In 2016, brothers Andrew and Stuart Maxfield were given a huge concert hall and ready collaborators and all they needed was … a show.
Stuart (frontman of the bands Fictionist and s2_cool) and Andrew (a classical composer) wanted to make something new and different. Something more than a concert.
The result, first shown to the public in 2016, was a genre-bending collaboration that involved live music, elaborate productions, and dance.
It was called The Bridge, and it was a reinterpretation of an intense wartime short story by Ambrose Bierce called “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge.”
This show rallied the talents of director Chris Clark and choreographer Jenny Barlow, librettist Glen Nelson, a small ensemble of professional dancers, and an array of musicians and designers.
This unconventional literary-music-dance collaboration led Stuart and Andrew to conversations with SALT Contemporary Dance and ultimately to a major commission from Utah Presents, which is bringing The Bridge to Kingsbury Hall on November 8, 9, and 10.
In the two years since its inception, the show has evolved, matured, and deepened…
Thanks to the collaborations with SALT, award-winning choreographer Brendan Duggan, and a fantastic creative team, this show—a long-form story told through new dance and music—will lead you into love and loss in the fringes of war.
The Bridge runs from November 8-10 at Kingsbury Hall.
Tickets start at $20
Youth 18 and under $10
University of Utah students $5 (purchase at box office w/ U ID)
Non-University of Utah students $10 (purchase at box office w/ school ID)
U staff/faculty save 10% (purchase at box office w/ U ID)
Photos by Izzy Arrieta. 1. SALT dancer Amy Gunter Lolofie. 2. SALT dancers Ching Ching Wong and Eldon Johnson
coming soon.
Jonathan Kim graduated from California State University, Fullerton in 2017 and performed professionally with SJDanceCo, Lineage Dance Company, Kelly Alvarez and Artists, and Embark Dance Theatre. He was adjunct faculty and guest choreographer at California State University, Los Angeles in Spring 2018. Throughout his career, he performed works by Doris Humphrey, Donald McKayle, Colin Connor, Debra Noble, Bryn Cohn, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Alice Klock, Alyssa Pires, Rebecca Aneloski, and others. Currently, he is based out of Salt Lake City while guesting for Repertory Dance Theatre's 2018 Fall Concert and dancing with SALT Contemporary Dance.
Born in Manila, Philippines and raised in southern California, Ching Ching Wong began her dance training at Allegria Dance Theater under the direction of Dr. Alia Harlan Kaneaiakala. She received her Bachelors of Fine Arts major in Dance Performance and minor in Education and Psychology & Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine where she studied with legendary dance maker Donald McKayle. In addition to her dance training, she is a certified classical Pilates instructor through The Pilates Center in Boulder, Colorado.
She danced for Northwest Dance Project for seven seasons in Portland, Oregon where she has originated roles in creations by Ihsan Rustem, Patrick Delcroix, Lucas Crandall, Felix Landerer, Jiri Pokorny, Didy Veldman, Wen Wei Wang, Sarah Slipper, Alex Soares, Pedro Dias, Carla Mann, and Yin Yue amongst others.
Dance Magazine named Ching Ching as 25 to Watch in 2017. She has also been awarded The Princess Grace Award in Dance. You can even catch her on season 15 of So You Think You Can Dance.
Ching Ching has just returned from a 10 month world tour choreographing, teaching, performing, and eating many new snacks. She is boundlessly grateful to be with SALT this Fall as a guest company member, director for SALT Pro, and choreographer for SALT training companies.
Eldon has been dancing professionally now for 20 years.
Over his career, Eldon has been blessed to have worked with some of the dance worlds most reputable choreographers, such as Alex Ketley, Peter Chu, Jermaine Spivey, Michael Nunn and William Trevitt, Mia Michaels, Justin Giles, David Dorfman, Jason Parsons, Dee Caspary, Travis Wall, Brendan Duggan, Bonnie Story, Gabrielle Lamb, Derryl Yeager, Liz Imperio, and Ronen Koresh.
Amy received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Brigham Young University where she performed with dancEnsemble and Contemporary Dance Theatre.
While at BYU, Amy was on a performance scholarship through the dance department, and received the Outstanding Performer award in 2016.
As the teaching assistant for Kinesiology at BYU she developed a strong understanding and passion for the body.
She incorporates this knowledge into all of the classes she teaches, and loves to help others understand how to dance from a functional place.
Amy is always looking for new experiences to learn and has performed with Repertory Dance Theater as a guest artist in the masterwork “Missa Brevis”, choreographed by Jose Limon.
She also attended San Francisco Conservatory of Dance in summer 2016, learning from professionals with resumes that include San Fancisco Ballet, LINES ballet, and Batsheva.
She currently dances for SALT Contemporary Dance where she performs works by world-renowned choreographers.
Logan began his formal dance training at the age of 16 under the direction of Janica Hayes at Westlake High School in Saratoga Spring Utah. He attended Brigham Young University on full tuition scholarship and graduated with a degree in Dance Performance.
Logan is currently going into his fourth season as a member of SALT Contemporary Dance in Salt Lake City under the direction of Joni Tuttle McDonald. Logan recently had the opportunity to take part in a residency at Perry Mansfield as a member of the Foundry under the direction of Alex Ketley. He has had the opportunity to work personally with many world renowned choreographers and learn from their expertise. Among those choreographers are modern dance guru Donald McKayle, Saddler's Wells Theater's Global Dance Conest winner Ihsan Rustem, Kidd Pivot's Jemaine Spivey, director of ChuThis. Peter Chu, Batsheva dancer Bobbi Jene Smith, director of Ate9 Danielle Agami, director of New Dialect Banning Bouldin, director of Proyecto Titoyaya Gustavo Sansano Ramirez, and former dancer with Alonzo King's LINES and founder of the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance Summer Lee Rhatigan. Other artists Logan has worked with include Jenny Backhaus, Ivan Pulinkala, Loni Landon, Brendan Duggan, Gabrielle Lamb, Eric Handman, and Courtney Mazieka. He is exciting for to continue growing and learning with SALT!
Michelle H. Nielsen is inspired by the expression, creativity, and dynamic spirit of dance. She has worked at all levels of the dance world including: secondary education, children’s programs, studios, higher education, commercial and professional. Michelle performed across the United States and internationally with The Brigham Young University Dancers’ Company, BYU-Idaho Contemporary Dance Theater and professionally with Orange County’s award-winning Backhausdance Company. Michelle received her Bachelors degree in Dance Education from BYU and her Master of Fine Arts degree from University of California, Irvine. She returned to BYU in 2010 where she taught all levels of technique, various lecture classes, as well as serving as Artistic Director of their contemporary touring company, CDT. Michelle owned and directed her own dance studio in Draper, where she founded SALT Contemporary Dance.
Lexie graduated with her bachelors in Dance Education and masters in Arts Administration from SUU. With more than ten years of experience teaching preschool through adults in public schools and private studios, Lexie has a passion for arts education. She has performed throughout the United States and across Europe with local universities, God’s Messengers Dance Company, St. George Dance Company, and with members of Repertory Dance Theatre, and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. As an Arts Administrator, Lexie has served as a Dance Company Director, Grant Administrator, Arts Conservatory Coordinator, Performing Arts Department Head, Development Director, and is currently the Executive Director for SALT Contemporary Dance.
Born and raised in Utah. Sierra’s formal training took her to Odyssey Dance Theatre 2 under the direction of Derryl Yeager. She then continued her dance training at Center Stage Performing Arts Studio in Orem under the direction of Kim Delgrosso. In 2012, she was accepted into the Joffrey Contemporary Ballet Summer intensive studying under Josie Walsh, Anna Holmes, Denise Biggi, Julie Bour, Mia Michaels, and Mandy Moore. In 2014 Sierra received the Dance and Merit Scholarship at American Musical and Dramatic Academy in Los Angeles where she studied Dance Theatre. Most recently Sierra has trained with Company Rhome in Los Angeles and Divinity Dance Company in Salt Lake City. This fall will be her third season with SALT Contemporary Dance and her second year directing a dance company at The Pointe Academy in Highland Utah.
