Simone Forti, Dance Constructions Bios

Simone Forti is a dancer, artist, and Martita Abril is a performer, writer based in . Her early choreographer, and teaching artist from Dance Constructions were influential in the border city of Tijuana, Mexico. Her the reinvention of dance that took place in work considers abstract elements of New York in the 1960s and ’70s. Over the physical and cultural boundaries. She has years Forti has developed movement been a mentee and mentor for the NYFA vocabularies based on studies of animal Immigrant Artist Program and a volunteer movements, the dynamics of circling, and interpreter aiding asylum-seeking families the synergy between moving and at the South Texas Family speaking, as in her improvisational “News Residential Center detention facility in Animations.” Forti has performed Dilley, Texas. internationally at venues including the Museum in Paris and The Christiana Cefalu is an artist, writer, and in New York, the teacher based in Brooklyn. latter of which added her Dance Constructions to its collection in 2015. Christhian Diaz currently works as a paralegal with Queens Legal Services Sarah Swenson has been a principal Immigrant Advocacy Project. He has stager of Simone Forti’s Dance performed at the Whitney Biennial, MoMA Constructions since 2012, and the PS1, , and Abrons international project coordinator since Arts Center, among others. Christhian 2016. Swenson and Forti met in 1998 holds an MFA from Rutgers University and, together with performance artist Luke and a BFA from The Cooper Union, and is Johnson and composer Douglas Wadle, a MacDowell fellow. they collaborated on several evening- length works. Their anthology, Unbuttoned Born in Okinawa, Japan, Ayano Elson is Sleeves, was published by Beyond a 2018 Movement Research Van Lier Baroque in 2006. As an independent Emerging Artist of Color Fellow. Her choreographer, Swenson has created choreographic work has been presented numerous original works for youth, teens, by AUNTS, Gibney Dance, Movement and professionals, and she conducts Research at , workshops in improvisation, composition, and Roulette. Ayano has performed in and technique worldwide. Swenson is works by Kim Brandt and Jessica Cook. indebted to postmodern minimalist icon Rudy Perez, with whom she has been Talya Epstein is a Bessie-nominated working since 2004. She also directs performer, originally from Massachusetts installations of ON DISPLAY Global for and currently living in Brooklyn. Past and Heidi Latsky Dance, both at home and present collaborators include Anna Azrieli, abroad. Miguel Gutierrez, Ishmael Houston-Jones, Isabel Lewis, Juliana May, Phoebe Osborne, Will Rawls, Melinda Ring, Savannah Knoop is an artist, writer, and Tatyana Tenenbaum, and Larissa Velez- filmmaker who has performed and Jackson. She was a 2017 danceWEB exhibited at the Whitney Museum of scholar at Impulstanz in . American Art, ICA Philadelphia, and Yale University. They adapted their 2008 Jessie Gold is a dancer, choreographer, memoir Girl Boy Girl: How I Became JT visual artist, and performer. Her work has Leroy into a feature-length film that been shown at various theaters, premiered at the Toronto International museums, and galleries, including Film Festival in 2018. Danspace Project, BFI (Bas Fisher Invitational), Roulette, Movement Columbine Macher began her formal Research at Judson Memorial Church and training in under Pina Bausch. Museum of Contemporary Art North Based in New York City since 1987, she Miami. Gold also performs with Biba Bell, has performed extensively with Caitlin Cook, Walter Dundervill, and Maria choreographers Eleo Pomare, Maxine Hassabi. Steinman, and Xavier Le Roy at MoMA PS1; taught at The Ailey School and Miguel Ángel Guzmán is a New York Ballet Hispanico; presented her own work; City–based Mexican dancer, actor, and and held guest artist residencies in Asia choreographer. He has presented work in and Europe. Mexico, the US, Canada, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Jody Oberfelder is a director, Sweden, Austria, and Israel. Guzmán’s choreographer, dancer, and filmmaker most recent collaborators include the who creates visceral experiences for musicians Amanda Palmer, Lacy Rose, audiences onstage and in alternative and