Title: WELCOME

Description of work: The making of Forza Dance

Choreographer bio: Michaella Barron, a Detroit native, began her artistic journey at Interlochen Arts Academy before graduating summa cum laude from the Ailey/Fordham BFA program in NYC, with a double major in International Political Economy and an Italian Language concentration. Founder of Forza Dance, she fosters artistic expression and community collaboration. Michaella's choreographic repertoire spans staged works, music videos, and dance films like “Maria” and “Outside In,” featured at distinguished festivals including Booking Dance and DUMBO Dance. Her works have graced numerous NYC venues such as Teatro Latea, Triskelion Arts, Arts on Site and The Tada Theater. Forza Dance's acclaim extends nationally, with recent performances at the Luminaria Arts Festival in San Antonio. Michaella annually produces Forza’s evening-length show, “Shindig,” showcasing diverse new works to sold-out audiences. She is dedicated to sharing her art to cultivate empathy and inspire societal connection.

Dancer: Gabrielle DiNizo
Music: Classical Gas by John Williams, Boston Pops Orchestra

Title: Degas, circa 2024

Description of work: An image of Edgar Degas in the rehearsal room, if he were to be painting dancers in the year 2024.

Choreographer bio: Annika Wong (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer and artist who has worked in theatre, immersive theatrical experiences, and film in NYC. As a choreographer, her upcoming work includes movement direction for director Nuala Vizard's short film, Lamentations, premiering in 2025. As a dancer, Annika is grateful to have worked in both dance-captaining capacities as well as performing capacities. She was co-dance captain and featured dance ensemble for Marina Montesanti's new musical, EXIST, where she worked closely with Broadway veteran Ahmad Simmons. Her work with Bated Breath Theatre Company includes their shows Chasing Andy Warhol and Bittersweet: a new play, the latter of which she was on the creative devising team for. Other credits include The Founding of the World dance visual for BAMPFA by visual artist Kenneth Tam, choreographed by Juri Onuki, as well as David Cartahena Lee’s new immersive dance experience, RESONANCE. Annika is a company dancer with Gotham Dance Theater directed by Marc Nuñez, as well as The Dynasties, directed by Preston Mui. She is a 2022 graduate of Peridance Center's Certificate Program. www.annikawongnyc.com

Dancers: Aviana Goodman-Fish, Elizabeth Schwartz, and Brandon P. Raines

Music: “Rue Saint-Vincent” by Yves Montand, “Don’t Believe” by Vashti Bunyan

Title: Swimming in the Sky

Description of work: Dreams are a place to rest, hide, hope, grieve, wait. We take our bodies somewhere where we long to be but also fear. Carried in dream's tidal waves, we swim in the sky, ebbing and flowing in unlimited possibility. The movement exhibits the contradiction yet harmony of dreams as the dancers wade through a trance of certainty, hope, and despair.

Choreographer bio: Olivia Kleven, Nadia Benes, and Emma Hansen are freelance dancers and choreographers based in New York, working in contemporary, ballet, and modern styles. Olivia, born and raised in Seattle, attended the Cornish Preparatory Dance School and NYU Tisch, graduating in 2022 with a BFA in contemporary dance.  Nadia grew up in Sacramento, training in classical ballet with Deane Dance Center and Sacramento Ballet’s Trainee Program.  Emma hails from Salt Lake City, earning a BFA in Contemporary Dance from BYU.  The trio met at the Limón trainee program where they graduated in 2023.  Bruised Pear Dance Project was born in Spring 2024 from a creative urge to explore their own movement and artistic voice through femininity, delicacy, and inner authenticity, blending the forms of improvisation, dance composition, and visual art.  The emerging company has presented work at Greenspace Fertile Ground, Triskelion’s Stage Dive, More Fish - Show & Tell, and Dance Astoria.

Dancers: Nadia Benes, Emma Hansen, Olivia Kleven
Music: “Gone” and “Swim High” by RIVKA

Title: With Love, Always

Description of work: This work explores the loss of a relationship, and the different forms grief takes on. How do you navigate loss ? And how much right do we have to feel anger or hurt if we were the omes that caused it and made that decision?

