Evadney Saelens

@e.vadney

Evadney Saelens is a professional dancer and choreographer from Mesa, Arizona. She has trained in multiple styles of dance in various cities around the world, but especially enjoys creating and focusing on contemporary fusion or commercial jazz funk. In 2023, she was cast as a Field Dancer for the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show with Rihanna, choreographed by Parris Goebel. She is currently teaching advanced adult classes at Elektro Dance Academy and trains independently in both Arizona and Los Angeles, California, heading toward her goals of becoming a traveling choreographer and creative director. For Evadney, dancing and teaching dance have become an ultimate form of healing and expression. She strives to continuously better herself through her training, and to utilize her talents to reciprocate the positivity that dance has brought into her life, into the lives of everyone around her. She is excited to be on board as a Resident Artist for this year’s Dance Tempe program by Tempe Community Arts.

Trinity Gracia

@trinitygracia | @anthroartsco

Trinity Gracia is a dancer, choreographer, and artist native to Phoenix, Arizona. She has been dancing for 10 years and completed her Bachelor’s in Dance Performance at Grand Canyon University in 2023. She has since been dancing with multiple professional contemporary companies, including Bodies, Nhan Ho Dance Project, and Desert Dance Theatre as well as teaching at studios and schools in the valley. She is now the founder and artistic director of AnthroArts Collective, a professional contemporary company with a training company for non-professional dancers. Her passion lies in the ability to convey true feelings of the general human experience through her work. Her choreography mixes traditional modern movement with commercial contemporary styles to find a blend that is unique to her. She looks forward to continuing to push herself and those around her as artists and creatives. 

The first seeds of today’s program were planted way back in 2008. That year, more than 100 high school students would spend the day at Tempe Center for the Arts learning about careers in the arts from professionals in the field (“Arts Career Day”). As the program evolved, a need for mentorship and professional development in the dance field became apparent. For several years, high school dance students spent the day at the TCA taking workshops and learning form dance professionals. Over COVID-19, a new realization was made when the program adapted to have professional dancers going directly into to the schools (virtually at first and then in-person). High Schools include: Tempe High, McClintock, Marcos de Niza, Mountain Pointe, Desert Vista and Corona del Sol.

Now, the professional dancers teach and develop choreography during the fall semester in each of the six Tempe Union High School District schools. They hold workshops for all grades, as well as set choreography on the advanced students in preparation for the Dance Tempe showcase.

Pieces set by the resident artists premiere as part of the Dance Tempe Student & Resident Artist Showcase at the Tempe Center for the Arts in January. The showcase also features additional pieces by each school and pieces by the resident artists and their professional companies. 

The program is run by Tempe Community Arts in partnership with Tempe Union High School District. Special thanks to Tempe Center for the Arts for its support of the program overall.

Contact:

Ellen Sickenberger, Community Arts Coordinator
Ellen_Sickenberger@tempe.gov

Maja Aurora, Community Arts Manager
Maja_Aurora@tempe.gov

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