Natalie Border, a Utah native, began training at The Dance Club studio and danced on her high school dance company. After high school Natalie continued to dance as well as administer as company president of the Snow Dance Ensemble under the direction of Patty Meredith. She graduated from the University of Utah with her BFA in Modern Dance Spring of 2015. While dancing on scholarship and as a part of the honor society, Orchesis, she performed as a guest artist in Rire-Woodbury’s “Spring Concert”, and performed with the Performing Dance Company in works by Andrea Miller of Gallim and Sharee Lane.
Natalie has also worked with other gifted artists such as Loni Landon, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Scott Wells, and LajaMartin among others. Natalie has participated in Northwest Dance Project’s Launch: 10 program, produced her own show, Nomad, and most recently had the privilege to perform in Repertory Dance Theatre’s Emerge show in work by Dan Higgins. Natalie is open to new experiences in dance performance, teaching, collaboration, and choreography.
Haley Johnson is from Chicago, Illinois. She began her dance training at the
Joffrey Academy of Dance under the direction of Ana Reznik and Alexei
Kremnev. She then earned her BFA in dance from the University of Arizona.
Johnson trained at numerous intensive programs including Orlando Ballet, Houston
Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theater, LINES Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago,
Complexions Contemporary Ballet, New Dialect, and BODYTRAFFIC. She has
performed works by Paul Lightfoot and Sol León, Penny Saunders, Crystal Pite,
Alejandro Cerrudo, William Forsythe, Dwight Rhoden, Desmond Richardson, and
Alonzo King.
Alongside performing, Johnson has created multiple choreographic works. She was
a selected finalist for the American Choreographic Festival (2017, 2018), received
The Undergraduate Creative Achievement Award (2017) from the University of
Arizona College of Fine Arts, set work on US International Ballet, and a finalist for
the McCallum Theater Choreography Festival. This is Johnson’s first season with
SALT Contemporary Dance.
Hayley Smihula began dancing in Las Vegas, Nevada before moving to Salt Lake City, Utah and performing competitively. She spent her high school years training at Ballet West Academy and participating in summer intensives with the University of Utah, The Ailey School, and Northwest Dance Project.
Hayley spent two years as a member of Salt II, performing works by Alex Ketley, Lindsey Matheis, Ching Ching Wong, Brendan Duggan, Gabriel Lamb, Katie Scherman and more. She is excited to enter this season as an apprentice with Salt and to continue cultivating her passion for contemporary dance.
When not in rehearsal, Hayley can be found teaching and choreographing for local studios, pursuing her degree in Neuroscience at the University of Utah, and enjoying Utah's beautiful outdoors.
Joni McDonald began her ballet training under the direction of Jacqueline Colledge, and later received her B.F.A. from Utah Valley University. During that time, Joni joined Utah Regional Ballet and danced professionally for six seasons performing principal roles such as Sugar Plum, Swanhilda, and Ucanogos in Colledge’s original ballet Legend of Timpanogos. She then joined Northwest Dance Project and performed original works by Sarah Slipper, Ihsan Rustem, Patrick Delcroix, Wen Wei Wang, Loni Landon, and Lucas Crandall. Following NWDP, she had the experience to work with Michael Nunn and Billy Trevit from the Ballet Boyz on Ovation’s “A Chance to Dance”. From that experience, she won the opportunity to tour with “So You Think You Can Dance”. Joni has participated in many workshops such as Nederlands Dans Theater, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, and San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. She has studied Jirí Kylián works with Fionna Lumis, William Forsythe Improvisation Technologies with Alessio Sylvestri and Ohad Naharin's "gaga" technique and repertoire with Bobby Smith. Joni is a co-founder and former dancer of SALT Contemporary Dance where she has worked with artists such as Alex Ketley, Brendan Duggan, and Gabrielle Lamb. She is also on faculty at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance.
Jenni Berthelot received a BFA in Dance, Magna Cum Laude, from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College. During her time at Purchase, she also studied at London Contemporary Dance School, where she performed the work of Merce Cunningham. A Houston native, Jenni graduated from the High School for the Performing & Visual Arts and trained at Rowland School of Ballet in Kingwood, Texas. Jenni has performed works by Peter Chu, Frances Chiaverini, Danielle Desnoyers, Lane Gifford, Kazuko Hirabayashi, Ginnette Laurin, Tom Weinberger, and Twyla Tharp.
Jenni is a founding member of chuthis., a contemporary dance company under the direction of choreographer Peter Chu. She also serves as an assistant on many of his teaching and choreographic endeavors, including Seasons 9 & 10 of So You Think You Can Dance. Most recently, Jenni has staged Peter’s work at Booker T. Washington HSPVA and Charlotte Ballet’s Pre-Professional Program, among others. Jenni has also acted as rehearsal director for many of Peter’s recent creations, including pieces for Charlotte Ballet II, New Dialect (Nashville, TN) and Brigham Young University. Teaching highlights include Brigham Young University & MIP2. Currently, Jenni lives in New York City, working as a freelance artist.
Christian Denice's professional dance experience includes Odyssey Dance Theatre, River North Dance Chicago, Company E, Montgomery Ballet, BODYTRAFFIC, and BJM Danse in Montreal. Christian teaches and choreographs nationally and internationally, and is currently on faculty at the Joffrey Academy Trainee Program and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago HSPro program. He has created new works for Odyssey Dance Theatre, River North Dance Chicago in collaboration with Frank Chaves, LEVELdance Chicago, DanceWorks Chicago, Interlochen Center for the Arts, METdance too, the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Visceral Dance Chicago, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Western Michigan University, METdance Houston, Modern America Dance Company, Modas Dance, and Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company. Christian is the 2015-2016 winner of the University of South Florida's Echo Choreographic Competition and the 2016 winner of the Joffrey Academy's Winning Works Choreographic competition. Christian was recently one of the guest choreographers for both DanceWorks Chicago's ChoreoLab and the Barton Movement's AXIS Connect in Los Angeles this past summer. Christian currently dances for Chicago based project company the Cambrians. In April 2016, Christian directed and choreographed a short dance film entitled "the watchers" filmed by Salt Lake City based videographer Bryce Johnson. He is a certified Power Vinyasa yoga instructor and is the studio assistant at CorePower Yoga Old Town in Chicago. For more information, please visit www.christiandenice.com.
Courtney Mazeika received her BFA in Dance from the University of Texas at Austin. Upon graduation, she moved to the Bay Area to train with Summer Lee Rhatigan at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance and join Alex Ketley’s company, The Foundry. As a freelance artist, Courtney has had the opportunity to perform in various projects including works by Tom Weinberger, Bobbi Jene Smith, David Harvey, burnsWORK, Crossings SF, Project20, and UNA Projects. She is a proud faculty member of the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. Courtney has taught and created her own work at a number of schools and companies including the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, The University of Texas at Austin, SALT Dance Company, Brigham Young University, and solo commissions for SUNY Purchase, Cornish College of the Arts, LINES/Dominican BFA program, and the Ailey/Fordham BFA program. Her recent work, “eventually,” was part of an ongoing collaboration between Courtney, Marlie Couto, and Max Judelson. “eventually” premiered at Chop Shop Contemporary Dance Festival in February 2018 and was most recently performed at the Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition in June 2018, where it received the 2nd place prize. Presently, she is a collaborator with burnsWORK, a member of the Conservatory’s alumni company, Crossings SF, and continues to develop new work alongside Marlie and Max. She currently works closely with Tom Weinberger on new work, commissions, and workshops throughout Europe and North America.
Called ‘vastly gifted’ by Deborah Jowitt, Shannon Gillen has had an extensive career as a dancer and choreographer in NYC and Europe. She was a member of the Johannes Wieland company based at Staatstheater Kassel in Germany; won commissions from Mainfranken Theater Würzburg, the International Solo-Tanz Theater Festival in Stuttgart (3rd prize dance), the TIF theater in Kassel, and was also selected as a choreographer-in-residence at Staatsoper Hannover. Shannon founded VIM VIGOR as the home for her collaborative choreographic and educational endeavors. Her work has been commissioned across the USA, Canada, Central America, South America and Europe. Projects include commissions by Benjamin Millepied’s L.A. Dance Project, fashion label PHELAN for NY Fashion Week, DANCEworks at the Lobero Theatre, Springboard Danse Festival, Hubbard Street 2, b12 Festival at dock 11 in Berlin and Gibney Dance Company in NYC; notable festivals and venues where her work has been seen include NYLA, Prisma Festival, Judson Church, PULSE Art Fair, and NYC's River to River festival. She is currently a choreographer in residence at Princeton University.
