Fall Dance Concert: From the Ground Up
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Boston Conservatory at Berklee contemporary dance students perform a vibrant lineup of stylistically diverse world premieres choreographed by renowned guest artists Nicole von Arx, Catherine Coury, William Isaac, and Omar Román de Jesús, and by Dance Division faculty members.
This performance has been selected as part of Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s 2025–2026 Center Stage collection.
This production will be livestreamed on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. only.
Attend a special post-matinee talk-back featuring choreographers, students, and Dance Division leadership.
Program Information
Welcome
On behalf of the entire Boston Conservatory at Berklee community, I am thrilled to welcome you to the Dance Division’s Fall Dance Concert: From the Ground Up, an evening of six commissioned world premieres by guest artists Nicole von Arx, Catherine Coury, William Isaac, Omar Román de Jesús, and esteemed faculty members Daniel Pelzig, Gianni Dimarco, and Ruka White.
Over the past several weeks, there has been an abundance of excitement and joy in our dance studios as all our Contemporary Dance BFA sophomores, juniors, and seniors were learning 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 to see the ephemeral magic of dance and to celebrate the Dance Division’s 82nd anniversary season.
Enjoy!
—Tommy Neblett, Dean of Dance and Artistic Director of From the Ground Up
Over the past several weeks, there has been an abundance of excitement and joy in our dance studios as all our Contemporary Dance BFA sophomores, juniors, and seniors were learning 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 to see the ephemeral magic of dance and to celebrate the Dance Division’s 82nd anniversary season.
Enjoy!
—Tommy Neblett, Dean of Dance and Artistic Director of From the Ground Up
Continuum
*world premiere*
Choreography: Catherine Coury
Rehearsal Director: Russell Clarke
Rehearsal Assistant: Andy Claverie, BFA '27
Music: Dianthe (“Disorient”); Conna Haraway (“Void”)
Costume Design: Jen Greeke
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Bella Brady, Rebecca Leeds, Sophia Cobo Ruiz, Kamryn DeAngelis, Sophia Davis, Ava Gregg, Shiori Hamanaka, Kevin Higgins, Tarra Liu, Maia Madrigal Frid, Joelis Martinez-Santiago, Dimitris Michailidis, Electra Nearey, Abby Osterink, Brianna Smith, McKinley Tolliver, Julia Zingler
Program note: When we move beyond the idea of separation, every encounter becomes a meeting with ourselves.
Choreography: Catherine Coury
Rehearsal Director: Russell Clarke
Rehearsal Assistant: Andy Claverie, BFA '27
Music: Dianthe (“Disorient”); Conna Haraway (“Void”)
Costume Design: Jen Greeke
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Bella Brady, Rebecca Leeds, Sophia Cobo Ruiz, Kamryn DeAngelis, Sophia Davis, Ava Gregg, Shiori Hamanaka, Kevin Higgins, Tarra Liu, Maia Madrigal Frid, Joelis Martinez-Santiago, Dimitris Michailidis, Electra Nearey, Abby Osterink, Brianna Smith, McKinley Tolliver, Julia Zingler
Program note: When we move beyond the idea of separation, every encounter becomes a meeting with ourselves.
The One She Holds
*world premiere*
Choreography: Omar Román de Jesús
Assistant Choreography: Ian Spring
Rehearsal Director: Brian McGinnis
Music: Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm (“b1”)
Costume Design: Jen Greeke
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Ellie Balzano, Halley Campo, Cheyenne Carrington-Greene, Kayenne Charles-Pierre, Nigel Clifford, Campbell Colimore, Angela Hamlin, Emma Hourigan, Eliana LaBreche, Emersyn Novach, Ana Perez Yudin, Esmé Stone, Brianna Sullivan, Makayla Williams, Emma Jane Zaher, Yadi Zhang, Brooke Zide
Program Note: I want to thank Tommy and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee team for trusting me and giving me a platform to continue developing my artistic voice. To the dancers, thank you for your hard work. You are the magic that enables the world to dream without boundaries.
