presents

ON THEIR BODIES

Shen Wei Doug Varone Stephen Petronio Ronald K. Brown

Please join us for a discussion following the performance.

First Lady Michelle Obama, 2014 Honorary Chair •

Tuesday, July 22 & Wednesday, July 23 at 8:00pm Durham Performing Arts Center

VARIATIONS (2014)

Choreography and Performance

Music Arvo Pärt, Variations for the Healing of Arinushka

Lighting Design David Ferri Original lighting design by Scott Bolman

Variations is commissioned by Celia and Silas Chou and American Festival with support from the /SHS Foundations Award for New Dance. Additional support provided by the Asian/Pacific Studies Institute, .

THE FABULIST (World Premiere)

Choreography and Performance Doug Varone

Music David Lang, Death Speaks

Costume Design Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung

Lighting Design Ben Stanton

Lighting Assistant Ken Wills

The Fabulist is commissioned by the American Dance Festival with support from the Doris Duke/SHS Foundations Award for New Dance and was created in residence at the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center and SUNY Brockport. Additional funding support provided by the State Council on the Arts and the AEV Foundation.

Death Speaks by David Lang used by arrangement with G. Schirmer, Inc. on behalf of Red Poppy Music and Canteloupe Records.

Pause • •

BIG DADDY (World Premiere)

Choreography, Text, and Performance Stephen Petronio

Music Son Lux*

Costume H. Petal

Assistant to the Choreographer Gino Grenek

Lighting Design David Ferri

*Music from the pre-performance score for Like Lazarus Did. BIG DADDY is a work that combines movement and talking. Improvisational movement studies based on memories of Stephen Petronio’s father, Thomas J. Petronio, unravel each performance alongside a verbal portrait culled from Petronio’s recently published memoir, Confessions of a Motion Addict. Petronio will be signing copies of the book in the lobby after the performance and discussion.

BIG DADDY is commissioned by American Dance Festival with support from the Doris Duke/SHS Foundations Award for New Dance.

THROUGH TIME AND CULTURE (World Premiere)

Choreography and Performance Ronald K. Brown

Music Meshell N’degeocello, Susana Baca, and Professor, mixed by RKB

Costume Design Keiko Voltaire

Lighting Design David Ferri

Set to the music of Meshell N’degeocello, Susana Baca, and Professor, mixed by RKB, Through Time and Culture is a dance about transition and perspective. The movement slices thru the space and descends to the ground.

There is hope in the hovering above the ground, and the exit from the stage is one with arms outstretched and offering.

Through Time and Culture is commissioned by American Dance Festival with support from the Doris Duke/SHS Foundations Award for New Dance.

BIOGRAPHIES

SHEN WEI Hailed as “one of the great artists of our time” (The Washington Times), choreographer, director, dancer, painter, and designer Shen Wei is internationally renowned for his boldly visual dance works.

Admiration for his talent has earned Shen Wei numerous awards, including a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship (2007), the US Artists Fellow award, and a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. Other accolades include Australia’s Helpmann Award, the Nijinsky Emerging Choreographer Award, the Algur H. Meadows Prize, and a 2012 Center Choreography Fellowship. The impact of Shen Wei Dance Arts’ premiere performances on the Chinese mainland in led to a host of awards for Shen Wei: the Audi- China 2012 Artist of the Year Award, the Artist of the Year at the GQ- China magazine’s 2013 Man of the Year Awards, and most recently, the 2013 Chinese Innovator Award from the Journal-China.

Born in China’s Hunan province in 1968, the son of Chinese opera professionals, he was trained from youth in the rigorous practice of Chinese opera performance, traditional Chinese ink painting and calligraphy, and was a performer with the Hunan State Xian Opera Company from 1984 to 1989. During his student years, he studied Western visual art, which propelled an interest in . Beginning in 1987, he participated in the ADF- Guangdong, China program, which led to the founding, in 1991, of the Guangdong Modern Dance Company, the first modern dance company in China. At the age of 23, he became a founding member. In 1995, upon receipt of a fellowship, he moved to NYC to study with the Nikolais/Louis Dance Lab and was invited to present his work at the American Dance Festival (ADF). In July 2000, he founded Shen Wei Dance Arts (SWDA) at ADF, and his company quickly entered the international touring circuit.

Since foming his company, he has received numerous commissions to support his creative works for Shen Wei Dance Arts, including multiple commissions from the American Dance Festival, Het Muziektheater, the Lincoln Center Festival, and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, as well as from The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Park Avenue Armory, Hon Kong’s New Vision Arts Festival, and the Edinburgh International Festival.

Shen Wei, who was the lead choreographer for the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, also created for Les Grands Canadiens de Montréal and Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo, and choreographed the Rome Opera’s production of Rossini’s Moise et Paraon, conducted by Ricardo Muti. Last spring, Shen Wei was commissioned to create a new work for the Dutch National in Amsterdam, and he choreographed, directed, and designed a new production of Carmina Burana for the chorus, orchestra, and ballet of Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy. The production, which included Shen Wei Dance Arts’ dancers, premiered in July 2013 and toured to the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia in September 2013.

Recently, his work as a visual artist and choreographer has entered into a new dialogue with a series of performative installations and site-specific works, which have been presented at a number of museums and galleries including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the North Carolina Museum of Art, Collezione Maramotti in Italy, Mana Contemporary, and the Forum at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.

DOUG VARONE Award-winning choreographer and director Doug Varone works in dance, theater, opera, film, television, and fashion. He is a passionate educator and articulate advocate for dance. By any measure, his work is extraordinary for its emotional range, kinetic breadth, and the many arenas in which he works.

Since its founding in 1986, his New York City-based Doug Varone and Dancers has commanded attention for its expansive vision, versatility, and technical prowess. On stage, in opera, theater, and on the screen, Varone’s kinetically thrilling dances make essential connections and mine the complexity of the human spirit. From the smallest gesture to full-throttle bursts of movement, Varone’s work can take your breath away.

Doug Varone and Dancers has been commissioned and presented to critical acclaim by leading international venues for nearly three decades. In 2008, Varone’s Bottomland, set in the Mammoth Caves of Kentucky, was the subject of the PBS program Dance in America: Wolf Trap’s Face of America.

In opera, Varone is in demand as a director and choreographer. Among his four productions at The Metropolitan Opera are Salome, with its sensational Dance of the Seven Veils for Karita Mattila, and the world premiere of Tobias Picker’s An American Tragedy. His Met Opera production of Hector Berloiz’s Les Troyens was recently broadcast worldwide in HD. He has staged multiple premieres and new productions for Minnesota Opera, Opera Colorado, Boston Lyric Opera, Washington Opera, and New York City Opera, among others. His numerous theater credits include choreography for Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regional theaters across the country. His choreography for Theater Club’s recent musical hit Murder Ballad earned him a Lucille Lortel nomination for choreography. Film credits include choreography for the Patrick Swayze film, One Last Dance.

