Senior Choreographers Concert: Becomings

Why Becomings? Our Senior Choreographers Concert is a cumulation of the knowledge that we have gathered and the voice that we have developed through our own experiences. We become our art and our art becomes us. In our time studying at Boston Conservatory, we have made mistakes, happy accidents, ridiculous art, and art that we are really proud of. These lessons have supported us in becoming the artists that we are now, and we will continue to emerge more into ourselves in the years to follow. The Senior Choreographers Concert is a significant and dynamic intersection of our collegiate choreographic journey and our professional careers as art-makers. Thank you for allowing us to share this passing moment of our ever-evolving Becomings with you.

—Hannah Bilodeau, Cara Breeding, Ali Cederholm, Ana G. Delgado Cruz, Hailey Fleming, Ekko Greenbaum, Amber Lew, Alyssa Lucas, Macy McCann, Mia Pereira-Mendoza, Mar Rivero, Justine Schmaltz, Aja Simms, Kimberly Vasileva, and Madison Wagaman

Welcome to Becomings, a journey stopping in each dance-maker’s world, as the senior composition students present an evening of new dance works that bring imaginative depth and wonder to the Boston Conservatory mainstage. Senior choreography emphasis students present an evening of original, engaging, and diverse dance compositions. Becomings is a culmination of four years of choreographic practice and personal evolution. These works are unique representations of each artists’ voice, vision, and identity. Key to this production, each choreographer works through a process of creating, producing, and designing their work, from inception to completion. The process includes auditioning, marketing, costuming, and working closely with a full professional production crew. Enjoy!

—Diane Arvanites, Associate Professor of Dance and Artistic Director of Becomings

The students are always at the center of our mission in the Dance Division, and our goal is to help them realize their fullest potential, not only as performers but also as creative and entrepreneurial artists. We guide and educate them, helping them grow as young adults finding their way in the world, giving them opportunities to experience different points of view and ways of seeing the life around them. They learn how to be engaged citizens of the world in order to make it a better place through the arts. I think you will agree that these young creatives and dance artists are inspiring, passionate, and deeply committed to what they love to do: dance.

—Tommy Neblett, Dean of Dance

Choreography: Ali Cederholm in collaboration with the dancers
Music: Actress featuring Zsela (“Remembrance”); Monolake (“Mass Transit Railway”); Lyra Pramuk featuring Nailah Hunter (“New Moon (Distant Shores Rework)”)
Costume Design: Ali Cederholm
Lighting Design: Paul Marr

Performers: Ellie Balzano, Kanella Benavides, Tamia Blackwell, Kayenne Charles-Pierre, Nigel Clifford, Emily Crone, Ekko Greenbaum, Angela Hamlin, Amber Lew, Molly Jane Dunne, Dimitris Michailidis, Ana Perez Yudin

Program Note: A life recall of choice, our subconscious past, and our inevitable, uncontrollable influence. 

A celebration, a questioning, a capsule, and a conclusion—for what it’s worth.

Artist Statement:
I invite isolation to form unity. I invite silence to create noise.
We speak and therefore we sing.
Directionality, sensation, and nuance shape my voice. 

—Ali Cederholm, choreographer

Choreography: Alyssa Lucas in collaboration with the dancers
Music: Original composition by Olek Nivette
Costume Design: Alyssa Lucas
Lighting Design: Paul Marr

Performers: Emma Daniels, Shiori Hamanaka, Sarah Hughes, Noa Loewinger, Joelis Martínez-Santiago, Logan Monaco, Kiley Nomura, Emma Jane Zaher

Program Note: Where does my soul end and yours begin?

Artist Statement: 
Dance is a powerful conduit for activism. I believe that a compelling and clear dance performance can provide audiences with the vision, hope, and motivation to become changemakers in their own lives and spheres of influence. Thus, I create work that invites audience members into utopic microcosms, in which the rules that dominate our lives outside of the performance space are questioned, reenvisioned, and flipped on their head. 

—Alyssa Lucas, choreographer

Choreography: Ekko Greenbaum
Choreography Assistance: Molly Jane Dunne
Music: Mica Levi, performed by Manchester Collective (“Love"); James Heather, Sarah Davachi (“Bad Role Model”); Bendik Giske(“Rhizome”); Sufjan Stevens (“Redford (for Yia-Yia and Pappou)”)
Costume Design: Ekko Greenbaum, Iris Cotrupi
Lighting Design: Paul Marr

Performers: Ali Cederholm, Nigel Clifford, Molly Jane Dunne, Derek Lee

Artist Statement: 
Creation is innate. Making art was my entry into the world, a portal, an honest way of communication. Through my work, I am able to share who I am (at most) and who I’m not (at least). What’s mine is yours.

—Ekko Greenbaum, choreographer

Choreography: Mia Pereira-Mendoza
Music: MrBigB (“Spike’s Interlude”); Berlioz (“Joycelyn’s Dance”); Adam Port and Monolink (“Point of No Return”); Barry Can’t Swim (“Kimbara”)
Costume Design: Mia Pereira-Mendoza
Lighting Design: Paul Marr

Performers: Bella Brady, Grace Chaney, Emma Daniels, Kamryn DeAngelis, Lauren DeVaul, Macy McCann, Hannah Morris, Electra Nearey, Abby Osterink, Rachel Pizzurro, Ella Schroeder, Morgan Thompson, McKinley Tolliver, Kylah Walker, Brooke Zide

Program Note: Have we met before? If not in this life, maybe in another. I love you, and I hope we meet again in every lifetime. 

