Friday November 8th

Show 1 - 8:00 pm  

Meet the Artists

KORA RADELLA is a choreographer, movement teacher, performer, and artist. Radella’s choreography has been performed in New York City at venues including Judson Church, Danspace Project, Dixon Place, 92Y, Center for Performance Research, Pioneer Works, and Roulette and in other locations nationally including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Pulse Art Fair in Miami, Art Prize in Grand Rapids, the Three River Arts Festival in Pittsburgh, and Cleveland Public Theatre and internationally at Berliner Festspiele in Berlin and Arts Arena in Paris at the invitation of renowned theater director Robert Wilson, as well as in Amsterdam, Barcelona, Basel, Brussels, and London. Wilson about the evening-length work she choreographed entitled Repercussion wrote, "Geometric choreography is counterpointed with moments of free movement, with intelligent and carefully thought out use of space." Noted for her use of "awkward grace," Radella researches being on the edge of control, pushing both physical and psychological balances.  She was a recipient of an artist residency at Yaddo in 2016 and at Lake Studios Berlin in 2015, and an Ohio Arts Excellence Award in 2014 and 2018. Radella is a 2019 Bogliasco Fellow and will follow her artist residency with working on a new project in Italy in spring 2019. She also was an artist-in-residence at The Watermill Center in 2016 with BOOMERANG, a company she, as the choreographer, co-founded. Radella's primary teaching interests include contemporary dance technique via what she calls "riding resilience," improvisation, contact improvisation, and composition. Radella has a long-standing collaborative history, via Double-Edge Dance, with composer/saxophonist Ross Feller and has collaborated with other contemporary musicians as well as visual artists and filmmakers. She is a certified yoga teacher (500RYT). Radella has a Kenyon College dance faculty position that allows her flexibility to create special projects, do commissioned work, and teach master classes nationally and internationally. www.koraradella.com

IRENE HONORA (choreographer) received her BFA at Ohio University in 2014. Her most recent choreographic work, one and the same no, no more will be performed at The Movement Project’s SummerWorks show in Cleveland. Irene’s previous work has been performed all over Cleveland in conjunction with The Movement Project’s past SummerWorks shows and Pilgrim Church shows, Cleveland Dance Fest 2017, and Ohio University’s Senior Dance Concert tour in Dayton and Cleveland Heights. She had the pleasure of interning with The Movement Project in 2014 during creation of the work Two Kinds of Light and performing in Gladys Bailin’s Newspapers at Ohio University. Irene became a company member with The Movement Project in 2015, and has performed with the company numerous times, most recently SummerWorks 2018 in Parma. Irene is also interested in dance medicine and presented research on snapping hip syndrome at the annual International Association of Dance Medicine and Science's meeting held in Basel, Switzerland in the fall of 2014. Teaching is also a passion of hers, and Irene was honored to work with apprentices at the Center for Arts-Inspired Learning's Artworks program during the spring of 2015, as well as teaching for The Movement Project's summer intensives. In 2014, Irene spent the summer working and teaching in Salida, Colorado, at Salida Dance Studio’s summer program. Currently, Irene teaches, dances with The Movement Project as a company member, is co-founder of Cleveland arts collaboration dotdotdot, and is eager to see Cleveland's dance community grow and prosper. https://www.dotdotdotcle.com/about

ALEXANDRA CELESTE (spoken word artist) graduated with a double Bachelors of Art in both studio art with a concentration in Drawing as well as English with a concentration in Creative Writing, in May 2017 at Cleveland State University. She has had four exhibits to date, two in the Cleveland State Student Art Show in 2015 and 2017 respectively, as well as a group show at the Magalen in Spring, 2017 as well as Fall 2017: Fluidity. She is also the cofounder and head of marketing for the artist collective dotdotdot which is showcasing another exhibition at the Magalen in May, 2018. Alexandra was born and raised in Cleveland Ohio and feels that the small, niche quality of the city has really formed her as an artist. She primarily works in soft pastel to create smooth, high contrast pieces which subtly illustrate topics on gender through heavy use of symbolism. https://www.dotdotdotcle.com/about

SLOWDANGER is a multidisciplinary performance entity co-directed and founded by performers taylor knight and anna thompson. They fuse movement and sound into an elusive, but illustrative combination of improvised contemporary and postmodern dance frameworks, found material, electronic instrumentation, vocalization, physiological centering and ontological examination. The more they engage in this collaborative work, the more they recognize the manifestation of their work as a non-binary entity that is one body amassed of multiple bodies in space. Within this system, slowdanger works with an engaged and deepened understanding of energy, synergy, action, gender, time and storytelling. From directing music videos to scoring plays, slowdanger transforms its shape to adapt to a variety of different containers. slowdanger produces performances, immersive experiences, and open-level workshops/educational initiatives. They have developed soundscores for theater, dance, film and virtual reality projects as well as act as interdisciplinary movement consultants for actors, musicians, and architects. Their work has been experienced at/in MoMA, Springboard Danse Montreal, Dance Magazine ‘25 to Watch’, The Carnegie Museum of Art and many more. They have received support from The Foundation for Contemporary Art, The Heinz Endowments, The Pittsburgh Foundation A W Mellon Grant and the Opportunity Fund. http://www.slowdangerslowdanger.com

KELLY HURLBURT & JOSH HINES are partners and dance collaborators based in Columbus, Ohio. Together they co-direct SeaBus Dance Company, a collective of dancers and artists working with contemporary improvisation as performance. Both Josh & Kelly are teachers/ facilitators of contemporary, improvisation and contact improvisational dance forms in the community. Their work explores composition in real time, exposing the decision making, dynamics of collaboration and deep listening of physical bodies in action. Learn more at www.seabusdance.com

