COLLABORATOR BIOS
Rebecca Bryant
Known for her “wonderful insistence on making art about complex ideas” (SanDiego.com), dancemaker Rebecca Bryant addresses current societal phenomena while blurring the distinctions between artistic disciplines. Coming from a visual art background, Bryant creates performances that combine both pre-determined and improvised movement with text, video, sound, and objects. She is an active collaborator, having worked extensively with the Past Modern Performance Duo (dance/percussion), Lower Left Performance Collective (dance/theater), and countless artists from different disciplines. Bryant has performed across the US and in Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Germany, Romania, Hungary, Norway, and Sweden, and is currently Assistant Professor of Dance at California State University, Long Beach.In the Spring of 2012, BRDC commissioned Bryant's Suite Female II-VIII to be performed in {254} Dance Festival 2012 in Waco, TX and The Exchange 2012 in Tulsa, OK. Soon after commissioning the first work, Bryant also set Suite Female I on BRDC and they have continued to perform both pieces around DFW. They collaborated on a new work, Suite Female: Parts X-XX, which premiered at Highways in Los Angeles, CA in June 2015.
Known for her “wonderful insistence on making art about complex ideas” (SanDiego.com), dancemaker Rebecca Bryant addresses current societal phenomena while blurring the distinctions between artistic disciplines. Coming from a visual art background, Bryant creates performances that combine both pre-determined and improvised movement with text, video, sound, and objects. She is an active collaborator, having worked extensively with the Past Modern Performance Duo (dance/percussion), Lower Left Performance Collective (dance/theater), and countless artists from different disciplines. Bryant has performed across the US and in Canada, Mexico, Argentina, Spain, Germany, Romania, Hungary, Norway, and Sweden, and is currently Assistant Professor of Dance at California State University, Long Beach.In the Spring of 2012, BRDC commissioned Bryant's Suite Female II-VIII to be performed in {254} Dance Festival 2012 in Waco, TX and The Exchange 2012 in Tulsa, OK. Soon after commissioning the first work, Bryant also set Suite Female I on BRDC and they have continued to perform both pieces around DFW. They collaborated on a new work, Suite Female: Parts X-XX, which premiered at Highways in Los Angeles, CA in June 2015.
Sarah Gamblin
Sarah Gamblin, Associate Professor of Dance Texas Woman's University, was a member of Bebe Miller Company from 1993-2000. Her choreography has been presented in national venues including the Fusebox Festival in Austin, The Flea Theater in New York City, and Northwest New Works in Seattle. She has set original choreography on professional companies and universities in Ohio, Montana, Wyoming, Philadelphia, Oklahoma, and Texas, and Bebe Miller Company Repertory at the Universities of Hawai’i and North Texas. Sarah Gamblin and BRDC began working together when the BRDC co-directors were members of Gamblin's choreography and performance project DanceLab at TWU from 2010-2012. Since DanceLab, Gamblin and BRDC have performed and featured work together in Gamblin's and Sarah Alexander's performance event, Cross Pollination 2011 in Denton and Out of the Loop Fringe Festival 2011 in Addison. In 2014, BRDC worked with Sarah Gamblin on Acts of Absence, an evening of dance presented by New Genre Arts Festival in Tulsa, OK. Flatlands Dance Theatre, based in Lubbock, commissioned Acts of Absence and presented the work in April 2015.
Sarah Gamblin, Associate Professor of Dance Texas Woman's University, was a member of Bebe Miller Company from 1993-2000. Her choreography has been presented in national venues including the Fusebox Festival in Austin, The Flea Theater in New York City, and Northwest New Works in Seattle. She has set original choreography on professional companies and universities in Ohio, Montana, Wyoming, Philadelphia, Oklahoma, and Texas, and Bebe Miller Company Repertory at the Universities of Hawai’i and North Texas. Sarah Gamblin and BRDC began working together when the BRDC co-directors were members of Gamblin's choreography and performance project DanceLab at TWU from 2010-2012. Since DanceLab, Gamblin and BRDC have performed and featured work together in Gamblin's and Sarah Alexander's performance event, Cross Pollination 2011 in Denton and Out of the Loop Fringe Festival 2011 in Addison. In 2014, BRDC worked with Sarah Gamblin on Acts of Absence, an evening of dance presented by New Genre Arts Festival in Tulsa, OK. Flatlands Dance Theatre, based in Lubbock, commissioned Acts of Absence and presented the work in April 2015.
Jane Hawley
As a dance artist, Jane specifically explores movement by emphasizing skeletal initiation and alignment, contact improvisation and improvisational and somatic practice. Her dances involve the accumulation and integration of images, rather than steps, to inspire technical range and virtuosic intention. As a teacher and scholar, Jane is deeply curious in renovating dance training through the exploration and research on the relationship of self to body. Her research emphasizes understanding of the body as an instrument of expression and that the realization of self is through the continuous study of mind/body interdependence. Challenges with this research lie in the negotiating between boundaries of developing innovative and intentional movement vocabulary, organizing dance making, performing, and engendering movement vitality in every day. Hawley designed the Movement Fundamentals curriculum and in the fall of 2001, implemented the curriculum into the Luther CollegeTheatre/Dance department in Decorah, Iowa.