Choreography: Omar Román de Jesús
Assistant Choreography: Ian Spring
Rehearsal Director: Brian McGinnis
Music: Ólafur Arnalds and Nils Frahm (“b1”)
Costume Design: Jen Greeke
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Ellie Balzano, Halley Campo, Cheyenne Carrington-Greene, Kayenne Charles-Pierre, Nigel Clifford, Campbell Colimore, Angela Hamlin, Emma Hourigan, Eliana LaBreche, Emersyn Novach, Ana Perez Yudin, Esmé Stone, Brianna Sullivan, Makayla Williams, Emma Jane Zaher, Yadi Zhang, Brooke Zide
Program Note: I want to thank Tommy and the Boston Conservatory at Berklee team for trusting me and giving me a platform to continue developing my artistic voice. To the dancers, thank you for your hard work. You are the magic that enables the world to dream without boundaries.
Sugar Shack
*world premiere*
Choreography: Ruka White
Rehearsal Assistants: Lauren Smith and Leah Zripko
Music: Juan García Esquivel “(El Cable,” “Harlem Nocturne,” “Sentimental Journey,” “Mini Skirt,” “Guanacoa,” “Mucha Muchacha”)
Costume Design: Chelsea Kerl
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Muna Blake, Dante Dhar, Grayson Gizdic, Siena Hill, Ashlee Holloway, Kyana Luyando, Taylor Moxey, Lucy Nagraj, Sam Sharp, Lauren Smith, Sarah Swoope, Ayden Wilson, Amelia Otte, Leah Zripko
Program Note: “Shake the Batty, Feel the Groove, Taste the Sweet"
Choreography: Ruka White
Rehearsal Assistants: Lauren Smith and Leah Zripko
Music: Juan García Esquivel “(El Cable,” “Harlem Nocturne,” “Sentimental Journey,” “Mini Skirt,” “Guanacoa,” “Mucha Muchacha”)
Costume Design: Chelsea Kerl
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Muna Blake, Dante Dhar, Grayson Gizdic, Siena Hill, Ashlee Holloway, Kyana Luyando, Taylor Moxey, Lucy Nagraj, Sam Sharp, Lauren Smith, Sarah Swoope, Ayden Wilson, Amelia Otte, Leah Zripko
Program Note: “Shake the Batty, Feel the Groove, Taste the Sweet"
––INTERMISSION—
Here & Now
*world premiere*
Choreography: Nicole von Arx
Rehearsal Director: Marissa Parmenter
Music: Ari Belleli (“The Fiddler,” “Pigeons,” “Boys”)
Costume Design: Jen Greeke
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Nora Augenstein, Michael Braun, Mackenzie Campbell, Grace Chaney, Cammie Coleman, Emily Crone, Lilly David, Gabrielle Honoré, Anna Keklak, Derek Lee, Demi Mutz, Tess O’Riordan, Aidan Robbins, Samarra Rodriguez, Morgan Thompson, Kylah Walker, Chloé Wasser
Program Note: Here & Now grew from the dancers’ own words and reflection about spontaneity and their fears, their longings, and secret thrills when letting go. What began as an “I” slowly became a “we,” as individual impulses collided and transformed into something larger than one body alone. Together, we discover that letting go is messy, vulnerable, exhilarating … and maybe the only way to feel truly alive, here and now.
Choreography: Nicole von Arx
Rehearsal Director: Marissa Parmenter
Music: Ari Belleli (“The Fiddler,” “Pigeons,” “Boys”)
Costume Design: Jen Greeke
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Nora Augenstein, Michael Braun, Mackenzie Campbell, Grace Chaney, Cammie Coleman, Emily Crone, Lilly David, Gabrielle Honoré, Anna Keklak, Derek Lee, Demi Mutz, Tess O’Riordan, Aidan Robbins, Samarra Rodriguez, Morgan Thompson, Kylah Walker, Chloé Wasser
Program Note: Here & Now grew from the dancers’ own words and reflection about spontaneity and their fears, their longings, and secret thrills when letting go. What began as an “I” slowly became a “we,” as individual impulses collided and transformed into something larger than one body alone. Together, we discover that letting go is messy, vulnerable, exhilarating … and maybe the only way to feel truly alive, here and now.