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Eric Handman is an American choreographer and an Associate Professor at the University of Utah’s Department of Modern Dance. Prior to receiving his MFA from the University of Utah in 2003, he earned a BA in English from Skidmore College in 1991. He was a member of New York Theatre Ballet and then a professional dancer in various New York–based contemporary dance companies such as Doug Varone and Dancers, Nicholas Leichter Dance and Joy Kellman and Company. He has worked with David Dorfman, Lisa Race, Stephen Koester, Charlotte Boye-Christensen, Koosilja-Hwang, Eun Me Ahn, Pooh Kaye and many others. He teaches domestically and internationally specializing in technique, composition, improvisation, contact improvisation, dance studies, criticism and theory. His choreography has been commissioned by various companies and departments across the United States. He has taught, performed and shown his choreography throughout the United States as well as Costa Rica, England, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland and Hungary. His work has been shown at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He has served on the board of directors of the Congress on Research in Dance and is presently on the board of the American College Dance Association. Handman is a Fulbright Specialist and a member of the Entrepreneurial Faculty Scholars at the University of Utah for his work on mobile technology and choreographic thinking. In 2014 he was a winner of two choreography competitions: the 2014 New Visions Choreography Competition for Idaho Dance Theater and the 2014 Pretty Creatives International Choreographic Competition for the Northwest Dance Project.
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Andrew is a Boston-based composer and producer. Comprising primarily choral, art song, and chamber works, Andrew’s compositions have been performed throughout the United States and Europe. Andrew studied music at BYU, where he was valedictorian and where he occasionally teaches as adjunct faculty. He pursued advanced studies in composition at the EAMA–Nadia Boulanger Institute in Paris, France, and The Boston Conservatory.
Brendan Duggan is a Brooklyn-based dancer and choreographer who has been creating original works since 2010. Throughout his career, he has performed with Gallim Dance, Loni Landon, Danielle Russo, Third Rail Projects, and Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More. As a choreographer, Duggan served as Co-Director of LoudHoundMovement (LHM) from 2012 - 2017 before establishing himself as an independent choreographer. His work has been presented nationally and internationally earning him a place in Springboard Danse Montréal’s Emerging Choreographers program, the winner of Western Michigan University’s National Choreographic Competition, and commissions for SALT Contemporary Dance, Whim W’Him Dance, and Western Michigan University.
Stuart Maxfield (Lead composer, performer) is a versatile contemporary musician and producer. Known as the co-founder/frontman of Fictionist and s2_cool, Stuart has toured and performed extensively as a singer, bassist, guitarist, and violinist. In addition to being a sought-after studio musician and cofounder of Pleasant Pictures Music Club, Stuart teaches songwriting classes at BYU and UVU as well as in group classes based on his songwriting method book.
Candice Nielsen has worked in costume design for over a decade. She received her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College in Theatre and Costume Design. She is also earned a BA from Brigham Young University in Theatre Arts with a costume design concentration. Candice has worked extensively in costumes for theatre, tv, & film in New York City. Recently relocated to the Salt Lake area, Candice has designed costumes for SALT for various contemporary dance performances over the last two seasons. She is excited to merge the theatrical and dance worlds in her costumes for the upcoming “The Bridge” project. Candice presented "The Bridge" costumes this fall at Utah Fashion week.
Cristian Bell serves as the Operations Director for the School of the Arts at Utah Valley University where he leads a team for production support for all the performance events. His Technical Director credits include: Sundance Summer Theater, University of Maryland Baltimore County Theatre Department,1st Stage Virginia, Presbyterian College Theatre Department in South Carolina, Actor’s Repertory Theatre Ensemble, UNLV Opera, Light Opera Oklahoma, The Nevada Conservatory Theater, and Great River Shakespeare Festival. Cristian also designed sets for Signature Theatre’s production of Aida, Orson Scott Card’s production of Posing for People, and UMBC’s production of Fabulous Presto. B.F.A., Brigham Young University. M.F.A. Technical Direction, University of Nevada Las Vegas.
Clue, Altar Boyz, Steel Magnolias, Art, RED, The Foreigner, Murder for Two (The Cape Playhouse, MA). The Music Man, Wizard of Oz, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Fiddler on the Roof (Sundance Eccles Theater, UT). Eleemosynary (The Brooks, CA). The King’s Men, Private Ear, Hedda Gabler, The Weird Play (Rose Wagner, UT). Bride of Frankenstein, Sonder, A Streetcar Named Desire (Found Spaces, UT). Jaron sat on the Board of Directors for the United States Institute of Theater Technology Intermountain Desert Region & is a lecturer at Utah Valley University. Jaron is a nominee of the USITT Young Professionals Rising Star award.
Jacob Eveler is a professional photographer working primarily in the greater Salt Lake area. He specializes in event photography, and over the past few years has worked in fashion and dance photography with SLUG Magazine, Art Meets Fashion, Utah Fashion Week, and several dance companies, including Salt Dance. In his spare time, he also enjoys landscape and street photography. Currently, he is working on a photography book featuring candid, dramatic shots of people in American cities. Jacob’s favorite quote and the basis for his photography comes from Robert Frank, “There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment.” You may contact Jacob through his email: jacobeveler@gmail.com, and on Instagram @jacob_eveler.
Amy Gunter received her BFA in Dance from Brigham Young University where she was awarded many outstanding performance and choreographic recognitions. She currently dances with SALT Contemporary Dance and directs their sister company SALT2. Amy is a choreographic fellow with SALT where she helps develop shows and regularly sets work on SALT2. She has performed works by renowned artists like Gustavo Ramirez, Ihsan Rustem, Banning Bouldin, Peter Chu and more. Amy also dances for and assists Ching Ching Wong of Carrots Carrying Water. She teaches, choreographs, and performs around the state of Utah. Amy is passionate about researching movement and how we use dance to learn about humanity.
Aubry was born and raised in Orange County, California where she studied ballet from Dmitri and Jenifer Kulev at the Dmitri Kulev Classical Ballet Academy. Simultaneously, she joined Westside Dance Project under the direction of Jessie Riley to further her training in contemporary and modern dance. Aubry has performed works by Barak Marshal, Jermaine Spivey (Kidd Pivot), Alex Ketley (The Foundry), and Bret Easterling (Batsheva) to name a few. She has studied at intensives with BODYTRAFFIC, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater, and Batsheva Dance Company. Most recently, Aubry joined SALT 2 in 2017 and SALT Contemporary Dance in 2019.
Haley Johnson is from Chicago, Illinois. She began her dance training at the Joffrey Academy of Dance under the direction of Ana Reznik and Alexei Kremnev. She then earned her BFA in dance from the University of Arizona in May of 2018. Johnson trained at numerous intensive programs including Orlando Ballet, Houston Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theater, LINES Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, New Dialect, and BODYTRAFFIC. She has performed works by Paul Lightfoot and Sol León, Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, Penny Saunders, Peter Chu, Crystal Pite, Alejandro Cerrudo, William Forsythe, Ihsan Rustem, Joni McDonald, Garrett Smith, Dwight Rhoden, Desmond Richardson, and Alonzo King. Alongside performing, Johnson was a selected finalist for the American Choreographic Festival (2017, 2018), received The Undergraduate Creative Achievement Award (2017) from the University of Arizona College of Fine Arts. She was a resident choreographer at US International Ballet as well as a finalist for the 21st Annual McCallum Theater Choreography Festival. Johnson was also selected for METDance’s top 12 of their NEWDance Choreography Platform of 2019 and won 2nd Place Judges’ Choice at the Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival 2019. Johnson has also set work on Salt Lake School of the Performing Arts spring of 2019. Haley had work selected to be featured at the Body Logic Choreography Festival and the 2019 New Century Dance Project Gala Concert. She has been one of the three selected women choreographers to create new work for the Sugar Space: SUITE Women Defining Space Production 2019. In 2020, Johnson created a new work on Oquirrh West Project that was to premiere at the Leona Wagner Black Box Theater. Due to the COVID-19 stay at home order, the showcase to premiere was, unfortunately, canceled. Later in the summer of 2020, Johnson co-produced an outdoor, socially distanced choreographic production, OuterSpace. She gave choreographers and dancers of the Salt Lake dance community the opportunity to showcase their original works in a proscenium-spaced parking lot at 600 S 600 W upon the many months of lockdown. This is Haley’s fourth season dancing with the first company of SALT Contemporary Dance.
