Fall Dance Concert: From the Ground Up

On behalf of the entire Boston Conservatory at Berklee community, I am thrilled to welcome you to our Fall Dance Concert: From the Ground Up, an evening of six commissioned world premieres by guest artists Brian Brooks, Levi Marsman, Crystal Perkins, and Heather Stewart, and esteemed Boston Conservatory faculty members Kurt Douglas and Daniel Pelzig. 

Over the past several weeks, there has been an abundance of excitement and joy in our dance studios as the students were once again all together creating and rehearsing tonight’s pieces. I am honored and privileged to have such an amazing array of artists here working with our incredible students. And to you, our audience, thank you for returning to Boston Conservatory Theater to experience the ephemeral magic of dance. 

Enjoy!

—Tommy Neblett, Boston Conservatory at Berklee Dean of Dance and From the Ground Up Artistic Director

Choreography: Daniel Pelzig
Assistant to the Choreographer: Mira Göksel
Music: Franz Joseph Haydn (Trumpet Concerto in E-flat Major)
Costume Design: Chloe Moore
Lighting Design: Paul Marr

Performers: Yazmine Akamine, Pandora Bassett, Hannah Bilodeau, Jackson Bradford, Molly Jane Dunne, Amanda FitzGerald, Ekko Greenbaum, Hannah Laski, Amber Lew, Alyssa Lucas, Macy McCann, Dafna Melamoud, Mia Nolte, Mar Rivero, Justine Schmaltz, Bridget Suchar, Lucia Taylor, Madison Wagaman, Giovanna Ward

Special Thanks: Special thanks to Adriana Suarez and Gianni Di Marco for their wisdom. —Daniel Pelzig, Choreographer

Choreography: little house dance/Heather Stewart, in collaboration with the dancers
Assistant to the Choreographer: Alyx Henigman
Music: Rachel Lyn (“Seen Any Monsters Lately?,” “Children’s Play”); Vronsky (“Nostalgia”)
Costume Design: Chloe Moore
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Rehearsal Assistance: Denise Pons-Leone

Performers: Drew Allen, Penn Burrall, Jacob Fincannon, Ava Grebe, Sarah Hughes, Raxel Kempenaar, Mia Muntu, Daede Ott, Maria Pellegrino, Punch Purichat, Isabella Soo-Hoo, Kate Warner, Monica Zesch

Program Note: there is still so much left and nothing to grab onto and everything to crumble before

Choreography: Levi Philip Marsman, in collaboration with the dancers
Music: Enoo Napa (“E(Art)H”); Dakota Suite (“One Day Without Harming You”); Vanco (“Yana Pula”); Ólafur Arnalds (“Undone”)
Costume Design: Penney Pinette
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Rehearsal Assistance: Ruka White

Performers: Mackenzie Bessner, Rowan Casillas, Teresa Castaneda, Morgyn Crowley, Trea Dipkin, Delilah Farrell, Somer February, Shaun Ferren, Andrea Gregoriade, Abby Lyons, Marissa Miller, Pete Pierantozzi, Christopher Stansell, Tess Stevens, Alana Stubbs

Program Note:

Does Your Soul Need Cleansing?
by Mary Nagy

…Will your soul look very lovely 
or will it have some stains? 
Have your choices smudged it? 
Maybe the dirt is what remains?…

Choreography: Kurt A. Douglas, B.F.A. ’01
Music: Josh Knowles ("In Everything")
Costume Design: Penney Pinette
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Rehearsal Assistance: Ai Li Mok, B.F.A. ’24

Performers: Suriya Allain, Sabril Amin, Natalia Andrade, Kanella Benavides, Tamia Blackwell, Samantha Blanton, Cara Breeding, Alison Cederholm, Ana Delgado, Abigail Desmond, Hailey Fleming, Swathi Maddi, Ben Moleta, Hannah Morris, Mia Pereira-Mendoza, Uma Roberts, Aja Simms, Kimberly Vasileva, Emily Winkelbauer

Program Note: The strength and power in vulnerability can connect and channel energy to champion any political storm, social haze, or internal mist. A community can move mountains! —Kurt A. Douglas, Choreographer

Choreography: Brian Brooks
Choreographic Advising: Risa Steinberg
Dramaturgy: Ilya Vidrin
Music: David Lang (“Increase”)
Costume Design: Penney Pinette
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Rehearsal Assistance: Gianni Di Marco

Performers: Kasey Aguilar, Kaiti Bachmen, Isabella Baklayan, Bianca Cheung, Jayda Escobar, Sammy Falk, Jasmine Forrest, Abby Fuller, Amber Gott, Lila Kushner, Adrian Ruiz, Jocelyn Scullion, Ysai Zamora

Choreography: Crystal Perkins
Music: Andrew Smith (“Surrexit Christus Remix”); Michael Wall (“Broken Glass”); Andrew Smith (“Lamentationes Jeremia Feria VI”); Maya Angelou (“A Brave and Startling Truth”)
Costume Design: Chloe Moore
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Rehearsal Assistance: Daniel McCusker

