Robin Mineko Williams and Artists

Description

Led by the vision of director, choreographer and multidisciplinary artist, Robyn Mineko Williams, Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists (RMW&A) is a collaborative artist collective developing and offering an evolving body of theatrical dance-based works. By intertwining mediums, ideas, spaces and people, RMW&A creates worlds that move, ignite, transport and connect us. Their projects can be seen in theaters, on film, in music venues, art galleries, garages, festivals, neighborhood taverns, on rooftops, in houses, and more. RMW&A is passionate about finding new spaces for their creations to live and people of all ages and walks of life to make with and share with.

Work Sample

https://vimeo.com/robynminekowilliams/echomine2022la?share=copy

Echo Mine
Private performance at LA Dance Project, Los Angeles, CA on July 18, 2022

Direction: Robyn Mineko Williams
Choreography: Robyn Mineko Williams in collaboration with Jacqueline Burnett, Meredith Dincolo and Claire Bataille
Music: Califone
Lighting: Todd Clark
Projection: CandyStations
Costumes: Hogan McLaughlin
Dancers: Jacqueline Burnett, Meredith Dincolo, Robyn Mineko Williams
Film and editing: Mike Gibisser

Echo Mine is a mesmerizing 60 minute performance rooted in the themes of loss, love, resilience and hope.

The piece was originally inspired by and created alongside Robyn Mineko Williams' longtime mentor, Chicago dance icon and founding Hubbard Street dancer Claire Bataille. "The five-minute solo for Claire that we made together serves as the source material, the heartbeat, of Echo Mine," says Williams. Bataille was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer one month after their first rehearsal in October 2017. Before her untimely death in 2018, she gave Williams her blessing to complete the work.

Echo Mine is performed in proscenium theaters, music venues and other alternative performance spaces.

https://vimeo.com/739229664/809795ac7e?share=copy

Mariko's Magical Mix

Created in collaboration with Manual Cinema // Co-commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center and Hubbard Street 2, premiered September 2015

Choreography & Original Concept by Robyn Mineko Williams

Puppetry and Projection Concept by Sarah Fornace and Julia Miller

Puppetry and Projection Design by Lizi Breit, Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, and Julia Miller

Music Direction and Sound Design by Kyle Vegter

Music by Kyle Vegter, Kevin O'Donnell, BNL ANML, Potions, THIN HYMNS, Julie Byrne, Chandeliers (Chris Kalis, Scott McGaughey, & Harry Brenner), Bo Hansen, John Szymanski & Bethany Thomas, Verger (Robert F. Haynes & Tony Lazarra)

Costume Design by Branimira Ivanova

Lighting Design by Julie Ballard

MARIKO'S MAGICAL MIX is a 60 minute piece of original dance theater that features choreography and original concept by Robyn Mineko Williams, music direction by Kyle Vegter, puppetry and projection design by Julia Miller and Sarah Fornace, and narrative design by Fornace, Miller, and Williams. The tedium of everyday life in the not-too-distant future makes a girl restless until one day she discovers a crate in her attic, filled with vinyl records collected by her mother. Armed only with headphones, our young hero is transported to a world of music and shadow, where she makes friends, builds impossible machines, escapes entrapment, and slays her own demons. For ages 5 and up.

https://vimeo.com/277207873/ad6ca2857c?share=copy

UNDERCOVER EPISODES
Directed and choreographed by Robyn Mineko Williams
Original soundtrack by Verger (Robby Haynes and Tony Lazzara)
Projection design by Jt Williams
Lighting design by Burke Brown
50 minutes
This performance represents the gallery version of the work. Undercover Episodes is an ongoing performance series. Every performance is thoughtfully arranged to suit the specific space in which it happens. Undercover Episodes takes place in a multitude of environments including galleries, private homes, gardens, theaters, bars, warehouses, studios, on screen and more. It may be performed as a 50 minute show or in a 15-20 minute pop-up form.
Past Undercover Episodes hosts & performance venues include: The Violet Hour, Bungalow at Middlebrow, The Tack Room, Melissa O'Malley, Regards Gallery, Stazca Lipinski and Luke Albrecht, Mott Street, Danny's Tavern, Elena Zinchenko, Firecat Project, Anna Klombies, Charleston Bar, Sportsman's Club, Jackie Kazarian, Links Hall, MorYork, Boulder Arts Council, Dancers Workshop Jackson Wyoming.

Undercover Episodes is supported in part by a 2015 Princess Grace Foundation"“USA Works in Progress grant and a 2016 DCASE Individual Artist grant.

The samples shared - Echo Mine, Mariko's Magical Mix and Undercover Episodes - display our artistic priorities of collaboration, innovative presentation for stage and unconventional venues, diverse, intergenerational audience engagement, and the human experience (inside of and outside of the works.)

History

Robyn Mineko Williams is a director, interdisciplinary artist, dancer and producer. She works and creates within the lanes and intersections of performance, design, culture, and place.
In 2015, Robyn founded Robyn Mineko Williams and Artists (RMW&A) with the mission to collaborate with a roster of dynamic artists and create a body of theatrical dance works. RMW&A strives to find newness by intertwining mediums, ideas, spaces and people. Collaborations include projects with Manual Cinema, Califone, Finom, Lululemon, Verger, Jt Williams, Kyle Vegter, the Second City, Mike Gibisser, Brian Case, Alex Grelle, Alicia Walter, and Aitis Band.

Robyn's work has been presented at the Kennedy Center, Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Thalia Hall, Jacob's Pillow, the Joyce Theater, MCA Chicago and more. Commissions include Pacific Northwest Ballet, Royal New Zealand Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Malpaso Dance Company among others. She has been in residence at Baryshnikov Arts Center and is a 2023 Artist-in Residence at the Chicago Cultural Center. Robyn is a Princess Grace Foundation-USA Fellowship grant recipient and was named one of "25 to Watch" by Dance Magazine in 2014. In tandem with her creations for the stage, Robyn works as a creative director and movement consultant on an array of projects including immersive experiences, film, installation, pop-up performances and music videos.

Artistic Vision

Artistic director, Robyn Mineko Williams' vision is to create and share a body of collaborative performative works that feel connective and grounded in the human experience. She strives to find newness by intertwining mediums, ideas, spaces and people and is passionate about engaging intergenerational audiences from all walks of life.

Programs for Specific Audience(s) Expertise

Robyn has created two full length programs for families and young audiences, Harold and the Purple Crayon and Mariko's Magical Mix, both of which premiered at the Kennedy Center and were critically received. She understands how to craft and present programming and corresponding workshops for young audiences in a way that engages, inspires and maintains the attention spans of their young minds. The works spark imagination and show trust in a child's ability to comprehend performative art.