In the world, Varone has created a body of works globally. Commissions include the Limón Company, Hubbard Chicago, Rambert Dance Company (London), Dance Company, Dancemakers (Canada), (Israel), Bern Ballet (Switzerland), and An Creative (Japan), among others. In addition, his dances have been staged on more than 75 college and university programs.

Varone received his BFA from Purchase College where he was awarded the President’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2007. He has been honored with a Guggenheim Fellowship, an OBIE Award, two individual Bessie Awards, two American Dance Festival Doris Duke Awards for New Work, and four National Dance Project Awards. As an educator, Varone teaches workshops and master classes around the world for dancers, musicians, and actors. He is currently on the faculty at Purchase College, teaching composition and choreography.

STEPHEN PETRONIO For 30 years, Stephen Petronio has honed a unique language of movement that speaks to the intuitive and complex possibilities of the body informed by its shifting cultural context. He has collaborated with a wide range of artists in many disciplines over his career and holds the integration of multiple forms as fundamental to his creative drive and vision. He continues to create a haven for dancers with a keen interest in the history of contemporary movement and an appetite for the unknown. Petronio was born in Newark, NJ, and received a BA from Hampshire College in Amherst, MA, where he began his early training in improvisation and dance technique. He was greatly influenced by working with Steve Paxton as well as the dancing of Rudolf Nureyev and was the first male dancer of the Trisha Brown Company (1979 to 1986). He has gone on to build a unique career, receiving numerous accolades, including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, awards from the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, an American Choreographer Award, and a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award.

Petronio has created over 35 works for his company and has been commissioned by some of the world’s most prestigious modern and ballet companies, including William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt (1987), Deutsche Oper Berlin (1992), Lyon Opera Ballet (1994), Maggio Danza Florence (1996), Sydney Dance Company (2003, full evening), Norrdans (2006), the Washington Ballet (2007), The Scottish Ballet (2007), and two works for National Dance Company Wales (2010 and 2013).

His company repertory works have been set on The Scottish Ballet, Norrdans in Sweden, Dance Works Rotterdam, National Dance Company Wales, X Factor Dance Company in Edinburgh, Ballet National de Marseille, Ballet de Lorraine, and London Theater, as well as universities and colleges throughout the US. In 2009, Petronio completed an evening-length work for 30 dancers, Tragic Love, in collaboration with composer Son Lux for Ballet de Lorraine. He completed several additional new works with Son Lux: By Singing Light, for National Dance Company Wales (2010), The Social Band, a commission for OtherShore Dance Company in New York (2011), and numerous unique editions of Like Lazarus Did (2013) for Stephen Petronio Company. Other recent projects include Prometheus Bound (2011), a musical for the American Repertory Theater, in collaboration with director Diane Paulus (HAIR), writer and lyricist Steven Sater (Spring Awakening), and composer Serj Tankian (Grammy award, lead vocalist for System of a Down). In 2013, Petronio created a new work, Water Stories, for National Dance Company Wales in collaboration with composer Atticus Ross (Nine Inch Nails) and photographer Matthew Brandt with visual designer Ken Tabachnick.

Petronio, whose training originated with leading figures of the Judson era, performed Man Walking Down the Side of a Building in 2010 for Trisha Brown Company at the Whitney Museum, and performed his 2012 rendition of Steve Paxton’s Intravenous Lecture (1970) in New York, Portland, and at the TEDMED-2012 conference at the Kennedy Center Opera House in Washington, DC. In October 2012, Petronio received the distinction of being named the first Artist-in-Residence at The for a residency continuing through 2014. Currently, he is entangled with visual artist Janine Antoni in a number of discipline- blurring projects, one of which is the video installation Honey Baby (2013) in collaboration with composer Tom Laurie and filmmaker Kirsten Johnson. Petronio has recently published a memoir, Confessions of a Motion Addict.

RONALD K. BROWN Ronald K. Brown founded Evidence, A Dance Company in1985. He has worked with Mary Anthony Dance Theater, Jennifer Muller/The Works, and other choreographers and artists. Brown has set works on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Jennifer Muller/The Works, Jeune Ballet d’Afrique Noire, Ko-Thi Dance Company, Philadanco, Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago, and Ballet Hispanico. He has collaborated with such artists as composer/designer Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya, the late writer Craig G. Harris, director Ernie McClintock’s Jazz Actors Theater, choreographers Patricia Hoffbauer and Rokiya Kone, and composers Robert Een, Oliver Lake, Bernadette Speech, David Simons, and Don Meissner. He choreographed Regina Taylor’s award-winning play Crowns and won an AUDELCO Award for his work on that production. Brown has won a Fred & Adele Astaire Award for Outstanding Choreography for the Tony-winning The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, adapted by Suzan Lori Parks, arranged by Diedre Murray, and directed by Diane Paulus.

In addition, Brown was named Def Dance Jam Workshop Mentor of the Year in 2000 and has received; John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts Choreographers Fellowship, New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, Artists Fellowship, and The Ailey Apex Award for teaching. Brown is a member of Stage Directors & Choreographers Society.

Founded by Ronald K. Brown in 1985 and based in Brooklyn, New York, Evidence, A Dance Company focuses on the fusion of with contemporary choreography and spoken word. This work provides a unique view of human struggles, tragedies, and triumphs. Brown uses movement as a way to reinforce the importance of community in African American culture and to acquaint audiences with the beauty of African forms and rhythms. Evidence tours to some 30 communities in the United States annually. It has traveled to Cuba, Brazil, England, France, Greece, Hungary, Hawaii, Ireland, Holland, Mexico, South Africa, Nigeria, and Senegal and in 2010 joined the US State Department’s DanceMotion USA tour to perform, teach master classes, and conduct demonstrations. Evidence brings arts, education, and cultural/historical connections to communities that have historically lacked these experiences. Annually, the company reaches an audience of more than 30,000.