La Nouvelle Demi-Monde
*world premiere*
Choreography: William Isaac
Rehearsal Director: James Viera
Music: Kevin Parker (“Borderline,” performed by Tame Impala); J.S. Bach (Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1025 performed Mahan Esfahani and Concerto Köln)
Costume Design: Jen Greeke
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Emily Adie, Matthew Crittenden, Angelina Curtin, Emma Daniels, Caitlin Eswein, Lilia Holladay, Naomi Hollis, Karina Jimenez, Noa Loewinger, Sally Mai, Madi McAlister, Logan Monaco, Kiley Nomura, Rachel Pizzurro, Ella Schroeder, Tracy Xu, Angela Zhou, Rebecca Zigmond
Program Note: Inspired by the writings of Alexandre Dumas fils and by those who find new purpose in discarded things. Thank you to my artists and creative/production team.
Choreography: William Isaac
Rehearsal Director: James Viera
Music: Kevin Parker (“Borderline,” performed by Tame Impala); J.S. Bach (Harpsichord Concerto in D Minor, BWV 1025 performed Mahan Esfahani and Concerto Köln)
Costume Design: Jen Greeke
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Emily Adie, Matthew Crittenden, Angelina Curtin, Emma Daniels, Caitlin Eswein, Lilia Holladay, Naomi Hollis, Karina Jimenez, Noa Loewinger, Sally Mai, Madi McAlister, Logan Monaco, Kiley Nomura, Rachel Pizzurro, Ella Schroeder, Tracy Xu, Angela Zhou, Rebecca Zigmond
Program Note: Inspired by the writings of Alexandre Dumas fils and by those who find new purpose in discarded things. Thank you to my artists and creative/production team.
Rhapsody in Blue
*world premiere*
Choreography: Daniel Pelzig, Gianni Dimarco, Leah Abbott
Rehearsal Assistant: Samara Cohen (BFA '28)
Music: George Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue (1924)
Music Recording: James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Costume Design: Chelsea Kerl
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Morgan Beyer, Emilia Cohen, Emily Fusco, Alex Grant, Marissa Lazovick, Natalie Marlowe, Audrey McNinch, Sayler Nguyen, Elvis Pietrzak, Maddox Stott, Colette Walsh, Qianhui Wang, Ayla Yildiz
Choreography: Daniel Pelzig, Gianni Dimarco, Leah Abbott
Rehearsal Assistant: Samara Cohen (BFA '28)
Music: George Gershwin, Rhapsody in Blue (1924)
Music Recording: James Levine and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Costume Design: Chelsea Kerl
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Morgan Beyer, Emilia Cohen, Emily Fusco, Alex Grant, Marissa Lazovick, Natalie Marlowe, Audrey McNinch, Sayler Nguyen, Elvis Pietrzak, Maddox Stott, Colette Walsh, Qianhui Wang, Ayla Yildiz
About the Artists
Catherine Coury, choreographer, is the cofounder and codirector of Marcat Dance, one of Spain’s most celebrated contemporary dance companies, and Festival Vildanza, an international dance festival based in a rural village in southern Spain, bringing world-class dance to a region where it might otherwise not exist. She also serves as principal dancer and creative assistant to Spanish choreographer Mario Bermúdez, and is a certified teacher of Gaga (Ohad Naharin’s movement language) and a Ilan Lev practitioner. Her work with Marcat Dance has earned widespread recognition, including Best Female Contemporary Dancer at the Escenarios de Sevilla Awards (2023), the Lorca Awards (2023), and the PAD Awards (2020). She has also been nominated three times for the Spanish Academy “Talía” Awards as Best Female Performer (2025, 2024, 2023). In recognition of her artistic and educational contributions, she received the 2024 Paul Boylan Award from the University of Michigan. Dedicated to dance education, Coury created the first-ever University of Michigan study abroad program in Spain in 2019, connecting students from the US with professional European dancers to study Marcat Dance repertoire and technique. Before founding Marcat Dance, Coury spent five years in New York City as a freelance performer with choreographers Shen Wei and Shannon Gillen, touring internationally to venues including Lincoln Center (NYC), Art Basel (Miami), Festival de Danse (Cannes), and the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theatre (Moscow). She also contributed to the development of Gallim Dance (Andrea Miller) and the Playground NYC as a dance administrator. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Coury holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Michigan. Learn more about Coury.
