presents

ADELE MYERS AND DANCERS

First Lady Michelle Obama, 2014 Honorary Chair

Monday, June 30 - Wednesday, July 2 at 8:00pm Reynolds Industries Theater

EINSTEIN’S HAPPIEST THOUGHT (2013) Conceived and Directed by Adele Myers

Choreographed by Adele Myers and Dancers

Performers Tara Burns, Raphaëlle Kessedjian, Kellie Lynch, and Amber Morgan, with Morgan Griffin as “The Walker”

Original score composed, performed, and arranged by Josh Quillen

Costume Design and Creation by Heidi Henderson

Film Direction and Editing by Emmanuelle Pickett

Lighting and Visual Design by Kathy Couch

Dramaturg Ain Gordon What is this dance about? If you want to know the answer read on. If not, skip this part. This dance is mostly about anticipation and risk. The dance is personal within an abstract frame. The abstract frame is the aesthetic designed by the collaborators. The personal is marked primarily by the presence of “The Walker.” The way she marks time and space is the narrative. I wondered what she was thinking and feeling. I answered that question with the presence of the four dancers.

The dance is peppered with a surreal presence of three additional figures. They are architects of space. They are also thought experiments. They are a wink. The title refers to a thought experiment that Einstein claimed was the happiest thought of his life. His happiest thought was about the different ways we experience the same amount of time and space in relation to gravity. The live performance is a collaborative thought experiment about what happens to our sense of time, space, and gravity as we anticipate taking a risk. Where do dances come from? The stork. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Every dance maker will have a different answer to this question. The dances I like to make come from a question I have in my life. I try to figure it out through choreography and by collaborating with other people. I usually begin by developing a movement vocabulary with the dancers inspired by the burning question. Once the dancers “wear” the movement with the familiarity of an old favorite t-shirt, I then begin to arrange them in space, much like an architect but with people dancing. The craft always comes first. At first it feels abstract, but eventually the personality of the dancers and their chemistry melts the severity of lines and softens the specificity into a more personal presence. From there I pay attention to what the dance is becoming. This part of the process is delicate. It can’t be forced to be something it is not. (Patience! Patience!) The next step is to edit to necessity—to rid the choreography of riff-raff. My favorite part is at the end, when I get to direct the presence of the performers. At this point, the dance is theirs and I give it to them. It is a pleasure to try to figure out life through people dancing. ADF’s presentation of Adele Myers and Dancers’ Einstein’s Happiest Thought was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, with lead funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

ABOUT THE COMPANY Adele began her company, Adele Myers and Dancers (AMD), in 2000 as part of her MFA thesis project at Florida State University. The company is (usually) made up of 4 to 5 female company members (though there once was a man). The work, brimming with robust athleticism, wit, and a personalized theatricality, tends toward a humanist perspective that emphatically emphasizes people dancing, not simply dancers moving. After a decade of being dually based in NYC and CT, Adele recently relocated the “official home base” for the company, celebrating her home as a New England based choreographer. As a curator of chemistry, Myers invites the collaborators involved in each of her dances to draw inspiration from personal experience and then later examines how these experiences intersect with the greater notion of popular culture. In each of her works, the end result is a work that is rich in sensation, understanding, and realness. The mission of Adele Myers and Dancers is to collaboratively create, teach, and perform dance that is engaging and relevant to a range of people. AMD has been presented at theaters and festivals throughout the eastern seaboard including Bates Dance Festival (ME), Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out (MA), Danspace Project’s FSU alumni Academy Dances (NY), Dance New Amsterdam (NY), Vermont Performance Lab (VT), and New Haven International Festival of Arts and Ideas (CT), among many others. AMD was awarded a National Dance Project grant for the creation and touring of Einstein’s Happiest Thought which premiered September 28th 2013 as part of the onStage at Connecticut College series kicking off the 2013-14 touring season to the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), Boston, Coker College, SC, New Haven International Festival of Arts & Ideas, CT, The American Dance Festival, NC, and The Redfern Arts Center, NH. For more information please visit: adelemyersanddancers.com or email us at [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you!

