A Distant Echo, dance performance by Gabriella Ross

Female standing on a large cement block, posing her body in a slightly crouched, left-leaning star shape

Photo by Clinton James

Biography

Gabriella Ross grew up dancing in Puyallup, WA. She was a competition dancer until starting college at WWU where she pursued Contemporary dance. She has performed at Western all four years, with some of the highlights being in Rebecca Bryant’s Manufactured (2018), Leslie Kraus’s Hyena (2018), and most recently, Anya Cloud’s The Gentleness Project: How to Stay Unnumb in the Eye of the Storm (2019). She has been honored to receive many scholarships in her time at Western, including the Carole Hoerauf Dance Fund, Alumni Association Leader Scholarship Fine Performing Arts, The Monica C. Gutchow Endowment, and the Randy Gene Lintott Scholarship Fund. She also received an undergraduate research grant to study Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness in dancers in 2020. She is graduating Fall 2020 with a BFA in Dance and a BS in Kinesiology and will continue on to pursue dancing as well as a Master’s in Athletic Training. She is excited to share her BFA solo with you and hopes you enjoy the show!

Portrait of a young man smiling at something off-camera, wearing a stylish hat and scarf

Choreographer

Yoshito Sakuraba is founding artistic director of Abarukas and an award-winning choreographer. His work was seen in Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, Israel, Mexico, and the U.S. He’s the winner of the International Choreographic Competition at NW Dance Project and the Choreographic Shindig at Whim W'Him in the U.S. He received Best Choreography Award at FINI Dance Festival in Italy and Audience Award at Masdanza International Contemporary Dance Festival in Spain. He's commissioned to create a work from Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, NW Dance Project, Whim W'Him, Bayerisches Staatsballett, DAF Rome, Ballet Arkansas, Ballet Des Moines II, Nimbus Dance, LITVAKdance, Graham II, Alvin Ailey/Fordham BFA, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Peabody at Johns Hopkins University, Long Island University, California State University/Fullerton, Elon University, Kent State University, Muhlenberg College, Manhattanville College, Marymount Manhattan College, Dance Lab NY, HSPVA, GHAA, IAA, FINI Dance Festival, Making Moves Dance Festival, Dance Gallery Festival/Level Up, Open Dance Festival, Jamaica Performing Arts Center, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Rabbit Island Foundation/Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, and more. Broadway Dance World describes his work as, “I witnessed a true work of art...Mr. Sakuraba's brilliant mind for choreography has captivated me... extreme creativity, fine detail, and high level dancing."

He founded Abarukas in the fall of 2012, and the Company performed at BAM Fisher, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Series in 2014 and 2016, Palm Desert Choreography Festival, Pan Asian Dance Festival, DanceNow at Joe's Pub, Dance Gallery Festival/Level Up (Commission), Making Moves Dance Festival (Commission), LaMama Moves Dance Festival, WestFest, APAP Showcase at Peridance as well as a residency and performance at Kaatsbaan International Dance Center.

He's also presented his work for International Solo Tanz Theater Festival (Germany), Gdansk Dance Festival (Poland), Masdanza International Contemporary Dance Festival (Spain), Mash International Choreography Festival (Israel), and FIDCDMX (Mexico), Festival 10 Sentidos (Spain), and FINI Dance Festival (Italy). He was invited to present his work "Coming Home" for the Masdanza Extensions Tour in 2018 to perform in the seven islands of the Canary Islands. He's been featured in NY1 as well as Bric TV on Spectrum Cable Channel. He has taught workshops at Amsterdam Dance Centre (Netherlands), DAF Dance Arts Faculty (Italy), The Playground (NYC), Dance Theater of Harlem (NYC), FINI Dance Festival (Italy), Open Dance Festival (Iowa), Sam Houston University, Sacred Heart University, and more. He currently teaches at Peridance, GIBNEY, and the Martha Graham School. He will create a new production for 2020-2021 with a London-based composer with support from Rabbit Island Foundation and Rozsa Center at Michigan Technological University.