Omar Román de Jesús, choreographer, is a queer Puertorriqueño choreographer and the director of the New York City–based dance company BOCA TUYA. He is currently an artist in residence at 92nd Street Y and is the inaugural Baryshnikov Arts Center Fellow at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park. Among his recent honors are the 2023 Dance Magazine Harkness Promise Award, the Alan M. Kriegsman Residency at Dance Place and the Kennedy Center, the 2022 Princess Grace Award in Choreography, the 2022 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Choreography, the 2022 Palm Desert Choreography Festival Grand Prize, and the 2020 Ann and Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship at Jacob’s Pillow. Omar has created works for over 20 professional companies and pre-professional schools, including the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Charlotte Ballet, Ballet Hispánico, BalletCollective, Limón2, SALT Dance, Joffrey Ballet Concert Group, Whim W’Him, Parsons Dance, the Ailey School, and the Juilliard School, among others. His choreography has been presented internationally, and he has toured extensively in Colombia, Panama, and the Canary Islands, as well as across the United States in New York, Georgia, Washington, Pennsylvania, and California. Omar’s work has been recognized through numerous awards and festivals, including the Joffrey Academy of Dance’s Winning Works, Whim W’Him’s Choreographic Shindig, the Dance Gallery Festival, Reverb Dance Festival, and the International Dance Festival of Puerto Rico, where he received the Ambassador of Dance medal. His screendance Los Perros del Barrio Colosal has reached audiences in over 20 countries, earning Best of Screen Dance International, Best Choreography, and Best Narrative at the ReThink Dance Film Festival. Recent works include Papagayos for Ballet Hispánico, which premiered at New York City Center and traveled to the American Dance Festival, and Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight, presented for the 92nd Street Y’s 150th anniversary. Learn more about de Jesús.
Gianni Di Marco, choreographer, is a professor of dance at Boston Conservatory teaching partnering and advanced ballet technique. He also teaches somatic and advanced partnering repertoire. In 2016, he started Step by Step!, a dance program for children with autism. Di Marco began his dance career with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, where he was promoted to first soloist. He has also performed with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, Opera Leipzig Ballet, Boston Ballet, Festival Ballet Providence, and Tony Williams Dance Company. His roles include Romeo and Mercutio in Rudi van Dantzig’s Romeo and Juliet and pas des deux in Petipa’s Don Quixote, as well as works by Balanchine, Nacho Duato, J. Kylián, Hans van Manen, Cranko, Danny Pelzig, and others. Di Marco has choreographed more than 50 original works, including Muñecas (2009), On the Brink (2007), and In the Window (2012) for Boston Conservatory, La Rondine (2003) for the Boston Lyric Opera, and Orpheus (2012) for Boston Baroque. He has created works for Boston Ballet, including The Nutcracker (1996), Dance on the Top Floor (1998), Raw Dance (2002–2005), and various gala balls (1999–2016), as well as multiple works for Festival Ballet, including Lady of the Camellias (2016), Scheherazade (2005), and El Amor Brujo (2009). Learn more about Di Marco.
