About

“[…] Evoke Productions’ Full Tilt is still going strong […]. Providing valuable opportunities for both emerging artists to make their first connections and for established artists to expand their networks, the festival offers a venue and paid studio time for many of Seattle’s local choreographers and dancers, and has become a deeply rooted community institution.” –seattledances, May 2018

read the full article HERE

Mission Statement

Evoke Productions’ mission is to provide opportunities and venues for talented dancers and choreographers to present their passion for contemporary dance in the Seattle area. Fumi Murakami and Kelly Smith have been dancing and performing in the Seattle dance scene for many years and have also been ongoing supporters of the arts in our region. In an effort to broaden our contribution to the performing arts community we envisioned a platform where dedicated, passionate, and talented dancers and choreographers could come together to present dance performances that were exciting, daring, emotional, entertaining and memorable.

Fumi Murakami

Artistic Director, Founder, Producer

Born in Osaka, Japan, Fumi Murakami first took ballet at the age of four. Although Fumi always maintained an interest in movement and dance, she had little formal training until she attended college. Fumi received a degree in Mathematics and Theater/Dance from Oberlin College. Since her arrival in Seattle in 1981, Fumi has had the privilege of working with many talented local choreographers including Yoko Murao, AC Petersen, Shannon Hobbs, Michele Miller and Pablo Cornejo. Fumi has also had the opportunity to work with internationally renowned choreographers David Rousseve and Ann Carlson.

Vy Duong

Assistant Producer

Born in Saigon, Vietnam, Vy Duong took her first dance class at the age of 18 and went on to earn her BFA in Dance and minor in Theatre from the University of Minnesota Minneapolis in 1997. In Minneapolis, she had the opportunity to work with noted choreographers Danny Ezralow, Ralph Lemon, Susan Marshall, Joe Chvala, and Stuart Pimsler among others. After Minneapolis, she performed with Kanopy Dance Company, Connolly Dance Company, and LiChiao Ping Dance in Madison, WI. Since moving to Seattle in 1999, she has performed in works by Brian Dawbin, Shawn Hove, Pablo Cornejo, Fumi Murakami, Amy O’Neal, Christy McNeil Chand, and Jovon Miller. In addition to working on the producing side with Evoke Productions, she has danced in various Full Tilt concerts. When Vy is not dancing, she is busily raising a family, working full time, studying kung fu, and practicing photography.

Christin Olyano

Assistant Producer

Christin Olyano (she/her) holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Magna Cum Laude from Cornish College of the Arts. While at Cornish, Christin trained with artists such as Michelle Miller, Wade Madsen, Pat Hon, Tonya Lockyer, and Jason Ohlberg. She had the honor of performing Songs of the Disinherited by Donald McKayle, Mixin’ It Up by Bill Evans, and selected works by Mark Haim, Deborah Wolf, Wade Madsen, and Halie Kuperman. She has presented her own work as part of the Seattle International Dance Festival/Art on the Fly, Evoke Productions Full Tilt, The BOOST Dance Festival, and at the Fremont Abbey.

Due to chronic illness over the last 10 years, Christin stepped away from dancing and teaching, but has maintained the position of Rentals Manager at eXit SPACE School of Dance; and recently became the Theater and Facilities Manager for NOD Theater.

One day she hopes to be back in the studio full time, as illness has never diminished her passion and drive for dance.

Constanze Villines

Assistant Producer

Constanze trained at SVN and Tanzprojekt in Munich, Germany, as well as The Bosl Stiftung, part of the Munich Opera until age eleven. She then expanded her dance training to tap, jazz, and contemporary/modern, and also spent several years on gymnastics and rhythmical gymnastics teams. Constanze attended Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany for theater arts, and also studied at Santa Monica College and Dance Experiment in Los Angeles, CA.

Constanze has danced for Brigitta Toma, Tanztheater Salome, Marlo Ariz (badmarmar), Erin Nichole Boyt (Version Excursion), Sara Sader / Amy Weaver (Sapience Dance Collective,) Kimberly Holloway, Cyrus Khambatta, Maya Soto, Alicia Mullikin, and Xaviera Vandermay (3^rd Shift Dance,) amongst others. She had the pleasure of performing at The Munich State Opera, Tanztheater Salome, Tollwood Festival, Dance Experiment Los Angeles, SIDF, VE’s Standing in the Storm, Body Politics Tacoma, Converge Dance Festival, and more.

Constanze’s work has been shown throughout Seattle at Velocity Dance Center, the Seattle International Dance Festival, The Pocket Theater, The Neptune Theater, and more.

Constanze is the managing director for Khambatta Dance Company and produces, in cooperation with Cyrus Khambatta, the annual Seattle International Dance Festival (SIDF.) She is also a film & television professional with over 15 years of experience in film and video production, as well as live event producing. Constanze owns her own production company in Seattle, WA and is presently working on finishing her first independently financed short film. She is also busy producing a new web series to be premiered online in spring 2018 and creating new works for her own dance company re:flexion Dance.

Helen Thorsen

Assistant Producer

Helen Thorsen has a BA in Dance from Columbia College, with an emphasis in contemporary dance & dance therapy. Thorsen has been dancing, creating and producing dance in Seattle since 1982. She has been a pioneer of butoh and site-specific work in the northwest. Her choreography has been seen widely in Seattle performance venues. She was a founding member of Laage’s Dappin’ Butoh, dancing with them for ten years. Recent choreography includes performances in Boulder, Chicago, London and Seattle. Thorsen is Managing Director of DAIPANbutoh Collective and has been producing and performing her choreography in the Seattle Butoh Festival. She has a background of study that includes Butoh, Graham Technique, Limon, Effort/Shape, Cunningham, Yoga, Tai Chi, Skinner Releasing, Ballet and Pilates. Her work is grounded in universal principals of open heartedness, acceptance and presence.