Jeff Hancock
Costuming
Jeff Hancock designs and constructs movement and costumes, examines their overlap, and sometimes mutual influence. Since 1990, throughout his years dancing for River North, Hubbard Street, Same Planet, MadShak and many others, his dance and design life collided, supported and informed each other. The study of movement, and curiosity about the semiotics of clothing has fueled a long history of aesthetic exploration ranging from the ridiculous to the sublime, minimalism to excess. Recent projects include 25th Anniversary Dance For Life Finale – Choreographer Randy Duncan, Jump Rhythm Jazz Project – Jimmie Blues, Walkabout Theater – the cure, Curmudgeon Productions – Fantasmagorie, Khecari – The Cronus Land, Lucky Plush – Super Strip, Parsons Dance Co. – Train.
He was a founding member of River North Dance Chicago, danced for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Dance Kaleidoscope, and Same Planet Different World Dance Theater, where he was a Co-Artistic Director. Recent choreography includes Rid of Them – a collaboration with Molly Shanahan/MadShak, ellipsis NU Danceworks – The Great Gatsby and Grapes of Wrath NU, Impolite Society at The Kennedy Center. He has created work for River North Dance Chicago, Hubbard Street Repertory Ensemble, Columbia College, Northwestern University, Paramount Theatre, the Edinburgh Festival, Same Planet, The Dance COLEctive, Pegasus Players, and Ohio Northern University among others. His company -ish design was formed in 2007. He was nominated for a McCormick Distinguished Lecturer Award, Ruth Page Awards for his dancing and choreography, and is an Illinois Arts Council grant recipient.
Precious Jennings
Performer
Precious Jennings resides in Chicago. She is an adjunct faculty at Columbia College Chicago, teaching Movement to Actors, Theater Foundations, and Yoga. She is currently creating work with The Humans, is a member of Chicago Moving Company and has collaborated with artists Ayako Kato, Amelia Charter, Adam Kerbel and Khecari. Her own research is based in improvisation, dance and theater, utilizing work with horses and water called “Human development as captured in Whales and Horses”, devising scores through science, somatics, skill, imagination, esoteric practices and psychology. She is currently a teacher in training for Lucid Body Physical Acting Technique.
Lauren Kunath
Operations Assistant
Originally from Waukee Iowa, Lauren graduated from Columbia College Chicago in 2014. While attaining her BA in dance, she worked on broadening her techniques in dancemaking as well as learning techniques ranging from Laban to Cunningham. Since graduation, she has presented her work in shows such as Fraction and Delve along with producing her own events to create a warm space for emerging artists to perform. Working as a freelance dancer, Lauren continues to create work for the Adler Planetarium and The Coincidentals. Lauren has been working with Khecari on The Retreat since 2016.
Cristina Tadeo
Operations Assistant
Cristina Tadeo is a Chicago-based dance artist interested in the intersection of performance, environment, visual design and documentary. In addition to performance, her various collaborations in dance across Chicago have included graphic design, project management, videography and marketing. Her choreographic work has been awarded grants from the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, and 3Arts Project Program. Cristina is a graduate of the Dance Center of Columbia College with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dancemaking and is currently the Program Associate at Dance for Life. She first began working with Khecari in 2015 for performances of The Cronus Land.
Cameron Heinz
Food Collaborator
Cameron is an independent performing arts producer, musician, cook, and tailor, with plenty of enthusiasm but little focus. He finds that preparing and serving food to friends is one of his greatest joys in life, especially when it results in new connections and authentic interactions. He believes wholeheartedly in beauty but not at all in perfection. This is Cameron’s first project with Khecari.
Duoduo Wang
Costuming
Duoduo Wang is a dancer and designer from Guangdong, China. Recently graduated from Columbia College Chicago, BA in Dance. She has ten years professional ballet and modern techniques training background. She performed many classical Ballet works with Guangzhou Ballet, she also collaborated with Chicago local artists Onye Ozuzu, Margi Cole,Vershawn Sanders-Ward, etc. Technically, she is exploring a syncretic method of combining ballet and modern technique with Chinese folk dance elements. As a choreographer, she is also interested in bringing the concept of fashion as a performing art. In her last work De Formed (2017) which was inspired by the designer Rei Kawakubo, and she developed the idea of making dance as visual artwork in that piece.
Aren Viramontes
Videographer
Aren Viramontes is a freelance videographer, photographer, and an apprenticing Director of Photography. He is a specialist in visual color theory and was classically trained in the humanities with an eye for anything that abstracts. This is Aren’s first time doing videography for Khecari.