BIOGRAPHIES ADELE MYERS (Artistic Director) Adele Myers’ formative life as a mover began with ballet, track and field events, baton twirling, balancing on top of big red oil drums rolling down steep hills, and other fearless feats of childhood daredeviltry, all of which seriously informed the kind of dancer and choreographer she later became, an athlete of the heart. Decades later, after studying choreography with Viola Farber at Sarah Lawrence College, Adele moved to NYC in 1992 where she continued her athletic theatrics with Joy Kellman/Co. for six years and was a guest artist with many other companies including MOMIX. Fleeing to Florida State University (FSU) to pursue warmth and an MFA in Dance, she met Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Artistic Director of Urban Bush Women (UBW). Adele served as Jawole’s choreographic assistant for several UBW residencies at FSU and after graduating in 2000 assisted in resetting work on the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater with Jawole. Adele’s time at FSU sparked the formation of her company, Adele Myers and Dancers. Now a New England based contemporary dance company of four women, the company has been presented in NYC and in over 50 venues in all six states in the New England region. To boast further, Adele Myers and Dancers has received support from MANCC, Vermont Performance Lab, Bates Dance Festival, Summer Stages Dance Festival, American Dance Festival, NEFA, the City of New Haven, the State of Connecticut, and the LEF Foundation. Having received a 2012 National Dance Project (NDP) Production and Touring Award, the company is currently embarking on their seven-city adventure throughout the eastern seaboard with their second evening length-work, Einstein’s Happiest Thought. At the turn of the century, Adele earned a PhD (ABD) in Performance Studies from NYU. From 2006 until 2013 she was on faculty in the Dance Department at Connecticut College and prior to that taught for two years in the Dance program at Tulane University. Adele currently lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children.

TARA LEE BURNS is honored to have been a part of Adele Myers and Dancers since 2006. She has performed throughout Germany, the UK, and the US and has worked in New York with Alexandra Beller, Philip Montana, Milvia Pacheco Salvatierra, white road Dance Media, Andrea Haenggi/AMDaT, Kelly Drummond Cawthon, Kelly Donovan, and in Florida with Voci Dance Company. Her own choreography has been seen in Connecticut, NYC, the UK, and throughout Florida and most recently at DNA in NYC in Raw Material. Tara received a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of Florida and an MA in Digital Performance at The University of Hull/Doncaster, UK. She also designs materials for creative clients including Adele Myers and many others. taraleeburns.com. MORGAN GRIFFIN graduated suma cum laude from Connecticut College in 2012 where she studied dance and performed in works choreographed by David Dorfman, Robyne Watkins, Heidi Henderson, Lisa Race, Adele Myers, and Shani Collins-Achille, as well as guest artists Nicholas Leichter and Kyle Abraham. In the summer of 2012, Morgan attended Bates Professional Training Program where she studied with Michael Foley and performed in a work by Adam Baruch. Morgan also choreographs and presents her own work. Her piece Last Chance for Bronze was recently performed in a RAW Artists production at Public Assembly in Brooklyn. Morgan is currently apprenticing with Adele Myers and Dancers and is excited to perform the role of “The Walker” in Einstein’s Happiest Thought. RAPHAËLLE KESSEDJIAN is a native of France and received her dance training at the Centre Choregraphique Veronique Thery, the Rick Odums Institute in France, and on full scholarship at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. Raphaëlle has been a member of Graham II, Nu Dance Theater, Caliince Dance, and was a guest artist with the Martha Graham Dance Company for their Italian production Cercando Picasso. She has performed worked from Robert Battle, Pearl Lang, Stuart Hodes, Peggy Lyman, and Virginie Mécene. She is a certified Pilates and Gyrotonic® instructor and currently teaches Graham- based technique at Peridance Capezio Center.