William Isaac, choreographer, is an award-winning choreographer and dancer. His project-based company Kymera Dance is dedicated to making new work in the artistic discipline of dance, collaboration within other arts and entertainment fields, and the development of future dance artists. Formerly the principal male artist with Armitage Gone! Dance, he’s also been a company member with Ballet de Lorraine, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Philadanco. He has received a Dance Lab New York Nexus Lab residency, Next Festival of Emerging Artists Residency, UNCSA Choreographic Institute Development Residency, New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award, a William Loeb Award, and NFAA Award (Young Arts). He also was a Donna Reed Festival finalist, and was the first Van Lier Fellowship recipient at the Ailey School. Isaac has created work for Kymera Dance, Ailey/Fordham University BFA program, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Hofstra University, the Juilliard School, UNCSA, and Philadanco’s “Danco on Danco.” Working in the commercial landscape, he’s been on the creative teams for the Nike x Pedro Lourenco campaign starring Karlie Kloss and Coke Zero’s initial campaign launch for Spain, and was a principal performer in Marc Jacobs Fall 2020 Fashion Show at the Park Avenue Armory. He’s recently made several experimental films and is always working on creating new movement language for his choreographic endeavors. Currently, he is developing a new multimedia theatrical dance event based on Josephine Baker’s life during WWII. Learn more about Isaac.
Daniel Pelzig, choreographer, is an educator, director, and choreographer for opera, theater, and ballet. His Broadway credits include Tony-nominated productions of 33 Variations, starring Jane Fonda, and A Year with Frog and Toad, as well as the Kennedy Center Sondheim Festival production of Sweeney Todd, starring Brian Stokes Mitchell and Christine Baranski. His off-Broadway credits include Privates on Parade at the Roundabout Theatre, Newyorkers at Manhattan Theatre Club, The New Moon at City Center Encores!, and Valhalla at New York Theatre Workshop. At the Huntington Theatre in Boston, he has choreographed The Band’s Visit, Sunday in the Park with George, A Little Night Music, Company, Candide, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Romeo and Juliet, Tartuffe, Iolanthe, The Mikado, HMS Pinafore, and A Christmas Carol. He has choreographed Lucia di Lammermoor, La Sonnambula, and Iphigénie en Tauride at the Metropolitan Opera; Lucia di Lammermoor at Teatro alla Scala; Regina, The Cunning Little Vixen, and The Merry Widow at the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Aida and Samson et Dalilah at Los Angeles Opera; and Kiss Me, Kate, Oklahoma!, and West Side Story at Central City Opera. Learn more about Pelzig.
Nicole von Arx, choreographer, was born outside of London and raised in Hong Kong and Switzerland. She is an immigrant choreographer based in Brooklyn, and her works—spanning theatre, dance, opera, and film—are highly emotional and dramatic, inviting viewers to either sit back or actively participate. She has presented her works at notable venues such as the Joyce Theatre, Stanford Live, The New Victory Theatre, Joe’s Pub, Wolf Trap, Judson Memorial Church, and Théâtre Nuithonie. She has received choreographic commissions from NW Dance Project, Edmonton Opera, Whim W’Him, SALT2, Sam Houston State University, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Limón2, SALT2, D.A.F International, Brooklyn Ballet, and the LINK Choreography Festival. She is a 2020 recipient of the Ann and Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship at Jacob’s Pillow and a 2023 and 2025 NYSCA grant recipient, a 2025 Danse Mirage Foundation grant recipient, a 2024–2025 and 2025–2026 CUNY Dance Initiative residency recipient, and a 2025 finalist of the Princess Grace Award for Choreography. Von Arx has been an artist in residence at the Westside Theatre, Dance Initiative, Leimay Incubator, and a 2020 Lauréate of a Gland Culture Grant. As a performer, she has worked with Carte Blanche (the Norwegian National Company for Contemporary Dance) under the direction of Bruno Hendrickx and Bryan Arias as well as The Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Chicago Lyric Opera, Company XIV, Loni Landon, and Romeo Castellucci. Since 2014, she has been creating under the name NVA & Guests. Learn more about von Arx.
