EIGHT/MOVES Season 2

SEASON 2

EIGHT/MOVES’ second season brought together two world premieres and an expanded restaging of a work from the company’s inaugural season. Across three works, Season 2 explored disposability, climate crisis, physical and emotional risk, and the possibilities that emerge through collaboration and collective action.

Wasteland

Choreography: Mia J. Chong
Dancers + Co-creators: Crystaldawn Bell, Allyson Chin, Kira Fargas, Colin Frederick, William Brewton Fowler Jr., Douglas Gillespie
Music: Akusmi, Ceeys
Environmental Research Advisor: Cora Cliburn
Full length: 22 minutes

Wasteland confronts a culture of waste and disposability—how the things we cast off linger, shaping our landscapes and our lives. Through an exploration of the emotions that surface in the face of excess—grief, urgency, tenderness, and the hope of transformation—it asks what it means to resist disposability: of materials, of the planet, and of one another.

Note: All materials in Wasteland are repurposed and will be responsibly reused or recycled after the performance. Costumes were thrifted, no new plastic was purchased, and all props were sourced from items already on hand. To learn more about the realities of waste that inspired this work, please visit our Audience Resource Guide.

THE END

Choreography: Tsai-Hsi Hung
Dancers: Lani Yamanaka, Douglas Gillespie
Full length: 10 minutes

THE END is a duet by choreographer Tsai-Hsi Hung, whose rigorous, athletic movement language brings two performers into a deeply embodied physical exchange. Dynamic and demanding, the work moves through intimacy and intensity, drawing the dancers—and the audience—into a visceral world shaped by Hung’s distinctive physicality.

Steam (2024)

Choreography: Mia J. Chong, KT Nelson, and the Company
Dancers (6 dancers): Kira Fargas, Lani Yamanaka, William Brewton Fowler Jr., Crystaldawn Bell, Colin Frederick, Allyson Chin
Score: CelloGayageum & Various Artists
Full length: 26 minutes

Co-choreographed by Mia J. Chong and KT Nelson, Steam explores the impact of climate change on human anxiety and behavior. Extreme weather conditions can be clear signs of a changing natural world, and Steam examines the tipping point when we can no longer ignore these shifts and must decide how to collectively move forward into the unknown.

The piece also captures an intergenerational conversation about environmentalism. Coming from different generations and cultural backgrounds, Mia and KT considered the evolution of research, ingenuity, stubbornness, and hope within their respective communities. EIGHT/MOVES partnered with Artists Climate Collective for a discussion on climate change and art, exploring how Mia and KT approached rigorous physicality, emotional truths, and awareness of the climate crisis through Steam.

Season 2 was made possible by the support of the San Francisco Arts Commission.

EIGHT/MOVES Season 2 was presented September 12–14, 2025, at ODC Theater in San Francisco.