is the Artistic Director of Joshua Beamish/MOVETHECOMPANY, a contemporary dance organization founded in 2005. He has created for The Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Cape Town Opera, New York City Ballet Associate Artistic Director Wendy Whelan’s Restless Creature, Compania Nacional de Danza de Mexico, and Cirque du Soleil for World EXPO Shanghai, among many others. He was a founding member of The Joyce Theater’s Young Leader’s Circle Committee, and is an alumni of the NY Choreographic Institute.

is an award-winning choreographer and the founding artistic director of Abarukas. His work has been seen in Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, Israel, Mexico, and the U.S. He won the International Choreographic Competition at NW Dance Project and Choreographic Shindig at Whim W'Him in the U.S. He's commissioned to create a work from PCDC, Bayerishes Staatsballet, Ballet Arkansas, Ballet Des Moines II, Nimbus, Litvak, Graham II, Alvin Ailey/ Fordham BFA, Peabody at Johns Hopkins University, Interlochen Center for the Arts, many dance festivals, and more.

Karla was one of six ‘Broadway Bound choreographers’ selected to present at the 2018 DANCEBREAK showcase. She is currently the choreographer of a brand new show OTHER WORLD, written by Hunter Bell, Jeffrey Bowen, and Ann McNamee. Karla is also the Associate Choreographer for an upcoming Broadway show Days of Wine and Roses. She has presented for BC Beat, Broadway Cares Equity Fights AIDS, and Katie’s Project. She is on the theater faculty at Broadway Dance Center. @karlapunogarcia www.KarlaGarciaDance.com

Karen is known for the world premiere of HOLMES, THE LEGEND (Karlin Theatre, Prague), WE ARE AMEENA (New 42st Studio); INTO THE WOODS (TUTS, Houston); the film campaign RESISTDANCE; the film series DANCES; regional theatre, films and commercials in both the US and Europe. Karen is a proud DLNY alum. www.karensieber.com

JESSICA CHEN is a freelance choreographer and Artistic Director of J CHEN PROJECT, a modern dance company based in NYC. In 2013, she made a miraculous journey back to the stage after suffering a horrific car accident, which rendered her in a coma for 13 days after eight hours of brain surgery.

Jessica’s professional theater credits include choreographing INTERSTATE (NYMF), Fiddler on the Roof at Timberlake Playhouse, The Portal at Minetta Lane Theater (Off-Broadway). Other choreography credits include Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, TEDx Semester at Sea, Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, World Expo - USA Pavilion in Shanghai, China, and International Human Rights Arts Festival.

Her new work ‘You Are Safe’ was commissioned by the Museum of Chinese in America. She is a 2021 GALLIM Moving Women Artist-in-Residence and performed in Andrea Miller’s new work for Lincoln Center’s Restart Stages. Jessica is a proud member of SDC.

Upcoming: Hairspray National Tour (Associate Director) Other credits include: SC7NARIO on Broadway HD (Director/Choreographer/Writer), Urinetown Off-Broadway (Choreographer). You're a Good Man Charlie Brown at Forestburgh Playhouse (Director/Choreographer) Fun Factory (Director/Choreographer), SYNC: The Dance Series (Choreographer) While You Were Dreaming (Director/Choreographer) Shout: The Mod Musical at Syracuse University (Director), Starblasters at Manhattan School of Music (Choreographer) How to Load A Musket at 59e59 (Associate Director), Good Grief at the Vineyard Theatre (Assistant Director), SDC Observership Class Of 2020/2021 Soft Power at the Public Theater.

Josh is a New York City based choreographer, performer and educator. His work has spanned across every area of the entertainment industry including Broadway, National Tours, fashion, film, and television.

Choreographic credits include New York Fashion Week, Audi, Celebrity Cruise Lines, Modos Furniture and Cedar Park. He has choreographed regional productions of Mary Poppins, Cinderella, Will Rogers Follies, Newsies and the world premiere of Medicine the Musical, which ran in New York City, Off-Broadway. He was the associate choreographer for the Saturday Night Fever National Tour as well as the Canadian Premier of Newsies at Drayton Entertainment. Recently Josh choreographed the upcoming series DJ Burnt Bannock, produced by one of Canada's most prolific production companies, Eagle Vision.

Josh has been featured in Dance Spirit Magazine, Dance Canada Quarterly, Industry Dance Magazine and Dance Plug Los Angeles. He has taught at Edge Performing Arts Center and is currently on faculty at the Broadway Dance Center in New York City.

Jasmine Hearn was born and raised on occupied lands now known as Houston, TX. They are an interdisciplinary artist, director, choreographer, organizer, teaching artist and a three time Bessie award winning performer. For ten years, they have developed and shared solo and ensemble dance theater performances rooted in the facilitation of creative spaces for remembering, feeling, and imagining.

