ABOUT Kristi Faulkner Dance is a queer-identified dance company based in Detroit that operates under the philosophy “dare to be different” - creating thought-provoking, visceral experiences that generate meaningful conversation and social exchange. Performing everywhere from warehouses to community centers, from stage to screen, from museums to the middle of the street, KFD believes in making dance accessible and empowering audiences to connect with their world. The company is led by Kristi Faulkner, whose work embraces a queer sensibility in challenging and excavating ideas about sensuality, strength, authority, disgust, attraction, and objectification through humor and her affinity for irreverence. Faulkner is committed to discovering the ways bodies can serve as agents of social and political change, striving for authenticity by shedding the artifice of technically-focused performance to show what makes us human in ways that are relatable, yet sometimes uncomfortable. Community engagement and collaboration is integral to her practice. KFD’s work has been presented and commissioned throughout Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Kentucky, and New York including Spring to Dance, The Southern Theater, Dixon Place, Going Dutch, Excessive Realness, Wealthy Theater, Sidewalk Festival, Planet Ant, and numerous colleges and universities. Faulkner’s dance films have been screened at Chez Bushwick’s Kinetic Cinema, Alternative Arts Association NYC, Jam Handy, Cinetopia, Detroit Film Theater. Her newest film, "Party of One", created in collaboration with Gold House Media was awarded the audience choice award at Moving24fps Detroit and presented at ScreenDance Miami. Faulkner is a 2018 Maggie Allesee Choreography Award finalist for her piece, “Women’s Work”, and was granted a New Leader Award from the Michigan Council of Arts and Cultural Affairs in 2017. She is a Knight Arts Challenge Award recipient for “Not In My House” which premiered October 2018.

KRISTI FAULKNER DANCE CONTACT

Kristi Faulkner – Artistic Director Kristi@KristiFaulknerDance.com

(419) 509-4375 KristiFaulknerDance.com

*Primary Work Available for Tour

Premiered October 11-13, 2018 @ Planet Ant in Detroit

Running Time: 52 minutes, no intermission

Performers: 6

Sound Design: Kristi Faulkner, featuring true stories as told by the cast and music and/or lyrics by Michael Wall, Masters at Work, Lady Gaga, David Banner, Beyoncé, Betty Everett, Sophie B Hawkins, Khia, Gloria Gaynor & Yastreb

*Production includes projection video and haze. Detailed tech sheet available upon request.

Video Excerpts

Butch Queen Bitch: https://youtu.be/nuDKnj0XnSc

Her Name Was Sarah: https://youtu.be/m1AsvT8x_WQ

Be Aggressive: https://youtu.be/2RmNT9h8h1o

*Full video available upon request*

Behind the Scenes Production Profile on DPTV: https://youtu.be/QfJltd-c43g?t=91

Not in My House radically shifts the narrative about LGBTQ+ identity through the creative re-imagining of coming out stories in this live performance by Kristi Faulkner Dance

blending vogue, contemporary dance, and storytelling.

NOT IN MY HOUSE by Kristi Faulkner Dance

Director’s Note… Not in My House. It’s a phrase so many LGBTQ youth have had thrust at them. Shame and rejection on the basis of identity has a profound impact on LGBTQ people. Of the 1.6 million homeless youth in the United States, 40% identify as LGBTQ. LGBTQ youth are 8.5 times more likely to attempt suicide and 3.5 times more likely to use illegal substances and engage in high-risk sexual behaviors than their peers who grow up in more accepting families. For many young LGBTQ people searching for acceptance and a place to belong, gay clubs become a sanctuary. When I first came out, the gay clubs were the one place I felt free to be myself. I was profoundly rocked by the news of the shooting at Pulse nightclub in 2016 and how a place that was a sanctuary for my people could be threatened. It was out of this incident that the idea for Not In My House began to take shape. I was interested in exploring gay club culture, in challenging stereotypes about what it means to be LGBTQ, and in presenting the authentic stories of real people that could create real change. I was fortunate to team up with the Ruth Ellis Center and engage with some truly incredible young people who shaped this project over the last 2 years. As a true collaboration, the individuals involved in this project have contributed their time, talents, and gone to places of sincere vulnerability that I am honored to have shared in. Not in My House is built on the premise that by sharing our stories, and providing authentic representation of LGBTQ people, we create a world in which identity and difference can unite, rather than divide. My hope is that by sharing these stories we can open up conversations about identity and help to make the world a more welcoming and safe place for our youth. Words matter. Representation matters. We matter.