KELLIE ANN LYNCH has been dancing and touring with Adele Myers and Dancers since 2008, and she is thankful for another opportunity to make art with this amazing company. Kellie also dances, and has toured nationally and internationally, since 2010, with Doug Elkins Choreography. In New Haven, Kellie co-founded Elm City Dance Collective, an organization that provides a platform for an experiential and collaborative approach to dance creation, education, and performance. Kellie is the Co-Artistic Director of ECDC, and she teaches, choreographs, and dances for the organization. Her work has been commissioned and presented throughout New England and since 2008, she has been awarded fellowships in choreography from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism. Kellie holds a BA from Rhode Island College in dance performance and an MFA from Smith College in dance performance and choreography. AMBER MORGAN is a proud Kentuckian and graduate of the School for the Creative and Performing Arts. She later received her BFA from SUNY Purchase College. She has had the pleasure of working with choreographers such as Bill T. Jones, Lucca Veggeti, Douglas Dunn, Sidra Bell, Danielle Desnoyers, Cori Kresge, Nora Petroliunas, Sumi Clements, and Yung-li Chen, and was an apprentice with Andrea Miller’s company Gallim. Amber currently resides in Brooklyn, NY and dances for Adele Myers and Dancers, The Pharmacy Project, and Lonely Goat Dance. One day she plans to devote all her energy to saving the majestic and sadly endangered manatees! KATHY COUCH (Lighting & Visual Designer) has been designing and creating visual landscapes in performance and installation works for 17 years. Primarily working in the mediums of light and space, she has designed over 300 performances in New York, Boston, Washington DC, Australia, Armenia, Russia, Latvia, Serbia, and throughout New England. Creating installations and designs for a variety of traditional and non-traditional spaces, Couch’s artistic practice focuses on the vital role of the audience/viewer as active contributors to the work. She has ongoing performance collaborations with Adele Myers, Candice Salyers, The Architects, and Chimaera Physical Theater. As a member of the creative team for Yanira Castro’s Dark Horse/Black Forest, Couch received a 2009 Bessie

Award. She currently teaches Lighting Design at Amherst College and recently received an MFA in Visual Arts from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is a founding board member of the Northampton Community Arts Trust that seeks innovative ways to preserve arts space in Northampton, MA. AIN GORDON (Dramaturg) is a three-time Obie Award-winning writer/director/actor, a two-time NYFA Fellow, and the recipient of a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in Playwriting. He has been commissioned by venues around the country to unearth marginalized histories as source material for live theater—particularly as these stories reside in geographical “place.” HEIDI HENDERSON (Costumes) has been creating costumes for dance since 1990. She has worked with artists including Bebe Miller Company, Sungsoo Ann Pick Up Group, Creach/Company, Creach/Koester, Sondra Loring, Thunder Bay Ensemble, Tiffany Mills, Fusionworks RI, and Karla Wolfangle. She is the staff costumer for the dance department of Connecticut College where she has designed and constructed costumes for works by Kyle Abraham, Gabri Christa, David Dorfman, David Parker, Lisa Race, and Martha Myers. Also at Connecticut College, she constructed copies (from the 1972 originals loaned by the archives at OSU) of the costumes for Twyla Tharp’s The Fugue, designed by Kermit Love and constructed by Ray Diffen. Heidi also dances and makes dance. For more information please visit elephantjanedance.com. EMMANUELLE PICKETT (Filmmaker) is an L.A. based independent filmmaker and recent graduate of Film Studies at Yale University. She was recently featured as a co-producer of Ridley Scott’s documentary, Life in A Day, which was an Official Selection of the Sundance Film Festival. Emmy has also created films for TEDx conferences, and her videos have been featured in Rolling Stone, MTV, NPR, FADER, and VICE magazine. JOSH QUILLEN (Composer) has forged a unique identity in the contemporary music world as all-around percussionist, expert steel drum performer (lauded as “softly sophisticated” by the New York Times), and composer. His collaborations with other composers

frequently incorporate the steel drums as a core element. A member of the acclaimed ensemble So Percussion since 2006, Josh has performed at Carnegie Hall, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the Lincoln Center Festival, Stanford Lively Arts, and dozens of other venues in the US. In that time, So Percussion has toured Russia, Spain, Australia, Italy, Germany, and Scotland. He has had the opportunity to work closely with Steve Reich, Steve Mackey, Paul Lansky, David Lang, Matmos, Dan Deacon, and many others. An avid educator, Josh is co-director of the So Percussion Summer Institute, an intensive workshop for college-aged percussionists on the campus of Princeton University. He is also co-director of a new percussion program at the Bard College Conservatory of Music, where So Percussion is ensemble in residence since fall 2011, and is the director of the New York University Steel Band. *** Program Notes: Einstein’s Happiest Thought premiered on September 28th, 2013 as part of onStage at Connecticut College, launching its seven-city tour throughout the US. The creation and presentation of this work is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts in cooperation with the New England Foundation for the Arts through the National Dance Project. Major support for NDP is provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation with additional support from the Community Connections Funds of the MetLife Foundation. Support from the NEA provides funding for choreographers in early stages of their career. Production residency for this work was supported by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with funding from The Andrew Mellon Foundation. General Operating support was made possible by the New England Foundation for the Arts with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional development support has been provided by the Bates Dance Festival and Summer Stages Dance at Concord Academy with funding from the New England Foundation of the Arts, Connecticut College, and The New Haven ACES Educational Center for the Arts.