Choreographer bio: Rachel Calabrese is a freelance dancer, choreographer, and teacher residing in New York City. She is a graduate of Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University where she earned her BFA in Dance Performance. She has danced with Artichoke Dance Company and is currently a dancer with Finleigh Zach Dance Company, Kizuna Dance, and Yaroque Dance. She loves choreographing her own work, and has been doing so since 2020. She has been able to show & perform her work throughout different NY venues, New Jersey, and even Wisconsin.

Dancer: Rachel Calabrese
Music: “Etude de Concert” – Franz Liszt, Alba Ventura

Title: Somewhere, There is a Rainstorm

Description of work: “Somewhere, There is a rainstorm” is set in an oasis where the female self finds herself truly safe, after an eternity of searching. How does she move with absolute freedom and abandon, when this search ends and a rainstorm of relief is granted? How can this feeling of relief be embodied? The movement was created in collaboration with the dancers, utilizing prompts such as connecting to childhood joy and splashing in rain puddles.

Choreographer bio: Natalia Nikitin (she/her) is a New York-based freelance choreographer and performer. Her work has been shown at 92NY's Future Dance Festival, Dance Bloc NYC, New York City Fringe Festival, and The Spark Theater Festival. Natalia holds a BFA in dance from NYU Tisch and a minor in sociology, graduating with honors (‘24). Natalia has performed works by Jose Limon, Andrea Miller, Roni Koresh, Mark Bankin, and Robert Priore. She is currently dancing with Lydia Johnson Dance, Tabula Rasa Dance Theater, and in her own works as a freelance artist. She has worked as an intern in dance organizations such as Jacob's Pillow, WADE Dance, & GALLIM. Natalia's choreography explores movement as unlocking the mind-body connection, using the somatic practices to process and release emotion. 

Dancers: Charlotte Aucella, Avery Boose, Rylan Joenk, Alisha Khatwani, and Gracie Zytynski
Music: “Laila, Pt. 2” by Agitation Free

Title: Pruning Season: Elegy

Description of work:  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit

Choreographer Bio: Mark Gonzalez is a dance artist from Edinburg, Texas. He received a BFA in Dance with emphasis in Performance and Choreography from Texas State University. After leaving Texas, Mark performed with The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company 2 under the direction of Shonna Matlock. He was a scholarship recipient for Giordano Dance Chicago and Flockworks. After moving to Chicago, Mark Apprenticed with Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre. He is currently a Company Artist with Identity Performing Arts and Still Inspired. Recently, Mark was selected to participate in Flockworks creation intensive at Orsolina28 in Moncalvo, Italy. Outside of performing, Mark has had the privilege to present his work at festivals including but not limited to COCO Dance Festival (Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago), Dance City Festival (Detroit, MI), Koresh Artist Showcase (Philadelphia, PA), and BarnStorm Dance Festival (Houston, TX). Recently, Mark was selected as a choreographer for New Dances 2024, a partnership with DanceWorks Chicago and Thodos Dance Chicago. 

Dancers: Catie Armbrecht and Haley Tarling
Music: Chad Lawson – “One of Us”; Estas Tonne – “Internal Flight”

Title: (not) Going to Change

Description of work: A meditation on the pain of romantic rejection amidst a time of intense personal growth and transformation.

Choreographer Bio: Madi Gibson is a dancer and choreographer from Alberta, Canada. In 2018 she earned a Dance Performance Diploma with Honors as well as the Modern Dance Award from George Brown College in Toronto. Upon graduating she was selected to choreograph new works for George Brown’s Dance Ensemble in 2018 and 2019. During her time in Toronto she had the privilege of performing pieces by Cindy Macedo, Nicola Pantin, Suzie Burpee, and Derek Sangster, as well as performing with The Garage TO and as a featured dancer for Pride Toronto 2019. Madi relocated to New York City in 2021 to study at The Ailey School and since completing her studies has performed with VashtiDance Theater and Open Dance Ensemble. Madi first began choreographing in 2015 and has had her work presented at Dance competitions and festivals in Alberta as well as at Bridge For Dance’s Uptown Rising and Dance Parade 2023.