SON LUX (aka Ryan Lott) (Composer) grew up studying music and earned a Bachelor of Music at Indiana University. His debut recording, At War With Walls and Mazes, earned him the title of Best New Artist by NPR’s All Songs Considered. In 2011, he followed up this release with We Are Rising, which featured collaborations with chamber sextet Music, DM Stith, and Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond). In addition to his creative output as Son Lux, Lott has kept busy balancing his time between scores for films, commissions, and advertising work. In 2012, Son Lux joined forces with rapper and indie music luminary to release the EP Beak & Claw. This adds to his already long list of high profile collaborations, with artists such as (), Richard Perry (Arcade Fire), Busdriver, Colin Stetson (Bon Iver), and Peter Silberman (The Antlers). He also contributed brass and wind arrangements to the These New Puritans’ album Hidden, NME’s 2010 Album of the Year. His arranging credits include several feature films, most notably the score for Looper (2012). In addition to designing and programming “virtual” instruments for the score, he was the orchestrator, assistant arranger, and pianist, and contributed one of his Son Lux songs to the soundtrack. Ryan is currently working on his third full-length Son Lux release and composing the score for the forthcoming film The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby, starring Jessica Chastain and James McAvoy. In addition to his score for Petronio’s work Like Lazarus Did, Lott has created scores for three of Petronio’s commissioned works for other companies: Ballet de Lorraine, National Dance Company Wales, and OtherShore.

GINO GRENEK (Assistant to Stephen Petronio) is originally from Rochester, NY. He is a graduate of both Dartmouth College (Engineering Sciences and Studio Art, 1994) and ’s Tisch School of the Arts (MFA in Dance, 1996). As a member of the original Broadway cast, Grenek performed in ’s award-winning reinterpretation of Swan Lake (1998-1999). For eight years, he toured with the Stephen Petronio Company across five continents (1999 to 2007). He has assisted Mr. Petronio with the creation of new works for NorrDans (Sweden, 2004), Washington Ballet (United States, 2007), Ballet de Lorraine (France, 2009), and National Dance Company Wales (United Kingdom, 2010 and 2013). In 2007, Grenek was honored with a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award for his body of work with Stephen Petronio. He returned to the company in 2009. DAVID FERRI (Lighting Designer) has worked with prominent choreographers such as Pina Bausch, Shen Wei, Doug Varone, Yin Mei, Eiko and Koma, Jane Comfort, David Rousseve, Jody Sperling, and Ballet Preljocaj. He has been the Production Manager for the prestigious American Dance Festival since 1996 training upcoming designers in America. Recipient of 1987-1988 “Bessie” Award for his design of Doug Varone’s Straits and a 2000- 2001 “Bessie” Award for Sustained Achievement in Lighting Design. Mr Ferri is the resident Lighting Designer - Technical Director for the Vassar College Dance Department. Mr. Ferri was also resident lighting designer and technical director at PS 122 from 1985 to 1991. Mr. Ferri lives in New York between his travels and projects.

BEN STANTON (Lighting Designer) has worked with Doug Varone in Mouth Above Water (92nd Street Y) and Murder Ballad (Lortel Award Nomination, MTC, and Union Square Theater). He has done concert and tour designs for Regina Spektor (What We Saw from the Cheap Seats), Sufjan Stevens (Age of Adz, Planetarium, Christmas Sing-a-long Tour), Beirut (The Rip Tide), and St. Vincent (Strange Mercy). He has worked on Broadway in Seminar and An Enemy of the People and recently off-Broadway in Fun Home (Lortel Award Nomination., The Public Theater), Into The Woods (Shakespeare in the Park), Kung Fu, Angeles In America ( Theater), Belleville (Lortel Award Nomination., New York Theater Workshop), The Lion, The Whipping Man (Lortel Award, Drama Desk Nomination.), and Where We Live, Regrets (Manhattan Theater Club). Selected Regional venues include: Actors Theater of Louisville, Amhanson Theater, Dallas Theater Center, Bay Street Theater, Goodman Theater, Hartford Stage, Huntington, Intiman Theater, Kirk Douglas Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Long Wharf Theater, Mark Taper Forum, McCarter Theatre, NYSF, Old Globe, Paper Mill Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Co., Shakespeare Theatre, South Coast Repertory, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival.

REID & HARRIET DESIGN (Costume Designers) is a clothing design studio in New York City. It was founded by Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung in 2011. They first met as classmates at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Collaboratively, they have designed costumes for Justin Peck, Marcelo Gomes, Andrea Miller, Emery Lecrone, Kyle Abraham, Mauro Bigonzetti, and Doug Varone. They have costumed productions at American Ballet Theater, , and Ballet Next and have produced clothes for commissioned works at Fall for Dance, the , and Dancers Responding to Aids. They are currently working on new Justin Peck creations for and . Along with Justin Peck, they are featured in the documentary Ballet 422 which premiered at the 2014 TriBeCa Film Festival.

H. PETAL (Costume Designer) grew up in Liverpool and was raised by his immigrant grandmother, a master patternmaker who had him creating clothes for his family by age ten. Petal briefly attended Central St. Martins in the late 1980s before dropping out to follow his aesthetic heart to England’s underground. He has designed for a wide variety of Petronio’s choreographic adventures in the dance world since 1990, including MiddleSexGorge, Close Your Eyes and Think of England, and Bud Suite for the Stephen Petronio Company, Extravenous for Lyon Opera Ballet, Laytext for The Deutsche Opera Berlin, Tragic/Love for Ballet de Lorraine, and most recently, By Singing Light and Water Stories for National Dance Company Wales.

presents

FOOTPRINTS

Netta Yerushalmy Leonie McDonagh Carl Flink performed by ADF dancers

First Lady Michelle Obama, 2014 Honorary Chair

•

Thursday, July 24-Saturday, July 26 at 8:00pm Reynolds Industries Theater

PICTOGRAMES (World Premiere) Choreography Netta Yerushalmy

Music Nautilus, Orlok by Anna Meredith (courtesy of Moshi Moshi Records), Mark degli Antoni

Costume Design John Brinkman

Lighting Design David Ferri

A huge thank you to my incredible cast of talented and devoted dance artists who contributed their virtuosic powers, wit, and focus to the creation of this piece. Thank you also to Bille, our uber competent wizard, and to David, John, and Mollie and their amazing teams. Finally, thank you to Jodee for your ongoing support and for this fantastic experience.

PERFORMERS Lauren Burke, Emily Rose Cannon, Natalie Grant, Hsieh, Shao-yang, Yi-chieh Hsu, Marisa Illingworth, Will Ladd, Lin, Pin-Han, Jordan Demetrius Lloyd, Hannah Marr, Casey Olejar, Kenneth Olguin, Brooke Partin, Ambika Raina, Celia Argüello Rena, Lily Bo Shapiro, Haley Sung, Shamar Watt, Elisabeth Wolf

Pictogrames is commissioned by ADF with support from the SHS Foundation.