Einstein’s Happiest Thought has been a project-in-residence at Connecticut College from 2011-2013. The project was made possible with generous support of Connecticut College through the onStage Performance series, Research Matters, and curricular innovation underwritten by the Sherman Fairchild Foundation. Additional research and development support was provided by Summer Stages Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, New Haven’s Educational Center for the Arts, and Opera House Arts. THANK YOU!!! Adele Myers and Dancers would like to extend a very special thank you to Diana Deaver, Rebecca South, Khadija Griffith, Morgan Griffin, Blanche Boyd and students, faculty, and staff from the Connecticut College Dance Department for their invaluable contributions to this work. The company would also like to extend a thank you to Cathy Edwards, Amy Cassello, Sara Coffee, Rob Richter, and Maryanne Banar Fountain, and Elsie Management for their guidance. In addition to this American Dance Festival performance, this tour includes upcoming performances at the Festival International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, CT and Keene State College in Keene, NH. Previous performances on the tour were held at the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Burlington, VT and Coker College in Hartsville, SC. Exclusive Representation by Elsie Management: Laura Colby, Director www.elsieman.org [email protected] TEL: (718)797-4577

presents

CEDAR LAKE CONTEMPORARY BALLET

First Lady Michelle Obama, 2014 Honorary Chair

Saturday, July 5 & Sunday, July 6 at 8:00pm Durham Performing Arts Center

FOUNDER Nancy Laurie EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Gerald Halpern ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Alexandra Damiani ASSOCIATE CHOREOGRAPHER Crystal Pite PRODUCTION MANAGER Julie Ana Dobo PRODUCTION STAGE MANAGER Renata Braga de Almeida COMPANY MANAGER Jen De Santo AUDIO VIDEO SUPERVISOR Dave Rogge TECHNICAL DIRECTOR Kurtis Rutherford LIGHTING SUPERVISOR Jim French WARDROBE SUPERVISOR Lydia Frantz COSTUME COORDINATOR Kelli Haase BOOKING Margaret Selby, CAMI Spectrum

COMPANY MEMBERS Billy Bell, Jon Bond, Nickemil Concepcion, Joseph Kudra, Navarra Novy-Williams, Guillaume Quéau, Matthew Rich, Ida Saki, Joaquim de Santana, Acacia Schachte, Rachelle Scott, Vânia Doutel Vaz Ebony Williams, Jin Young Won, Madeline Wong

VIOLET KID (2011) World Premiere: September 29, 2011, by Cedar Lake at Theater Bonn, Bonn, Germany.

Choreography & Music Hofesh Shechter

Assistant to the Choreographer Bruno Guillore

Lighting Design Hofesh Shechter, Jim French

Costume Design Hofesh Shechter, Junghyun Georgia Lee Program notes: Violet Kid, Hofesh Shechter’s second work for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, is accompanied by a score created by the choreographer. In Violet Kid Shechter continues his unique examinations of man’s struggle for harmony within a complex and sometimes horrifying universe. In constant shifts between exhilarating charges and contradictory retreats, victims and aggressors, a glimpse into the essence of existence emerges.

Intermission ••

TEN DUETS ON A THEME OF RESCUE (2008) World Premiere: January 10, 2008, by Cedar Lake at The Joyce Theater, New York, NY.

Choreography Crystal Pite

Lighting Design Jim French

Costume Design Junghyun Georgia Lee

Music Cliff Martinez – Selections from the original motion picture soundtrack Solaris Program notes: “I love the word ‘rescue.’ It captures a whole story in a single word. Similarly, the body can convey narrative through the simplest of actions. For me, this work for Cedar Lake was an act of excavation. After creating the choreography, I searched within it for images that specifically evoked rescue. There are many of them. They exist inside the dancing like fragments of an untold narrative. I suppose the presence of rescue in this work is twofold, as I tried to liberate and expose these images for brief contemplation before releasing them back into the dance: saving and holding one picture of rescue in each of the ten duets.” – Crystal Pite

Intermission ••

IDA ? (World Premiere) Choreography, Lights, Soundtrack Emanuel Gat

Choreography Assistant Michael Löhr

Music Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 32, Op. 111. Piano by Mitsuko Uchida

Soundtrack created in collaboration with Frédéric Duru Program notes: A dense layering of scores—choreographic, vocal, textual, and musical— Ida ? is a playful contemplation on the nature of human relations. Through continuous shifts and tampering with both visual and aural perceptions, the work explores and questions group behaviors and the navigation of individuals within them. Although an assemblage of complex structures, Ida ? is nonetheless a work revolving around the evidence and immediacy of human presence.

