Cylindrical Shadows

Colombo-Belgian Annabelle Lopez Ochoa completed her dance studies at the Royal Ballet School of Antwerp, Belgium. In 2003, following her 12-year career in various European dance companies, Ms. Lopez Ochoa decided to focus solely on choreography. In that same year she was hailed “rising star of the Dutch dance scene” (NRC newspaper) and seven years later, the Temecula Performing Arts Examiner wrote, “Ochoa is truly a masterful choreographer with an edge for what dance can and should be in this constantly changing industry.”

Ms. Lopez Ochoa is a versatile choreographer who works regularly with dance companies, but also creates for theater, opera, musical theater, and (in 2006), for celebrated Dutch fashion designers Viktor & Rolf’s project at the Van Gogh Museum. She belongs to the Theater-Dance collective “Fantasten” with whom she’s created five full-length pieces. In 2012, she created her first full-length ballet, A Streetcar Named Desire, for the Scottish Ballet.

Ms. Lopez Ochoa’s critically acclaimed piece, Before After, is known as her signature piece. Created in 2002 for Dutch National Ballet, the work is in the repertory of Ballet Nacional Dominicano, Gothenburg Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, Finnish National Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet. The work has also been performed at celebrated festivals including, Dance Passion Festival in the Netherlands, New York Fall for Dance Festival, Houston Dance Salad Festival, and the 2007 Orange County Fall for Dance Festival.

Olivier Wevers (he/him/his) is the Founder and Artistic Director of Whim W’Him, Seattle’s acclaimed contemporary dance company. A native of Belgium, Wevers trained in classical ballet before immigrating to North America at age 19, where he gained exposure to a wide range of dance forms, deepening and expanding his artistic perspective.

Wevers built his performing career as a principal dancer, beginning with Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet and spending most of it with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle. Those years onstage — interpreting classical and contemporary works by choreographers from around the world — solidified his belief that dancers are the heart and soul of any company, and that their dignity, creative growth, and psychological safety are as essential as technical excellence.

Alongside his performing career, Wevers developed a passion for choreography, drawn to how movement exploration and imaginative storytelling illuminate the human condition. He has created works for more than a dozen companies internationally, including the Royal New Zealand Ballet, Ballet X, Grand Rapids Ballet, and the New York Choreographic Institute, among many others.

In 2009, Wevers founded Whim W’Him as an artist-centered company where kindness, empathy, and collaboration are foundational values. The company is known for its annual Choreographic Shindig — in which dancers themselves select the choreographers — its commitment to new works, equitable pay, and its dedication to amplifying emerging voices in contemporary dance.

Wevers’s honors include the Princess Grace Choreographic Fellowship Award (2011), the City of Seattle Mayor’s Arts Award (2012), and recognition as one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch.”