A Function of Being Alone (Part 1)
Gary Champi
Gary Champi (he/him) is a dance artist based in Southern California with a focus on building community and increasing access to dance for all bodies. He is trained in and authorized to teach Cunningham Technique®, having worked for the Merce Cunningham Trust from 2011-2020 as an administrator, dancer for special projects, and assistant in staging repertory. As an active performer, he draws on experience with many choreographers, touring nationally and abroad since 2008. Gary performed choreography by Bill T. Jones, Camille A. Brown, Crystal Pite, David Rousseve, Doug Varone, Joe Goode, and Shapiro & Smith. He danced as a company member, guest artist, and freelance for Stephen Petronio, H.T. Chen, Dusan Tynek, John Malashock, Michael Mao, Robert Moses, Christopher Morgan, Antonio Fini, Jesus Velasco Mondragon, Whitney Lynn, Alia Swersky, Pat Catterson, Wendy Osserman, Ian Spencer Bell, Ellen Cornfield, Bill Young, Katharine Hawthorne, Daniel Roberts, Natalia Duong, Ronnie Reddick, and community groups Project M and Rhythmology. His creative work ranges from concert dance, theatrical production, durational installations, screendance, and performance art. The work is informed by his varied training and has been presented in Los Angeles, San Diego, Seattle, New York, and Italy. His scholarship includes embodying historical dance works through performance and studying the commercialization of Hip Hop dance and its glocalization. Gary is an Assistant Professor of Dance at Pomona College, with education from Stanford University and the University of Washington.
PROGRAM NOTES
This work is supported in part by MEN IN DANCE, Pomona College, and the University of Washington, Seattle.
dancers
Jake Bone photographed by Erin Baiano
Jake Bone (he/him) is a dance artist, choreographer, educator, and arts administrator. He earned a BFA in Dance with honors from the University of North Texas, where he performed works by Bebe Miller, Nick Cave, and Kihyoung Choi. Jake performed and taught nationally and abroad as a company member with Doug Varone and Dancers from 2015-2025. He also served as company manager and tour manager and has set Varone’s repertory at universities across the country. He is currently pursuing his MFA at the University of Washington, and is thrilled to be working with Gary Champi for MEN IN DANCE.
Jim Kent (he/him) grew up between Minnesota and Hawaii and has spent the last 16 years dancing his heart out across Seattle and beyond. He’s toured nationally and internationally with artists including Molly Scott, Mark Haim, zoe | juniper, Dayna Hanson, Saint Genet, Seattle Dance Collective, and Whim W’Him Contemporary Dance, where he performed for 12 seasons and worked with 40+ choreographers. On film, Jim appeared as himself in Dayna Hanson’s feature film Improvement Club and as the Classy Stripper (and wedding dance choreographer for Ellie Kemper's character) in Laggies directed by Lynn Shelton. This year marks his 8th year movin’ and shakin’ with The Jinkx and Dela Holiday Show, a yearly comedy tradition with 6 dancers, 2 drag performers, and 32 cities. Beyond the stage, he's served as President of the Board at Base: Experimental Art + Space for 7 years, advocating for accessible, affordable art and artist residencies in Seattle.