ABOUT THE COMPANY Since its inaugural 2003-2004 season, New York-based Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet has been recognized for its exceptionally talented dancers and an emphasis on cultivating collaborations with the world’s most sought-after choreographers. Cedar Lake has amassed one of the most diverse repertoires in dance, which includes works by such dance makers as Alexander Ekman, Crystal Pite, Hofesh Shechter, Jo Strømgren, Andonis Foniadakis, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Ohad Naharin, and Jirí Kylián. The 2013-2014 season marks the company’s 10th anniversary and will include the addition of two new works to the repertoire: Rain Dogs, by Johan Inger and a new work by Emanuel Gat called Ida ?.

BIOGRAPHIES HOFESH SHECHTER—Winner of the Critic’s Circle National Dance Award for Best Choreography (modern) in 2008, Hofesh Shechter is fast becoming recognized as one of the UK’s most exciting artists. Shechter graduated from the Jerusalem Academy for Dance and Music before moving to Tel Aviv to join the world renowned Batsheva Dance Company, where he worked with Artistic Director Ohad Naharin and other choreographers including Wim Vandekeybus, Paul Selwyn-Norton, Tero Saarinen, and Inbal Pinto. Hofesh began drum and percussion studies while in Tel Aviv and continued later in Paris at the Agostiny College of Rhythm. Subsequently, he began experimenting and developing his own music while participating in various projects in Europe involving dance, theater, and bodypercussion. In 2002, Hofesh arrived in the UK and joined the Jasmin Vardimon Dance Company. His choreographic debut, Fragments, for which he also created the score, toured both nationally and internationally to Finland, Italy, Portugal, Korea, and Poland, where the piece won first place in the 3rd Serge Diaghilev choreography competition. In 2004, Shechter was commissioned by The Place Prize to create the sextet, Cult. The work was one of five finalists and received the Audience Choice Award. From 2004 to 2006, Shechter was Associate Artist at The Place and was commissioned by the Robin Howard Foundation to create Uprising, his ever-popular work for seven men. The three works formed the triple bill deGENERATION, Shechter’s first full evening of work. In 2007, The Place, Southbank Centre, and Sadler’s Wells, London’s three major dance venues, collaborated on a unique producing venture, commissioning Shechter to create In your rooms, which was presented at all three venues in 2007 and culminated in sell-out shows at Sadler’s Wells Theatre. In your rooms was nominated for a South Bank Show Award and won the Critics Circle Award for Best Choreography (modern) in 2008.

Shechter has been commissioned in the UK by Bare Bones Dance Company, Edge and Verve, the postgraduate companies of London Contemporary Dance School and Northern School of Contemporary Dance respectively, StopGAP Dance Company, Scottish Dance Theatre, Candoco, and Dance United. Internationally, Shechter has made new work and remounted works on Ballet CeDeCe (Portugal), Hellenic Dance Company (Greece), Bern Ballett (Switzerland), Skanes Dansteater (Sweden) and Carte Blanche Dance Company (Norway). In 2008, Shechter formed Hofesh Shechter Company, which is touring globally to both critical and popular acclaim. Shechter worked as choreographer at The Royal Court Theatre on Motortown by Simon Stephens (2006) and on The Arsonists by Max Frischer (2007), collaborating with Director Ramin Gray on both productions. Shechter was choreographer for the National Theatre’s award winning production of Saint Joan (2007) directed by Marianne Elliot and starring Anne Marie Duff. Shechter also choreographed the hit dance sequence ‘Maxxie’s Dance’ for the opening of the second series of Channel 4’s popular drama, Skins. Hofesh is an Associate Artist of Sadler’s Wells and Hofesh Shechter Company is Resident Company at Brighton Dome. CRYSTAL PITE—Canadian choreographer and performer Crystal Pite has created works for Nederlands Dans Theater I (Associate Choreographer, 2008-2011), Cullberg Ballet, Ballett Frankfurt, The National Ballet of Canada, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal (Resident Choreographer, 2001-2004), Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Ballet British Columbia, Alberta Ballet, Ballet Jorgen, and several independent dance artists, most recently Louise Lecavalier. Crystal Pite is a former company member of Ballet British Columbia and Ballett Frankfurt. In 2002, she formed Kidd Pivot and continues to create and perform in her own work. Her work and her company have been recognized with numerous awards and commissions. Kidd Pivot tours extensively around the world with productions that include The Tempest Replica (2011), The You Show (2010), Dark Matters (2009), Lost Action (2006), and Double Story (2004), created with Richard Siegal. Kidd Pivot was the resident company at Künstlerhaus Mousonturm, with the support of Kulturfonds Frankfurt