Tiffany Mangulabnan, born and raised in Manila, Philippines, is a Brooklyn-based dancer, choreographer, and director. She began her professional career with the Philippine Ballet Theatre when she was 15, and went on to dance as a principal with the company before she moved to New York City in 2012. She danced with BalletNext for four years, and then went on to freelance with many New York-based contemporary ballet companies, such as Gabrielle Lamb's Pigeonwing Dance, Gleich Dances, Indelible Dance, Emery LeCrone DANCE, Claudia Schreier & Company, Terra Firma Dance (in DC), Alison Cook Beatty Dance, and Matthew Brookoff Dance. In 2016 she co-founded Brooklyn-based contemporary ballet company konverjdans with fellow artistic directors and dancers Amy Saunder and Jordan Miller. She has since choreographed and presented several new works for the company. Since 2020 she has also directed, choreographed, and edited her own dance films.

Alethea Pace is a Bronx-based multidisciplinary choreographer and performer. A former Arthur Aviles Typical Theater company member, her work has been supported by BAAD!, Dancing While Black, Pregones Theater, Bronx Council on the Arts, New Dance Alliance, New York Live Arts and the 92Y. She is committed to creating work in and with her community that is rooted in social justice, born out of resilience and made in spite of the obstacles facing artists (and people) of color. Alethea is a recipient of the 2021 Harkness Promise Award.

Originally from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Yusha-Marie Sorzano is a relentless performing artist, choreographer, educator, and mentor who has worked in concert dance, theater, television, and film. She has been a member of Ailey II, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Morphoses, TU Dance, and BODYTRAFFIC. She has also performed as a guest artist with Benjamin Millepied's LA Dance Project. Ms. Sorzano is currently a member of Camille A. Brown & Dancers.

As a choreographer, Ms. Sorzano has created works for The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet Idaho, Santa Barbara Dance Theater, New Century Dance Project, The Ailey School, California Institute of the Arts, and Zeitgeist Dance Theatre, where she is a founding Co-Artistic Director. She is the choreographer for We Won’t Sleep, a new musical.

Ms. Sorzano has been the recipient of an Alvin Ailey Organizations New Directions Choreography Fellowship, a National YoungArts Foundations Dance Artist Fellowship, a Watermill Center Fellowship, and a Jerome Robbins Dance Division Research Fellowship. She currently serves as a faculty member and mentor at California Institute of the Arts.

Cameron McKinney, the Artistic Director of Kizuna Dance, is a New York City-based choreographer and educator. He is a 2022 Hearst Choreographer-in-Residence at Princeton University, a 2019-20 U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission Creative Artist Fellow, a 2017-18 Alvin Ailey Foundation New Directions Choreography Lab Fellow, and a 2018 Asian Cultural Council Individual Grantee. Cameron has presented work and taught in eighteen states and in Japan, Mexico, France, and the UK. His commissions include The Ailey School, Princeton University, Joffrey Ballet School, Let’s Dance International Frontiers Festival, Dance Gallery Festival, Slippery Rock University, and Bates College, among numerous others. His teaching credits include Adjunct & Visiting Lecturer positions at Princeton University, Bard College, and Queensborough Community College. Cameron has taught on faculty at Gibney Dance since 2016 and at festivals across the country and abroad. He is currently building Nagare Technique, which blends streetdance styles and contemporary floorwork.

Rutkay Özpinar (1991) from The Netherlands is a Dutch/Turkish choreographer and currently a house choreographer at Korzo in The Hague. Besides from being a dancer he keeps on pursuing his choreographic career which will become his full focus from next season on. In 2019 Rutkay started his research on Turkish folk dance and the goal of it was to let it influence his movement language. Throughout this journey he found his authenticity in his work where the different colours of contemporary dance, classical ballet, hip-hop and Turkish folk dance have blended into a colour. Rutkay's works are inspired by the essence of our existence that struggles to find rest in this world. Let it be loneliness, hedonism or the structured life we live in. There is always a restlesness within humans that inspire him to create with such subjects. Rather than expressing these subjects in a literal way Rutkay lets the cadance of the human body create shape to express these sensations.

Caleb Dowden is a dancer and choreographer from New Orleans, Louisiana. She is a recent graduate of Purchase College where she received her BFA in Dance. Ms. Dowden is the Founder of Dow-Dance, a company dedicated to providing a space for African- American history to be presented on stage through movement. She is the recent recipient of a Fulbright Award in the Creative and Performing Arts to conduct research in Benin, West Africa for the 2021-2022 academic year. As a result of her abroad experiences in Africa and Asia, Ms. Dowden’s work is a mixture of different influences that are rooted in rhythm and a deep understanding of how the body moves with history.