Marlie Couto graduated from The Boston Conservatory in 2013 and moved to the Bay Area to train extensively with Summer Lee Rhatigan at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. Marlie was on faculty at The Conservatory from 2014 until its closing in 2018. As a freelance artist, Marlie has had the pleasure of working closely with and performing works by Lauren Simpson, Christian Burns, Bobbi Jene Smith, Tom Weinberger, David Harvey, Alex Ketley, Marissa Brown, and Margot Gelber. She is currently a collaborator with burnsWORK, SFCD’s Alumni Company, Crossings SF, and SALT Contemporary Dance. Courtney Mazeika, Max Judelson, and Marlie began an ongoing performative and choreographic collaboration in 2013. Their work, “eventually” was awarded the 2nd place prize at Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition in June 2018.
Myles Woolstenhulme began his dance training at Diamond Talent Productions in St. George, Utah. From ages 12-18 he trained in ballet, jazz, and tap under the direction of Melinda Larson. After graduating high school, Myles attended Brigham Young University where he pursued a BFA in Dance Performance. At BYU, Myles performed on the touring contemporary dance company, CDT for two consecutive seasons. While dancing with CDT, Myles performed abroad in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary in several venues and dance festivals. After two years at school, Myles was hired as a company member with SALT Contemporary Dance, where he still dances. While dancing with SALT, Myles has had the opportunity to work with many innovative voices in the dance industry. Myles has performed works by: Peter Chu, Gustavo Ramirez, Ihsan Rustem, Jermaine Spivey, and others. Working with SALT has been one of the most rewarding and critical opportunities Myles has had.
Myles feels very privileged to have performed in several musicals in recent years. In 2017, Myles was hired as a resident company ensemble member for Music Theatre Wichita’s summer season which included; Newsies, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Hairspray. Myles performed on the Pioneer Theatre stage in Mamma Mia and most recently Myles was honored to play the lead, Jerry Mulligan, in Hale Center Theatre’s production of An American in Paris.
Dan Higgins, a San Francisco Bay Area native, began dancing at the age of eighteen after a long history with organized sports. The physicality and athleticism directly translated into his love for dance. Dan received his training from the University of Wyoming, obtaining his B.F.A. in Dance Performance. He has performed work by numerous acclaimed artists such as, Bill T. Jones, Nina Watt, Bebe Miller, Noa Zuk, Danielle Agami, Bill Evans, Molissa Fenley, and Zvi Gotheiner among others. Dan is a performer, teacher and choreographer who is currently interested in the mergence of semantic expression and body composition as they relate to the human condition. He has expanded his own work under RDT’s EMERGE, LINK Series and at the Salt Lake Fringe Festival. Other choreographic projects can be seen throughout the states of Utah, Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Dan continues to craft his own future work with the art of dance, and is grateful to be able to progress alongside a beautiful community.
Eric Handman is choreographer and an Associate Professor at the University of Utah's School of Dance. He holds an MFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah and a BA in English from Skidmore College. He was a member of New York Theatre Ballet and then a professional dancer in various New York City–based contemporary dance companies such as Doug Varone and Dancers, Nicholas Leichter Dance and Joy Kellman and Company. He has worked with choreographers such as: Wendy Perron, David Dorfman, Lisa Race, Stephen Koester, Charlotte Boye-Christensen, Koosilja Hwang and many others. His choreography has been commissioned by various companies and Universities across the United States and is a winner of the Northwest Dance Project’s International Choreographic Competition. He is a Fulbright Specialist for his work at the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica and a recipient of the University of Utah College of Fine Arts Faculty Excellence Award for Creative Research.
Handman has served on the board of directors for the Congress on Research in Dance, the American College Dance Association and the Executive Committee of the Entrepreneurial Faculty Scholars at the University of Utah. He is currently on the board of SALT Contemporary Dance.
His research into “choreographic thinking” includes collaborations with dancers, game designers, autism researchers, psychologists and mechanical engineers. His investigations include dances for the live stage, understanding the effects of choreographic experiences in virtual reality, the creative potential of unmanned aerial vehicles and the interplay of live dancers with drones.
Alex Ketley is an independent choreographer, filmmaker, and the director of The Foundry. Formally a classical dancer with the San Francisco Ballet, he left the company to create The Foundry as a platform to explore his interests in alternative methods of devising performance. The company has allowed Ketley the freedom to pursue projects that would be difficult to realize within his commissioning career. A few examples of these are; Syntax, an hour long duet systemically using the mechanics of language as an organizing mechanism, Lost Line researched how the application of environment effects the generation of movement and studied in direct response to California’s diverse physical landscapes, Please Love Me jettisoned the structure of performing in a theater context and was developed with a curiosity about how people genuinely connect and experience artwork, and the No Hero Trilogy which was a multi-year project that explored what dance and performance means to the lives of people living throughout rural America. For his independent work as a choreographer he has been commissioned extensively throughout the United State, as well as projects in Germany and Italy, and has received acknowledgement from the Hubbard Street National Choreographic Competition, the International Choreographic Competition of the Festival des Arts de Saint-Saveaur, the Choo-San Goh Award, the Princess Grace Award for Choreography, four Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography Residencies, the Gerbode-Hewlett Choreographer Award, the Eben Demarest Award, the National Choreographic Initiative Residency, a Kenneth Rainin Foundation New and Experimental Works Grant, three CHIME Fellowships, the Artistry Award from the Superfest International Disability Film Festival, and his work was featured on national television through an invitation from the show So You Think You Can Dance. His pieces and collaborations have also been awarded Isadora Duncan Awards in the categories of; Outstanding Achievement by an Ensemble, Outstanding Achievement in Choreography, Outstanding Achievement by a Company, and nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Visual Design. As an educator he has taught throughout the world and is currently a Lecturer at Stanford University’s Theater and Performance Studies Department and was the founding Resident Choreographer at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance for 14 years until its closure in 2018.
Nicholas Palmquist is a New York based dancer and choreographer working a variety of dance genres. He has danced commercially on shows like, The Get Down directed by Baz Luhrmann for Netflix and multiple times for Saturday Night Liveand The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.Feature films include Isn’t it Romantic and next years’ In The Heights. He has danced for Kenzo/H&M, directed by Jean-Paul Goude and Ryan Heffington as well as Hermès fashion week and choreographed for Zalando, with director Gordon von Steiner and for the Vogue x CFDA fashion fund. Nicholas danced at the Joyce Theater and Guggenheim Works and Process series with American Dance Machine, re-staging original Broadway repertoire under the direction of Wayne Cilento and he conversely danced with Broadway Dance Lab, creating new models for how dance is made. He has performed his own work at the Monterrey International Ballet Gala in Mexico and at Lincoln Center for Dance Against Cancer. He danced in the New York Spectacular starring the Radio City Rockettes, for Mia Michaels and again at the Music Hall for The Tony Award with Rob Ashford! Nicholas has had works performed by ballet stars, Marcelo Gomes and Cory Stearns and partnered Diana Vishneva at the Beacon Theatre in New York. Nicholas has taught masterclasses in Russia, Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, Shanghai, Japan, as well as New York, and on faculty with Adrenaline Dance Convention and Steps on Broadway. He most recently collaborated with musicians, Lucius in Italy for their upcoming album!
Shayla Bott is currently an Associate Professor of Ballet at Brigham Young University (BYU). Her current assignments include Artistic Direction of BYU Theatre Ballet and BYU Ballet Area Administrator. From the University of Utah, Shayla holds a BFA in ballet performance and an MFA in ballet with a focus on music, choreography and pedagogy. After retiring from a professional performance career, she has continued to choreograph and teach in professional and academic venues. Her creative work has received multiple awards. Shayla is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique, and Stott Pilates Matwork and Reformer. She has also successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Pre-Primary through Level 3 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum.