Other Works Available for Tour:

Women’s Work “Women’s Work” explores the phenomenon of "the gender reveal" by poking fun at the masks of masculinity, femininity, and the world in between. Running Time: 10 minutes Dancers: 1 Sound Design: Kristi Faulkner featuring music and/or lyrics by Pat Benatar, Cyndi Lauper, Meredith Brooks, and Harry Connick Jr. *Video: https://youtu.be/ngtX_g-7CXM

Party of One “Party of One" combines live performance and dance for camera to celebrate queerness and pose uncomfortable questions about the line between consent, invitation, and unwitting surrender. Running Time: 25 minutes (full work); 8 minutes (solo work) Dancers: 1 – 4 Sound: Natasha Beste, Sara Bareilles, Lesley Gore, Michael Wall, Ike & Tina Turner *Production includes projection video. *Video: https://youtu.be/4ardo2-GHvQ

OUTREACH & COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS Kristi Faulkner has nearly two decades of teaching experience including six years teaching both technique classes and lecture courses at multiple universities. She is skilled at orchestrating a variety of engagement activities for individuals of all ages and ability levels to make dance accessible to all. KFD is committed to offering engagement activities, connecting with local universities, high schools, and LGBTQ centers for workshops and lecture demonstrations in each city they perform in. Below are descriptions of activities specifically related to the presentation of Not In My House but they can be applied for any touring activity. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

NOT IN MY HOUSE OUTREACH ACTIVITIES & WORKSHOPS

Floor Work – In this workshop, we connect with our sense of weight through earthbound phrases and guided improvisation inspired by vogue and contemporary dance. Participants will develop an intimate connection to the floor and investigate multiple points of contact for achieving efficiency moving in and out of the floor in high-energy phrase work that challenges the participants' athleticism. Queering Performance – This workshop is a commitment to rejecting normativity in the performance of identity and embracing diversity to offer insight into alternate ways of being. As a queer artist, Kristi Faulkner creates space for multiple meanings in her work and disrupts expectations by making visible the contradictory and unstable edges of identity. Because dance is porous, meaning can be inserted and changed based on the identity of the performer or viewer. This workshop explores techniques to provide alternate ways of looking at the world, giving visibility to those on the margins of society. Vogue Femme Basics – Taught by vogue femme Mother Paige Michaels Chanel, this workshop provides historical context on the origins of vogue and instructs participants in the 5 elements. Paige Michaels Chanel is currently Lil Miss Woodward, Miss Necto Am, Gay Performer of the Year Am and Miss Legends NewComer. Chanel is not only a performer, but an advocate for the trans community. She appears in the web series, “Femme Queen Chronicles,” which follows 2 best friends and their journey of love, life and self identity. Falling and Rolling - Explore sensation and surrender while learning to make friends with gravity. Dance is physics - we will explore the ways in which momentum and surface area can help us achieve efficiency moving in and out of the floor. While maintaining a continuous flow of energy and efficient use of muscle tone, we will hover on the edges of suspension and surrender to impulse. Movement and Voice - This workshop begins with a series of full-bodied vocal warm ups, designed to access the “touch of sound” – i.e. the place where our voice originates and can be altered by our physicality. Participants are guided through exercises where they learn to integrate their own voice into improvisations and self-generated movement phrases. Not In My House Lecture Demonstration - Vogue is a lifeline for LGBTQ youth at the Ruth Ellis Center. We will explore how dance is integral in shaping the identity of LGBTQ youth in Detroit, providing an in-depth look at the collaboration between the Ruth Ellis Center & Kristi Faulkner Dance. We will preview the documentary about this project & dialogue about the power of storytelling through dance. Participants will learn to perform the elements of vogue & leave as catalysts for dialogue about LGBTQ identity and cathartic expression.