Marielis Garcia is a Dominican American dance artist who has performed and toured with Brian Brooks, Helen Simoneau, iKapa (Cape Town, SA), and Madeline Hollander, among others. She received her MFA in Digital and Interdisciplinary Art Practice from City College of New York. Her professional affiliations include being artistic advisor for Judson Memorial Church Arts, writer for the Gibney Journal, curatorial work with STUFFED Arts and associate special programs curator for MoMA's 'Judson Dance Theater: The Work is Never Done' exhibition. Marielis has taught dance, choreographic practices and interdisciplinary digital practices at Rutgers University, North Carolina School of the Arts, and Guttman College, among others. She was recently named Ballet Hispánico’s Instituto Coreográfico Resident (2021) and was an Alvin Ailey New Directions Choreography Lab Grant recipient (2021). Marielis is currently the Dance Artist in Residence at the University of Maryland.

Nubian Néné is a well-versed dancer/choreographer who finds inspiration weaving the street/club dances she’s practiced for over 20 years to create her unique style. Her ability to expand her creativity into a choreographer, performer, producer, and director, makes her an asset to any project. Her lifetime involvement with cultural awareness began in 2007, and since then she’s managed to work for many organizations across the world sharing the stories of Black people through movement. Néné’s muse is music.

Born and bred in Queens, Soraya Lundy eats, sleeps, and breathes dance. She thrives when telling stories through movement and always knew she wanted to share her love of dance with others.

Soraya graduated from the Frank Sinatra School of The Arts while also attending Alvin Ailey School and Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance. Soraya also spent time at the Blade Dance Academy and the Hip Hop Dance Conservatory.

Throughout her career Soraya has worked with a number of celebrities including Cardi B and childhood icons Janet Jackson and Missy Elliot. Soraya has worked extensively in the fashion industry, choreographing for photoshoots and shows including Harper’s Bazaar, Tory Burch, and Balmain.

With a Caribbean background Soraya incorporates her culture in her work whenever possible. She created the Banji Twerk Team, whose mission is to lift each other up and empower each other through movement.

Soraya continues to work with some of the heaviest hitters in pop culture all over the globe. She is dedicated to growing as an artist and continuing to inspire those around her through dance.

A legend within the ballroom community and founder of the Kiki House of Juicy Couture, leader of The House of Balenciaga, Black trans femme Creative Director of Masterz at Work Dance Family, Courtney ToPanga Washington creates work fusing street dance, street jazz, ballroom, and hip-hop. Informed by her own experience being teased as a queer teenage person who found refuge in dance, her work conveys how her gender transition spurred transformative emotional, creative, and physical liberation. The dances she creates are a representation of resiliency, and through company outreach foster community and family in under-resourced areas of Brooklyn.

Christian Denice’s dance experience includes Odyssey Dance Theatre, River North Dance Chicago, Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal, and “Salema Revisited” by Greek choreographer Andonis Foniadakis. Choreographic credits include Odyssey Dance Theatre, DanceWorks Chicago, the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Western Michigan University, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, Houston Contemporary Dance Company, Chamber Dance Project, and Kit Modus. He is currently the Artist in Residence at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University.

Will A. Ervin Jr. earned his BFA in dance from Montclair State University (2017) and MFA from University of Illinois (2020). He founded Erv Works Dance in 2015 and has showcased at APAP Digital Dance Festival, Eryc Taylor Emerging Artist Grantee, Dance on the Lawn Emerging Artist, and Mixtures Creation through the General Consulate of Spain, Battery Dance Festival, the Joyce Theatre in partnership with Future Dance Festival, 92st Y, and The Martha Graham Dance Company.

Madison Hicks 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. 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. Madison is a faculty member at Steps on Broadway and Peridance Center.

Suzanne Haag is the Resident Choreographer of Eugene Ballet and co-founder of #instaballet. She has created 14 works for EB including The Firebird and a collaboration with Pink Martini. Suzanne participated in the 2017 National Choreographer’s Initiative, was a 2017 and 2018 McCallum Theatre Choreography Competition finalist, received a 2019 recipient of the New York Choreographic Institute’s Commission Initiative award, the 2019 Oregon Arts Commission’s Joan Shipley Fellowship, and a 2022 Lane Arts Council Artist Grant for her screendance, Confluence.

Durante Verzola is a 26-year-old, Filipino American choreographer and currently serves on faculty at Miami City Ballet School. He has choreographed works for Miami City Ballet, Miami City Ballet School, Pennsylvania Ballet II, Ballet Chicago, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, School of Pennsylvania Ballet, Princeton University Ballet, and more. He is a winner of Joffrey's Winning Works, was awarded a fellowship at NYU's Center for Ballet and the Arts, completed a session at New York Choreographic Institute where he worked with the dancers of New York City Ballet, and has had his work shown at Guggenheim's Works & Process.

His work has been described as "sharp and witty...so vibrant it is almost like a celebration of classicism and vitality with non-derivative balletic language…he continues to present classical ballet vocabulary in unfussy, thrilling ways," by Philadelphia Dance.

Verzola danced professionally with Pennsylvania Ballet II and The Suzanne Farrell Ballet.

Isaiah Newby graduated from NYU with a BFA in Dance and has been living in Brooklyn as an NYC-based artist. While in New York so far they've worked and learned from world-renowned choreographers in the dance community. They’ve performed with the Limón 2 as a guest artist, set work for artistic director Ja’Malik, and currently dances at The Met Opera. He’s also modeled for Sterling King jewelry for their 1st blog series by Katherine Hubbard.