As a dance artist, Jane specifically explores movement by emphasizing skeletal initiation and alignment, contact improvisation and improvisational and somatic practice. Her dances involve the accumulation and integration of images, rather than steps, to inspire technical range and virtuosic intention. As a teacher and scholar, Jane is deeply curious in renovating dance training through the exploration and research on the relationship of self to body. Her research emphasizes understanding of the body as an instrument of expression and that the realization of self is through the continuous study of mind/body interdependence. Challenges with this research lie in the negotiating between boundaries of developing innovative and intentional movement vocabulary, organizing dance making, performing, and engendering movement vitality in every day. Hawley designed the Movement Fundamentals curriculum and in the fall of 2001, implemented the curriculum into the Luther CollegeTheatre/Dance department in Decorah, Iowa.
Brittany Padilla
Brittany Padilla is a music performer, composer, and producer residing in Fort Worth, TX. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and minor in Spanish from the University of North Texas, where she began her experience and career as a dance musician. She danced and played with the percussion ensemble for African dance classes and performances at UNT during her undergrad, which led her to play for world dance at Texas Woman's University, also in Denton. During the following years, she expanded her repertoire, playing for modern, ballet, improv, and jazz. She is now a dance accompanist at TWU and Tarrant County College Northwest in Fort Worth. She performs and composes in collaboration with local dance companies and individual artists around the United States for various workshops and festivals (ACDA, TDIF, MALCS etc.) as well as other colleges and universities in DFW (UTA, TCU, etc.) As a multi-instrumentalist, she plays and records an array of acoustic and digital instruments with emphasis on percussion and voice. Brittany works with Ableton Live, a software for producing music and is a certified Ableton Specialist.
Brittany Padilla is a music performer, composer, and producer residing in Fort Worth, TX. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and minor in Spanish from the University of North Texas, where she began her experience and career as a dance musician. She danced and played with the percussion ensemble for African dance classes and performances at UNT during her undergrad, which led her to play for world dance at Texas Woman's University, also in Denton. During the following years, she expanded her repertoire, playing for modern, ballet, improv, and jazz. She is now a dance accompanist at TWU and Tarrant County College Northwest in Fort Worth. She performs and composes in collaboration with local dance companies and individual artists around the United States for various workshops and festivals (ACDA, TDIF, MALCS etc.) as well as other colleges and universities in DFW (UTA, TCU, etc.) As a multi-instrumentalist, she plays and records an array of acoustic and digital instruments with emphasis on percussion and voice. Brittany works with Ableton Live, a software for producing music and is a certified Ableton Specialist.
Momentary Gamelan Ensemble
(The artists formerly known as Hentai Improvising Orchestra)
Momentary Gamelan Ensemble is a collective of improvising musicians in the Dallas/Fort Worth area consisting of Terry Horn (laptop, turntables, tape recorders, and homemade instruments) and Mark Kitchens (percussion, electronic instruments, and homemade instruments). As Hentai Improvising Orchestra, they have performed throughout the North Central Texas area since 2009, including collaborations with Big Rig Dance Collective and Sarah Gamblin (Associate Professor at Texas Woman's University), and now continuing these collaborations as Momentary Gamelan Ensemble. MGE and BRDC met by chance on the Denton Courthouse lawn during BRDC's First Friday dance performance series. We have since collaborated on several projects including improvisational performances for Arts Goggle 2011, BRDC's 2011 Homing Where I Roam & 2014 Converge dance concerts in Denton, Barefoot Brigade 2013 in Dallas, and New Genre Arts Festival 2014 in Tulsa, OK. This is a canvas of sound, open-ended, continuous, and organic. A soundtrack of a dream. Music to paint by. The freshest thing I've heard this century! The treacherous zone where right is wrong and wrong is right. - Michael Davis, MC5 bassis
(The artists formerly known as Hentai Improvising Orchestra)
Momentary Gamelan Ensemble is a collective of improvising musicians in the Dallas/Fort Worth area consisting of Terry Horn (laptop, turntables, tape recorders, and homemade instruments) and Mark Kitchens (percussion, electronic instruments, and homemade instruments). As Hentai Improvising Orchestra, they have performed throughout the North Central Texas area since 2009, including collaborations with Big Rig Dance Collective and Sarah Gamblin (Associate Professor at Texas Woman's University), and now continuing these collaborations as Momentary Gamelan Ensemble. MGE and BRDC met by chance on the Denton Courthouse lawn during BRDC's First Friday dance performance series. We have since collaborated on several projects including improvisational performances for Arts Goggle 2011, BRDC's 2011 Homing Where I Roam & 2014 Converge dance concerts in Denton, Barefoot Brigade 2013 in Dallas, and New Genre Arts Festival 2014 in Tulsa, OK. This is a canvas of sound, open-ended, continuous, and organic. A soundtrack of a dream. Music to paint by. The freshest thing I've heard this century! The treacherous zone where right is wrong and wrong is right. - Michael Davis, MC5 bassis
John Osburn
John Osburn has been an active collaborator with dance since 2006. He studied music at Texas Woman’s University, receiving a BA in Music Education. In 2011, Osburn received his MA in Sonic Arts from the Sonic Arts Research Centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, shifting his focus toward electronic music composition and sound design. His compositions and sound designs have been heard in the United States, Northern Ireland, and South Korea. Osburn currently resides in the Columbus, Ohio area acting as the Resident Musician for the Denison University Dance Department, as well as a faculty musician for the American Dance Festival.BRDC and John Osburn first connected as students at Texas Woman's University. Osburn was often asked to compose music in collaboration with the individual BRDC artists, and those partnerships continued, then flourished post-graduation. BRDC members have danced for Osburn's projects, such as Enough Room 2009, and BRDC commissioned Osburn to compose music for Homing Where I Roam 2011 and for their dance work Grit in 2012.
