okay… go! Set

CHOREOGRAPHY: Rachel Oliver Young

PERFORMANCE: Ashlynn Phillips

MUSIC: Michael Wall

Rachel Oliver Young, Development and BodyCraft Director at Bare Bait Dance | Westside Theater, toured the Mid-Atlantic as a company member with West Virginia Dance Company in

addition to performing as a freelance artist in Denver, San Francisco, Chicago, and New York. Her choreography has been commissioned by dance companies and universities and presented nationally and internationally, including at Performática (México), WestFest Dance (NY), the American College Dance Association, Dixon Place (NY), Triskelion Arts (NY), and the Philly Live Arts & Fringe Festival (PA). Rachel holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Colorado Boulder, where she was an Arts

& Sciences Fellow and was awarded the Beverly Sears Graduate Student Award and the Graduate Part-Time Instructor Teaching Excellence Award.

CHOREOGRAPHY & PERFORMANCE: Zoe Dehline & Kristen Manfredo

MUSIC: “El Condor Pasa (If I Could)” by Simon and Garfunkel, and “A Quick One Before the Eternal Worm Devours Appalachia,” by Lizard in the Spring

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ARTIST BIOS

Zoe Dehline (they/them) and Kristen Manfredo (she/they) have danced in Missoula for 5 & 10 years. Meeting while dancing at The University of Montana, they both found themselves dancing for Kinetic Convergence Dance (KCD) after college. Through their time at KCD, they found their movement and choreographic styles aligned creatively and aesthetically. After their most recent full season with KCD as company members, they decided they should collaborate creatively when given the chance, hence their interest in Okay…GO!

CREATION & PERFORMANCE: Nathan Wilhelm

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ARTIST BIO

Nathan Wilhelm is a recovering novelist, dissolving unnecessary words into liquid movement so that those which remain may serve as invitations to imagine and laugh. He enjoys abstract painting, Spanish cheese, and participating in song and dance.

CHOREOGRAPHY: Gabriela Alvarez, Rio Dance Studio

PERFORMANCE: Cara Alboucq, Gabriela Alvarez, Mattie Hayden, Sarah Hanson, Chantel Kaaihue, Ella Ruis

Music: Kehlani, Doechii, Rosalia

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ARTIST BIOS

Gabriela Alvarez began dancing at the age of three in Venezuela. After moving to the U.S. in 2011, Gabby founded her college's first-ever dance team and, after graduating, continued to dance and teach in cities across the west. Recently settled in Whitefish, Gabby is now a Hip Hop and Reggaeton teacher at Rio Dance Studio.

CHOREOGRAPHY: Liana Dillon

PERFORMANCE: Liana Dillon & Neave Fleming

MUSIC: "Radiance" by Tim Hecker, "Speak to Me" by Pink Floyd, "Eusexua" by FKA twigs, "Us, Alone" by Bruno Augusto

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ARTIST BIOS

Liana Dillon is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher who grew up in Missoula, MT. She recently joined Bare Bait Dance as a company member for their 16th season and when she’s not on stage or in the studio, she’s making the best chai around at Funk It Coffee and Thrift.

CHOREOGRAPHY: Kara Minnis, Rio Dance Studio

PERFORMANCE: Cara Alboucq, Madeline Axtell, Chantel Kaaihue, Deanna Masgay, Hilary Madler, Leigh Meinzer, Kara Minnis, Tikwiza Nkowane, Megan Wilson

MUSIC: Tame Impala

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ARTIST BIO

Kara Minnis is a Montana native and a lifelong lover of dance. She is a founding instructor at Rio Dance Studio and an integral part of the flathead’s adult dance community. Kara is also the director at the Creative Arts Dance Studio in Eureka, Montana - leading this studio flourish for the last 10 years.

CHOREOGRAPHY & PERFORMANCE: Naomi Byrne

MUSIC: Mac Demarco, by.alexander

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ARTIST BIO

I am Naomi Byrne, a professional contemporary dancer and teacher from Missoula, MT. Growing up I studied at Rocky Mountain Ballet Theater before moving to Florence Italy to study contemporary dance at Opus Ballet. I recently graduated with a diploma in dance and a hunger to engage with my passion for choreography. I’m grateful to have the opportunity to share my work in my hometown.

CHOREOGRAPHY: Lia Wong

PERFORMANCE: Josie Caringi, Kate Conrad, Jake Cowden, Kindel DeVries, Hannah Dusek, Maeve Fahey, Neave Fleming, Ashlyn Phillips, Sophie Petersen

MUSIC: "End Of Summer" by Tame Impala

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ARTIST BIO

Lia Wong is a dancer, choreographer, and educator originally from Eugene, Oregon. Holding a BFA in Modern Dance and a BA in Psychology from the University of Utah, Lia moved to

Missoula in 2022 and is now entering her fourth season as a company member with Bare Bait Dance. Beyond the studio, Lia serves as Marketing and Communications Manager at the

Westside Theater, where she combines her passion for the arts with community engagement and advocacy.