Ruka White, choreographer, is an associate professor of dance at Boston Conservatory at Berklee and the artistic director of RUKADANCE, where he creates work at the intersection of dance, immersive theatre, cabaret, and burlesque. His practice foregrounds Africanist aesthetics in dynamic collision with jazz funk, commercial vocabularies, and theatrical storytelling. He holds a BFA from Florida State University and an MFA from Hollins University in partnership with the Forsythe Company. As a performer, White has danced with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, PHILADANCO!, Armitage Gone! Dance, and the Limón Dance Company, and has collaborated with artists including Maya Angelou, Cherice Barton, and Missy Elliott. His choreography has been presented nationally and internationally, with residencies and commissions at institutions such as Jacob’s Pillow, Tufts University, and the Institute of Classical and Modern Dance in Mumbai. White was nominated for an Elliott Norton Award for his choreography of Choir Boy and is the recipient of the 2025 Boston Center for the Arts Grant. His work has also been supported by NEFA and Jacob’s Pillow. As an educator and artist, he champions rigorous technique, radical honesty, and unfiltered presence—empowering the next generation to craft narratives that are rhythmically alive, culturally rooted, and unapologetically human. Learn more about White.
Omar Román de Jesús, choreographer, is a queer Puertorriqueño choreographer and the director of the New York City–based dance company BOCA TUYA. He is currently an artist in residence at 92nd Street Y and is the inaugural Baryshnikov Arts Center Fellow at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park. Among his recent honors are the 2023 Dance Magazine Harkness Promise Award, the Alan M. Kriegsman Residency at Dance Place and the Kennedy Center, the 2022 Princess Grace Award in Choreography, the 2022 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellowship in Choreography, the 2022 Palm Desert Choreography Festival Grand Prize, and the 2020 Ann and Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship at Jacob’s Pillow. Omar has created works for over 20 professional companies and pre-professional schools, including the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Charlotte Ballet, Ballet Hispánico, BalletCollective, Limón2, SALT Dance, Joffrey Ballet Concert Group, Whim W’Him, Parsons Dance, the Ailey School, and the Juilliard School, among others. His choreography has been presented internationally, and he has toured extensively in Colombia, Panama, and the Canary Islands, as well as across the United States in New York, Georgia, Washington, Pennsylvania, and California. Omar’s work has been recognized through numerous awards and festivals, including the Joffrey Academy of Dance’s Winning Works, Whim W’Him’s Choreographic Shindig, the Dance Gallery Festival, Reverb Dance Festival, and the International Dance Festival of Puerto Rico, where he received the Ambassador of Dance medal. His screendance Los Perros del Barrio Colosal has reached audiences in over 20 countries, earning Best of Screen Dance International, Best Choreography, and Best Narrative at the ReThink Dance Film Festival. Recent works include Papagayos for Ballet Hispánico, which premiered at New York City Center and traveled to the American Dance Festival, and Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight, presented for the 92nd Street Y’s 150th anniversary. Learn more about de Jesús.
Gianni Di Marco, choreographer, is a professor of dance at Boston Conservatory teaching partnering and advanced ballet technique. He also teaches somatic and advanced partnering repertoire. In 2016, he started Step by Step!, a dance program for children with autism. Di Marco began his dance career with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, where he was promoted to first soloist. He has also performed with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, Opera Leipzig Ballet, Boston Ballet, Festival Ballet Providence, and Tony Williams Dance Company. His roles include Romeo and Mercutio in Rudi van Dantzig’s Romeo and Juliet and pas des deux in Petipa’s Don Quixote, as well as works by Balanchine, Nacho Duato, J. Kylián, Hans van Manen, Cranko, Danny Pelzig, and others. Di Marco has choreographed more than 50 original works, including Muñecas (2009), On the Brink (2007), and In the Window (2012) for Boston Conservatory, La Rondine (2003) for the Boston Lyric Opera, and Orpheus (2012) for Boston Baroque. He has created works for Boston Ballet, including The Nutcracker (1996), Dance on the Top Floor (1998), Raw Dance (2002–2005), and various gala balls (1999–2016), as well as multiple works for Festival Ballet, including Lady of the Camellias (2016), Scheherazade (2005), and El Amor Brujo (2009). Learn more about Di Marco.