When he’s not working or dancing you can catch them hanging out with friends, at a park, or watching a good show.

Naomi Funaki is a tap dance artist from Tokyo, Japan, currently living in New York City working with New York based companies. She is also an alumni of The School at Jacob’s Pillow for their tap program of 2017. Other performance credits include “Tap Family Reunion”, Vail Dance Festival, Dance Against Cancer (Lincoln Center), and Ayodele Casel and Arturo O’Farrill (Joyce Theater). The MET Gala, Works & Process (Guggenheim) , “Infinity” in Tokyo. And “Chasing Magic “ (Joyce Theatre).

DLNY CONNECT CHOREOGRAPHER // Originally from La Ceiba, Honduras, Gerson first encountered the art form of tap dance after moving to New York City in 2001. He began his tap dance training under Omar Edwards at Wadleigh Secondary School for the Visual and Performing Arts, located in the heart of New York’s Harlem neighborhood. After nearly two decades of a fruitful career as an educator, performer, and choreographer, Gerson continues to find new ground. He recently has been chosen as one of six Strathmore Artists in Residence, featured in Jacob's Pillow 2022 Summer Festival and the Guggenheim Work and Progress Series where he performed with Leo Sandoval’s & Gregory Richardson’s Music from the Sole company and headline the Millennium Stage at Kennedy Center with his jazz quartet in Washington D.C. Gerson's scholarly research is based on the African diaspora and its connection to Latin America, using tap dance as the through line to build community and awareness. Lastly, Gerson is now in his second year at the University of Maryland pursuing a Master’s in Fine Arts in Dance and Performance Studies.

Dario Natarelli is a performer, choreographer, and dance educator specializing in tap dance based in NYC. Some of his credits include: Justin Peck project (Dance Captain/Swing), The Tap Dance Kid (NYCC), Fall For Dance (NYCC), Tappin' Thru Life (Off-Broadway), Netflix, The Kennedy Center (soloist/choreographer), Vail Dance Festival (2016-), Asst. Choreographer for Michelle Dorrance, National commercials, and more. He is beyond grateful to DLNY for trusting him with his choreographic endeavors. Respect the dance; Go in rhythm.

Demi Remick is a NYC-based dancer and choreographer. She was listed on Dance Magazine’s 2014 “25 to Watch” and is a YoungArts Gold Recipient. She has toured with Postmodern Jukebox at venues like the Sydney Opera House, the London Palladium and Radio City Music Hall. She has performed with Company XIV, Dorrance Dance, Caleb Teicher & Co., and Jason Samuels Smith. She earned a BFA in Dance from SUNY Purchase Conservatory and presents work with her company, Demi Remick & Dancers.

Luke is living in a fantasy world full of disco and happiness. He choreographs the feeling of charm and grandeur to portray the ways of which he see the things around him. Inspired by the likeness of Atlantic City and Grace Jones, henhopes that hiswork can universally display hisvisions of love, as love is the derivative of his artistic being.

Anayah Santos first started dancing when she was 3 years old. She began choreographing with her dad. She moved on to starting her own dances and teaching her sister for fun. She joined her schools dance team in 6th grade. From then she choreographed her own pieces to show her peers and younger students. She made 3 dances in which were shown at her schools assembly. Her favorite hobbies are to listen to music and dance with her friends. She attends Talent Unlimited High School where she studies musical theatre. She hopes to one day teach younger children dances.

Taliha Abdiel, 23, was born in Rochester, New York. She studied dance and graduated from California Institute of the Arts in 2021. She has danced and choreographed internationally, presenting and teaching her own work at theatres, festivals, galleries, workshops and conferences both locally and globally, including the Centre National de la Danse in Paris France, DOCK 11 theatre in Berlin Germany, and La Biennale Di Venezia Dance Festival in Venice Italy, where she worked for four months premiering an original work. She has worked with choreographers such as Wayne McGregor, Garth Fagan, Rosie Herrera, Sam Corren, Gregory Dawson and more. Taliha is also a musician, visual artist, writer, creative director and model with VISION Los Angeles. She plans to continue merging her artistic abilities and creating projects across all genres and mediums.

Dava Huesca is a performing artist, teacher, and choreographer currently based in New York City. She has performed with VIM/VIGOR dance company, Telfar TV, Yin Yue Dance Company, Jacolby Satterwhite, Johannes Weiland, Laja Martin, Maxine Doyle, Rena Butler, Sidra Bell, Damani Pompey, Stephanie Batten Bland, Christoph Wrinkler company, and Martha Graham Dance company and more. Dava has presented work through Jonah Bokaer’s Arts Foundation AIR Founder’s Residency, Gallim’s Moving Women residency, Peridance Certificate Program, Yale University’s Drama cabaret. Through her co-founded interdisciplinary arts collective LLAB Rats, Dava seeks to practice art as activism for the benefit of black folks. LLAB Rats has presented original choreography for Battery Dance Festival, Art Cake, Center for Performance Research, Ciclo Dos in Brazil, Purchase Dance company, Arts on Site, The Craft NYC, and POP UP NYC. Dava has been a guest floor work teacher for MOVE|NYC|, Gibney Pro, Brickhouse, Broadway Dance Center, Manhattanville, Barnard, and SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance.

