OKLAHOMA CONTEMPORARY DANCE FESTIVAL
Oklahoma Contemporary Dance Festival is a grant funded program, hosted by Perpetual Motion Dance, which allows dancers ages 12 & up throughout the mid west region to study with professional choreographers throughout the month of MAY - JUNE.
LIVE PERFORMANCES
VENUE - NORTHWEST EVENT CENTER
6009 NW Expressway St. Okc, Ok 73132
CHOROEGRAPHY SHOWCASE
JUNE 19TH - 7:00PM
JUNE 20TH - 7:00PM
PRESENTERS SHOWCASE
JUNE 21ST - 2:00PM
2025 CHOREOGRAPHERS
Adam Castaneda
Adam Castaneda has cultivated a diverse skill set through years of training and performance, including working with companies like FrenetiCore Dance and Hope Stone. His recent choreographic works include Rumpelstiltskin (2022) at the University of Houston, Last Stop on Market Street (2022) at Main Street Theater, and Aureate (2022), which he co-directed with Pilot Dance Project. Adam has studied ballet, jazz, modern, and West African dance techniques. His creative expression also extends to large-scale puppetry, improvisation, and movement creation, showcasing his passion for innovation and storytelling through dance.
Ashley Hawkins
Ashley Hawkins is a Graduate that has earned her Bachelor in Science degree in Theatre and Dance, emphasis in Dance at Lamar University located in Beaumont, TX. She has currently served as a local dance teacher in Beaumont, TX and Port Neches, TX. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of The Shepherd High School Pirates. Ashley has been training under Travis Prokop, Amy Elizabeth, Lou Arrington and Golden wright. Her training styles include but are not limited to: Jazz, Modern, Ballet, and other commercialized and also drill styles.
Audrey Holland (Johnston)
Audrey Johnston is a choreographer, dancer, and teacher of over fifteen years. She began dancing in the School of Ballet Oklahoma and furthered her training across the nation at several esteemed pre-professional programs. At 17, she joined Oklahoma City Ballet and for 6 years danced classical and contemporary roles by world-renowned choreographers including Helen Pickett, Lee-Wei Chao, and Jessica Lang. While completing her BS in Chemistry, working in some labs, and later completing her Master’s in Business Administration, she danced in the contemporary, jazz and hip hop company RACE Dance Collective, later becoming Managing Director.
Claire Ullery
Claire Ullery is a graduate of the University of Central Oklahoma with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance. While mainly trained in dance styles such as ballet, tap, jazz and modern, she also takes pleasure in exploring many other genres. While at school, Claire had many opportunities to work with guest artists and perform with the KD2 and Kaleidoscope dance companies. She currently enjoys teaching tap classes and working as an intern for the UCO Wesley Foundation. While Claire has performed with the Oklahoma Contemporary Dance Festival for several years, this is her first time presenting choreography.
Jai Alexander
Jai Alexander is an accomplished contemporary dancer and choreographer based in Houston, Texas. His unique movement vocabulary draws inspiration from the fluidity of roller-coaster rides, the rhythmic patterns of waves, and movements that deeply resonate with the human body. Jai is currently furthering his studies in the Theater and Dance Department at Lamar University, where he also serves as the Administrative Assistant for Aimed Dance, a non-profit Dance Company dedicated to enriching the South-East Texas community. He is also an intern with DanceSource Houston, showcasing his commitment to all perspectives pertaining to dance. Recently, his work has been selected for DanceSource Houston’s Mind The Gap XXIV (2024) and Pilot Dance Project’s 4th Annual Texas Latino/a/x Contemporary Dance Festival. (2024).
Katie Theriac
Katie Medicis Theriac is a graduate of Lamar University with a Bachelor of Science in Theatre and Dance. Originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Katie began dancing under Cathy Kurth at Cathy Kurth’s Dance Academy from childhood to college. While pursuing her degree in Beaumont, TX, Katie trained under notable professors Amy Elizabeth, Travis Prokop, Golden Wright, and Lou Arrington. Beyond performing, Katie is a dance instructor and choreographer for City Dance Center and Dance Attitudes. Katie continues to train and perform in Southeast Texas and beyond in the pursuit to constantly grow as an educator and choreographer.
Kayla Jenkins
Kayla J. Jenkins began her professional career as a choreographer in 2007 upon receiving her B.F.A from the University of Central Oklahoma. Kayla's performance credits and choreography have been represented from coast to coast including the American College Dance Festival, Pilot Dance Festival with Muscle Memory Dance Theatre & Houston Fringe Festival (TX), Works in Progress (NYC), Arkansas Festival Ballet, Artist in Resonance, and The Studio Theatre (AR), Fresno Fringe Festival (CA), Meow Wolf (NM), Factory Obscura, The Exchange, Oklahoma Contemporary Dance Festival, PM2 & Perpetual Motion Dance (OK) touring and repertory work. In addition to serving as the Executive Director for Perpetual Motion Dance, Kayla has extensive teaching credentials and currently volunteers as a member of the Capitol Hill Academy of Arts Advisory Board.