Rhein-Main, in Frankfurt, Germany, from 2010 to 2012. Pite is the recipient of the Banff Centre’s Clifford E. Lee Award (1995), the Bonnie Bird North American Choreography Award (2004), and the Isadora Award (2005). Her work has received several Dora Mavor Moore Awards (2009, 2012), and a Jessie Richardson Theatre Award (2006). She is the recipient of the 2008 Governor General of Canada’s Performing Arts Award, Mentorship Program. Most recently, she was awarded the 2011 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award, the inaugural Lola Award in 2012, and the Canada Council’s 2012 Jacqueline Lemieux Prize. EMANUEL GAT was born in Israel in 1969. His first encounter with dance was at the age of 23 during a workshop led by Israeli choreographer Nir Ben Gal. A few months later he joined the Liat Dror Nir Ben Gal Company with whom he toured internationally. He started working as an independent choreographer in 1994. Ten years later, at the Suzanne Dellal Centre in Tel Aviv, Emanuel founded his company Emanuel Gat Dance, with which he has created several pieces including Bessie Award winners Winter Voyage (2004) and The Rite of Spring (2004), as well as K626 (2006) and 3for2007 (2007). After settling in France at the Maison Intercommunale de la Danse in Istres, he created Silent Ballet (2008) followed by Winter variations (2009) and Brilliant Corners (2011). In 2013, Emanuel Gat was an associated artist to the Montpellier Danse Festival where the company developed the project Up Close Up proposing two new works, The Goldlandbergs and Corner Etudes, a photographic installation It’s people, how abstract can it get ? and a choreographic event, Danses de Cour. Emanuel is regularly invited to set his work and create new choreographies for dance companies around the world including The Paris Opera Ballet, Sydney Dance Company, Tanztheater Bremen, Le Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève, Ballet de Marseille, The Royal Swedish Ballet, Polish National Ballet, Ballet de Lorraine, and Cedar Lake, among others.

ALEXANDRA DAMIANI (Artistic Director) was named artistic director in spring 2014. A native of France, Damiani is a leading practitioner and collaborator in the realm of contemporary dance, combining her rich dance background with an enthusiasm for directing dancers and a flexibility with varying philosophies of movement. After a 15-year dance career as a soloist with Les Ballets Jazz of Montreal, Complexions, and Donald Byrd/The Group, Ms. Damiani joined Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet as Ballet Master in 2005. Damiani is frequently invited to conduct master classes in the US and around the world with such dance institutions as The Juilliard School, Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, and Ballet Junior of Geneva. Since 2008, she has served on the advisory board of New York Theatre Ballet. She is also an avid student and teacher in the ancient healing movement practice of Qigong under the guidance of Master Sat Hon, Taoist Master of the Dragon Gate Lineage. BILLY BELL (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake in 2012) was born and raised in West Palm Beach, FL. After graduating from Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, Billy continued his training at The Juilliard School where he performed works by José Limón and Sidra Bell. He has worked in many commercial dance forms ranging from Britney Spears’ “Hold It Against Me” video to appearing on FOX’s House in a scene choreographed by Mia Michaels. He has worked as a demonstrator/faculty member at JUMP Dance Convention, Assistant Choreographer and Artist with Cherice Barton (NYC), and as a member of José Navas’ Company Flak (Montreal, QC). He is also the founder of Lunge Dance Collective (NYC). JON BOND (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake in 2007) of Southern California, began his training at age 10 with Center Stage Dance Academy. In 2004 Bond spent eight weeks as a Winner Circle Finalist on Star Search on CBS. That same year, he served as an ambassador of dance representing the United States at the annual Australian Dance Championship, where he won International First Place Soloist in the Battle of the Stars. His work as a performer also includes the WNBA Sparks’ Sparkids, Fiona Apple’s “Paperbag” video, Featured Soloist at Los Angeles’ Kodak Theater and Guest Artist for the Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo. Prior to joining Cedar

