Choreographers and dancers don’t often have opportunities to utilize complex or fully-realized sets. With this in mind, Washington Ensemble Theatre provides opportunities for dancers to make and perform pieces on the elaborate theatrical sets of its mainstage productions. Curated by Mark Haim, Babette Pendleton, and Alice Gosti, the first reSET was performed on the set of The Tall Girls in 2015 and has been happening at least once a year ever since.

This installment of reSET features new work by the Drama Tops and Avid, performed on the set of Dance Nation by Clare Barron.

The DRAMA TOPS was born with the artistic partnership of Elby Brosch and Shane Donohue. They began making work together three years ago with the creation of a solo on two bodies. The dynamic between their trans body and cis body has created beautiful moments of frustration, competition, tenderness, and comedy. Jordan Macintosh-Hougham, a non-binary dancer, has recently joined Drama Tops rounding out expression, perspective, and dynamism. The Drama Tops blends the worlds of nightlife and concert modern dance. Brosch brings years of experience performing with drag and nightlife legends, BenDeLaCreme, Scott Shoemaker, Cherdonna, and Lou Henry Hoover, combined with his life long ballet and modern dance training, to create an interesting and unique blend of accessible, funny modern dance. You may have seen the Drama Tops perform at On the Boards in Northwest New Works, Velocity in Fall Kick Off the past 2 years, at Kremwerk in Family Meal and Catharsis, in Heels! At Cha Cha, and at a pop up party at Photon Factory.

AVID (Scott Davis, Aiko Kinoshita, Rachael Lincoln, Aaron Swartzman (in absentia) and Tamin Totzke) is a movement collective committed to interweaving art and life. Practicing ensemble improvisation together since 2014, the group generates frameworks for instantaneous dance composition. AVID practices, questions, teaches, and performs with the conviction that our deep trust in each other and the unknown is both relevant and vital. Each individually recognized in their own right, the 5 artists bring together years of creative and performative experience. Through their long term ongoing practice; part creative process lab, part social evolution, and part performance research, they continue to hone their ensemble choice-making while crystallizing their collective desire to soften the distinction between the practice and performance of improvisation. AVID has taught and performed in venues including Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation, Seattle International Dance Festival, Velocity Dance Center and On the Boards. Avidmoves.com