Marija Obradovic grew up in Belgrade, Serbia. She began her dance training with the guidance of Svetlana Djurovic, the director and choreographer of Perpetuum Dance company, with whom she worked for seven years. The company performed nationally, and internationally on festivals in Jordan and Philippines. In 2015 Marija relocated to New York, where she had worked with JinJu Song Begin Da -On Dance and Soluq Dance Theater. She is also alumni of Springboard Danse Montreal and currently performs in Punchdrunk's production Sleep No More in NYC. Additionally, Marija holds a BA in Psychology from University of Belgrade. She has assisted Gillen on commissions at Barnard College, The Juilliard School, the b12 Festival in Berlin and supported workshops for New Dialect in Nashville. Marija joined VIM VIGOR as a company member in 2018, and has originated roles in two VIM VIGOR creations.
Kiley Dolaway was born and raised in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA. She studied ballet and modern dance at Philadelphia Dance Theatre then attended high school and studied dance at The University of North Carolina School of the Arts under the direction of Susan Jaffe. She recently graduated in May of 2018 from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College with a BFA in dance performance. During her time at Purchase, she performed repertory by Shannon Gillen, Kevin Wynn, Manuel Vignoulle, Sidra Bell, and Merce Cunningham. Additionally, she was invited to dance at Springboard Danse Montreal in the summers of 2017 and 2018 where she performed in the restaging of 'Paper Cuts in an Empty Bag' by Peter Chu and ‘Neither Here|There’ a new creation by Johannes Wieland. In 2018, Kiley also premiered in Shannon Gillen's 'SUPERBLOOM' at the 92nd Street before joining VIM VIGOR as a company member. Since then she has assisted Gillen at The Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase, NYU Tisch, and Fordham Ailey. She has supported Shannon Gillen's creations at L.A. Dance Project, b12 festival in Berlin, Princeton University, Boston Dance Theater, and Booker T. Washington School for the Arts. In 2019, she debuted in VIM’s evening length work FOREVER in NYC, before traveling with Gillen to teach and create at Perry Mansfield's Summer Program, Springboard Danse Montreal, Springboard X, Rutgers University and VIM VIGOR's Summer Program in NYC. In 2020 she will travel to Calgary to teach and perform VIM works at the YYC, in addition to sharing excerpts of VIM's latest research at City Center for APAP.
Nick Blaylock is a dance artist and MFA graduate of the Modern Dance Program in the University of Utah’s School of Dance. Nick has performed nationally for artists such as Lesley Telford, Molly Heller, and Shaun Boyle, and as a guest artist with Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company for Artistic Director, Daniel Charon. Nick’s choreographic research has been commissioned throughout the United States by studios, pre-professional companies, and universities, as well as acknowledged for excellence at numerous American College Dance Association Gala Concerts. Nick currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Dance and the Associate Chair of Southern Utah University’s Department of Theatre Arts & Dance. Nick is a collaborator with Heartland, a multi-disciplinary collective directed by Molly Heller of Salt Lake City.
Loni Landon is a Dancer, Choreographer, and Movement Consultant based in New York City. In
addition to creating dances for her own collective Loni Landon Dance Project, her work is
commissioned by Dance Companies and Film Director’s across the country.
Born and raised in New York City, Landon received her BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School
in 2005. While a student at the NYC High School of Performing Arts, Landon was a NFAA
Young Arts Modern Dance Winner. After Juilliard, Landon performed with Aszure Barton and
Artists, Ballet Theater Munich, Tanz Munich Theater, and The Metropolitan Opera.
Landon is the 2013 Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship winner awarded with
BODYTRAFFIC. As a sought after choreographer, her work has been commissioned by The
Joyce Theater, Keigwin and Company, James Sewell Ballet, Whim Whim, LEVY DANCE, The
Juilliard School, BODYTRAFFIC, American Dance Institute, Northwest Dance Project, Hubbard
Street II, Ballet X, Ballet Austin, SUNY Purchase, NYU, and Marymount Manhattan College. Her
company has performed at The Joyce Theater, Pulse Art Fair, Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out Series,
as well as at Bryant Park and the first annual Beach Sessions in Rockaway Beach.
Landon has won numerous awards including 1st Prize Winner of Ballet Austin’s New American
Talent Competition, Winner of Northwest Dance Project’s “Pretty Creatives’” Choreography
Competition, Winner of the Next Commission from CityDance Ensemble, Finalist in the
International Solo Tanz Theater Competition in Stuttgart, Germany, and Finalist in the Hannover
International Choreography Competition.
Landon choreographed the feature film “Saturday Church,” Directed by Damon Cardasis, which
premiered at The Tribeca Film Festival in 2017.
Landon was also a participant in the 2012 Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation New Directions
Choreography Lab made possible through the generous support of the Ford Foundation and the
Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Other residencies include ITE, NYU and CUNY Dance Initiative.
She has been adjunct faculty at NYU, Barnard, SUNY Purchase and Princeton University.
Alongside Gregory Dolbashian, Landon co-founded THE PLAYGROUND, an initiative designed
to give emerging choreographers a place to experiment, while allowing professional dancers to
participate affordably. The Playground was recognized by Dance Magazine as a 25 To Watch
for 2013.
Natalie Border, a Utah native, trained and worked professionally as a dancer in Salt Lake City. She holds a B.F.A. from the University of Utah where she was a part of the honor society, Orchesis. Natalie performed as a guest artist with Rire-Woodbury and with the Performing Dance Company in works by Andrea Miller of Gallim and Sharee Lane. She has also worked with other gifted artists such as Loni Landon, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Scott Wells, and LajaMartin among others. Upon graduating, she was invited to dance in Northwest Dance Project’s Launch program, guested in Repertory Dance Theater’s Emerge show, and produced her own show, Nomad. Natalie was recently a company member of SALT Contemporary Dance and performed works by Dan Higgins, Satu Hummasti and Daniel Clifton, and Penny Saunders. Natalie joined VIM VIGOR in 2019
Maryland native Megan Adelsberger began training at Elower-Sicilia Productions and continued to develop her artistry in Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York, and Los Angeles. She attended The University of the Arts and spent two years traveling the world while performing on Holland America Cruise Ships. Megan is an accomplished artist and choreographer in both the commercial and concert world of dance. She can be found dancing on So You Think You Can Dance during Season 6 and 7 of “Vegas Week” and the LA Results Episode. In addition, Megan was on a Nigel Lythgoe Productions T.V. series on Ovation called A Chance To Dance where she had the opportunity to study under Michael Nunn and William Trevitt formerly of The Royal Ballet. She was featured in a Hallmark film entitled Dear Dumb Diary and has performed live at the Capezio ACE Awards in New York City, Jazz Dance World Congress, and in 1520 Arts show They Reminisce. Megan also spent 5 years touring internationally as a company member with Odyssey Dance Threatre and was a producer, director, choreographer, and principle dancer in Utah’s Urban Fairytalez production of “Who Are You?” Her creative work has been showcased in The Eureka Dance Festival in Washington D.C., RAW Artists Salt Lake City, Creators Grid, Usana Amphitheater, and Odyssey Dance Theatre's 2017 European Tour. Megan taught in Haiti for Lovolution’s Outreach Program, was a faculty member for the I’m Training Dance Convention in Chihuahua, Mexico, and is an instructor for Millennium Dance Complex SLC. Megan is also Founder and Artistic Director of JUNCTION DANCE CO based out of Salt Lake City, Utah! JUNCTION is known for their explosive fusion of urban and contemporary styles, diverse youth and pre-professional programs, and their involvement in the community! Megan continues to share her passion teaching, dancing, and choreographing for industrials, workshops, intensives, dance companies and in studios across the nation!
Russell Lepley, co-founder and resident choreographer of FluxFlow Dance Project, is a dance artist based in Columbus, Ohio. He danced professionally with BalletMet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, Staatstheater Wiesbaden, and Gärtnerplatztheater before transitioning into the role of choreographer. The success of his first work, commissioned by Gärtnerplatztheater in 2016, inspired him to pursue choreography full time. Returning to Columbus, his home town, has provided the ideal home for FluxFlow Dance Project and its sister-project, Flux + Flow Movement Center, where a community of devoted adult dancers has flourished, guided by the principles that inform Russell and husband and collaborator Filippo’s own approach to dance. Last year Russell was awarded the first Ann and Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship at Jacob's Pillow and his most recent work "Ursula" was commissioned and produced by the Wexner Center for the Arts. Other recent work has been produced at the Columbus Museum of Art, the Riffe Center, and Columbus Dance Theater, among other venues, and in 2018 he was a recipient of the Greater Columbus Arts Council’s Columbus Dances Fellowship. His work challenges conventional ideas about dance, experimenting with narrative and telling familiar stories through unconventional perspectives. Russell begins the choreographic process with movement generated through the direct transposition of music to the body, then abstracts this foundational choreography, making use of components of musical composition, theater, poetry, and visual art. The result is movement that is a translation of emotion—that communicates feeling and “story” in a distinctive and wholly original way.
