November 16th & 17th, 2024

Broadway Performance Hall

Seattle, WA

presented by

MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective

Adage Ballet Academy

Founded by MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective in 2022.

In 2023, O-Jak Bridge Festival Team was very excited to announce that The MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective (MMDC) and Adage Ballet Academy (ABA) are together presenting the new format of O-Jak Bridge Festival 2023.

It will engage the audience in a multicultural performance art experience, featuring dancers from the MMDC & ABA as well as guest dancers and choreographers from the broader community.  Together we will experience not just a night of incredible entertainment and art, but also create an opportunity for us all to get together to share a new appreciation for our diverse cultures and heritage.

O-Jak Bridge refers to the bridge that birds (crows and magpies) make once a year to connect the male and female main characters in Korean traditional fairy tale. O-Jak Bridge is the setting for Korea’s most famous love story, in which a couple is forced to live on either side of the Milky Way, only to be reunited when crows & magpies form a bridge.

We are thrilled to present a unique adaptation to the timeless tales from One Thousand and One Nights at this year's O-Jak Bridge Art & Dance Festival. Our story features Scheherazade, the enchanting storyteller, who weaves her magic in the imaginary kingdom of "Far Far Far Away."

In our retelling, the queen leaves the king for her new love, leaving him heartbroken and sad. Scheherazade steps in, comforting the king with her captivating stories over a thousand nights. Through her tales, the king's sorrow turns to joy, and he eventually falls in love with Scheherazade. Their love blossoms, and they marry, bringing a beautiful conclusion to our tale.

The nightly stories told by Scheherazade will provide a framing device that enables the production to showcase a diverse set of cultures through an exploration of various dance and performing arts styles. Each story will be a window into different traditions and artistic expressions, offering audiences a rich tapestry of performances that highlight the beauty and diversity of cultures from around the world.

Join us for an evening of mesmerizing performances and storytelling that will transport you to a world of magic and wonder.

Choreographers

• MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective | MiYoung Margolis (Click)
• Adage Ballet Academy | Abby Jayne DeAngelo & Guillaume Basso 
• Tap Dance | Kathryn Hightower  
• Indian Traditional Dance | Ankita Das & Suma Mondol 
• Korean Traditional Dance | Morado
• Street Dance | Ben Chi
• Japanese Modern Dance | Chindonya NY

Featured Artists

• Poster Image, Editorial Photography | Jiamin Zhu JaJasgarden 
• Live painting, Japanese calligraphy | Hakurei Ito
• Chinese Fashion Design Showcase | Amy Sun
• Korean Modern Wearable Art | Mooa Kang
   

The O-Jak Bridge Dance and Art Festival 2024 lineup:

• MiYoung Margolis Dance Collective

MiYoung Margolis  - Founder, Artistic Director & Choreographer

Claudia Chang 

Tatiana Linardopoulou 

JaeWon Moon

Stephanie Su

HyunJung Jin

MinSoo Kim

Staphany G Olalde

Colleen McKibben

Kate Roche-Sudar

• Adage Ballet Academy  (Click)

Abby Jayne DeAngelo - Owner of ABA & Principal Dancer, Scheherazade

Guillaume Basso - Artistic Director & Choreographer, Principal Dancer

ABA Advanced Dancers 

ABA Junior Dancers

• Guest Dance Company (Click)

Korean Traditional Dance Company, MORADO

Christie Lee: Morado Director  

Namsook Kwak

Minsoo Kim

Sangmi Jang

Kanghee Kim

Hyunjun Jin

Featured Choreographers

• Tap Dance |  Kathryn Hightower 

Dr. Kathryn Hightower has been a dancer since she could walk and has trained in ballet, tap, jazz, modern, Butoh, Croatian folk dance, and more. Over the last six years, tap has been her main form, thanks to the excellent mentorship of Mark Mendonca. She is a classically trained musician, mainly in clarinet, with extensive experience in steel drums and music theory.

Kathryn has performed and choreographed all over the Pacific Northwest, including The Paramount, On the Boards, Seattle Center, and Velocity Dance Center. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a Teaching Endorsement from the University of Washington. As a leader, she founded and directed a modern dance company for five years, produced a women’s art festival for a decade, and is a founding member of a new Seattle-based tap collective.

Kathryn has been teaching dance to all ages for about sixteen years. Her teaching philosophies are, “progress, not perfection,” and “dance is for everybody.” She is passionate about teaching adults, to help them reclaim confidence and build community.