Akira Uchida is a dancer, choreographer, creative director and teacher, originally from Ottawa, Canada. Now based in New York City, Akira has presented work at the Capezio Ace Awards, Fire Island Dance Festival, Battery Dance Festival, New Victory Dance and created work for the Joffrey Ballet School and the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver. He has worked with music artists such as HAAI, Leon Vynehall, Photay, Lights, Ria Mae and Tyler Shaw and had his work featured on platforms such as Nowness, FACTmag and Dance Magazine. Akira is currently a faculty member as a contemporary teacher on JUMP Dance Convention, for which he travels across North America making his influence on the upcoming generation of dancers with his progressive teaching style. Outside of his time working on projects in NYC, Akira is a board member at Share The Movement, a non-profit dedicated to uplifting and providing opportunity to young BIPOC dancers.

Hi, I’m Giada! I’m 17 and from NY. I’m so excited to be working with Dance Lab this cycle as a next gen choreographer. I’ve always been so fascinated with creating movement on others and never had an opportunity til now. I’ve grown up my whole life dancing and when I was 12 started to train professionally. I’m apart of Koin & Co on their Pro track as well as SoleTalk Tap Co. I’m signed with my dream agency MSA. I just recently worked with Ben Platt & Noah Galvin in their new upcoming movie called “Theater Camp”

Malachi Kingston is 17 years old and a senior in high school. He is a Dancer, Choreographer, Photographer and so many more things. Malachi is so passionate about dance and really goes above and beyond for what he loves to do. Malachi is part of a youth company called FlightPath Dance Project and receives training there as well.

Annalee Traylor is an interdisciplinary freelance creator, choreographer, and director. Her work has been presented nationally and abroad in LA, NYC, Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Temecula, Battle Lake, Durham, the Netherlands, Italy, and Portugal, among others. She has been commissioned and awarded residencies by Kennesaw State University, Periapsis Music and Dance, The Dance Gallery Festival, and Highways Performance Space. Other commissions include Texture Contemporary Ballet, Houston Contemporary II, Point Park University International Summer Dance, Dance Canvas, and Voices Carry Inc. She holds an MFA in Choreography from the California Institute of the Arts. 

Chloe O. Davis is a Broadway performer, choreographer, and author. Her favorite choreography credits include: Late Night with Seth Meyers (NBC); Ain’t Misbehavin’ (The REV Theatre Company); TR@K GRLS (EST), My Tribute to Black Broadway and Black Choreographers (The Muny); Broadway Bares (Hammerstein Ballroom); and Paradise Square (Broadway, Associate Choreographer). She is a Drama Desk Award Winner for Outstanding Choreography and winner of The Award (formally known as The Antonyo Award by Broadway Black) for Best Choreography. Chloe is currently performing in the production, Champion, at The Met Opera and is also set to choreograph, A New Brain, at Barrington Stage in association with Williamstown Theatre Festival this summer.

Jerron Herman is a disabled dancer and writer who creates works to facilitate welcoming. He has premiered pieces at Danspace Project, Performance Space New York, The REACH, and The Whitney Museum. Jerron’s writings on arts and culture have been published in the US and internationally and his play, 3 Bodies, was published in Theater Magazine, June 2022. Awards: 2020 Disability Futures Fellowship, the Ford Foundation and Mellon Foundation; 2021: Grants to Artists Award, the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship, the Jerome Foundation.

Mark is a queer artist from Philadelphia. They received their BFA from University of the Arts, where they are now Artist in Residence and Adjunct Faculty. Mark is a 2023 Princess Grace Award Recipient in Choreography, 2023 Jacob's Pillow Choreography Fellow, on faculty at Gibney Dance and founder of BigKid Dance, a queer movement community in Philly. Mark has been commissioned by American Ballet Theater, Gibney Company, Whim W'Him Contemporary Dance Seattle amongst others. markcaserta.com

Lauren Edson, originally from Boise, Idaho, is the Artistic Director and Co-Founder of LED. She is a dancer, award-winning choreographer, producer and director. She received her training at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and The Juilliard School and was a celebrated dancer with Trey McIntyre Project for many years. She returned to her hometown with the desire to build a community of artists and art-making practices that inspire risk-taking, greatness and sustainability.