Contact: Kristi@KristiFaulknerDance.com | T: 419.509.4375 KristiFaulknerDance.com

CHOREOGRAPHY/PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS 2018 Not In My House | Planet Ant | Hamtramck, MI – Evening length performance blending vogue, storytelling,

and contemporary dance that radically shifts the narrative about LGBTQ identity

2018 Pussy Riot | El Club | Detroit, MI – Guest Artist performing with Pussy Riot in concert 2018 Voices Collaboration with Zeke Thomas | Motor City Soundboard | Detroit, MI 2018 Dance St. Louis | Spring to Dance Festival | St. Louis, MO – Performance of Miss Informed 2018 GRUNT Detroit | Jam Handy | Detroit, MI – Premiere of Party of One 2018 Sidewalk Festival of Performing Arts | Detroit, MI – Not In My House preview 2018 Going Dutch Festival | Elgin, IL – Party of One excerpt 2018 Detroit Fringe Festival | Detroit, MI – Women’s Work 2018 Excessive Realness | Lexington, KY – Party of One excerpt 2018 Performances, Potluck & Punch by A Host of People | Detroit, MI – Women’s Work 2018 ScreenDance Miami | Miami, FL – Party of One dance film screening 2018 Women’s Work | Boll Theater | Detroit, MI 2018 Allied Media Conference | Detroit, MI – Lecture demonstration of Not In My House 2017 Mahogany Jones Collaboration | Light Box | Detroit, MI 2017 ASSEMBLE | Boll Theater | Detroit, MI 2017 Going Dutch Festival | Elgin, IL – Performance of Miss Informed and Hamaiketako 2017 The Southern Theater | Minneapolis, MN – Performance of Four Letter Word 2017 Bad & Nasty | Light Box | Detroit, MI – Premiere of Miss Informed 2017 Sidewalk Festival of Performing Arts | Detroit, MI – Premiere of Playground Games for Bois and Grrrls 2017 Dovetail Studios | Chicago, IL – Performance of Four Letter Word 2016 Sergio De Giusti Collaboration | Virgil H. Carr Center | Detroit, MI 2016 Wealthy Theater | Grand Rapids, MI - Performance of Four Letter Word 2016 Going Dutch Festival | Chicago, IL - Performance of Four Letter Word 2016 Peter Wedge Theater | Grand Rapids, MI – Performance of OBject/obJECT 2016 Moving Myths | Light Box | Detroit, MI – Collaboration with Pat Roan Judd 2016 Sidewalk Festival of Performing Arts | Detroit, MI 2016 Baldwin Wallace University| Berea, OH - Performance of OBject/obJECT 2016 Oakland Community College | Farmington, MI – Performance of Four Letter Word 2016 REGENERATION | Boll Theater | Detroit, MI

2016 D3 Collaboration | Henry Ford Community College | Dearborn, MI

CHOREOGRAPHY/PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS (continued) 2015 Virgil H. Carr Center | Detroit, MI - Installation performance of OBJECTified 2015 Sidewalk Festival of Performing Arts | Detroit, MI - Performance of Cirque Noir 2015 Oakland Dance Festival | Farmington, MI - Performance of Four Letter Word excerpts 2015 Going Dutch Festival | Chicago, IL - Performance of Cirque Noir 2015 Boll Theater | Detroit, MI - Detroit Premiere of Four Letter Word and Cirque Noir 2015 Detroit Contemporary | Detroit, MI - Community-based performance collaboration with Jo Powers 2015 Children’s Hospital DMC | Detroit, MI - Performance of Cirque Noir requested by the Starr Foundation 2015 CMAP Puppet Theater | Hamtramck, MI - Performance with CMAP & Bangla School of Music 2015 Modern Woman | A Host of People | Detroit, MI – Installation performance 2015 Banners and Cranks Festival, Trumbullplex | Detroit, MI - Guest performer for A History of Fun 2015 ArtPrize | Grand Rapids, MI - Collaborative installation performance with DiTA 2014 Dixon Place | New York, NY - Performance of Vested 2014 Teatro Chico | Ford Resource & Engagement Center | Detroit, MI - Performance of Cirque Noir 2014 Adray Theater, Henry Ford Community College | Dearborn, MI - Performance of Four Letter Word 2014 Dance in the Mitten Festival | Riverside Arts Center | Ypsilanti, MI - Performance Four Letter Word 2014 Creative [dance] Incubator | Detroit Contemporary | Detroit, MI 2014 Detroit Design Festival | Detroit, MI - Installation of Cocoons with Sherry Aliberti 2014 PuppetArt Theater | Detroit, MI - The Firefighter Project with CMAP 2014 Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival | Kalamazoo, MI - Performance Four Letter Word 2014 Eastern Market Sidewalk Jamboree | Detroit, MI - Busking performances 2014 Sidewalk Festival of Performing Arts | Detroit, MI 2014 Allied Media Conference | Detroit, MI - Performance of Vested 2013 Center for Performance Research | New York, NY - Performance of Peculiar Juice 2013 Creative [dance] Incubator – Detroit Contemporary | Detroit, MI 2013 The Fluid Image - N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art | Detroit, MI - Guest Artist w/ Maya Stovall 2013 Soft Wall | Detroit Contemporary | Detroit, MI – Installation performance with Shua Group 2013 Detroit Dance City Festival | Detroit, MI 2013 Sidewalk Arts Festival | Artist Village | Detroit, MI 2013 galleryDANCE – Buckham Gallery | Flint, MI - Performance of Peculiar Juice 2013 HPOP Hamtramck Pop Up Festival | Hamtramck, MI 2013 Voices and Vulvas | Affirmations LGBT Center | Ferndale, MI