MARQUEZ DANCE PROJECT explores human complexity through a creative lens. The intention behind our work is to recapture moments that speak to the community by raising questions about what is happening within our society, and challenging individuals to mobilize. We incorporate theatrical, physical and often surreal imagery to generate meaningful and provoking works. Dance is the central component, however we collaborate with other artists from different genres. Making these connections enriches the breadth of the work and allows a broader range of artistic investigation. https://www.marquezdanceproject.org

JENNIFER SANDOVAL ECCHER (choreographer) holds an M.F.A in Dance through Hollins University in association with The American Dance Festival (Duke University), The Frankfurt Conservatory of Performing Arts (Germany) and The Forsythe Company (Germany). She has been an educator, choreographer and performer for the past 18 years. Her choreography has been presented throughout the midwest and internationally in Avignon, France. Festivals include; International American Dance Choreographers Showcase, Dance Chicago, Ohio Dance Festival, Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival, Big River Dance Festival and Dance Works through Cleveland Public Theatre. She was a performer for Tyego Dance Project, Perceptual Motion Inc., and TJ & Company Dance Theatre, MorrisonDance, Multi-disciplinary artists Story Rhinehart Cadiz / Robin VanLear and Travesty Dance Group. She was on faculty at Cleveland State University and Cuyahoga Community College. She is currently on faculty at Bard High School Early College. https://www.marquezdanceproject.org

WILD SHE DANCES is a Brooklyn-based professional modern dance company directed by Bethany Logan. Our mission is to provide opportunities for professional artists through collaboration, to use our platform to raise awareness in causes we believe in, and to create a bridge between artists and the greater public. Wild She Dances was selected for Doug Varone's DEVICES Mentorship program May-August 2018, and has performed at Gibney Dance, WAXworks, and Fertile Ground. Wild She Dances most recently premiered their evening-length work, “shaking morning” in June 2019 at Gibney Dance as a Gibney: POP Artist. https://www.wildshedances.com

THE MOVEMENT PROJECT was founded in 2009 by Megan Gargano and Rebecca Leuszler with a mission to challenge perspective, evoke social change and bridge communities through the power of movement. In 2013 TMP launched its first full season of performances and has since then produced over 25 evening length concerts, has created over 40 new works, produced 5 original dance films, and has performed at various venues such as Cleveland Public Theatre, The Breen Center, Dumbo Dance Fest in NYC, Baldwin Wallace University, Ohio University, Lakewood Masonic Temple, SPACES, Pilgrim Church, Transformer Station and Arts in August in Tremont. In 2013 and 2016, TMP was awarded The Fedora Award, a grant for individuals and organizations that focus on positively helping communities of Northeast Ohio. And in 2017 TMP was awarded funds by Puffin West Foundation to further support TMP’s annual summer intensive, a 1-week summer intensive focused on providing affordable and accessible dance education to Cleveland’s youth dancers. In 2015, TMP launched the Cleveland Artist Initiative, a program designed to support and fund the creation of new work by Cleveland artists. Over 51% of TMP’s operating budget is dedicated to paying artists and in 2017 TMP collaborated with over 75 page 1 of 17 artists and organizations throughout the year. In 2016, TMP launched Cleveland Dance Fest, an annual dance festival featuring Cleveland choreographers and is hosted each year in Tremont at Pilgrim Church, home of TMP since 2017. TMP Co-artistic director Rebecca Leuszler was awarded the 2016 Creative Workforce Fellowship funded by Community Partnership for Arts & Culture and Cuyahoga Arts & Culture to produce the first festival. In 2019, TMP was award funds by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture to continue growing the festival. Fall of 2017, TMP launched The Movement Project School of Dance for youth ages 2.5-18 years old serving the Tremont community and surrounding Cleveland neighborhoods. Year round, TMP offers year round weekly professional classes, summer intensives, company rehearsals, festivals and performances. www.themovementproject.org

GRACE NICKLOS (choreographer) is a dancer, educator, choreographer, and certified Pilates instructor with her BFA in Dance from Ohio University. Grace began her training as a youth at Royal School of Ballet under the direction of Joanne Hughes Morscher. While studying at Ohio University, she performed in various student, faculty, and guest artist works, as well as showcased her own original work. Currently, she is a company member and the Director of Education and Outreach for The Movement Project in Cleveland Ohio, a dance educator throughout northeast Ohio, and a Pilates teacher at ReFORM Physical Therapy and Pilates. Grace’s passion for arts and her dedication to exploring the body’s movement and connection to its surroundings guides her approach as an artist. Through her work with The Movement Project Grace leads the company’s outreach into schools, community centers, museums, and libraries. She also, leads the company’s school for youth, and through her role as a company member; performs and choreographs for the The Movement Project throughout the year. Her dancing and choreography has been presented at Cleveland Dance Festival, Cleveland Public Theater, The Breen Center, Lakewood Masonic Temple, Transformer Station Museum, SPACES Gallery, Pilgrim Church Theater, Parma Library Auditorium, 78 Street Studios, Cleveland’s Arts in August, Mentor Amphitheater, The Grove, Cuyahoga County Community College, and Going Dutch Festival. Her work in dance education and community outreach has led her to develop unique programs centered on connecting area youth and families to the arts, these programs have included Akron Art Museum’s ArtMoves, The Movement Project’s library movement literacy program SMART Moves, steam based program Science Matters, and Creative Movement year long residencies for local schools. Grace’s most recent choreographic works include Oneness, Flyway, Upstroke, Unacquired Contentment, The Sum, honed, and from a fixed point.