Described as a “choreographer of the first rank,” by the Seattle Times, her works have been commissioned and presented by: The Kennedy Center (DC), Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (MA), San Francisco Dance Film Festival (CA), Dance Camera West (CA), Winspear Opera House (TX), The McCallum Theater (CA), The Freeman Company (CA), Houston Metropolitan Dance (TX), Milwaukee Ballet (WI), Whim W’Him (WA), Ballet Idaho (ID), Northwest Dance Project (OR) and SALT Contemporary Dance (UT).

She received the 2022 Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, is a 2021 Alexa Rose Fellow, a two-time recipient of the ICA Performing Arts Fellowship (2015, 2021), winner of the Pretty Creatives International Choreography Competition, a United States Artist Fellowship nominee and recipient of the 2019 Washington Award for Excellence in Choreography.

In January 2015, she founded LED with her husband and composer, Andrew Stensaas and has continued to be at the forefront of artistic innovation, bringing Boise into a global arts conversation.

Described by the Seattle Times as “ an important addition to the art’s scene in the northwest" the company has been recognized by Dance Magazine as “25 to Watch” for 2020 an honor given to break out artists and companies of the upcoming year. ledboise.com

Roderick George was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He spent his formative years training at Ben Stevenson’s Houston Ballet Academy, The Alvin Ailey School, and the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA). George was a bronze winner of the Youth American Grand Prix in 2005 and a YoungArts Winner and Presidential Scholar of the Arts in 2003. He has danced for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Basel Ballet/Theater Basel, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, and The Forsythe Company. He has performed the work of choreographers such as Marie Chouinard, Peeping Tom, Jorma Elo, Jacopo Godani, William Forsythe, Johan Inger, Jiří Kylian, Sharon Eyal, Ohan Naharin, Benoit Swan-Pouffer, and Richard Wherlock.

Eager to delve into deeper creative explorations with a growing group of close artistic collaborators, George founded kNoname Artist in 2015. The unique movement style of George and his NYC-based company has performed at festivals such as Festival Quartiers Danses, Suzanne Dellal, Zurich Tanzhaus, Hollins University, New York Live Arts, Pavilion Noir| Ballet du Prejlocaj, Sophiensæle Festspiele, Pocantico Art Center, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, and Fall for Dance North/ NIGHTSHIFT. Most recently, George is a YoungArts Fellow Awardee for the 2021-2022 season. knonameartist.org

Preston Chamblee was born in Wendell, North Carolina and began his dance training at the age of 14 at the Raleigh School of Ballet under Mary Legere and Pablo Perez. He continued his training at the International Ballet Academy in Apex, North Carolina from 2010 to 2013.

Mr. Chamblee studied at the School of American Ballet (SAB), the official school of New York City Ballet, during the 2012 and 2013 summer courses, and enrolled as a full-time student in 2013.

Mr. Chamblee was named an apprentice with NYCB in August 2014 and joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet in February 2015.

Mr. Chamblee was promoted to the rank of soloist in January 2022.

Mr. Chamblee started choreographing at the International Ballet Academy, creating works for his home studio showcases and contemporary solos for those competing at the Youth America Grand Prix. Since, he has made pieces for NYC Ballet's "First Steps" Program, The NY Choreographic Institute, Ballet Collective, The Nantucket Dance Festival and more.

Born and raised in the D.M.V. Oluwatoyin, better known as Toyin, is a dancer, dance educator, choreographer, and cultural ambassador of Black street and club styles. She has gained the respect as one of the best house dancers of this generation and is perhaps most well-known for earning the distinction of performing, winning and judging some of the top dance competitions in the world, like “Juste Debout”, “Summer Dance Forever" and “I Love This Dance” to name a few.

As an internationally established dancer, Toyin is dedicated to preserving and cultivating the authenticity of hip hop and club culture and their Black heritage. She is also the creator and director of the collective ‘Nefer Global Movement’, a group of actively influential women in the Hip Hop dance scene, celebrating dance, culture and empowering sisterhood.

Shannon Yu 余香儒 is a Brooklyn, New York based artist from Taiwan. Sha holds an MFA in Performance and Performance Studies from Pratt Institute. Shannon identifies as a dancer-choreographer and queer-creator. Shannon practices Breaking, Hip Hop, Contemporary floorwork, and Wing Tsun. Shannon is the founder and Artistic Director of multimedia dance company SHA Creative Outlet. Sha has shown work at Performance Mix Festival, Evolution Festival, and WOW Festival. Shannon is named 2023 Asian American Arts Alliance’s Jadin Wong Fellow for Dance.

Khadijah Siferllah, an Emmy-nominated artist who calls the Twin Cities and New York “home.” As half of the internationally renowned duo Al Taw’am, she’s a pioneering "hijabi" figure across platforms like NBC’s, "World of Dance.” She expands her individual repertoire, exploring the foundation and nuanced possibilities of house dance; Choreographing work that honors her roots, as a black woman of Caribbean and Tsalagi-Indigenous heritage. Khadijah is currently extrapolating connections between traditional African and black vernacular dance, for intrapersonal and communal enrichment.

