Kaya Wolsey

Kaya, born and raised in Orem, Utah received most of her early dance training at Wasatch Ballet Conservatory under the direction of her mother, Allison Wolsey. She then attended the University of Utah, where she received a B.F.A. in Ballet with a Performance Emphasis. While pursuing her undergraduate degree, she was a member of Utah Ballet, the resident ballet company at the University. This awarded her the opportunity to perform many Soloist and Demi Soloist roles in both classical and contemporary works. Performance highlights include featured dancer in renowned choreographer Ma Cong’s Passion, There and soloist in two original works by Dr. Jung Sik Roh of Roh Dance Project in Seoul, Korea. Kaya also trained with San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Northwest Dance Project LAUNCH, Moxie Contemporary Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Ballet West. Post college, Kaya moved to Texas to dance with Ballet San Antonio as a Corps de Ballet member. During her career, Kaya has had the pleasure of working with and performing works by renowned choreographers such as Marina Mascarell, Drew Jacoby, Gustavo Ramirez-Sansano, Alex Ketly, Brendan Duggan, Gabrielle Lamb, Katie Scherman, Ching Ching Wong, Joni McDonald and Lindsey Matheis. Kaya joined SALT 2 in 2016 and was promoted to an Apprentice with SALT in 2017. This will be Kaya’s first season as a SALT company member.

Myles Woolstenhulme

coming soon.

Jonathan Kim

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.

Ching Ching Wong

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 Johnson

Eldon has been dancing professionally now for 20 years.

Amy Gunter Lolofie

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.

Sierra Thacker

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

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

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

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.

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 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.

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Haley began her dance training at the Joffrey Academy of Dance. 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, and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. She has performed works by Paul Lightfoot and Sol León, Jerome Robbins, Christopher Wheeldon, Penny Saunders, Peter Chu, Crystal Pite, Alejandro Cerrudo, William Forsythe, and Joni McDonald. Johnson received The Undergraduate Creative Achievement Award from the University of Arizona College of Fine Arts, and was a resident choreographer at US International Ballet. Haley was a finalist for the 21st Annual McCallum Theater Choreography Festival and selected METDance’s top 12 of the NEWDance Choreography Platform of 2019. Johnson won 2nd Place Judges’ Choice at the Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival of 2019. Haley’s works have been featured at the 2019 New Century Dance Project Gala Concert and the Sugar Space Warehouse. This is Haley’s second season dancing with 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.