DANCE Performance | July 27–28 | $30–$40 Sliding Scale
Malinda LaVelle and Emmaly Wiederholt present “What the Hell Happened in San Francisco?”
An evening-length dance-theater performance wrestling with idealism, dreams, and disillusionment. Emmaly Wiederholt and Malinda LaVelle met in 2007 in San Francisco while trying to make it as groundbreaking contemporary dance artists. They burned that dream bright and fast, living and dancing together for several years before moving on to other schemes. Now they are back in the same city, this time in Albuquerque, trying to figure out what the hell happened in San Francisco.
Performances are Saturday, July 27 at 7 PM and Sunday, July 28 at 2 PM.
Ticket cost: $30–$40 sliding scale
Malinda and Emmaly have remained close friends since their early days, living in a hostel with a mini fridge in the Tenderloin District in San Francisco. After many years of living in different cities, they are now in Albuquerque. A night of reminiscing led them to create “What the Hell Happened in San Francisco?” Excerpts have been presented at ABQ Dance Connect showcases and the ABQ Funny Fiesta. They further developed the work at an artist residency at The Peñasco Theater. They are thrilled to share their joint project with you!
ABOUT EMMALY WIEDERHOLT
Emmaly Wiederholt is a dance artist and arts journalist based in Albuquerque, NM. She is the founder and editor of Stance on Dance, a dance journalism nonprofit that produces an online and print publication distributed throughout the US. Her first book, Beauty is Experience: Dancing 50 and Beyond, was published in 2017, and her second book, Breadth of Bodies: Discussing Disability in Dance, was published in 2022.
Emmaly earned her MA in Arts Journalism from the University of Southern California and her BFA in Ballet and BS in Political Science from the University of Utah. She further trained at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance under the direction of Summer Lee Rhatigan, and performed extensively around the Bay Area with multiple companies and choreographers, including Project Thrust, Alyce Finwall Dance Theatre, Christine Cali and Co., Little Seismic Dance Company, and AXIS Dance Company. Since leaving the Bay Area, she has choreographed and presented her own work in Santa Fe and Albuquerque at multiple venues, as well as collaborated and performed with choreographer Malinda LaVelle throughout the Southwest.
Emmaly is a founding member of the dance advocacy nonprofit ABQ Dance Connect, to which she has been integral in creating opportunities and platforms for ABQ dance artists. Emmaly is also a master DanceAbility instructor. She has facilitated movement groups at senior centers in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and currently leads weekly groups at the UNM Hospital adult psychiatric ward through the arts-in-medicine program.
ABOUT MALINDA LAVELLE
Malinda LaVelle (she/her) is a choreographer, dance and movement therapist, and mental health counselor in New Mexico. She graduated with a BFA in Dance from the University of Arizona and is an alumna of the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance (SFCD) under the direction of Summer Lee Rhatigan. Malinda also earned her MA in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling from Antioch University New England.
From 2009-2017, Malinda founded and directed Project Thrust, a dance-theater company. She has choreographed and produced five original evening-length performances. Her work has been presented in multiple venues in San Francisco, Colorado, and New Mexico, and has been supported by several grants. Throughout her time as artistic director, Malinda has participated in artist residencies at The Peñasco Theater, SAFEhouse for the Performing Arts, and was commissioned to choreograph for the performing arts and social justice department at the University of San Francisco.
As a performer, Malinda has worked with Alex Ketley, Manuelito Biag, Alyce Finwall, and 20 Moons Dance Theater. She was awarded an Isadora Duncan Award for her performances with Alex Ketley’s The Foundry. As a teacher, Malinda has enjoyed working with teens and young adults at SFCD and Ballet Durango. At SFCD, Malinda developed an improvisation class dubbed “Jam Class” which was featured in Dance Magazine and taught regularly in the pre-professional training programs at SFCD. Malinda currently enjoys working as a dance/movement therapist and counselor and has worked with multiple populations across the life span, most recently with veterans. Check out Malinda on YouTube here.