Intermission • •

FOUR FINGERS AND ONE THUMB (World Premiere)

Choreography Aaron Salas, Lateisha Melvin, Chien-shun Liao, Sakina Flint, Rocky Kamen-Rubio, and the company

Direction Leonie McDonagh

Musician Andy Hasenpflug

Music Original music composed and produced by Andy Hasenpflug, Adam Crawley, and Terrence Karn, Gimme All Your Lovin’ by ZZ Top, One by Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kieben, Spirit by Future Islands

Dance Education Sasha Kozin, Anna Martz, Pedro Lander, Karla Narvaez and Aaron Salas

Costume Design John Brinkman

Lighing Design David Ferri

PERFORMERS Aaron Bellofatto, Johnny Chatman II, Yun Ju Chen, Michaela Coor, Benjamin Devaud, Son Hai Do, Jacob Ely, Sakina Flint, Ardyn Flynt, Alex Gossen, Vanessa Gross, Veronica Jiao, Rocky Kamen-Rubio, Aleksandr (Sasha) Kozin, Pedro Lander, Chien-Shun Liao, Amanda Maraist, Anna Martz, Sheldon Mba, Flannery McAdam, Lateisha Melvin, Raina Mitchell, Karla Narvaez, Cecile Neidig, Tarik O’Meally, Aaron Salas, Chi Tai, Katarina Bennicoff Yundt

Four Fingers and One Thumb is commissioned by ADF with support from the SHS Foundation.

Intermission • •

AN UNKINDNESS OF RAVENS (World Premiere) Choreography Carl Flink

Soundscape Greg Brosofske

Costume Design John Brinkman

Lighting Design David Ferri

PERFORMERS Du’Bois A’Keen, Adrianne Ansley, Joe Casanova, Veronica Cato, David Deegan, Emily Hansel, Johnnie Mercer, Jr., Ching Ng, Eddie Oroyan, Erica Saucedo, Tey Shawn

An Unkindness of Ravens is commissioned by ADF with support from the McKnight Artist Fellowship

Program at Northrop at the University of Minnesota and the SHS Foundation.

NETTA YERUSHALMY

NETTA YERUSHALMY is a dance artist based in New York City since 2000. Her work aims to engage with audiences by imparting the sensation of things as they are perceived, not as they are known, and to challenge how meaning is attributed and constructed.

Her newest work Helga and The Three Sailors premieres in New York City at Danspace Project November 6-8.

Netta is a recipient of a 2013 Bogliasco Fellowship, a 2012 Fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, a 2010 Fellowship from the New York Foundation of the Arts, and a 2010-2012 Six Points Fellowship. She is currently a Process Space Artist- In-Residence through the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and was Artist-In-Residence at the Institute for Cultural Inquiry in Berlin (2013), Baryshnikov Arts Center (2012), Tribeca Performing Arts Center (2010-2012), and through LMCC’s Space (2011). She received a 2014 grant from New Music USA and has received grants from the Mertz Gilmore Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, multiple grants from the Lower Manhattan Community Council, and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant.

In New York City, Netta’s work is regularly presented in venues such as La Mama, Danspace Project, Harkness Dance Festival, Dance New Amsterdam, and Movement Research. In Israel, she has been presented by numerous festivals including Curtain-Up, Jerusalem International Dance Week, Intimadance, International-Exposure, and Different Dance. Her work was also performed at the International Solo-Dance-Theater Festival (Stuttgart).

Commissions for repertory companies include the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company (2015), Zenon Dance Company (2012 and 2014), Same Planet Different World (2013), Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (2011), Of Moving Colors (2010), and Misgav Dance Workshop (1999).

Since 2011 Netta has been a guest artist and visiting faculty at University of the Arts. She was a teaching guest artist at the 2013 Salt Dance Festival. As part of her work with Doug Varone, Netta taught around the USA, Russia, and the and staged Varone’s work at the University of Michigan and Point Park College. She has also taught modern technique at Yasmeen Godder’s Studio (Jaffa, Israel), Bikurey Haitim Center (Tel-Aviv, Israel), OfMovingColors, The Yard, and Misgav Dance Workshop.

Netta currently dances with choreographer Joanna Kotze.

She was a member of Doug Varone and Dancers from 2007 to 2012 and has also performed with Nancy Bannon, Karinne Keithley, Mark Jarecki, Noemie LaFrance, Ronit Ziv, and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet.

Netta was born in South Carolina, where she had her first dance performance at age 3. She moved to Galilee in Israel soon after and trained at the Misgav Dance Workshop, the school of the Kibbutz Dance Company in Ga’aton, and Bat-Dor studios in Tel-Aviv. In 1996 she relocated to New York to earn a BFA in Dance from NUY’s Tisch School of the Arts. www.NettaY.com

HALEY SUNG grew up in South Korea and started training in ballet and Korean traditional dance. She moved to Austin, TX, with her family at the age of 11, where she started training in other different styles of dance as well. After graduating high school, Haley decided to attend the University of the Arts as a dance major with a Promising Artist Award. Haley has finished her first year and she is thrilled to start her second year in the fall.

EMILY ROSE CANNON began studying dance at age three in Oak Park, IL, under the direction of Stephanie Clemens at the Academy of Movement and Music. She spent two summers at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance studying with Summer Lee Rhatigan, Christian Burns, Alex Ketley, Malinda LaVelle, Tristan Ching, Douglas Letheren, Bobbi Jean Smith, and Tom Weinberger. In the fall, she will return to Philadelphia to continue her studies as a junior at the University of the Arts.

CASEY OLEJAR is in her third year at the University of the Arts under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield. She has performed the works of Jesse Zaritt, Katie Swords-Thurman, Sidra Bell in collaboration with Alexandra Johnson, and Douglas Becker. She attended the American Dance Festival in 2013, where she had the opportunity to work with T. Lang and Jesse Zaritt in a performance setting. She is thankful for another summer here at the festival under the guidance of such incredible faculty.

ELISABETH WOLF is a contemporary dancer based in Los Angeles. She is currently earning a BA in Dance at Loyola Marymount University where she is on scholarship. She trained in ballet, contemporary, jazz, tap, hip hop, musical theater, and acrobatics for 15 years at Cannedy Performing Arts Centre in Phoenix, AZ. She has studied with Robbie Cook, Nick Duran, Lisa Gillespie, Kathleen Hermesdorf, Ayo Jackson, Tekla Kostek, Jason Myhre, Paige Porter, Damon Rago, and John Todd. Elisabeth has performed the work of choreographers Sidra Bell, Lillian Barbeito, Scott Heinzerling, Denise Leitner, Shannon Mather and Jordan Saenz and performed in Bill T. Jones’ Spent Days Out Yonder under rehearsal director Rosalynde LeBlanc Loo.