Dancer: Madi Gibson
Words and music: Madi Gibson

Title: Undoing

Description of work: “Undoing” explores a relationship that is coming together and coming apart on a consistent basis, ebbing and flowing the way relationships do. The piece does not determine the relationship but rather allows the dancers and the viewers to make their own choice about the relationship, is it romantic? Platonic? Familial? “Undoing” gets comfortable with ever changing dynamics, providing a bridge between our world of movement and life as we know it.

Choreographer bio: Neyda Colón-DiMaria is a Freelance Teaching, Performing, and Creating Artist originally from Rochester, NY, now based in NYC. Neyda began her choreography journey at her middle and high Alma Mater, School of The Arts, where she majored in dance. She was a recipient of the 2024 New York State Choreographers Initiative Grant where she received mentorship from Alison Clancy. During that process she collaborated with live musicians and created the piece you see today! Neyda’s training is largely based in Modern, Jazz, and African Diasporic Styles originating from the Caribbean and Latin America. Neyda aims to tell stories through her work, make connections, and celebrate her culture, and does so often by mixing mediums such as spoken word with movement. She is incredibly grateful and excited to share this work with you today as her choreography makes its NYC debut, reaching and connecting new audiences.

Dancers: CeCe Gangemi, Solange Rodrigues, and Maggy Simon
Music: Original Composition by Maggy Simon

Title: One minute & more

Description of work: “One minute & more” Is it work that allows myself to explore the fantasies of dying and going to dance heaven? I use the work to allow myself to indulge in all of the influences that have impacted me, since becoming a professional dancer. In the solo My physicality dwells in realms of lush, comical, linear, stoic, release and pressurized forms.

Choreographer Bio: A Chicago native, Claude CJ Johnson is a dancer, choreographer, and movement director. After finishing his studies at The Chicago Academy for the Arts and Suny  Purchase College, where he was awarded the Adopt-A-Dancer Scholarship, Claude  then became a full-time company dancer with A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham from 2017-2022  where he became a Princess Grace 2021 nominee. Claude has gotten the opportunity to perform works by Kyle Abraham, Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, Twyla Tharp, Mar Morris, Aszure Barton, Johannes Weiland, Doug Varone, Kevin Wynn, Nicole Von Arx, Keerati Jinakunwiphat, Princess Madoki , and many more. As a performer, choreographer and black queer artist, Claude dances to translate the human experience to audiences to recognize the art form of dance as the best catalyst to motivate self-expression and social change. In any artistic space he believes his responsibility is to increase the knowledge and perspective of his community's vast experience. 

Dancer: Claude CJ Johnson
Music: “Relight: Six pieces of piano, P.44: No.3  Notturno lento (version for harp)” by Ottorino Respighi, Magdalena Hoffmann 

“Eyeless” by Slipknot

“Aaron Pierre, that’s mufasa” - The Jennifer Hudson show

“He’s got a gun” - Key & Peele

Title: IN THE CLOUDS

Description of work: IN THE CLOUDS is an open exploration to the idea of wonder and curiosity. The physicality of the work expresses the process of what it’s like to dream once we fall asleep, and how dreams change and transform between childhood and adulthood. Dreams are the only place where our imagination and possibilities may infinitely stretch beyond confinement.

Choreographer bio: Miranda Stück is a professional dancer, choreographer, writer, and actor based in New York City. Her credits include dancing for Marc Jacobs at The Park Avenue Armory, DanceTHIS at the Moore Theater, Westhampton Beach Project, and performing at McCaw Hall in Christopher Wheeldon’s Scènes de Ballet. Miranda was also featured on NBC’s Saturday Night Live in the ‘Black Lotus’ sketch. She is a member of SAG-AFTRA and is represented by Movement Talent Agency and Stetts Model Management.

Dancers: Makenna Hosobuchi-Wolf, Arielle Popovsky, Skye Todaro, Miranda Stück
Music: “Genesis” by Grimes