Performers: Bianca Brown, Katie Corrao, Tricia Dietrick, Jaqi Gendreau, CiCi Kai, Demetrius Lee, Solana McGonagle, Olivia Mozie, Megan Prout, Rhapsody Stiggers, Alexis Tsiramanes, Emily Wang

Program Note: Marigold/Starshine is a contemporary dance allegory exploring narratives of recovery, impulse, and progress. How do we hold ourselves accountable and make good on our promises, “…here on this bridge, between starshine and clay” (Lucille Clifton)? —Crystal Perkins, Choreographer

Brian Brooks, choreographer, is a Guggenheim Fellow who recently completed a Mellon Foundation Fellowship at the University of Washington. He spent three years as a choreographer in residence at Chicago’s Harris Theater, creating dances for Hubbard Street, Miami City Ballet, and others. Originally from Boston, Brooks lives in New York City, where his internationally touring dance group, the Moving Company, is based.

Kurt Douglas (B.F.A. ’01, dance), choreographer, originally from Georgetown, Guyana, earned his B.F.A. in dance from Boston Conservatory and his M.F.A. from Hollins University. He has danced with Limón Dance Company, Ballet Hispanico, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, and Aszure Barton & Artists in the United States, Japan, Singapore, and Australia, and toured for A Chorus Line. Douglas is a Princess Grace Award winner (2002), a Dance Magazine "Top 25 to Watch'' (2006), and recipient of a Berklee Teachers on Teachers Distinguished Faculty of the Year (2022). He is currently a faculty member at Boston Conservatory, where he directs the school’s Summer Dance Intensive, and he serves on the board of directors for the Limón Dance Company and the Northeast Youth Ballet. Learn more about Douglas.

Josh Knowles, composer, is a violinist, singer/songwriter, and composer based in Boston, Massachusetts. An alum of Berklee College of Music, he brings an eclectic array of influences to his work. Josh began his classical violin training at the age of four and is continually striving to fuse his traditional foundation with a myriad of contemporary styles. Learn more about Knowles. 

Levi Philip Marsman, choreographer, is an instructor at Urbanity Dance, Boston Ballet, and the Ailey Extension program at the Ailey School in New York City. He has been movement choreographer for the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company’s productions of Much Ado About Nothing and The Tempest. He returns to Boston Conservatory this year to create his second work, and he will create new ballets for The Ailey School and Verb Ballets. Learn more about Marsman. 

Daniel Pelzig, choreographer, is a director and choreographer for opera, theater, and ballet with numerous Broadway and off-Broadway credits, and as well as work with the Metropolitan Opera and Boston Ballet. A sought-after educator, he is currently on faculty at Boston Conservatory, and previously served on the faculties the Juilliard School, Barnard College, University at Buffalo, and the Ryan Opera Center. Learn more about Pelzig.

Crystal Perkins, choreographer, is a choreographer and performer from Augusta, Georgia who lives and creates in Ohio. She holds an M.F.A. from Ohio State University (OSU) and a B.F.A. from Southern Methodist University. Her choreography explores Blackness in contemporary dance with tours to Kazakhstan, Russia, and Brazil. Perkins is a Princess Grace Honoraria recipient, New American Dance Residency awardee, and an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence award winner. She serves on the American Dance Festival faculty and on the OhioDance Board of Trustees, and is also an associate artistic director at Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and assistant professor at OSU. Learn more about Perkins. 

Heather Stewart, choreographer, is a Canadian choreographer and the founder and artistic director of little house dance, an interdisciplinary dance company based in Portland, Maine (Wabanki Land). Fueled by physicality, her work offers intricate and complex meetings between movement and sound. Learn more about Stewart.

PRODUCTION STAFF:

Director of Performance Services – Liz Keller-Tripp
Producer – Hanna Oravec 
Stage Manager – Katie Arnold 
Temporary Technical Director – Taylor Kaufman 
Technical Director – Greg Rishoi
Costume Shop Manager – Alison Pugh 
Assistant Costume Shop Manager – Leah Foley 
Wardrobe Manager – Emily Keebler
Wardrobe Assistant – Elaine Mangelinkx
Drapers/Stitchers – Sam Martin, Caroline Seeley
Lighting Supervisor – Matthew Martino 
Production Electrician – Gabe Goldman 
A1/Sound Supervisor – Steven Younkins 
Stage Supervisor – Steve Seaman 
Props Manager – Larry Dembski 

STUDENT PRODUCTION STAFF:

Assistant Stage Managers – Gabriel Garza, Alex Voss
Production Assistant – Mariya Pan 
Light Board Operator – Hannah Ashe
Staff Wardrobe Manager – Blue Barber
Wardrobe Assistants – Aliyah Taylor
Costume Assistants – Maya Boyce, Penn Burrall, Jacob Fincannon, Carson Hollingsworth, Olivia Martinez, Emily O’Connor