William Isaac, choreographer, is an award-winning choreographer and dancer. His project-based company Kymera Dance is dedicated to making new work in the artistic discipline of dance, collaboration within other arts and entertainment fields, and the development of future dance artists. Formerly the principal male artist with Armitage Gone! Dance, he’s also been a company member with Ballet de Lorraine, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and Philadanco. He has received a Dance Lab New York Nexus Lab residency, Next Festival of Emerging Artists Residency, UNCSA Choreographic Institute Development Residency, New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award, a William Loeb Award, and NFAA Award (Young Arts). He also was a Donna Reed Festival finalist, and was the first Van Lier Fellowship recipient at the Ailey School. Isaac has created work for Kymera Dance, Ailey/Fordham University BFA program, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Hofstra University, the Juilliard School, UNCSA, and Philadanco’s “Danco on Danco.” Working in the commercial landscape, he’s been on the creative teams for the Nike x Pedro Lourenco campaign starring Karlie Kloss and Coke Zero’s initial campaign launch for Spain, and was a principal performer in Marc Jacobs Fall 2020 Fashion Show at the Park Avenue Armory. He’s recently made several experimental films and is always working on creating new movement language for his choreographic endeavors. Currently, he is developing a new multimedia theatrical dance event based on Josephine Baker’s life during WWII. Learn more about Isaac.
Daniel Pelzig, choreographer, is an educator, director, and choreographer for opera, theater, and ballet. His Broadway credits include Tony-nominated productions of 33 Variations, starring Jane Fonda, and A Year with Frog and Toad, as well as the Kennedy Center Sondheim Festival production of Sweeney Todd, starring Brian Stokes Mitchell and Christine Baranski. His off-Broadway credits include Privates on Parade at the Roundabout Theatre, Newyorkers at Manhattan Theatre Club, The New Moon at City Center Encores!, and Valhalla at New York Theatre Workshop. At the Huntington Theatre in Boston, he has choreographed The Band’s Visit, Sunday in the Park with George, A Little Night Music, Company, Candide, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Romeo and Juliet, Tartuffe, Iolanthe, The Mikado, HMS Pinafore, and A Christmas Carol. He has choreographed Lucia di Lammermoor, La Sonnambula, and Iphigénie en Tauride at the Metropolitan Opera; Lucia di Lammermoor at Teatro alla Scala; Regina, The Cunning Little Vixen, and The Merry Widow at the Lyric Opera of Chicago; Aida and Samson et Dalilah at Los Angeles Opera; and Kiss Me, Kate, Oklahoma!, and West Side Story at Central City Opera. Learn more about Pelzig.
Nicole von Arx, choreographer, was born outside of London and raised in Hong Kong and Switzerland. She is an immigrant choreographer based in Brooklyn, and her works—spanning theatre, dance, opera, and film—are highly emotional and dramatic, inviting viewers to either sit back or actively participate. She has presented her works at notable venues such as the Joyce Theatre, Stanford Live, The New Victory Theatre, Joe’s Pub, Wolf Trap, Judson Memorial Church, and Théâtre Nuithonie. She has received choreographic commissions from NW Dance Project, Edmonton Opera, Whim W’Him, SALT2, Sam Houston State University, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Limón2, SALT2, D.A.F International, Brooklyn Ballet, and the LINK Choreography Festival. She is a 2020 recipient of the Ann and Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship at Jacob’s Pillow and a 2023 and 2025 NYSCA grant recipient, a 2025 Danse Mirage Foundation grant recipient, a 2024–2025 and 2025–2026 CUNY Dance Initiative residency recipient, and a 2025 finalist of the Princess Grace Award for Choreography. Von Arx has been an artist in residence at the Westside Theatre, Dance Initiative, Leimay Incubator, and a 2020 Lauréate of a Gland Culture Grant. As a performer, she has worked with Carte Blanche (the Norwegian National Company for Contemporary Dance) under the direction of Bruno Hendrickx and Bryan Arias as well as The Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, Chicago Lyric Opera, Company XIV, Loni Landon, and Romeo Castellucci. Since 2014, she has been creating under the name NVA & Guests. Learn more about von Arx.
