A Conversation with CONGRESS

CONGRESS is a Los Angeles-based performance series built by Denna Thomsen and Zak Ryan-Schlegel that strips away the stage and closes the space between artist and audience. Created as a place where dancers could freely perform, feel valued, and experiment with their artistry, CONGRESS has grown into an expansive community of dancers and choreographers who present their most vulnerable and ambitious work. We spoke with Denna and Zak about their paths into performance, the philosophy behind CONGRESS, and how fostering open dialogue and a deep respect for dance has allowed their community to grow and thrive.

Lucas Debiasi performing at CONGRESS.

THE 'SALON-STYLE' FORMAT AT CONGRESS INTENTIONALLY REMOVES THE HIERARCHY BETWEEN DANCER AND AUDIENCE. WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO FLATTEN THE MORE TRADITIONAL STAGE STRUCTURE, AND HOW DO YOU FEEL IT SHIFTS THE ROOM?

DT: We were interested in giving unhinged permission for the audience to connect with the performers. When an artist is two feet in front of your face, you can’t escape from feeling.

ZRS: It allows us to more clearly see each other and therefore more clearly see ourselves.

Dancers Chaz Buzan & Genna Carey performing together at CONGRESS.

DURING CONGRESS, AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION IS NOT JUST WELCOMED BUT ENCOURAGED. WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT TO INVITE AUDIENCES INTO THE PERFORMANCE IN THIS WAY?

DT: The simple answer is energy. Energy is contagious and we want everyone in that room to share it. When people share energy, they become connected. Connection is where we progress as humans. Each artist has worked their ass off to present an original piece of work where vulnerability is at its highest peak. This act of bravery should be acknowledged when necessary. Also, who wants to be silent? Rebels are never quiet.

ZRS: Just like a line has two sides, so does the experience of performance. It is lived in both directions. Audiences are always participating, we are simply amplifying the dynamic through the act of allowance.

HAS CREATING AND SUSTAINING CONGRESS CHANGED YOUR PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP TO PERFORMANCE, PRODUCTION, OR DANCE?

DT: CONGRESS has put a spotlight on the responsibility we hold as curators, philosophers, and leaders of our community.

ZRS: Creating and sustaining CONGRESS continues to humble me, inform me, and command my care.

Each effort exposes the next necessary effort. There is no end to the stories needing to be told and the transformation possible from hearing them, therefore there is no end to the will and musculature required to do the heavy lifting. It continually renews my vitality, my creative fidelity and reminds me to rise to the occasion of lifting each other up.

Dancers embrace after performing a piece by Jasmine Albequerque.

LOOKING AHEAD, WHAT DO YOU HOPE DANCERS AND AUDIENCES CARRY AWAY WITH THEM AFTER EXPERIENCING CONGRESS?

DT: Inspiration.

ZRS: Empowerment. Epiphany. Transcendance.

Keep up with CONGRESS on their Instagram or Website.

Images by Nathalie Kossek and Carlos Gonzalez.

Video edited and directed by Keean Johnson.

CAN YOU EACH SHARE A BIT ABOUT YOUR ARTISTIC BACKGROUNDS? HOW DID YOUR INDIVIDUAL JOURNEYS AS PERFORMERS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS SHAPE THE WAY YOU APPROACH YOUR WORK WITH CONGRESS AND LEGALIZE DANCE?

DT: Just a small town girl from Omaha, Nebraska, I was found dancing on my parents' living room table to Michael Jackson’s “Off the Wall” Album. I was put in dance class and never left. Later receiving a Bachelor of Arts from Colorado State University, I moved to California in 2007 joining Hysterica Dance Company, founded by Kitty McNamee and made my first big break as lead actress opposite Shia Labeouf in Sigur Rós’ “Fjögur Píanó”. I then went on to work with Madonna, David Bowie, The Weekend, Snoop Dogg, Florence + The Machine, SIA, Justin Timberlake, Doja Cat, Harry Styles, Kanye West, Florence Pugh, Margot Robbie, Ewan McGregor, Anjelica Huston, Zoe Saldana, Kristin Wiig, Zendaya, Kate Hudson and more.I have had the opportunity to collaborate with Directors such as David Fincher, Adam McKay, Spike Jonze, Olivia Wilde, Edgar Wright, Jon Chu, Sam Levinson, Ryan Murphy, Kim Gehrig, Floria Sigismondi, and Megaforce.

I have a deep passion for alchemizing dance and acting, rooted in my training with acclaimed educators at The Lee Strasberg Institute, The Beverly Hills Playhouse, Aquila Morong, and John Hindman Scene Study. My training and experience have led me to approach my work with a simple intention: to make people feel something.

ZRS: Art has always been a place of sublimation for me–the act of becoming a vessel, running the vision through the faculty then eliminating the self. If the work can leave an impact–have a larger cultural contribution–then I have carried out my purpose. In this way, the journey into performance, choreography and producing feels like a natural exchange and oscillating conversation between technical disciplines and embodied wisdom. Coming from a lineage of tradition, I see the creative act as an exercise of folklore and duty – an offering. The aim is to heed the call. CONGRESS is the site of this philosophy : a home. It is a circle of endless recursive connection.

HOW DID CONGRESS BEGIN? LOOKING BACK OVER THE LAST EIGHT YEARS, IS THERE ANYTHING THAT FEELS SURPRISING ABOUT HOW IT HAS GROWN OR CHANGED?

DT: Initially, CONGRESS began as a show to help financially fund our dance theatre company, AXIOM. Once we realized the demand of witnessing great dance pieces, we decided to do it as its own entity. Working as a commercial dancer, I personally remember feeling frustrated at the industry for the severe lack of care, attention, and respect for our craft. Introducing CONGRESS felt like my rebellion - to remind the world that we are great, we are valuable, and we deserve fair treatment in all capacities. As choreographers, we deserve to be acknowledged by the union with a contract, we deserve health and pension, and we deserve proper credit. With selling out every weekend for every show, it has validated these feelings. The industry may not understand our worth, but the people do.

ZRS: The ritual of coming together, joining in a circle and leaving transformed is eternal. These eight years have felt like a testament to this enduring basic human rite. CONGRESS began with instinct and idealism and has become a momentous rallying cry for community. Spurred by momentum from the physical body and catalyzed by the spiritual bonds created by it, CONGRESS is more of a public service than anything else. Looking back at its origin, Denna and I have always been acutely aware of this–initially with young fervor and now with a maturation informed by our life paths. In our collaboration and in our lives we have both believed deeply that we are here not merely to reflect and interpret but to inform and to shape, to let the power of performance be the natural social contagion it has been across ages and cultures.