Lake he was a member of Dance Theatre of Harlem’s DTB Ensemble. As a choreographer, he was invited to perform his work at the Seventh Annual Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival in Palm Desert, CA, where he won the Jean Ann Hirschl First Place Solo Award. Bond has also choreographed numerous award-winning competition pieces throughout the nation. NICKEMIL CONCEPCION (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake in 2003) comes from New York, where he received his early training at Broadway Dance and the New Ballet School in New York City. At age 13, he began his professional career by performing in a Broadway production of Cinderella. He went on to be featured in the 1993 film Avenue X and George C. Wolfe’s 1996 Off-Broadway production of On the Town. Concepcion then joined Ballet Tech, where he performed for seven years. JOSEPH KUDRA (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake in 2012) Born in Chicago, IL, Kudra began his training at the age of 9 at the American Dance Center under the direction of Jack and Kathleen Villari. He has worked with River North Chicago Dance Company, DanceWorks Chicago, and most recently Luna Negra Dance Theatre. Kudra has performed works by Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Christian Spuck, Edgar Zendejas, Robert Battle, Alex Ketley, Fernando Melo, Fernando Hernando Magadan, and Asun Noales. NAVARRA NOVY-WILLIAMS (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake in 2010) was born in New York City and was fortunate to receive her early training from Elaine Kudo and Buddy Balou in Verona, NJ. She graduated from The Juilliard School with a BFA in 2006. She joined Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal in 2006 where she performed works by choreographers Nacho Duato, Ohad Naharin, Stijn Celis, Mats Ek, Mauro Bigonzetti, Jean Christophe Maillot, Shen Wei, Didy Veldman, Christopher Wheeldon, and George Balanchine. In 2009 she moved to Israel where she spent the year dancing in the Batsheva Ensemble.

GUILLAUME QUÉAU (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake 2012) was born in France in 1992. Quéau began his dance training at the age of 10. He trained at The National Center of Contemporary Dance in Angers, France, for three years. He then joined Ballet Junior de Genève (Switzerland) in 2010, where he studied contemporary dance, ballet, and improvisation. He worked with such choreographers as Stijn Celis, Hofesh Shechter, Ken Ossola, and Alexander Ekman during his two years with the Ballet Junior de Genève. MATTHEW RICH (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake in 2005) hails from Las Vegas, NV, where he studied at the Dance Zone under the direction of Jami Artiga and Kaydee Francis. Rich graduated from the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies, Performing and Visual Arts, during which time he was the recipient of several regional and national competition titles, as well as convention and workshop scholarships. Rich has worked with choreographers including Ohad Naharin, Lauri Stallings, Jacopo Godani, Adam Houghland, Crystal Pite, and Stijn Celis. He also works extensively with dance schools across the country, giving master classes and workshops as well as choreographing solos and ensemble pieces for competition. IDA SAKI (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake in 2012) hails from Dallas, TX. She graduated from Booker T. Washington Performing Arts Center and Dance Industry Performing Arts Center and continued her training at New York University. She has received accolades such as modern dance winner by the National Foundation’s YoungArts, Texas Young Master, and has received national recognition from various organizations, including New York City Dance Alliance’s outstanding dancer of the year. The National High School Dance Festival recognized her choreographic talents and awarded her the outstanding choreography award. She was also the only female dancer to be selected by the US Presidential Scholar Program to meet President Obama and be named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts in 2010. JOAQUIM DE SANTANA (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake 2011) was born in Brazil in 1985. Joaquim studied dance from the age of 14 with the Balé Folclórico da Bahia. For three years he trained, performed, and toured, both nationally and internationally with the company,