HANNAH MARR is current concert performer and an up and coming choreographer from Raleigh, NC. This past year she attended UNC School of The Arts for contemporary dance as a senior in high school where Susan Jaffe is the dean of dance. This coming year she will continue her dance training there for college and graduate in three years. Over the years she has been privileged to work with the Random Dance Company, Duane Cyrus, T. Lang, Ashley Lindsey, Mandy Moore, Ming Yang, Teddy Forance, Charles O. Anderson, Travis Wall, , and many more.

KENNETH OLGUIN first found dance at the age of 5 at a local studio in Whittier, CA, where he took tap and ballet. Now a recent graduate, Ken earned his BA concentrating in Dance and Psychology at in Vermont. While in school, he studied technique, composition, and improvisation with Susan Sgorbati, Terry Creach, Dana Reitz, Stuart Singer, and Daniel Roberts and danced for Gwen Welliver and Kota Yamazaki. He owes his continuing pursuit of dance to the constant support of his mother, his sister, his grandfather, and close friends.

JORDAN DEMETRIUS LLOYD (20) is currently studying dance at SUNY Brockport where he has performed works by James Hansen, Juanita Suarez, and Nicole Kaplan. He studies under professors Karl Rogers, Mariah Maloney, William Evans, and Stevie Oakes. Previously, he studied at The World of Dance where he trained in styles ranging from ballet to hip hop. He acts as the captain of the Brockport Dance Team and the events coordinator for the Student Dance Organization. With ADF being his first modern dance festival, he is thrilled to take the stage and wants to thank ADF and Netta Yerushalmy for this amazing experience.

LILY BO SHAPIRO is.

SHAMAR WATT was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and was raised in both Jamaica and Miami, FL. He grew up playing basketball and football most of his life. Shamar was not introduced to modern dance and ballet until his freshman year of college. Before transferring to Florida State University in the spring of 2013 as a dance major, he received his Associate’s Degree in Psychology and continues to study psychology at FSU. He is very grateful to be at ADF for another summer and to be involved with Footprints.

NATALIE GRANT danced competitively for 8 years while formally training with the Summit Invitational Pre-Professional Company for 3 years. Her experience with the Summit Invitational program, under the direction of Linda Muir, led her to further study dance in college and pursue dance professionally. Natalie will be graduating spring 2015 with a BFA in Dance Performance from Chapman University. This is her first time attending the American Dance Festival.

MARISA ILLINGWORTH started dancing at Sharron Miller’s Academy for the Performing Arts in Montclair, NJ at age 3 and has been dancing ever since. She attended the Point Park University summer intensive in 2010 and the Joffrey jazz and contemporary intensive in 2011. She is currently a rising junior at the University of the Arts under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield.

BROOKE PARTIN is from Raleigh, NC. She grew up dancing at CC and Company Dance Complex under the direction of Christy Curtis. She now attends University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem as a contemporary dance major. Brooke will be starting her second year under the direction of Dean Susan Jaffe.

WILL LADD landed on set for the 2011 remake of Footloose at 19. Soon after he began booking jobs for country artists such as Big & Rich, Lauren Alaina, and Blake Shelton. In summer 2012 he toured nationwide as a with actress and singer Coco Jones. Other credits include the movie The Three Stooges (2012), The CW’s Vampire Diaries (2012), Volkswagen Live Event Tour (2012), and The Hilton Garden Inn (2013). Will was a company member of Found Movement Group, Nashville’s first contemporary dance company from 2010 to 2013. During his college career Will performed in three Annual Spring Dance Concerts at Austin Peay State University. His piece Paranoid/Beat was selected to represent the school at the first ACDFA South Region Formal Concert in spring 2013.

AMBIKA RAINA was born and raised in Michigan and is a dance merit scholarship student at the University of Michigan. In May 2015, she will graduate with two degrees, a BFA in Dance and a BS in Biopsychology, Cognition, and Neuroscience. Ambika studied Bharatnatyam Indian classical dance for ten years at the Alankar School of Dance and has recently pursued Indian classical and Australia. Ambika now explores modern vocabularies and blends her two fields of study through creative and scientific research. Above all, Ambika is passionate about movement as a reflection of identity and choreography that gives a voice to those unheard.

CELIA ARGÜELLO RENA is a performer, choreographer, and teacher. She was born in Argentina and graduated with a bachelor’s in Choreographic Composition at IUNA (National Institute of Art). She has worked as a performer with choreographers such as Rakhal Herrero, Silvina Grinberg, Pablo Rotemberg, and IUNA Dance Company directed by Roxana Grinstein. She has received fellowships and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the INT, and Prodanza. As a director, she has presented Te lo Dedico, Un Traslado, Muestrario, Azúcar, and the reconstructions of No me Besabas? and Villa Argüello. With these works she has performed in national and international tours, and she won the first prize in choreography at the Young Art Biennale 2013.

LIN, PIN-HAN is from Taiwan. She is 22 years old. She graduated from University of Taipei with a major in modern dance. This is her first time in the US and also her first time leaving Taiwan. But one day she will go everywhere.

LAUREN BURKE is a recent graduate from the University of Houston. There she received her BA in Dance and minored in Interdisciplinary Arts. Currently, Lauren is a professional member of the Urban Souls Dance Company under the artistic direction of Harrison Guy. Dancing for ten years, Lauren has been expanding her craft not only in dance but also in visual art and music. Her hope is to combine her passions and pursue her personal goal of operating her own interdisciplinary dance company.

YI-CHIEH HSU is from Taiwan and studies at Taipei National University of the Arts. She is 19 years old.

HSIEH, SHAO-YANG was born in 1993 and comes from Taiwan. She attended National Taiwan University of Art.

LEONIE MCDONAGH

LEONIE MCDONAGH trained at Middlesex University, Sallynoggin College of Further Education and at London Contemporary Dance School at The Place. She has been choreographing with local amateur groups since the age of 17.

She is founder and Artistic Director of ponydance with whom she has produced and created several works in progress, short dance films, and five full length productions including two commissions. ponydance won the Audience Choice Award at the Belfast Pick‘n’Mix Festival in 2009 and was nominated for the Spirit of the Fringe Award at The Dublin Fringe. In 2012, ponydance won the Best Dance Show Award at the Adelaide Fringe Festival. Performances range from intimate four man shows in local bars to the medium scale cabaret style Christmas Show PonyPanto to the large scale opening ceremony of the Dublin Super Cup in Aviva Stadium with over 100 dancers.

Instinctively interested in the combination of clown, comedy, and dance, Leonie has been developing work with humor that has found universal appeal. The company has performed all over Ireland, the UK, France, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada and at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In January this year, ponydance was part of the curated and prestigious British Dance Edition.