Audrey Wells, originally from Portland, Oregon, relocated to Salt Lake City in 2019. Since moving to Utah, Audrey has had the pleasure of working with many inspiring choreographers and dancers as a dance artist with Salt Contemporary Dance, Salt 2, and Oquirrh West Project. Audrey received her BFA in dance from Marymount Manhattan College (MMC) in New York City where she was a member of Marymount Manhattan College Dance Company. While in New York, Audrey danced with Bryce Dance Company, Monica Hogan Danceworks, Wilder Project Dance, and appeared as Anybodys in West Side Story at Leonia Summerstage. She has performed works by Ihsan Rustem, Robert Battle, Larry Keigwin, Ron K. Brown, and many others. As a young dancer, Audrey received additional training from Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, San Francisco Conservatory, NW Dance Project, Vim Vigor Dance Company, and Parsons Dance, all of which have informed the way she interprets, performs, and creates movement.
Fiona Katrine trained at the School of Oregon Ballet Theater, after which she earned a scholarship to The Juilliard School in New York City where she completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts. She has performed across the country with companies like The Metropolitan Opera House, Jessie Jennae and Dancers, Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theater, Oquirrh West Project, and has done much freelancing. Fiona has been teaching multiple dance disciplines for over a decade. She also spent three years as adjunct faculty at Utah State University Caine College of the Arts, and director of Studio Artists, a pre-professional modern/contemporary company. This is Fiona's fourth year in the SALT Dance family.
Allie Renner
SALT Apprentice
Allie Renner first started her dance training with Cary-Grove Performing Arts Center in Cary, Illinois. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Western Michigan University (WMU) in Spring 2020. While at WMU, she performed works by Jackie Nowicki, Kyle Abraham, Antony Tudor, Aszure Barton, George Balanchine, BAIRA/MVMT PHLOSPHY, Yin Yue, Joseph A. Hernandez, Christian Denice, and many more. Following graduation, Allie became a company member with SALT’s second company, SALT2. This is her first year apprenticing with SALT Contemporary Dance, and she is ecstatic for the 2021 season.
Amanda Colangelo
SALT Apprentice
Amanda Colangelo received her early training from the New England Dance Conservatory in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance from The Ohio State University. Following her graduation in 2019, she relocated to Utah to commence her journey with SALT as a member of their sister company, SALT2. Amanda has had the pleasure of performing works by Ohad Naharin, Ihsan Rustem, Ching Ching Wong, Courtney Mazeika, Eddie Taketa, and Ann Sofie Clemmensen. Amanda is thrilled to join SALT as an apprentice for the 2021 season.
Sawyer Player
SALT Apprentice
Sawyer’s spent her adolescence in the corners of dance studios watching her mom teach, and forcing her family members into duets in the living room. At a young age, she was enrolled in a dance school in Park City, Utah. Here, she learned from many incredible female role models, to whom she credits all of her successes. After many years of training, she began to earn lead roles in a multitude of classical ballets and contemporary works. At the age of 16, she was admitted into the University of Utah School of Ballet. In addition to performing, Sawyer is a passionate teacher and choreographer. She was previously employed by Ballet West Academy, and is now a founding director of Summit Dance Project. She has created many pieces that have earned numerous choreography awards and accolades. Sawyer has a close bond with her students and considers aiding them in discovering their artistry her greatest joy.
Maxi Riley
SALT Apprentice
Maxi found her love of dance at a young age. Raised in northeast Ohio, she trained seriously at Keithe Williams Performing Arts Academy and Hudson Conservatory of Ballet. She graduated from The Ohio State University and holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance. She has been featured in pieces choreographed by Keithe Williams, Daniel Roberts, Crystal Michelle, Perkins, Amy Gunter and Ching Ching Wong to name a few. In 2019, Maxi joined the contemporary fusion company, Cleveland Dance Project, for 2 seasons, and was appointed a member of the Cleveland Dance Project Company’s nonprofit board. In 2020, she relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah, accepting a position in SALT2. She has recently accepted a position for the 2021 season as an apprentice with the company. Maxi is fully committed to each dance community she is a part of.
Cameron McKinney
@kizunadance
With more than 16 years of Japanese language study, Cameron McKinney (Artistic Director of Kizuna Dance) created Kizuna Dance with the mission of using contemporary floorwork to create works that celebrate Japanese culture. He was recently selected as a 2019-20 U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission Creative Artist Fellow to collaborate with renowned Japanese choreographer Toru Shimazaki and present work in showcases in Japan. He has been a Choreography Fellow at The School at Jacob’s Pillow, an Alvin Ailey Foundation New Directions Choreography Lab Fellow, and an Asian Cultural Council Individual Grantee. His work has been supported through grants from the New York City Artists Corps and the Rader Young Artists Foundation. His newest work, TOKIMEKI BLUE, a month-long dance film installation made in collaboration with filmmaker Cayla Mae Simpson, recently premiered in the Fosdick-Nelson Gallery in Alfred, NY in September 2021. Through Kizuna Dance, Cameron has also presented work and taught in eighteen states and in Mexico, France, and the UK, as well as in Japan at the U.S. Ambassador's Residence and at Morishita Studios. His commissions include Princeton University, twice from the Joffrey Ballet School, twice from the Let’s Dance International Frontiers Festival (UK), Slippery Rock University, The Dance Gallery Festival, Indiana University, and Bates College, among numerous others. His teaching credits include Adjunct & Visiting Lecturer positions at Princeton University, Bard College, and Queensborough Community College. He has taught on faculty at Gibney Dance since 2016, and has taught for festivals nationally and internationally. He is currently building Nagare Technique, a training module that blends streetdance styles and contemporary floorwork. In 2021, he launched the inaugural Open Intensive, a week of day-long intensives made entirely free for all participants, featuring high-quality dance education provided by the company artists of Kizuna Dance.
Christian Denice
Christian Denice's professional dance experience includes Odyssey Dance Theatre, River North Dance Chicago, Company E, Montgomery Ballet, BODYTRAFFIC, the Cambrians, and BJM Danse (Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal). Upon stepping away from the stage, Christian spent two years on faculty with the Joffrey Academy of Dance and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago's HS Pro Program. As a choreographer, he has created new works for Odyssey Dance Theatre, LEVELdance Chicago, DanceWorks Chicago, Interlochen Center for the Arts, METdance too, the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Visceral Dance Chicago, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Western Michigan University, METdance Houston, Modern America Dance Company, Modas Dance, SALT II, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, and Wright State University. Christian is the 2015-2016 winner of the University of South Florida's Echo Choreographic Competition and the 2016 winner of the Joffrey Academy's Winning Works Choreographic competition. Christian has been on faculty with Modas Dance, Open Doors Dance Festival, EPIC Dance Utah, Eisenhower Dance Detroit NEWdanceFEST, Kansas City Jazz Dance Fest, DanceWorks Chicago Dance360, and AXIS Connect Los Angeles. In April 2016, Christian directed and choreographed a short dance film entitled "the watchers" filmed by Salt Lake City-based videographer Bryce Johnson. Christian had the opportunity to restage KOSMOS by Andonis Foniadakis on the dancers of the National School of Dance in Athens, Greece in 2019. Christian is both performing artist and guest choreographer with Chamber Dance Project in Washington, DC and premiered his new work “Dwellings” this past summer. He worked with New York City based filmmaker Alexander Sargent on a dance film of his work “Dwellings” which premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC in October. Christian is currently dancing in a production for Andonis Foniadakis Dance Company based in Athens, Greece and is on faculty as Artist in Residence at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University.