which took him across North America and Europe. At the age of 17, he was awarded a fellowship to study at the Hogeschool voor de Kunsten Arnhem. In 2004, he joined Introdans Youth Ensemble, where he danced works by Hans van Manen and Jirí Kylián, among others. In 2005, he joined Scapino Ballet Rotterdam where he worked extensively with the choreographers Marco Goecke, Ed Wubbe, and Georg Reischl on creations as well as repertory pieces. He joined Culberg Ballet in 2008. ACACIA SCHACHTE (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake in 2006) was born in Santa Barbara, CA. She trained in Canada at Vancouver’s Arts Umbrella. She then joined Ballet British Columbia’s Mentor Program, where she trained for a year before joining the company. Dancing seven seasons with Ballet British Columbia, Schachte performed the works of such choreographers as John Alleyne, Jirí Kylián, William Forsythe, Twyla Tharp, Jean Grand- Maitre, Serge Bennathan, James Kudelka, Dominique Dumais, Nicolo Fonte, and Paul Taylor. She appeared in the CBC film The Fairie Queen and has choreographed for Ballet British Columbia’s Mentor Program. RACHELLE SCOTT (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake 2012) was born in Montpellier, France. She received her dance training at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and the Performing Arts where she received the YoungARTS/New York Regional Award in DANCE/ Modern and the Eiger Scholarship Award. She is a 2012 graduate of The Juilliard School in New York City. During her time at Juilliard, she danced works by Merce Cunningham, Alexander Ekman, Ohad Naharin, Fabien Prioville, Luca Veggetti, Sidra Bell, Eliot Feld, José Limón, and Bronislava Nijinska, among others. Ms. Scott is the recipient of a 2013 Princess Grace Award. VÂNIA DOUTEL VAZ (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake in 2010) was born in Setúbal, Portugal and trained at The National Conservatory School of Dance in Lisbon, working with ballet master Georges Garcia and choreographer Rui Horta. Her professional career includes Vasco Wellenkamp’s Contemporary Portuguese Dance Company and freelance work with theater director Miguel Moreira and choreographers Luís Guerra de Laocoi, Rui Lopes Graça, and Romulus Neagu. While continuing her dance and theater training

with Vera Mantero, Margarida Bettencourt, João Fiadeiro, Francisco Camacho, and Emmanuelle Huynh, she appeared in Fados, a feature film from director Carlos Saura, and was a dancer in Push 04 under the artistic direction of Josette Bushell-Mingo. Most recently Vaz was a member of Nederlands Dans Theater where she performed works by such choreographers as Jirí Kylián, Ohad Naharin, Paul Lightfoot & Sol Léon, Alexander Ekman, and Marco Goecke. EBONY WILLIAMS (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake in 2005) comes from Boston, MA, where she trained with the Boston Ballet from age eight through high school. She also attended the Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts. She is a May 2005 graduate of the Boston Conservatory with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Williams has performed works by such choreographers as Donald Byrd and Luis Fuente. Being a versatile dancer has given her the opportunity to also work in the commercial world with artists such as Rihanna, Fergie, Ciara (Love, Sex, Magic, featuring Justin Timberlake) and Beyoncé. As one of the dancers in the 2009 MTV video of the year “Single Ladies,” Williams also performed with Beyoncé on her promo tour, the American Music Awards, the Today Show and Saturday Night Live. JIN YOUNG WON (Joined Cedar Lake in 2012) hails from Seoul, Korea. She studied at SunHwa Art High School in Seoul. During her third year of school she won the Prix de Lausanne, Switzerland. She was then offered an apprenticeship with Nederlands Dans Theater II (NDT II) and a scholarship to the American Dance Festival. She later danced professionally for NDT II under the direction of Gerald Tibbs and Ballet Basel with Richard Wherlock. Won has worked with choreographers: Jirí Kylian, Ohad Naharin, Paul Lightfoot/ Sol Leon, Hans van Manen, Stijn Cellis, Johan Inger, Alexander Ekman, Angelin Preljocaj, Mauro Bigonzetti, Marco Goeke, Henrique Rodovalho and Gustavo Ramirez, Jorma Elo, Rami Be’er, and Sagi Gross and Wherlock. She has toured throughout Europe, South America, and Korea. Other credits include winner of the 9th Asian Pacific International Ballet Competition (Tokyo, Japan 2005) and prizes from Korean national dance competitions.

MADELINE WONG (Dancer, joined Cedar Lake in 2013) was born in Australia. She moved to Holland at age 16 to pursue her training and passion for dance at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Den Haag where she received her Diploma of Dance. She joined Scapino Ballet Rotterdam for an apprenticeship before dancing with the Ballet du Grand Théàtre de Genève in Switzerland from 2006-2013. She has worked with such choreographers as Mats Ek, Saburo Teshigawara, Andonis Foniadakis, Benjamin Millepied, Paul Lightfoot, and Amanda Miller.