to Cyndi Lauper, Janet Jackson, and the Talking Heads. She
recently took up the Banjo, which she plays poorly with much
gusto.
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Brian Gerke
Brian Gerke is originally from MT, and he is in love. It
seems no matter what pulls him from, what he calls, "the
vortex of eternal wellness," AKA Missoula, he is sucked
right back, again and again and again. In Missoula, Brian
joyfully dances with Amy Ragsdale and Headwaters Dance Company,
and excitedly continues collaborations with local dancers
Nicole Bradley Browning and Anya Cloud, and Jess Mullette. In New York City,
he has worked with Hilary Easton
+ Company, Juliana May's Maydance, Sondra Loring and Dancers, and has been a scholarship student with the Trisha Brown Dance Company. Brian is currently living in Reykjavik where he is faculty at the National Ballet Academy of Iceland. He continues to create and tour new works with long-time friend and collaborator Steinunn Ketilsdottir. Their work, "Crazy in Love with MR PERFECT," has been produced in Aarhus, Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Reykjavik, and New York and was nominated for Choreography of the Year. Their most recent work won the Kedja Competition in Copenhagen, Denmark in Fall 2008. Brian has been described by those
close to him as an old soul with an exceptionally youthful
spirit. The very best of his friends know him as fatty B,
Gerkelerke, or the simple "b." But, his biggest
fans know him as bridoug, brother, and son. Brian is a long-legged, migratory
water bird, looking deeply black due to the presence of many
colors; the myriad of which appear glimmering under the sun
at Fish Creek with his true loves, his friends.
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Laurel Wall-MacLane
Laurel Wall-MacLane grew up nestled between the ridges of
the Bitterroot Mountains. She began her dance education when
she was about waist-high at River Street Dance Theatre in
Hamilton, Mont., which recently culminated in a B.A. in dance
from the University of Montana. In between she has studied
at Bates Young Dance Festival in Maine, the University of
Hawaii (where she performed with University of Hawaii’s
Dance Ensemble) and Movement Research’s MELT summer
series in New York City! She has a bit of a wayward nature
that tends to draw her to the sea (and warmer places) but
her feet and heart are firmly rooted in the mountain soil
of Missoula. Laurel is incredibly excited to have the to opportunity
to work with Headwaters Dance Company as she is continually
awed by the grace, ingenuity and general awesomeness of this
truly inspired group of artists.
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Jordan Dehline (Special Guest)
Jordan grew up in the foothills of Mount Rainer, Washington
and began dancing at the age of four. Ballet was her primary
dance style until entering the University of Montana in 2005
where she became entranced by contemporary dance. At UM, Jordan
received the Theatre/Dance Talent Scholarship and was named
the Outstanding Senior in the Dance Division. Jordan graduated
from the University of Montana in May 2008 with a BFA in Dance
Studio Teaching and Choreography/Performance. Currently, Jordan
is a dance educator for the Montana Model Dance Education
Program (MoDE) lead by Karen Kaufmann, and is teaching dance
integrated with the K-5 curriculum at Lewis and Clark Elementary.
She is also a member of UM’s CoMotion Dance Project
that performs for children to educate them about Newton’s
Laws of Motion. Jordan is excited to be dancing with Headwaters
this year.
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Liz Martin (Apprentice)
Liz grew up in various parts of Northern California and moved
to Missoula after closing her eyes and putting her finger
on a map. After traveling throughout the U.S. and a little
abroad she settled back into the Missoula community, which
she is currently addicted to. Liz began studying dance at
the University of Montana where she is pursuing a bachelor’s
degree in choreography/performance. Liz is a firm supporter
of love, mystery and art in all forms. If Liz were an animal,
she would be a little black cat. Perhaps with purple eyes.
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Michael Leu Becker (Apprentice)
Dance was not prevalent in Michael Becker’s early life.
Upon entering the University of Montana at 21 he decided zoology
was his future. But at the age of 23 he decided it wasn’t
for him and turned to dancing and acting. He is currently
pursuing degrees in both Choreography and Performance and
Drama. He is hoping to dance in Berlin with the Wee Dance
Company after college and own his own company and studio,
down the road. In a future life he would be a giraffe, to
be really tall with more than enough leg to go around. He
thanks Headwaters for this wonderful opportunity.
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Matty Hancock (Special Guest)
Matty grew up in Niles, Michigan, where he began dancing
on his parent’s kitchen floor. After graduating from
high school, he moved to Missoula and attended The University
of Montana’s Dance Program. During this time he performed
in many on- and off-campus dance productions, as well as dancing
with Mo-Trans Dance Co.. In 2000, Matty moved to New York
City where he worked as a fashion model, movie and commercial
extra and danced in music videos. After three and a half years,
Matty moved back to Missoula to live the simple life and he
is doing just that with his dog Daphne.
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