Lauren Edson
Lauren Edson is an artist whose works as a dancer, choreographer, educator and filmmaker have been presented throughout the United States. She is a 2019 Washington Award for Excellence in Choreography Recipient, a two-time ICA Performing Arts Fellow, a Winner of the Pretty Creative’s International Choreography Competition. She began her training in her hometown of Boise, Idaho at Ballet Idaho and furthered her studies at University of North Carolina School of the Arts and later The Juilliard School, under the direction of the late Benjamin Harkarvy. Her professional experiences have included Trey McIntyre Project and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Edson is the founding artistic director of LED, a multimedia performing arts company based in Boise, Idaho, recently named by Dance Magazine as “25 to watch” in 2020. The company has been described as a “feat of pyrotechnics” by the Seattle Times and since its inception, has been at the forefront of artistic innovation, helping to bring Boise into a global arts conversation. In addition to performing, creating and directing works for LED, Edson has been commissioned by such companies as Northwest Dance Project, Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet Idaho, Whim W’HIM, Western Michigan University, SALT Contemporary Dance, University of Utah and her original stage and film creations have been performed at such prestigious venues as Jacob’s Pillow, The Kennedy Center, The Winspear Opera House, San Francisco Dance Film Festival and Dance Camera West. She currently resides in Boise, Idaho with her husband and longtime collaborator, Andrew Stensaas and their two boys; FInn and Liam.
Olivier Wevers
(he/him/his)
From ballet training in his native Belgium, Olivier learned the beauty, passion and discipline of the art. On coming to North America at age 19, he discovered the exhilaration of many new dance forms. As a principal dancer, first with Royal Winnipeg Ballet and later, for most of his dancing career, with Pacific Northwest Ballet, he acquired his strong conviction that dancers are the heart and soul of a company. As such they, and artists in general, must live at the very center of the process, their dignity, psychological and creative growth and safety deemed just as essential as their technical accomplishments.
During his years of performing in classical and contemporary works by choreographers from around the world, Olivier also discovered the thrill of making dances and how imaginative story-telling and movement exploration connect to caring about individuality and physicality. Creating dances fed his perennial curiosity. It became “my way to express myself and, during the process, to be able to learn more about the human condition, start dialogues, touch people and share ideas, reflecting on our times and our humanity.”
While still dancing with PNB and developing his own choreographic approach, Olivier became convinced that only by starting his own company could he create the works he envisioned in an artist-centered sanctuary where kindness, empathy, and collaboration are built into the very DNA. The result is Whim W’Him, with its yearly Choreographic Shindig for which the dancers choose the choreographers; emphasis on new works; transparent and candid leadership; ethical practices and equitable pay; commitment to diversity and social justice; and dedication to uncovering and nurturing new voices.
AWARDS
City of Seattle’s Mayor’s Arts Award, 2012
Princess Grace Choreographic Fellowship Award, 2011
Annual Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival Grand prize Awards, 2010 & 2011
Dance Magazine 25 to watch, 2011
Artist Trust/Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship Award, 2008
COLLABORATIONS
Ballet X, Philadelphia, PA
Cornish Dance Theater, Seattle, WA
Canada’s Royal Winnipeg Ballet
Czech Republic’s Ballet of the National Theatre Brno
Grand Rapids Ballet, Grand Rapids, MI
National Choreographers Initiative, Irvine, CA
New York Choreographic Institute, New York, NY
Northwest Dance Project, Portland, OR
Pacific Northwest Ballet, Seattle, WA
Prix de Lausanne Gala, Tokyo, JAPAN
Seattle Dance Project, Seattle, WA
SFDanceworks, San Francisco, CA
Spectrum Dance Theater, Seattle, WA
White Bird’s 4×4 Ballet Project, Portland, OR
Omar Román De Jesús
Omar Román De Jesús (Bayamón, Puerto Rico) is a recipient of the 2020 Jacob's Pillow: The Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship. He has been commissioned twice by Instituto de Cultura de Puerto Rico to create work for the International Dance Festival of Puerto Rico, where he was awarded the Ambassador of Dance medal. Omar has won choreographic competitions including the Joffrey Academy of Dance's Winning Works Choreographic Competition and the Whim W’Him’s Choreographic Shindig. He has received awards including the Audience Award at The Dance Gallery Festival, 1st place prize at the Reverb Dance Festival and the Parsons Dance GenerationNOW Commission for their 2017 Joyce Season. He has also created work for Bruce Wood Dance, Jacob Jonas The Company, and educational institutions like The Ailey School, Kennesaw State University, James Madison University and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. This fall, his work was presented at PRISMA International Dance Festival (Panama), ENDANZANTE (Colombia), Chop Shop: Bodies of Work Contemporary Dance Festival (Seattle), and will be presented at the upcoming Jerusalem International Choreographic Competition.
Omar is fond of education and has experience teaching workshops and master classes all over the world for dancers, special needs communities, people with physical disabilities, and marginalized communities.
Dance Background
Omar began his formal training at the School for the Performing Arts in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico. Omar was a member of Balleteatro Nacional de Puerto Rico from 2006-2011. During this period, he won the Championship Cup and Gold Medal at the National Dance Competition in Puerto Rico. He received a scholarship to the Ailey School in 2011, and after two years, he began his professional career in the modern and contemporary dance world. He has toured nationally and internationally with Yin Yue Dance Company, Ballet Hispánico, Parsons Dance, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, and Sleeping Beauty Dreams featuring Diana Vishneva. He has performed and led works by Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, David Parsons, Robert Battle, Trey McIntyre, Kate Skarpetowska, Jennifer Archibald, Carlos Pons, Ephrat Asherie, and Yin Yue. Omar had the honor of performing at the 2018 TITAS Gala representing Ballet Hispánico, and he is proud to have danced at BAM Fisher, NY and the 2019 Schrittmacher Festival in Germany, where he performed an evening-length show by Yin Yue. Omar collaborated with Erin Sullivan on an Interactive Projection Workshop titled Spine Lines, which was presented at Yale University - Center of the Collaborative Arts and Media.
Bret Easterling is a dance artist, creator, producer, and educator based in Los Angeles, California. He received his BFA along with the Hector Zaraspe Prize for Choreography from The Juilliard School in 2010, and was a formative member of Gallim Dance in New York City before moving to Tel Aviv to join Ohad Naharin’s Batsheva Dance Company. During his time in Israel, he became a certified Gaga teacher and an Ilan Lev Method practitioner.
Bret is currently on faculty at USC’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, and stages Naharin’s repertory at collegiate dance programs and professional dance companies around the world. He was recognized as a Choreographic Fellow at the inaugural Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship at Jacob’s Pillow in 2018 and was an Artist in Residence at LA Dance Project in 2019.
Bret is the Artistic Director of the non-profit organization BEMOVING, and the co-creator of the Ghost Light Residency, a program which grants dance artists from marginalized communities the opportunity to further their craft inside of theaters of the greater Los Angeles area.
Jesse Obremski (he/him) is a native of New York City, began his studies at The Ailey School, additionally at Jacob’s Pillow, Springboard Danse Montreal, and is a graduate of The Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School and The Juilliard School. He has danced with Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Helen Simoneau Danse, WHITE WAVE, Brian Brooks Moving Company, The Limón Dance Company (soloist and principal), and is currently an Artistic Associate with Gibney Company (5th season).
Obremski’s choreographic work has been presented internationally by Gibney Company, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Brigham Young University, and Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance (EMDOD) among others. He is an educator, in universities such as Boston Conservatory, NYU Tisch, and The Juilliard School, and has restaged José Limón’s work at MOVE|NYC|, The University of Wyoming, and assisted at The Juilliard School.
In 2018, he founded Obremski/Works internationally with an emphasis on dance films and AAPI Support Fellowships. He has been featured as Dance Magazine’s Dancer “On The Rise”, in The New York Times, NY1, and is the recipient of the Asian American Arts Alliance’s 2016 Jadin Wong Award. He is the Associate Executive Director of EMDOD. For his Gibney Moving Toward Justice Fellowship project, Obremski created OUR PATHS, which seeks to cultivate greater communal empathy.