Leonie has received travel and training awards from the Arts Council of Ireland to attend the Western Australia Circus Festival to train, teach, and perform. She was also awarded a SIAP award from Arts Council Northern Ireland to conduct six weeks of self directed training in Melbourne.

AARON BELLOFATTO began dancing at a young age. Aaron has had a passion to move for many years. Now a rising junior at the University of the Arts, he is privileged to work with many great artists and performers. This is his first time at the American Dance Festival and he is ecstatic to share his experience and growth in the Footprints dance program with everyone.

JOHNNY CHATMAN II began dancing at the age of 4 with More Than a Memory Dance Productions in Houston, TX. Before attending the University of Texas at Austin, he was a member of Lake Houston Performing Arts Center competitive team, FLY Hip-Hop Crew, and his high school drill team. He is currently a junior at UT, where he has performed in pieces choreographed by Mark Morris, , and David Justin. He recently performed at The Kennedy Center for ACDFA Nationals. Johnny would like to thank Leonie for the ride. Pun intended. Namaste.

YUN JU CHEN started to dance at age 7. She has studied Chinese dance, , and ballet. She finished high school at Taipei National of the Arts in Taiwan. She is studying for her bachelor’s degree at Folkwang Universität der Künste in Germany.

MICHAELA COOR is from Richmond, VA, where she trained at the Village Dance Studios. She is a rising sophomore at James Madison University, where she majors in Dance and Communication Studies.

BENJAMIN DEVAUD grew up in Pocatello, ID, and currently attends the University of Idaho, working towards his BS in Biology. His movement background is primarily soccer, but he took his first modern dance class his sophomore year. In the spring of 2013, he received an ADF scholarship to the 2013 Six Week School where he had a small role in Vanessa Voskuil’s Gates and Jesse Zaritt’s repertory project. He feels incredibly blessed to be a part of the ADF community, and he gives thanks to his family, friends, and all dance and science faculty for inspiring him to do his best.

SON HAI DO hails from Hanoi, Vietnam. He started dancing at the age of 19 and trained under the instruction of Christal Brown, Catherine Cabeen, Penny Campbell, and Andrea Olsen. Since then, he has performed with Dance Company of Middlebury under artistic director Christal Brown, various senior theses, and student works. His latest choreographic work The Under/The Over? was presented this past May. He holds a BA in Economics and Dance from Middlebury College. He would like to thank Leonie McDonagh (you are the best) for giving him this exciting opportunity and his cast for being amazing companions on this journey.

JACOB ELY is a native of Arizona and recently received his BA in Political Science with minors in Dance and Spanish from Tulane University. After sustaining a career ending injury his freshman year, he made the transition from collegiate football player to dancer. A former member of the Tulane Theatre and Dance department, Jake has held roles in four main stage theater productions, three main stage dance productions, and nine student productions of either theater or dance. Upon completing ADF, he is excited to begin his pursuit of a professional career in dance.

SAKINA FLINT comes from Boston, MA, where she began her formal dance training at Boston Arts Academy and later studied at The Boston Conservatory, Origination’s Cultural Arts Center, and Dean College. She is a May 2014 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance. Sakina has performed in many major productions and events including the Democratic National Convention, MTV network parties, major recording artists’ concerts such as Fabolous, Red Cafe, and Soulja Boy, and various award shows. Sakina was also a member of NIA , Rainbow Tribe Dance Company, Static Noyze Hip- Hop Dance Company, and Jean Appolon Expressions Afro-Haitian Dance Company. Sakina’s goal is to open an institution where individuals will gain professional training in the visual and performing arts to become inspirational artists themselves. For more information about Sakina Flint, visit her website: WeAreSeARTs.com

AARON SALAS gave all of his biography space to Sakina, because he is nice like that.

ARDYN FLYNT is a rising high school senior at North Carolina School of the Arts. She has been dancing since the summer of 2011 when she first experienced the American Dance Festival as a Three Week School student. She plans to continue her dance studies in college and beyond, preferably without injury or extensive periods of table-waiting. She has so loved being a part of Footprints this year and is incredibly thankful for the new and occasionally scary methods of art-making that being in the repertory has taught her.

ALEX GOSSEN was definitely born, and most accounts say that the event took place in Louisville, KY. After sixteen or so years, he realized that he loved dancing and started dancing A LOT! B-boying is his favorite dance form, and he actively competes as part of the Rising Starz Crew. He is studying dance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and having a jolly time doing so! In his spare time he likes to save the world and wrestle dinosaurs.

VANESSA GROSS hella grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where she studied dance at Marin School of the Arts. She is pursuing a BFA at the University of the Arts where she has worked with choreographers such as Sidra Bell and Iris Bouche. Her hair is bright pink.

VERONICA JIAO was born in Charleston, SC,and is currently a Florida State Seminole pursuing a BFA in dance. At the age of 14, she had the privilege of attending the SC Governor’s School for the Arts & Humanities. Prior to deciding dance as her passion, Veronica trained and competed in gymnastics. She is very grateful to have been a part of Leonie’s crazy, militaristic, abusive process.

ROCKY KAMEN-RUBIO was hella born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area where he studied gymnastics and Capoeira. Ever since a friend made him audition for a dance production class, he has enjoyed trying to figure out what is happening in the dance world. After leaving ADF, he will return to his day job studying physics at UC Berkeley but will forever remember the training and connections he has fostered in this process.

SASHA KOZIN is a dancer and choreographer from the city of Petrozavodsk in northwest Russia. His particular focus is the folk dances of the Karelia region of Russia, including Karelian, Finnish, Ingermanlan, and Veps traditions. Kozin has danced with folk ensembles since childhood, receiving strict dance education in both classical and folk-performance technique.

PEDRO LANDER was born and raised in Caracas, Venezuela. He came to US to pursue his undergraduate degree at Winona State Universtiy, where he took his first modern dance class. He has studied under Gretchen Cohenour, A.T. Moffett, and Jacque Paulsen. Pedro has worked with Paula Mann, Crystal Edwards, and Maria Breza and through the Minnesota Conservatory for the Arts under Tammy Schmitt. This year, he also collaborated with Seed Performance Art, based in Winona, for an evening show regarding sexual abuse, funded by the United States Department of Health. He is currently exploring his outer clown with the support of Leonie McDonagh. He plans to graduate in spring of 2015 and will develop a senior evening show about his identity as an expat.

TARIK O’MEALLY is easily the best looking man at ADF. He gave the rest of his biography space to Pedro, who made him do it. But Tarik is going to get him after the show.

CHIEN-SHUN LIAO is from Taiwan. He attends the National Taiwan University of Arts where he studies dance. He is a sophomore and has hopes and dreams of becoming a professional dancer. He has been dancing since the age of 12 beginning with modern dance. This summer at ADF is his first time in the United States. Leonie is the best!

