featuring Ilvs Strauss

Aug 27-30 / 7:30PM
Calamus Auditorium at Gay City
$20 Gen Adm / $18 Students & Seniors

Gay City Arts presents Manifesto, a playful, queer dance narrative performance that explores Womanhood. And California Red Sea Cucumbers.

Listed in Dance Magazine’s Best of 2014 list, the show is a personal exploration on what it means to create outside the realms of expectations and inherent ability, led by a clear voice over narration and a subtle, detailed dance. Topics of life purpose, femininity, gender, existentialism, living child-free, the potential of the human female body and marine invertebrate behavior take the audience on a genre blending stroll through personal and collective ruminations and aspirations.

Art is the voice, spirit and conscience of every community and is a vital tool for community reflection, dialogue and pride. Through Gay City Arts, Gay City collaborates with local LGBTQ artists to galvanize an audience for queer arts, foster the development of LGBTQ artists and works, and facilitate artistic excellence that is accessible. Gay City Arts is committed to presenting challenging, dynamic and excellent queer art across a wide range of disciplines, including theater, music, dance, film, spoken word, literary and visual arts. Learn more at gaycity.org/arts

ilvs strauss is an analytical chemist turned multi disciplinary performance artist and lighting designer living and making work in Seattle. Her art ranges from haiku poetry, to anamorphic outdoor sculptures, illustrated storytelling (aka Slide Shows), to narrated dance performance.

Her work has been shown at Henry Art Gallery, Odyssey Idea Gallery, On the Boards, Northwest Film Forum, Century Ballroom, Seattle Repertory’s Leo K Theater, Bumbershoot Music Festival, Risk/Reward (PDX), Kirkland Arts Center, and Action Adventure Theater (PDX). She has received residencies through Studio Current (SEA) and Performance Works NW (PDX). The solo version of her piece Manifesto was listed in Dance Magazine’s BEST of 2014 list. Off stage, she teaches workshops in creative writing, movement and collage art. As Lighting Designer she has worked for Pat Graney, KT Neiehoff, Salt Horse, and Cherdonna. Each winter she plays Jesus alongside Bendelacreme in the theater-esque ensemble show Homo for the Holidays. More information, pertinent and otherwise, can be found at ilvsstrauss.com.