Kaya Wolsey is a dancer, choreographer and teacher residing in Aspen, CO. Kaya received her early ballet training at Wasatch Ballet Conservatory under the direction of her mother, Allison Wolsey. Post high school, Kaya received a BFA in Ballet from the University of Utah. In addition to her University training, Kaya trained with Pacific Northwest Ballet, Ballet West, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Northwest Dance Project and Moxie Contemporary Ballet. After college, Kaya began her professional career with Ballet San Antonio in Texas and later joined SALT 2 and SALT Contemporary Dance where she grew and honed her craft as a contemporary dancer. After 3 years with SALT, Kaya joined her childhood dream company, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. Currently, Kaya is a founding artist, choreographer and company manager with the newly formed DanceAspen and a guest artist with South Dakota Ballet. As a professional ballet and contemporary dancer, Kaya has had the opportunity to work with and perform original works by many reputable choreographers including Yin Yue, Nicolo Fonte, Penny Saunders, Jorma Elo, Alejandro Cerrudo, Danielle Rowe, Manuel Vignoulle, Peter Chu, Alice Clock, Alex Ketley, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Gabrielle Lamb, Banning Bouldin and more. Kaya is also an experienced and passionate teacher and choreographer. Her most recent choreographic commissions include new works for DanceAspen and South Dakota Ballet. She has 14 years of experience teaching all levels and ages of Ballet, Contemporary and Improvisation and is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique.
Noelle Kayser is a Chicago-based choreographer, performer, and educator, and the rehearsal director for PARA.MAR Dance Theatre (2022 Dance Magazine Top 25 to Watch). Past and upcoming choreographic commissions include DanceWorks Chicago, Ballare Carmel, Chicago Dance Crash, Boykin Dance Project, COMMON Conservatory, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theater, Kit Modus, and Moonwater Dance Project. As a dancer, Noelle has performed with, among others, PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, LED Boise, NW Dance Project, Visceral Dance Chicago, The Cambrians, Fly on a Wall, gloATL, and Luna Negra Dance Theater. Noelle has narrated 16 audiobooks for Listen Up Productions / Audible.com, appeared in industrial advertising for Grey Television, Kitchenaid, and Whirlpool, and performed in theater productions with The Alliance Theater, 7 Stages, Theater for the Stars, and Scrap Theater Group. As an actor, Noelle is represented by DDO Artists Agency.
Founder and Artistic Director, Open Space:
Princess Grace Award winner Franco Nieto was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. He made the unconventional switch from football to ballet in his teenage years and has now taught and danced in over 10 different countries and performed with the likes of Lady Gaga and Sir Elton John. He spent 10 years as a principal dancer with NW Dance Project in Portland, Oregon, where he toured the world and worked hand in hand with the leading minds in choreography to create and bring to life countless original works. His early training came from the Vancouver School of Arts & Academics and Columbia Dance, and his formative line of choreography was born from his mentorship with Tracey Durbin. He graduated with his BFA in Jazz from Point Park University. Franco, is a founder and Artistic Director of Portland’s newest contemporary dance company and School, Open Space Dance. Open Space Dance was born in the middle of the pandemic and is paving the way dance is experienced in our new norm. Franco, brings his big heart to every project he gets involved in!
Christian Denice's professional dance experience includes Odyssey Dance Theatre, River North Dance Chicago, and BJM Danse (Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal). As a choreographer, he has created new works for such companies and organizations as Chamber Dance Project, the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, Odyssey Dance Theatre, DanceWorks Chicago, Interlochen Center for the Arts, the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Visceral Dance Chicago, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Western Michigan University, Modern America Dance Company, SALT II, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Wright State University, Kit Modus, and Dance Lab New York. Christian is the 2015-2016 winner of the University of South Florida's Echo Choreographic Competition and the 2016 winner of the Joffrey Academy's Winning Works Choreographic competition. Christian has been on faculty with Modas Dance, Open Doors Dance Festival, EPIC Dance Utah, Eisenhower Dance Detroit NEWdanceFEST, Kansas City Jazz Dance Fest, DanceWorks Chicago Dance360, AXIS Connect Los Angeles, and Peridance Center in New York City.
Christian had the opportunity to re-stage KOSMOS by Andonis Foniadakis on the dancers of the National School of Dance in Athens, Greece in 2019, and again on the dancers of Nationaltheatre Mannheim NTM Tanz in Mannheim, Germany in 2022. Christian has been both performing artist and guest choreographer with Chamber Dance Project in Washington, DC for the 2020-2021 seasons and premiered his new works “Dwellings” and “Arriving” this past summer, both works commissioned by the company. He worked with New York City based filmmaker Alexander Sargent on a dance film of his work “Dwellings” which premiered at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC in October. Christian is currently dancing in a production for Andonis Foniadakis Dance Company based in Athens, Greece called “Salema Revisited” and is on faculty as Artist in Residence at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Christian most recently made his Broadway debut in “The Little Prince” which opened in New York in 2022.
Nicole von Arx is a Swiss & British dancer and choreographer actively working in both New York City and Switzerland. She is a 2022 Dance Initiative artist in resident (Colorado), 2022 Leimay Incubator, 2020 Lauréate of a Gland Culture Grant, a 2020 Jacob’s Pillow Choreography Fellow, and 2018 STUFFED artists in residence at Judson Memorial Church.
After graduating from the Alvin Ailey School in 2008, her performance career led her to becoming a soloist at the Royal Opera House in London and Chicago Lyric Opera while dancing for Jasmin Vardimon. She’s worked for Carte Blanche - The Norwegian National Company for Contemporary Dance,Company XIV, Loni Landon, Romeo Castellucci’s Democracy in America, and Bryan Arias.
Nicole recently choreographed the opera Der Freischütz at Wolf Trap Opera in Virginia. She’s been commissioned to create original works for Stanford Live, Whim W’Him, Luminato Festival and the Edmonton Opera. She creates under the company name NVA & Guests.
Madison Hicks, originally from Dallas, TX, graduated from Booker T. Washington
HSPVA in 2014. She received her BFA from The Juilliard School in May 2018 and her
MFA in Choreography in 2021 from California Institute of the Arts. Madison is a
freelance creator, performer, and educator. In 2022, she received the Orsolina28 “Call
for Creation” residency for her project, “Corrupt(ed)”. Madison was one of eight
choreographers chosen for The Jacobs Pillow Ann and Weston Hicks Choreographic
Fellowship in 2021. In the Summer of 2022, she was a guest choreographer at The
Juilliard School’s Summer Intensive. In the Fall of 2022, she is thrilled to be
commissioned by The Fordham Ailey BFA program, Peabody University, and Vitacca
Ballet for new creations. She is a company artist with Sidra Bell Dance New York. She is
the Director and Founder of Moving Forward Dallas, an innovative dance intensive and
Non-Profit Organization for young artists. She is the Resident Choreographer for New
York Dance Project and has been commissioned by companies such as Ballet Arkansas,
Avant Chamber Ballet, Mash-Up Contemporary Dance company, Ballet Project OC,
Orange County School of the Performing and Visual Arts, Water Street Dance
Milwaukee, and Lindenwood University to create new work. She has presented work at
Boston Dance Festival, LA Dance Festival, Palm Desert Choreography Festival, and
others. She premiered her recent solo work “Sparkle with a K” at The Navel Theater in
Downtown Los Angeles in 2020. She has been a guest choreographer for Booker T.
Washington HSPVA Rep II Ensemble, The University of Texas at Austin, Center of
Creative Arts, Houston MET Too, San Diego Civic Center, and The Windward School
along with rigorously teaching artists of all ages. Madison is a faculty member at Steps
on Broadway and Peridance Center. She is excited to join the Break The Floor Faculty in
2022.
She was full-time company member with LA Dance Project under the direction of
Benjamin Millepied for the 2018/2019 season. Since then, Madison has been a lead
dancer in both Noosa Yoghurt and Lexus Commercials along with choreographing
music videos for Eleanor Kingston and the Handsome Ghost. She was a 2013 YoungArts
winner for modern dance, 2014 US Presidential Scholar in the Arts Nominee and a guest
artist in the 2014 YoungArts Presidential Scholar Gala under the direction of Bill T.
Jones. In January of 2017, she performed as a distinguished guest alumnus in the
YoungArts annual Backyard Ball under the direction of Tony Yazbeck. She received a
choreography award from YAGP in 2014 and had three choreographic works chosen to
perform in The Choreographic Honors show at The Juilliard School. Madison was
awarded the Gene Kelly Legacy Scholarship for her choreography and jazz technique in
2016. She has performed works by Nacho Duato, Jiri Kylian, Emily Molnar, Kyle
Abraham, Ohad Naharin, Peter Chu, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Aszure
Barton, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Benjamin Millepied, and Pam Tanowitz.
www.madisonhicks.com
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