AMANDA MARAIST was born in Beaumont, TX, and graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance. She has performed with both Contemporary Ballet Dallas and Danielle Georgiou Dance Group (DGDG) and has also studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. Amanda will be joining local company Gaspard&Dancers in the coming fall.

ANNA MARTZ is excited to perform in her first Footprints piece! She is from Holly Springs, NC, and has danced with Holly Springs School of Dance for twelve years. She will be a senior in high school this year and is a part of Holly Springs High School’s dance program. Thank you Mom, Dad, and the family for the support and rides, and her dance teachers for helping her get here in every way! Shanti shanti namaste, we love you Leonie!

SHELDON MBA is from Durham, NC. Mba is a graduate of Hillside High School and currently a junior at North Carolina Central University. He is studying Theatre with a concentration in Dance Performance and a minor in Psychology. He plans to obtain a master’s in dance therapy and work with kids with disabilities and elderly people.

FLANNERY MCADAM grew up in Portland, ME, where she currently lives. She is a rising senior in high school and hopes to major in dance starting in the fall of 2015. Flannery has attended the Bates Dance Festival for the past three summers where she has had the opportunity to work with many talented teachers and choreographers. Thank you Leonie for this incredible and collaborative opportunity.

LATEISHA MELVIN is Lateisha.

RAINA MITCHELL was born in Atlanta, GA. Raina has BFA in Dance from Valdosta State University. She will be working with T. Lang Dance for two upcoming projects and anyone/ thing else that features two As in their name.

KARLA NARVAEZ is from Nicaragua. Nobody knows anything else about her.

CECILE NEIDIG grew up in Portland, OR, where she began her dance training under Kemba Shannon. She began her collegiate studies in dance at the College of Charleston but currently attends Fordham University, where she plans to study communication and media studies with a concentration in journalism. Working with Leonie has brought her much joy and she will cherish this experience and the friendships she has made for many years to come.

CHI TAI is from Taiwan. He is studying at Taipei National University of the Arts. He loves Leonie and thinks she’s the best. He wants you to know he wrote a boring bio and you are welcome to add something risky.

KATARINA BENNICOFF YUNDT was born in Boston, MA, and grew up in Missouri where she began her dance training at Ozark Dance Academy with Julia Bubalo and Polly Brandman. In 2009, she moved to Florida and joined the corps de ballet of Northwest Florida Ballet under the direction of Todd Eric Allen. Katarina is currently earning her BFA in dance at Florida State University, where she has performed in works by Gerri Houlihan, Samantha Pazos, and Jee Ahn. She is excited to be spending her first summer at the American Dance Festival and thinks Leonie is the best. Shanti shanti namaste.

CARL FLINK

Artistic director of Minnesota-based dance company Black Label Movement (BLM), CARL FLINK’S awards include 2008 and 2012 McKnight Artist Fellowships for Choreography, a 2012 regional Emmy Award, and 2010 and 2012 Ivey Awards. He was named the Twin Cities City Pages 2012 Best Choreographer and Artist of the Year. During the 1990s, he was a member of the NYC-based Limón Dance Company and Creach/Koester Men Dancing, among others. He is also the Nadine Jette Sween Professor of Dance at the University of Minnesota Theatre Arts & Dance Department.

Carl’s dancemaking is recognized for intense athleticism, daring risk taking, and humanistic themes. Organizations that have presented/commissioned his choreography include the Bates Dance Festival, TED, TEDMED, TEDx Brussels, Theater Latté Da, the Chicago Humanities Festival, The Minnesota Orchestra, Company C Contemporary Ballet, and Same Planet Different World, as well as dance programs such as the University of Illinois, Stanford University, Brigham Young University, University of Utah, and the University of Iowa.

Flink is in his fifth year of collaboration with biomedical engineer David Odde at UMN Institute for Advanced Study in The Moving Cell Project (MCP). In July 2013, Flink joined Odde for the second time at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA to work with scientists on their research technique called “bodystorming.” MCP also includes Flink’s collaboration with Science Magazine correspondent John Bohannon. Flink, Bohannon, and BLM created A Modest Proposal for the 2011 TEDx Brussels, which now has over one million online views. This collaboration has produced three other TED Talks and a presentation for the 2013 Better with Pets organized by Purina Pet Foods. Flink holds a JD from Stanford Law School and was a staff attorney with Farmers’ Legal Action Group, Inc. from 2001 to 2004.

DU’BOIS A’KEEN is originally from Albany, GA, and will start the MFA program at Florida State University in fall 2014, having recently earned his BFA in dance. As a young choreographer and dancer, his work has been presented at the New Grounds Dance Festival, ACDFA Regional Conference, and ACDFA National Festival at the Kennedy Center. He has studied and performed with choreographers and teachers Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Gerri Houlihan, Dan Wagoner, Alex Ketley, and Darrell Jones. As an artist, he seeks to use the creative process and performing arts as a catalyst for social activism and community engagement. Du’Bois’ mantra in life is “Just be.”

ADRIANNE ANSLEY is an undergraduate student at Florida State University’s School of Dance. A Florida native, Adrianne has had the privilege of receiving her primary dance training from the Sarasota Ballet School and with the Booker High School of the Performing Arts. She continued to hone her craft at Santa Fe College where she received her Associate of the Arts degree. As a performer, Adrianne has had the opportunity to work with Andy Noble, Douglas Gillespie, and Michael Foley while attending Santa Fe College. In recent summers, Adrianne has participated in festivals such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Summer Intensive and the American Dance Festival and recently performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the American College Dance Festival Association.

JOE CASANOVA is 22 years old and a recent Florida State University graduate with a BFA in Dance. He has been fortunate enough to have studied with several artists and choreographers such as Reggie Wilson, Mark Haim, Alex Ketley, and Andrew Curry and has performed repertory works by Gerri Houlihan, Jawole Zollar, Rick McCullough, Anthony Morgan, and KK Cashin. He was also a soloist for The Tallahassee Ballet for two years.

VERONICA CATO is a native of Boston, MA, who currently resides in Miami, FL. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance from New World School of the Arts/ University of Florida, graduating summa cum laude. Her dancing has allowed her to travel to such places as Prague, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Gainesville, and New York, performing works choreographed by Robert Battle, Peter London, Augusto Soledade, and Martha Graham. She has had the honor of working with Jim May, Darshaun Buhler, Denise Vale, Josee Garant, and Francine Huber. Veronica recently finished her second dance season with Augusto Soledade Brazzdance, a modern dance company in Miami, FL. She is really excited to have the opportunity to work with Carl Flink during the American Dance Festival.