In addition to dance, Kathryn is a Naturopathic Doctor. She utilizes her knowledge of anatomy, physiology, and mental health to promote safe and inclusive dance spaces.

•  Indian Traditional Dance | Ankita Das & Suma Mondol

Ankita Das - Ankita has been dancing Bharatnatyam for over a decade and performing at local events around Seattle.

She completed her graduation recital last year and is currently exploring opportunities to choreograph. Dance,

to her is exploring deeper within herself and expressing it with rhythm and movement.

Apart from dancing, she loves to read, paint and travel to seek new inspiration and experience.

Suma Mondol - Suma has been a part of Urvasi Dance Ensemble under the direction of Guru Dr. Ratna Roy,

eminent Odissi dancer and scholar. Suma also runs her own dance school “La-Bonyo School of Dance” in Redmond.

She performs extensively throughout Pacific NW, and has also performed in Vancouver (Canada) and India.

Under Dr. Ratna Roy’s guidance, she has been learning the unique Mahari style of Odissi since 2012.

She works at Sound Generations, a Seattle-based non-profit, as a Program Director.

She also volunteers to mentor a group of schoolteachers and students from rural Bengal in India

•   Street Dance | Ben Chi

Ben ‘Heartbreaker’ Chi began dancing in 2007. Originally from Hawaii he moved to Seattle 3 years ago.

He took his first Hip Hop class shortly after discovering breakdancing videos on Youtube. Afte

r a year of choreography based studio dances, he focused on Popping and Breaking for the next 8 years.

In 2016, inspired by Rina Pellerin, he shifted his main dance style to Waacking under the tutelage and training of Tracey Wong.

As an active member of the street dance community he competes in battles across the North West.

He continues to train with his crew, Just Us, his goal being to create a unique battle style of Waacking, Breaking, and Popping.

Featured Artists

• Poster Image, Editorial Photography | Jiamin Zhu Click  JaJa's Garden - Jiamin Zhu (jajasgarden.com)

'Faceless' Photo Image Credits & Info

Model: @nelly_hukuo

Dress: @dreamdressesbypmn

Crown: @carbickovacrowns

Mask: @in_a_dream16

Photo was taken at low light, ISO 10000, corrected with Denoise AI from @topazlabs

Photography: @jajasgarden

• Live painting, Japanese calligraphy | Hakurei Ito with Japanese Modern Dance Team, Chindonya NY

Hakurei Shodo (Click)

Born in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Hakurei completed all calligraphy courses in elementary and junior high school. After graduating from high school and graduating from a graphic design school, she joined a logo design company as a graphic designer. After moving to Portland, Oregon in 2011, She began studying calligraphy again and became a member of Daigo Sekko Works. Study under a teacher. Since 2020, She has been studying under Master Futo Suzuki, representative of Bokutensha Japan. She has been exhibited in many exhibitions and continues to learn to further progress.

Sogen Exhibition 2nd Category Award - Won twice, selected four times

Mainichi Calligraphy Exhibition Award

• Chinese Fashion Design Showcase | Amy Sun & Qungya

QINGYAxYINGNA is composed of designers Qingya Lin(he/they) and Amy Sun(she/they), who are both passionate about Chinese culture and tradition. They met through Amy's last collection "Genesis" under the name YINGNA, in which Qingya modeled. This year, they aimed to produce a collection that shows the elegance and grace of Chinese folk tales and traditional Chinese clothing. They hope that this collection inspires others to look into their own cultures and feel joy and pride of their identities.

• Korean Modern Wearable Art | Mooa Kang (Click)

Mooa Kang is an artist whose work explores the relationship between nature, color, and the body across various mediums including painting, sculpture, functional objects, and textiles. She reimagines the organic curvilinear imagery found in nature’s footprint and female bodies, transforming them into vibrant expressions of abstraction. Bridging the gap between art and design, Kang aspires to create utopia in everyday life, enriching the world with a little more color and joy. 

Mooa holds an MDes in Interior Architecture from the Rhode Island School of Design as well as an MFA and a BFA in Korean Painting, both from Ewha Womans University. Mooa’s selected group exhibitions include: WOMEN, Gallery B612, Seattle (2024); Body Expansion, Ewha Art Center, Seoul (2019), and So Please Listen and Just Hear Me, Horim Art Center, Seoul (2019). 

Sponsored by

Clinique

Gallery B612

Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Seattle (Click)

Event Images (O-Jak Bridge Art & Dance Festival 2023)