Photo: David Cooper

Croquis

Croquis is a durational performance that explores the idea of a “croquis”—a quick, expressive sketch of a garment, often the first step towards bringing an idea into tangible reality. Within the context of this work, the pencil is the body and the paper a modular canvas—dissecting the desire to imprint and archive oneself into physical space. 

This solo pulls inspiration from Ralph Escamillan’s personal memories, his ongoing fascination with codes of fashion, and his appreciation for the act of crafting and constructing objects and materials by hand.

Central to this work is a garment constructed entirely out of paper. The physicality of this solo is entirely reactionary to this garment, inspired by the silhouette of the historic ball gown skirt, the duality of which has been synonymous with ideas of celebration, femininity and pomp, while also representing a type of confinement and mourning.

Photo: David Cooper

Project Created by: FakeKnot

Key Artistic Collaborators:

Choreographer & Performer Ralph Escamillan
Choreographer’s Assistant Daria Mikhaylyuk
Managing Producer Francesca Piscopo

Croquis is produced by FakeKnot.
FakeKnot gratefully acknowledges the support of the City of Vancouver.
A special thanks to the Vancouver Art Gallery for their support during its creation.

Performance type: This work is built for the theatre

How do you define this work: Dance: Durational

Length of performance: 15-25 minutes

Audience type: General Audience

General Technical Requirements: The technical requirements for the work are flexible, since Croquis can be modified to fit a variety of performance contexts, including outdoor environments.

Number of Performers on tour (including choreographer): 1

Number of Support Staff on Tour: 1

Availabilities: 2025 Spring, 2025/26 Season, 2026/27 Season

FakeKnot

FakeKnot creates performance works that strive to understand the complexities of identity and culture through costume, sound, technology and the body. Artistic director Ralph Escamillan gathers his breadth of experience as a dancer in street, commercial and contemporary dance to create a truly unique choreographic perspective, while also investigating his identity as a queer person of colour. All project/work focuses on a highly collaborative process with the interest in finding ways to intersect the world's Ralph comes from with others, using FakeKnot as the bridge for this discourse.

Ralph Escamillan is a queer, Canadian-Filipinx performance artist, choreographer and teacher based in Vancouver, BC. His work questions notions of identity, tradition and clothing, and the influence of pop culture in a globalizing world.

Performance History & Upcoming Performances

2024 May 31 - June 2: Guelph Dance Festival
2024 June 18-19: Dancing on the Edge
2024 November 21: Dance in Vancouver

Project Details

Outreach Activities

Outreach activities emphasize the cultivation of community. Workshops focus on contemporary dance that encapsulates Ralph’s background in street, commercial and contemporary dance. Additionally, FakeKnot opens the creative process to the public. This has been done in the past by holding public showings of works in development in a studio context, live-streaming rehearsals, holding online learning series that invite the public into the research phase of new works, as well as participating in panel discussions.

Contact information

Agent/Manager: Francesca Piscopo, francesca@fakeknot.com

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