Sarah Washington, a 17-year-old senior at LaGuardia Arts Highschool, is a young professional with MOVE|NYC|. She is excited to be a part of Dance Lab NextGen 2023, where she can create movement inspired by the human experience. Sarah's passion for choreography began at a young age, and she is eager to embark on the next chapter of her artistic journey.

Hi my name is Lana. I’m 17 years old. I live in New Jersey and I dance at Kanyok Arts Initiative in Manhattan! I have been dancing my whole life, and due to the amazing choreographers I’ve had as mentors throughout my training, I’ve always had a fire inside me desperate to create movement of my own just like them. I began choreographing at age 14 and have kept working at it ever since. I am extremely thankful for the Dance Lab team for believing in me and I am so excited to start working in the lab with the incredible artists, dancers, and souls. :)

Mary Ann Lamb: recently shot a film called Babygirl with A24 and this pasted summer choreographed in Amsterdam, “Celebration of Chita Rivera” directed by Valarie Pettiford for Lucia Martha’s Performing Arts Summer Concert. At Joyce theater in NYC she premiered a jazz ballet called JazzMan (2022)

for Destiny Rising benefit with the talented Marymount College dancers.She was the assistant choreographer for Susan Misner and assistant choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler on the hit television series FX Fosse/Verdon. As a performer Mary Ann has performed in 11 Broadway shows.

Kody Jauron is a versatile dancer and choreographer who has performed with concert dance companies including NW Dance Project, DanceWorks Chicago, and Ballet Austin. Most recently, he was seen in Encores! "Dear World" and the national tour of "Wicked." As a choreographer, Kody has created theatrical works with dance companies and young artists across the country. Both his belief of dance being an exemplification of humanity and his dedication to expressive storytelling define the impact he hopes to make as a creative in dance and theater.

Christopher Page-Sanders | CO-Artistic Director of NU-World Danse Theatre. Training: Center of Creative Arts and the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Performing Credits include Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Dianne McIntyre & Company, Fulton Theatre (The Wiz), and Mastervoices (The Frogs). Director\Choreographer Credits include Lone Tree Arts Center (Dreamgirls), COCAPresents (Pippin), Town Hall Arts Center (Raisin), and Vintage Theatre (Sophisticated Ladies). 2020 Colorado "Henry Award Winner" - Best Choreography (The Scottsboro Boys) "on the shoulders of my ancestors and mentors, I create."

Based in Manhattan NY, Annia is a student and a freelancer. She is an experienced performer, having done vocal, acting, and dance performances. She is currently working on developing her career as a music producer, choreographer, and model.

She has a love for the stage and a community of artists. She believes music is the foundation of all her work, which drives her to create her own. You’ll always find her songwriting, or directing and choreographing her next big performance.

Jade found her love for dance at the age of two and began the pursuit of choreography at the age six after watching a show based on the lives of two sensational dancers in Disney’s “Shake It Up”. It was from those moments on that she decided to make the beauty that is movement a permanent fixture in her life. As a high school student at the Professional Performing Arts School she now studies at the Alvin Ailey Dance Theater as well as at Steps On Broadway Academy. With the support of these facilities along with the unconditional love and encouragement of her number one supporter, her mom (Caula), Jade recently performed in Earl Mosley’s piece for Dance Against Cancer at Lincoln Center.

“Out of limitations comes creativity”

~Debbie Allen

Cristina Camacho (aka Macho) is a professional dancer and choreographer originally hailing from the DMV. A graduate of the University of Maryland (B.A. Dance / B.S. Kinesiology), she relocated to New York in 2018, where she has since worked as a commercial dancer (MTV VMA's, Telemundo Upfronts, The Soul Spot by Candace Brown, The CW, BET) and traveled internationally as a choreographer and dance educator. When she is not dancing, Cristina lends her skills to Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in a Communications role.

Canadian and New Yorker, Lisa’s credits include Broadway’s Shuffle Along, recipient of Fred Astaire and Actor’s Equity Award for Outstanding Broadway Chorus, touring with Savion Glover as well as with STOMP. She is the founder of production company, Tap Phonics, and an educator and University Professor dedicated to servicing unrepresented communities. Lisa recently premiered her first film TRAX encompassing important American and Canadian Black history through Tap Dance. Her proudest achievement is being a mom.

www.lisalatouche.com

Dre Torres, hailing from McAllen, TX, is a versatile International Tap Dance Artist, Educator, and Choreographer based in New York City. With a Bachelor of Science in American Dance Pedagogy from OCU, Dre's career highlights include roles as Assistant Tap Choreographer for Broadway's "Funny Girl," and Associate Choreographer for "Henry & Me." With a rich performance history and faculty credits at renowned institutions, Dre's passion for tap dance shines through her dedication to mentoring the next generation of artists and pursuing her latest creative theatrical works. Follow her journey on Instagram: @DreTorres14.