DAVID DEEGAN is a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University. He has trained in ballet, modern, jazz, and hip hop. He has worked with faculty at VCU including Melanie Richards, Robbie Kinter, and Courtney Harris. David has performed in a work choreographed by Teena Marie Custer. He is a self-taught muician and beat boxer.

EMILY HANSEL is nineteen and from Rochester, MN. She has performed with Minneapolis’s Metropolitan Ballet, danced in various projects at the Ritz Theater in Minneapolis, and created the Summer Choreography Workshop in Rochester. Emily has attended intensives at ABT, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet, where she was awarded the Homer Avila Scholarship. Emily dances at the University of South Florida, where she has performed the works of Ohad Naharin, Bliss Kohlmyer, and Paula Nunez. Her choreography was showcased in USF’s Student Dance Production.

JOHNNIE MERCER, JR. is a native of Richmond, VA, and a BFA graduate from Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Dance and Choreography. Mr. Mercer has performed in works by Martha Curtis, Nathan Trice, Reggie Wilson, Kate Weare, Christian von Howard, , Shen Wei, Paul Taylor, William Forstyhe, and Bill T. Jones. Currently a company member of the Philadelphia/Austin based company Dance Theater X (led by Charles O. Anderson), he has had the recent honor of performing the New York premiere of the company’s newest work Restless Natives at New York Live Arts. Mr. Mercer is also currently working with the Richmond-based company Amaranth, led by Scott Putman, for their 2014-2015 season.

CHING NG is from and is a current student in The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, majoring in contemporary dance. She performed in Rebecca Wong’s In... Dark, Muse Motion’s Rhapsody In Dance Nation, Hong Kong Dance Day, and Hong Kong Dance Awards 2014.

EDDIE OROYAN (Assistant Choreographer & Collaborator) is an Artistic Associate and founding member of Minneapolis-based Black Label Movement. He currently dances with Ultima Vez in Brussels, Belgium. His experience spans Shapiro & Smith, Creach/Company, Zenon Dance Company, ARENA Dances, Keith Johnson, and Joe Chvala and the Flying Foot Forum. Eddie received a 2010 McKnight Artist Fellowship, was featured as Dance Artist of the Year 2006 in City Pages, and given honorable mention in the Star Tribune’s 2006 Artist of the Year.

BALDO RUIZ is an actor, director, dancer, and choreographer. He has a degree in interpretation and dance. He studied in Spain and Belgium and is currently finishing his studies as a choreographer. He is a member of the Porinerciateatro company, which creates different works of dance and theater. He has received more than 20 awards at national festivals. He works with artists and companies such as Amaury Lebrun, Anna Jonsson, Alfonso Zurro, and Andalusian Centre of dance. For cinema, he wrote Pilar Távora’s Beloved mother and Paco León’s Carmina or burst. He won the award for best dancer at the national dance competition in Spain in 2013. He is currently working on various projects for dance and television.

ERICA SAUCEDO was born and raised in Austin, TX. She recently graduated with a BFA in Dance from the University of Texas at Austin. During her studies, she performed works by faculty members Charles O. Anderson and David Justin, as well as repertory works by Paul Taylor, Merce Cunningham, Ohad Naharin, and David Parsons. She has performed professionally with Austin choreographers David Justin, Andrea Beckham, and Cheryl Chaddick. She will be moving this September to continue her professional career in New York City.

TEY SHAWN was born and raised in Singapore and began dancing in 2010 when he joined The Human Expression 2nd Dance Company as an apprentice. Since then, he has been actively performing in most of their works. In 2013, Tey got a full scholarship to attend the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and has just completed his first year. Tey has worked with several choreographers, notably Lee Mun Wai, Yarra Ileto, Sebastian Ledig, Laura Aris Alvarez, Jun Mabaqiao, Wallie Wolfgrubber, and Marcus Foo.

DAVID FERRI (Lighting Designer) has worked with prominent choreographers such as Pina Bausch, Shen Wei, Doug Varone, Yin Mei, Eiko and Koma, Jane Comfort, David Rousseve, Jody Sperling, and Ballet Preljocaj. He has been the Production Manager for the prestigious American Dance Festival since 1996 training upcoming designers in America. He is the recipient of a 1987-1988 “Bessie” Award for his design of Doug Varone’s Straits and a 2000- 2001 “Bessie” Award for Sustained Achievement in Lighting Design. Mr Ferri is the resident Lighting Designer - Technical Director for the Vassar College Dance Department. He was also resident lighting designer and technical director at PS 122 from 1985 to 1991. Mr. Ferri lives in New York between his travels and projects.

JOHN BRINKMAN (Costume Designer), born in Nebraska and raised in Wyoming, began his 30-year dance career at the University of Wyoming and Houston Ballet Academy. He started as a Corp de Ballet member at Tampa/Colorado Ballet and went on to dance for Empire State Ballet, Buffalo Ballet Theater, and ultimately Tulsa Ballet Theater where he danced and was appointed Costume Master. As Costume Master for TBT, he reconstructed great works from Balanchine (Mozart Violin Concerto, Tarantella), Ruth Page (Frankie and Johnnie, Carmen), Agnus DeMille (Rodeo, Billy the Kid) and Freddie Franklin (Gaite Pariesienne, Swan Lake) as well as numerous works from Roman Jasinski, Sr. Following his time with TBT, John was hired as principal dancer, principal teacher, and costumer for City Ballet of Houston and was a guest artist throughout California and the South.At City Ballet, John began creating original designs for shows such as Nutcracker, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty in addition to numerous contemporary choreographies. As owner and designer of J&K Costumes Inc. based in Keller TX, he currently designs for major national competitions in all genres and has won awards from L.A. Dance Force, Showstoppers, and Starpower International. John also continues to create original designs for numerous regional ballet companies such as North Central Ballet and North Houston Ballet Theatre and has expanded to . In addition to designing, John also enjoys teaching and performing Ballroom, Latin, and Country dance at The Dance Center of Colleyville in Texas under the direction of Malcolm McLoughlin.

This is Johns fourth year at the American Dance Festival, where he has had the privilege of collaborating with masters such as Twyla Tharp, Bill T. Jones, , and the Martha Graham Dance Company, as well as emerging choreographers such as Bulareyaung Pagarlava, Reggie Wilson, Jodi Melnick, Helen Simoneau, Adele Myers, Vanessa Voskuil, and Rosie Herrera. He is honored to work with the collaborative and creative efforts of his loving team at ADF. He would like to also thank Jodee Nimerichter, Donna and Kevin McCollough, Manuel, and ShaLeigh for their continued love and support.