Rebekah Wallace
RWG is a powerhouse in community building, with a B.A. Ed and over a decade of experience making dance accessible to people of all ages and abilities. Since graduating from the University of Central Oklahoma in 2017, she’s dedicated herself to bringing creative arts programs to diverse communities across Oklahoma—in public schools, parks, assisted living homes, recovery shelters, homeschool co-ops, and recreation centers. While she loves teaching, Rebekah also thrives on learning and growing with her community. And if you’re into solving mysteries, she’s always up for a chat about her Nancy Drew club!
Summer Brandley
Summer Brandley (she/her) is a hard worker who appreciates the diligent physicality of dance. She continued her studies at Wichita State University and graduated with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance. While in school, Summer had the opportunity to perform for guest artists Jammie Walker and Darrell Grand Moultrie, as well as study at Gibney Dance and attend ACDA. Summer has taught dance across multiple disciplines; she currently works as a personal trainer & pilates instructor. Summer joined Perpetual Motion Dance in 2021.
2025 PRESENTERS
Cassidy Faulhaber
Piece name: Helter Skelter
This piece explores the contrast between economic, physical, and social safety in contrast with brutality, poverty, war, and violence. Trying to pursue happiness while so many do not have the resources to do the same is troubling. The rush and stress of day-to-day life often feel like a distraction. The intensity of the first piece of music mimics this overwhelmed, overstimulated feeling. There are bursts of intense and quick movement phrases that contrast with slow posing. This demonstrates those moments when we come up for air from the stressors that distract us. The second section of this piece is a demonstration of hopelessness and exhaustion from the repetitive cycles of oppression we see around us. The dancers have more awareness in this section, they look up at one another.
Desiree LaVigne-Roan
Piece name: Immersed
Desiree LaVigne-Roan has thirty plus years professional dance experience as a performer, director and educator. She has served numerous dance companies/schools and universities; as a faculty member, guest instructor, choreographer and director. Desiree serves as Guest Resident Character Artist for Oklahoma City Ballet and has been featured as Auntie Em in The Wizard of Oz, the Innkeepers’ Wife in Robert Mills’ Paris Rouge, Grand Mama in The Nutcracker and Nursemaid in Romeo and Juliet. She is proud to serve as teaching artist for the Oklahoma Arts Council.
Haley Fort
Piece name: More Than A Social Experiment
It is a duet inspired by the Rope Piece. This was a performance that lasted one year long. Essentially two people decided to be tied together by a 8 foot rope for a year and see what it did to them and how they handled it. They considered this a performance art because everyone would notice the rope. It was also something that constantly impacted their life. A rule they had was that they could never touch even while being tied together.
I want to explore the possibilities of two dancers being attached by a rope for the entirety of the piece. They also will not be allowed to touch. They will explore movement demonstrating the struggle and frustrations but also the mind expansion that the Rope Piece entailed.
Jai Alexander
Piece name: Conform
I’m interested in developing a piece inspired by the influence of statues, sculptures, monuments, and architecture. Through my research, I discovered several statues that particularly resonated with me, and I plan to use these as the foundation for shaping my movement. Additionally, I aim to infuse a sensual quality to my work by adopting an unconventional approach to my movement choices, while still preserving the elevated essence that statues, monuments, and sculptures naturally evoke.
Jeanne Devillier
Piece name: Cautious Connections
The inspiration for my piece comes from the worries we have when entering a new relationship. Will this work out? Am I being too much? Am I becoming too much like them? What happens when I tell other people about them? I want to explore all of these feelings, the good and the bad, in a duet. The dancers are cautious of one another, even though they feel this pull to be together. They want to connect but don't know what the outcome will be.
Kaitlyn Murphy
Katie Theriac
Piece name: Over Easy Going
Holding yourself together, in the way that your anxiety wants you to, can still result in you cracking, breaking, and pouring yourself into a puddle of defeat. The cycle of release and relapse can continue with each step in life, but maybe by the end of it you won’t have anything left in need of holding.
This solo piece is a stepping stone into a broader series of works involving fabric, and will continue to be in development until the fabric makes its own choices on the stage.
Rebekah Wallace Garrett
Piece name: Orinoco Flow
This is a contemporary modern dance with scarves set to Orinoco Flow.
Tranisha McClyde
Piece name: Layers of Her
My work explores body dissatisfaction, judgment, and empowerment, highlighting the diverse experiences of women. It examines how women are often categorized, perceived as vulnerable, and compared to unrealistic standards. Through movement, I aim to express frustration, resilience, and the reclamation of power, emphasizing that strength exists in every woman, regardless of race, size, or background.
Veronica Lazar
Piece Name: Forever Yours
Forever Yours is a modern piece that explores the intricacies of power dynamics within relationships. The piece follows 6 dancers who weave in and out of intense partnering work to showcase both the idea of self and dependence. The dark nature of the song Nocturnal Me provides a deeper understanding of longing and hurt that the dancers are going through. Throughout the piece, the dancers seek independence only to come back to the person they feel comfortable with. I will be utilizing both ballet and modern vocabulary to fill the nuanced musical themes present. Only three dancers could make our first rehearsal, but the cast will be expanded to six.
WANT TO SHOWCASE YOUR CHOREOGRAPHY?
Email ocdf@perpetualmotiondance.org to get on the mailing list for 2026