Ruka White, choreographer, is an associate professor of dance at Boston Conservatory at Berklee and the artistic director of RUKADANCE, where he creates work at the intersection of dance, immersive theatre, cabaret, and burlesque. His practice foregrounds Africanist aesthetics in dynamic collision with jazz funk, commercial vocabularies, and theatrical storytelling. He holds a BFA from Florida State University and an MFA from Hollins University in partnership with the Forsythe Company. As a performer, White has danced with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, PHILADANCO!, Armitage Gone! Dance, and the Limón Dance Company, and has collaborated with artists including Maya Angelou, Cherice Barton, and Missy Elliott. His choreography has been presented nationally and internationally, with residencies and commissions at institutions such as Jacob’s Pillow, Tufts University, and the Institute of Classical and Modern Dance in Mumbai. White was nominated for an Elliott Norton Award for his choreography of Choir Boy and is the recipient of the 2025 Boston Center for the Arts Grant. His work has also been supported by NEFA and Jacob’s Pillow. As an educator and artist, he champions rigorous technique, radical honesty, and unfiltered presence—empowering the next generation to craft narratives that are rhythmically alive, culturally rooted, and unapologetically human. Learn more about White.
Production Credits
PRODUCTION STAFF:
Director of Performance Services – Hanna Oravec
Assistant Director of Production – Rebecca Donald
Assistant Director of Concert Services – Luis Herrera
Stage Manager – Katie Black
Assistant Stage Manager – Morgan Rotman
Assistant Stage Manager – Kathryn Genest
Assistant Stage Manager – Em Ockert
Mainstage Technical Director – Taylor Kaufman
Assistant Technical Director – Caleb D. Harris
Costume Shop Manager – Alison Pugh
Assistant Costume Shop Manager – Leah Foley
Wardrobe Manager – Blue Barber
Wardrobe Assistant – Ana Delgado, Taz Meyers, Lindsey Weaver
Costume Production Assistant – Jackie Olivia
Stock Manager/Draper/Stitcher – Kathy Scott
Drapers/Stitchers – Sam Martin, Evan Petrow
Stitchers – Natasha Newcomb, Rachel O’Brian
Lighting Supervisor – Jacob Inman
A1/Sound Engineer – Maddy Poston, Andrei Radu
Properties Manager – Hannah Spangler
Fly Console Operator – Avery Hunt
Performance Technology Technicians – Goran Daskalov, Sara Pagiaro
Senior Ticket Operations and Patron Services Manager – Kelley Brennan
STUDENT PRODUCTION STAFF
Costume Assistants – Elizabeth Hillman, Clara Palmadottir, Ellie Sawyer
Director of Performance Services – Hanna Oravec
Assistant Director of Production – Rebecca Donald
Assistant Director of Concert Services – Luis Herrera
Stage Manager – Katie Black
Assistant Stage Manager – Morgan Rotman
Assistant Stage Manager – Kathryn Genest
Assistant Stage Manager – Em Ockert
Mainstage Technical Director – Taylor Kaufman
Assistant Technical Director – Caleb D. Harris
Costume Shop Manager – Alison Pugh
Assistant Costume Shop Manager – Leah Foley
Wardrobe Manager – Blue Barber
Wardrobe Assistant – Ana Delgado, Taz Meyers, Lindsey Weaver
Costume Production Assistant – Jackie Olivia
Stock Manager/Draper/Stitcher – Kathy Scott
Drapers/Stitchers – Sam Martin, Evan Petrow
Stitchers – Natasha Newcomb, Rachel O’Brian
Lighting Supervisor – Jacob Inman
A1/Sound Engineer – Maddy Poston, Andrei Radu
Properties Manager – Hannah Spangler
Fly Console Operator – Avery Hunt
Performance Technology Technicians – Goran Daskalov, Sara Pagiaro
Senior Ticket Operations and Patron Services Manager – Kelley Brennan
STUDENT PRODUCTION STAFF
Costume Assistants – Elizabeth Hillman, Clara Palmadottir, Ellie Sawyer
Boston Conservatory thanks audience members for viewing this program information online. This paperless program saved 6,300 sheets of paper, 685 gallons of water, and 575 pounds of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions.
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