Lady Rizo and the choreographers sites. Recent work includes Audience of Coco Karol, Dorotea Saykaly, Alexandra One, Things (South Bank’s Flowstate, Pirici, and . Brisbane, Australia), On the Move Shortly (St. Pancras Station, London), Castle Samuel Hanson has performed for Hilary Walk (Braga, Portugal), and The Brain Carrier, Diana Crum, Isabel Lewis, Piece (NY Live Arts). Upcoming projects Ishmael Houston-Jones, Mina Nishimura, include Madame Ovary (Flea Theater, Yve Laris Cohen, Yvonne Meier, and May 2019). Alexandra Pirici. Prior to working in New York, he worked closely on projects with Laura Pfeffer is an interdisciplinary artist Utah choreographer and activist Ashley primarily working in video, sound, and Anderson through her platform performance. Her work has been loveDANCEmore. exhibited at Westbeth Gallery and 80WSE in New York, The Vex in Los Angeles, and Elizabeth Hart is a New York–based St. Agnes Church in . musician and performer. She is the bassist and a cofounding member of the Lee Relvas is a recipient of the 2018–19 band Psychic Illis. Hart has worked with Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program and the various artists, dancers, and 2016 Rema Hort Mann Emerging Artist choreographers throughout her 12-year grant. She has had recent solo exhibitions career, and she has performed at at Callicoon Fine Arts (New York) and museums, theaters, galleries, music Artist Curated Projects (Los Angeles) and venues, and festivals worldwide. has exhibited and performed at the Whitney Museum of American Art, , Brooklyn Museum, and Glass House, and more. In 2017 he SculptureCenter. presented his own work at the Guggenheim Museum’s Young Collectors Lindsay Londs Reuter is a dancer and Council. Stuckey is currently a member of dance-maker based in Brooklyn. Her work the Rod Rodgers Dance Company. has been presented by Danspace Project, New York Live Arts, and Movement Vanessa Vargas is a Caracas-born Research at Judson Memorial Church. contemporary dancer, choreographer, She oversees access programming at the dance educator, and performer. She holds Brooklyn Museum and is currently degrees in performance studies, pursuing an MA in disability studies from sociology, and media. Her scholarly and the City University of New York. choreographic research focuses on the political potentiality of movement. She has Alex Rodabaugh is a dancer, worked with various choreographers and choreographer, and performer. He has independent artists in Europe, South worked with artists such as Doug America, and the US. LeCours, Sigrid Lauren, Ishmael Houston- See Saw Perfomers Jones, and Miguel Gutierrez and horsewomen such as Buffalo Bailey. He Malik Gaines and Alexandro Segade has shown work at CPR, The Ho_se, have performed and exhibited widely with Movement Research at Judson Memorial the group My Barbarian, have Church, Draftworks, PRELUDE, Gibney, collaborated as Courtesy the Artists and and American Realness. A.R.M., and each makes work solo. They are artists-in-residence at the Park Alex Romania is a multidisciplinary artist Avenue Armory, where their piece Star working at the crux of expansive task and Choir will premiere in 2019. Segade has deteriorating form, investigating bodies of written for Artforum, Theater Journal and cultural debris amid the invisible everyday others, and he’s currently working on a and toxic ingestions. Based in New York comic book, The Context. Gaines is the City, Romania has presented work and author of Black Performance on the taught nationally and internationally, and Outskirts of the Left and many articles and is a current Movement Research artist-in- essays. Segade is co-chair of MFA residence. Film/Video at Bard College and Gaines is associate professor of Performance Alexis Ruiseco-Lombera is a Cuban Studies at NYU Tisch. photographer, performance artist, and writer working at the intersection between queer and trans bodies and Cubania. Ruiseco-Lomebra has been featured at 00Bienal de La Habana and Leslie- Lohman Museum, is a TuCuba and En Foco fellow, and has been a resident at Marble House Project.

Quenton Stuckey is a dance artist and vocalist based in New York City. He has been featured in works at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the Philip Johnson