Finding North

Created and performed by acclaimed artists David Gonzalez and Daniel Carlton, this powerful theatrical piece weaves music, spoken word, and dramatic performance to tell the story of ordinary people with extraordinary courage on the path to freedom. Through compelling characters and real historical accounts, Finding North explores resilience, resistance, and the deep human desire for dignity. This performance invites middle school students to engage with history in an emotionally resonant and artistically accessible way. Finding North was commissioned by the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park to commemorate the opening of the Underground Railroad National Freedom Center.

DANCEASPEN re:imagine

Behind the Curtain with DanceAspen offers students a rare, insider’s look at the creation of re:imagine, an evening of world premieres by groundbreaking American choreographers. Join us at the Wheeler Opera House as DanceAspen opens the doors to a live technical rehearsal, revealing how lighting, costumes, sound, and staging come together in real time while dancers rehearse onstage. This immersive experience gives audiences a taste of our premiere lineup and a glimpse into the collaborative artistry, precision, and hard work that bring a production to life.

re:imagine features four bold new works shaped by diverse creative journeys. 2025 Princess Grace Award–winner Houston Thomas reinterprets the iconic Swan Lake pas de deux, blending its beloved score with the physicality of a mating dance. Arriving from Belgium, Shane Urton presents a dynamic new piece set to DanceAspen’s first-ever commissioned score by composer Camiel Jansen, transforming the rhythms of corporate life into unexpectedly lyrical movement. Rising choreographic voice Emilie Leriche crafts dances like poetry—paragraphs and chapters expressed through the body. And DanceAspen artist-choreographer Jonah Delgado contributes a witty, stylish work exploring the rituals and reinvention culture of the modern gym..

Miwa Matreyek: Exploring Climate Change through Experimental Animation & Performance

Miwa Matreyek is an animator, designer, and performer currently based in Vancouver BC. She is an Assistant Professor at Simon Fraser University in their School for the Contemporary Arts in the Theatre Production and Design area. She has been an internationally touring independent artist since 2010. Coming from a background in animation by way of collage, Matreyek creates live, staged performances where she interacts with her animations as a shadow silhouette, at the intersection of cinematic and theatrical, fantastical and tangible, illusionistic and physical. Her work attempts to make invisible worlds visible while weaving surreal and poetic narratives of creation and destruction, micro and macro worlds, and the tension and conflict between modern humanity and nature.

Myth and Infrastructure is a live performance with projected animation. Her shadow becomes an integral part of her own fantastical animation worlds, as she traverses oceanscapes, cityscapes, and domestic spaces to conjure dreamlike scenes with light and shadow.

Infinitely Yours is an exploration of global warming, the anthropocene, and the vastly changing earth. This piece attempts to physicalize and emotionalize the non-stop barrage of news streaming in through our screens, of environmental transformation that we can’t seem to hit pause or rewind on.