Organizing Team

Ricky Begaye

Ricky from the Diné tribe, Has spent the last few years doing community building in the Southwest for many years. A familiar name known by some and heard by others. spending most of his time Advancing for Native youth and their Communities, Ricky a Young Elder in training moving forward to keep his tradition alive and safe for future generations. He spent most of his time devoted to his community and friends, taking one or two to relax a week. With much work he takes steps in supporting and building communities with Tradition, art, education and experiences. A living and breathing journal with much to add in the next coming years. 

Madazon Can-Can (they/them)

Madazon is a working radical educator, performance artist and community activist based out of Salt Lake City, UT. They specialize in transformative teaching practices centering expression of the self and expansion of community connections and responsibilities. They work with multiple queer based collectives in the valley and run their own programs in dance and embodiment throughout the year. They have traveled across the US and abroad to perform strange and wild things including in Japan and Mexico and have been deeply impacted by the communities they have been connected to across the world. They desire to bring an awareness of potential, responsibility and respect to the queer communities within Salt Lake City due to what they have seen while traveling throughout their career for the past decade and are excited for what is to come in this upcoming Queer Year. They are honored to be part of the Queer Spectra organization team and can't wait to bring their gifts of community expansion and connection to the forefront of their position.

Hannah Filizola Ruiz (they/them)

Hannah is a community-based co-researcher of Brazilian and Mexican decent living in Salt Lake City, UT. Their research interests typically surround queer and BIPOC communities in Salt Lake and Utah county and the themes of othering & belonging, accessibility, and youth identity development. They are particularly invested in arts as education and arts as community revitalization and make a sustained effort to elevate opportunities that allow their community to participate in and grow the arts

Rae Luebbert (she/they)

Rae is an arts administrator, a community organizer, a movement artist, a filmmaker, and a dance educator. Rae is the director and co-curator of the annual Noori Screendance Festival, the facilitator of Monday Movement Lab (a creative incubator space for new dance work) and a 2022-2025 loveDANCEmore Artist in Residence. Rae has participated in Queer Spectra Arts Festival as an artist and volunteer since 2019. Rae joined the Queer Spectra Organizing Team in 2023 and loves working with queer artists in multi-disciplinary spaces.

Tori Meyer (she/her)

Tori is a dance educator, choreographer and multi-disciplinary movement artist. She teaches creative movement in elementary schools through the SLC Arts Council Artist-in-the-Classroom  grant and Tanner Dance. She has organized and worked in production design for dance shows in alternative spaces and her choreography has been presented by loveDANCEmore, Playground Dance Project, Oquirrh West Project, and more. She has been involved with Queer Spectra as an artist, workshop leader, and volunteer since 2019 and is thrilled to be part of the organizing team this year.