RESIDENCIES/COMMISSIONS HIGHLIGHTS 2018 Eastern Michigan University Choreographic Residency | Ypsilanti, MI 2018 Bowling Green State University Choreographic & Teaching Residency | Bowling Green, OH 2018 Excessive Realness LGBTQ Intensive Teaching Residency | Lexington, KY 2018 Brenau University Teaching Residency | Gainesville, GA 2018 Central Michigan University Teaching Residency | Mount Pleasant, MI 2018 Wayne State University Teaching Residency | Detroit, MI 2018 YARTS Teaching Residency | Detroit, MI 2017 Grand Valley State University Choreographic & Teaching Residency | Allendale, MI 2017 Oakland University Choreographic Residency | Rochester Hills, MI 2017 Bowling Green State University Choreographic & Teaching Residency | Bowling Green, OH 2017 Ruth Ellis Center Teaching Residency | Highland Park, MI 2017 YARTS Teaching Residency | Detroit, MI 2017 Dance in the Annex Teaching Residency | Grand Rapids, MI 2016 Pontiac Life Skills Center Teaching Residency | Pontiac, MI 2016 Bowling Green State University Choreographic & Teaching Residency | Bowling Green, OH

2016 Baldwin Wallace College Teaching Residency | Berea, OH 2016 Cranbrook Schools Choreographic & Teaching Residency | Bloomfield Hills, MI 2016 YARTS Teaching Residency | Detroit, MI 2016 Dance in the Annex Teaching Residency | Grand Rapids, MI 2015 Virgil H. Carr Center Choreographic Residnecy | Detroit, MI 2015 Bowling Green State University Choreographic & Teaching Residency | Bowling Green, OH 2015 Detroit Contemporary Artist in Residence Choreographic & Teaching Residency | Detroit, MI 2015 Novi High School Choreographic & Teaching Residency | Novi, MI 2015 Ponyride Teaching Residency | Detroit, MI 2014 Bowling Green State University Choreographic & Teaching Residency | Bowling Green, OH 2014 Eastern Michigan University Teaching Residency | Ypsilanti, MI 2014 Lighthouse Elementary Teaching Residency | Detroit, MI 2014 Agora Arts Teaching Residency | Ferndale, MI 2013 ArtLabJ Artist in Residence Choreographic & Teaching Residency | Detroit, MI 2013 Michigan State University Choreographic & Teaching Residency | East Lansing, MI 2013 Bowling Green State University Choreographic & Teaching Residency | Bowling Green, OH

HONORS/AWARDS/CAREER HIGHLIGHTS 2018 Maggie Allesee Choreography Award Finalist for Women’s Work 2018 Detroit Performs profile on DPTV for Not In My House 2018 Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs Minigrant Recipient 2018 Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs New Leader Award 2017 Moving24fps Audience Choice Award for Party of One dance film 2017 Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs New Leader Award 2017 Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs Minigrant Recipient 2016 Maggie Allesee Choreography Award Finalist for OBject/obJECT 2016 Knight Foundation Arts Challenge Award Winner for Not In My House 2015 Knight Foundation Arts Challenge Finalist 2015 MetroArts Detroit Public TV Artist Profile 2015 WDET Culture City Profile

KRISTI FAULKNER EDUCATION

2006-2009 The College at Brockport, State University of New York | Brockport, NY Master of Fine Arts in Dance Choreography/Performance 2002-2006 Bowling Green State University | Bowling Green, OH Bachelor of Science in Education in Dance Performance

Bachelor of Arts in Communication in Theatre Acting/Directing