John Osburn has been an active collaborator with dance since 2006. He studied music at Texas Woman’s University, receiving a BA in Music Education. In 2011, Osburn received his MA in Sonic Arts from the Sonic Arts Research Centre, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, shifting his focus toward electronic music composition and sound design. His compositions and sound designs have been heard in the United States, Northern Ireland, and South Korea. Osburn currently resides in the Columbus, Ohio area acting as the Resident Musician for the Denison University Dance Department, as well as a faculty musician for the American Dance Festival.BRDC and John Osburn first connected as students at Texas Woman's University. Osburn was often asked to compose music in collaboration with the individual BRDC artists, and those partnerships continued, then flourished post-graduation. BRDC members have danced for Osburn's projects, such as Enough Room 2009, and BRDC commissioned Osburn to compose music for Homing Where I Roam 2011 and for their dance work Grit in 2012.
West Ox-King Portillo
West Ox-King Portillo is a dance musician originally from El Paso, Texas. She holds a degree in Modern Languages in Russian from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her music experience ranges from All-Region Jazz bassist, to metal and rock band collaborator, singer-songwriter, and even musical theatre actor. She has worked with the dance programs of UNT, TCC NW, TWU, and currently works as a dance musician at Meredith College in North Carolina. She has collaborated with BRDC for Dance Co-op and created new compositions for their Converge concert in 2014. Her principle instrument is an acoustic steel string guitar usually paired with some effect pedals, and a looping station pedal. She also uses vocals, piano, saxophone, doumbek, synthesizer programs through her IPad, and pretty much anything that she can get her hands on, or that makes sound.
West Ox-King Portillo is a dance musician originally from El Paso, Texas. She holds a degree in Modern Languages in Russian from the University of Texas at San Antonio. Her music experience ranges from All-Region Jazz bassist, to metal and rock band collaborator, singer-songwriter, and even musical theatre actor. She has worked with the dance programs of UNT, TCC NW, TWU, and currently works as a dance musician at Meredith College in North Carolina. She has collaborated with BRDC for Dance Co-op and created new compositions for their Converge concert in 2014. Her principle instrument is an acoustic steel string guitar usually paired with some effect pedals, and a looping station pedal. She also uses vocals, piano, saxophone, doumbek, synthesizer programs through her IPad, and pretty much anything that she can get her hands on, or that makes sound.
Jesse Scroggins
Jesse Scroggins is said to have a natural eye for movement and design. After graduating with a degree in Graphic Design from The Art Institute of Dallas in 2004, he began working for top-notch merchandising companies in DFW. Jesse currently works as a Senior Designer for the innovative company, Dezine News, and specializes in leather fashion accessories. His designs can be found in stores such as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, JC Penny, and Banana Republic. One of his quirky belts has even been featured on CBS Network’s The Big Bang Theory.Jesse dove into dance photography when Amanda Jackson, who is now his fiery wife, commissioned him in 2008. He frequently works with other professional artists and companies such as Jordan Fuchs Company, Simple Sparrow, Texas Woman’s University Department of Dance, and the University of Texas at Arlington Department of Theatre Arts. Jesse Scroggins is the magic eye behind nearly all of BRDC's photography. We began collaborating in 2010 and he has since become our Resident Photographer. Not only does he document our work, but he is also a regular contributor to our creative process.
Jesse Scroggins is said to have a natural eye for movement and design. After graduating with a degree in Graphic Design from The Art Institute of Dallas in 2004, he began working for top-notch merchandising companies in DFW. Jesse currently works as a Senior Designer for the innovative company, Dezine News, and specializes in leather fashion accessories. His designs can be found in stores such as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, JC Penny, and Banana Republic. One of his quirky belts has even been featured on CBS Network’s The Big Bang Theory.Jesse dove into dance photography when Amanda Jackson, who is now his fiery wife, commissioned him in 2008. He frequently works with other professional artists and companies such as Jordan Fuchs Company, Simple Sparrow, Texas Woman’s University Department of Dance, and the University of Texas at Arlington Department of Theatre Arts. Jesse Scroggins is the magic eye behind nearly all of BRDC's photography. We began collaborating in 2010 and he has since become our Resident Photographer. Not only does he document our work, but he is also a regular contributor to our creative process.
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