Amy Zhang, Billy Keohavong, Jeremy Santos and Reina Takeuchi
About
Born in Australia, William (Billy) Keohavong is a scholarship recipient of both ‘New Zealand School of dance’ in 2015, and ‘Ev & Bow Full-Time Training Centre’ in 2012. His journey into dance started with Street Dance, specifically Dancehall and House. This since has given Billy an extra edge in his career as a specialist in Contemporary Dance.
In 2016, Billy was offered a position with ‘The Human Expression Dance Company’ (Sinagapore) as a full-time Artist. This opportunity brought him all over Asia and Europe, performing and touring extensively within festivals like; Florence Dance Festival (Italy), Zawirowania Dance Festival (Poland), Laiks Dejot Festival (Latvia), Fukuoka Fringe Dance Festival (Japan), Daegu Dance Festival (South Korea), Bangkok International Dance Festival (Thailand) and M1 Contact Dance Festival (Singapore); just to name a few.
He has worked with highly acclaimed choreographers such as: Sue Healy, Ross McCormack, Meryl Tankard, Martin del Amo, Tor Colombus, Kuik Swee Boon, Sarah Boulter, Shaun Parker and Natalie Allen.
On top of all this, Billy has a strong passion for teaching and movement research where his philosophy sits between the realms of ‘Eastern practice’ and ‘Character work’. He has worked closely as a teacher and coach with full-time institutes like ‘Brent Street Full-Time’ and ‘Ev & Bow Full-Time Training Centre’. He was one of the core teachers that helped train and nurture the full-time artists within ‘The Human Expression Dance Company’ (Singapore).
Jeremy Santos is a first generation Filipino Australian Movement artist, Writer and Spoken Word Poet whose passions for creating, performing and teaching allow him to advocate for representation and diversity in the arts and broader media through the intersections of multiple disciplines, practices and crafts. Known for his honest, raw and expressive performance style, Jeremy’s crossing and meeting of Dance, Spoken Word, Film, writing and experimental art has provided pathways, platforms and perspectives for him to explore and express his experiences and views as a queer millennial of the asian diaspora living with HIV, the parallels between each specific community and identity through stigma, prejudice, history and culture and the tensions, tribulations and triumphs that can arise from processing and reconciling these lived experiences. In essence Jeremy is a champion for and of connection by his willingness to delve deep and openly express the specific story of the one and how it can echo to find a place in the stories of the many.
After attaining a Cert IV in performing Arts at Urban Dance Centre his professional practice spans the past 10 years with a stream of projects, works and jobs that have provided Jeremy with the opportunity to develop and hone his versatility and commitment to his work. Credits include, L’Oreal for Sydney Mardi Gras Parade (2021), MASKED (Form Dance Projects, Dir. Meryl Tankard, 2020/21), Sam Smith for Sydney Mardi Gras After Party (2020), L’Oreal for Sydney Mardi Gras Parade (2021), Questions & Answers (En Dance, Japan, Choreo. Jillian Meyers, 2017/18), The Color Run X Just Dance (Choreographer, Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Sunshine Coast, 2013/18), Ubisoft at EB Games Expo/PAX Convention (Choreographer, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, 2010-19), Club Future Nostalgia X DUA LIPA (Visual Album, Universal Music Australia & Heaps Gay, 2020), “Fight For Love” Courtney Act MV (Dancer, Choreo. Lucy Doherty, 2019).
Reina Takeuchi is an Australian-Japanese artist-researcher and dance maker interested in interdisciplinary collaboration and facilitating embodied experiences of contemporary art. Takeuchi explores how sensorial experience can be enhanced through ritualistic performance, interactive installations and time based media. Her work utilises choreographic processes and the transitory qualities of sound and action to meditate on human existence, transculturation, displacement, diaspora and the ethereal experiences of her peripatetic upbringing across East and Southeast Asia. These processes allow for a clarity of somatic contemplation for the artist and she explores the potential for this sensitivity to be shared with the viewer. Her practice spans across visual arts, choreography, curatorial projects, written publications and creative facilitation.
Amy Zhang is a Sydney-based movement artist and choreographer who specialises in street dance. Working across physical and digital spaces, her practise explores the intersections of cultural nuance and storytelling through experimental street-style and contemporary frameworks. Amy is currently focused on unpacking the Chinese values of respecting her elders and their knowledge which she has intrinsically learnt from her migrant parents, and how she can cross-culturally exchange this knowledge with others through movement.