Ryan K. Johnson, M.F.A is a multi-award-winning artist scholar who generates sonic and kinetic sensory-driven immersive evening-length percussive dance performances infused with technology, vocalization and embodied storytelling as an archival practice. Johnson's credits include performing with Gregory Hines and Marvin Hamlisch, Ayodele Casel's Diary of a Tap Dancer, BB&T Zelle Commercial, Amazon Prime's Música, Step Afrika!, STOMP, Cirque Du Soleil, Broadway's After Midnight Tour, Rose Rabbit Lie, and The Washington Ballet. He is the Executive Artistic Director of SOLE Defined.

Ball was born in Houston, Texas. In 2011, Ball became an apprentice with NYCB, and in 2012 he joined the Company as a member of the corps de ballet. He was promoted to soloist in 2017 and to Principal Dancer in 2022. Since joining New York City Ballet, Ball has performed featured roles in a range of works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Mauro Bigonzetti, August Bournonville, William Forsythe, Peter Martins, Justin Peck, Alexei Ratmansky, Jamar Roberts, Troy Schumacher, and Christopher Wheeldon. In addition, he has originated roles in works by Kyle Abraham, Sidra Bell, Kim Brandstrup, Pontus Lidberg, Martins, Peck, Ratmansky, Gianna Reisen, and Wheeldon, among others. In 2022, Ball was commissioned by New Jersey Ballet and made his choreographic debut with Purcell Suite, a ballet for 12 dancers set to Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. Ball was the recipient of the 2013-14 Janice Levin Award, which is bestowed annually on a promising member of NYCB's corps de ballet. In 2011, Ball received the School of American Ballet's Mae L. Wien Award for Outstanding Promise.

Filipino American artist Norbert De La Cruz III is recognized for his versatility in performance and choreography. He is a collaborative artist scholar with roots in classical ballet and contemporary modern dance. With a BFA from The Juilliard School and an MFA in Dance from Hollins University, he has collaborated with artists in universities and professional dance companies from all over the United States. He brings 20 years of experience as a dancer, movement scholar, and freelance choreographer.

From Rahway, NJ and trained by her late mother Jay Skeete-Lee. Daphne has been apart of Collage Dance Collective, Ailey II, Oakland Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Graduate of Ailey/Fordham and Hollins University MFA program and has a scholarship for BIPOC women studying the artists. Has taught internationally including Germany, Ghana, the Bahamas, Rutgers University, Kent State, and Arizona State, among others. Currently performing in Disney’s The Lion King on Broadway. 

Dream Hunter is a multifaceted young artist from Brooklyn, NY. She began her dance training at age 5 at Bianca’s Dance Academy in Bed Stuy. She has choreographed for BDA Dancers, and they won First-Place Double-Platinum at DanceXplosion. Before being a NextGen Apprentice, she danced in DLNY’s Youth Company for two cycles. Endless thanks to everyone who’s been there to support her, especially mom. 

Hi, I'm Gianna-Milani and I am 16 years old. I’m a rising senior at LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts. I have been dancing since I was 1 1/2 years old and it has been my passion ever since. I am a well-trained dancer with extreme versatility. In addition to dancing, choreography has become another love of mine. I’ve collaborated on the choreography for the Brooklyn Nets kid's dance team on numerous occasions, as well as dancing on the team for the past 8 years. Now I can't wait to discover how I can add my training into my choreography and learn what it truly means to be a choreographer.

Guggenheim Fellow Tommie-Waheed Evans' work explores blackness, spirituality, queerness & liberation. His training began with Karen McDonald, later receiving an Ailey School fellowship, and an MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University. A former company member of Lula Washington Dance Theater, Complexions, and PHILADANCO, he's created works for BalletX, Dallas Black, DCDC, and Ballet Memphis, among others. His awards include Resident Fellow at the Center for Ballet and the Arts, the Princess Grace Award in Choreography, and Joffrey Ballet Winning Works. He is a former Assistant Professor at UArts and an Artist in Residence at Philadanco.

Dawn Marie Bazemore is an artist and dance educator, currently serving on faculty in the department of Theatre and Dance at Rowan University. She is a former member of Philadanco and has also performed in Broadway and regional musical theater productions.  Dawn Marie has choreographed for Philadanco and Nimbus Dance and was selected to be a Jacob’s Pillow Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellow and the Performance garage Dance Visions Artist in Residence. 

A native of Brooklyn, NY, Dawn Marie is a graduate of the NYC High School for Performing Arts and has earned a BFA from SUNY Purchase and an MFA from Hollins University. Currently, she is a Doctoral Student in the Dance Ed. Doctoral program at Columbia University’s Teachers College where her research is focused on the leadership and wellness practices of Black women dance leaders in higher education. 

Colin Heininger is a choreographer, dancer, and teacher based in New York City. He has performed for Twyla Tharp, ZviDance, and Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, where they also served as rehearsal director and company coordinator. In the past couple of years, Colin has created and shown work at Peridance, the Lila Dance Festival, The Brick Theater, and at Dixon Place. This fall, he will premiere new works for the Ailey/Fordham BFA program and for One Day Dance.