Artist Statement: 
To me, movement is the truest expression of humanity; from the moment we are conceived we have an immediate impulse to move. My work explores humanity, in all of its different facets. Dance enables us to connect to ourselves and others, transcending the limits of speech. There is an intrinsic desire to move to music, all around the world, language aside, people hear music and start to groove—and I think that is magical. 

—Mia Pereira-Mendoza, choreographer

Choreography: Ana G. Delgado Cruz
Choreography Assistance: Caitlin Eswein
Music: Yuba Ire (“Intro,” “Se Formó El Rumbón,” “Inyere”); Bernard Herrmann (“Twisted Nerve”); Kanye West (“On Sight”); Burna Boy (“Giza”); CA7RIEL & Paco Amoroso (“La Que Puede, Puede”)
Costume Design: Ana G. Delgado Cruz
Lighting Design: Paul Marr

Performers: Suriya Allain, Samantha Blanton, Bella Brady, Lilly David, Caitlin Eswein, Swathi Maddi, Joelis Martínez-Santiago, Logan Monaco, Mia Pereira-Mendoza, Mar Rivero, Julia Zingler

Program Note:
Excitement was an expectation,
Shock was immediate
the flowers fell and I grieved.
(Experiences of leaving home for another)

Artist Statement: 
Celebrating for
Living within
Studying with
Existing alongside
Active towards
Ending in COMMUNITY

In every aspect of life, I have experienced the strength of people coming together for a common goal. Rather than focusing on individualism, I lean into the importance a group has and the way it brings out shared humanity. I explore the use of African and Caribbean movement used for social and spiritual gatherings to deepen the mover’s reaction of what dance can feel like in a group setting. 

—Ana G. Delgado Cruz, choreographer

Choreography: Hailey Fleming
Choreography Assistance: Hannah Bilodeau
Rehearsal Direction: Amber Lew
Music: Green-House (“Parlor Palm”); Slow Attack Ensemble (“Ninety Seconds for Celeste”); Ryuichi Sakamoto, Jaques Morelenbaum, Everton Nelson (“M.A.Y. in The Backyard”)
Costume Design: Hailey Fleming
Lighting Design: Paul Marr

Performers: Hannah Bilodeau, Campbell Colimore, Lilia Holladay, Kiley Nomura, Ella Schroeder, Esmé Stone, Chloé Wasser, Brooke Zide

Program Note: Reminders of the past, surviving pieces remain, when we were in comfort and ecstasy, they live on as a memory, or picture book, to share with those we meet while we grasp onto the love that lingers.

Artist Statement: 
Portraying the inevitability and relatability of human emotions comes to mind when I look inwards and attempt to verbalize my intent as an artist. Feelings of deep connection within relationships, both physical and musical, is what drives me creatively. I am focused on instinctively portraying my values and emotional state by manipulating space and time through intricate musical relationships to create work that speaks to all people in various walks of life. 

—Hailey Fleming, choreographer

Choreography: Justine Schmaltz in collaboration with the dancers
Music: Ethel Waters (“Some of These Days”); Stephen Hartke, Augustin Hadelich, Orion Weiss (“Netsuke ‘6 Movements for Violin and Piano’: No. 3, Tanuki Playing the Samisen”); Glenn Miller (“Moonlight Serenade”); George Gershwin (“Summertime”); text by Jean-Paul Sarte (“Nausea”)
Costume Design: Justine Schmaltz
Lighting Design: Paul Marr

Performers: Halley Campo, Lauren DeVaul, Hailey Fleming, Anna Keklak, Demi Mutz, Ella Schroeder, Kylah Walker

Program Note: “Nothing has changed and yet everything is different.”  —Jean Paul Sartre

Artist Statement: 
Curiosity activates purpose. 
I submerge myself in the research; I breathe it, I wear it, I bear it, until the contrariety between the work and myself becomes transparent. 
Invent nothing, receive everything. 
I am merely a conduit for inspiration to pass through; deepening my exploration and experimentation processes allows it to transform into something more than me.
It doesn’t matter what, but it matters how.
I embrace the constant evolution and dichotomy of creation and destruction by challenging normative formats, questioning perspective, and approaching radical themes intrepidly. 
Collaboration is compassion.
I am an artist, but I am human. To be human is to be curious, and our curiosities lead to discoveries. Let us feed the world with our discoveries, so that we may endlessly grow alongside each other with our art.

—Justine Schmaltz, choreographer

Choreography: Kimberly Vasileva in collaboration with the dancers
Choreography Assistance: Mar Rivero
Music: Goran Bregović, Vaska Jankovska (“Ederlezi”); Boban Markovic, Slobodan Salijevic (“Underground Cocec”); Goran Bregović (“Kalashnikov (Poznań 1997)”); Philip Koutev, Stefan Dragostinov, National Folklore Ensemble (“Kartina ot Shopluka”)
Mixing Engineering: Joey Schuyler
Costume Design: Provided by Ludo Mlado (Boston-based Bulgarian folk dance ensemble)
Lighting Design: Paul Marr

Performers: Nora Augenstein, Pandora Bassett, Kanella Benavides, Samantha Blanton, Ana G. Delgado Cruz, Kevin Higgins, Emma Hourigan, Hannah Laski, Amber Lew, Swathi Maddi, Demi Mutz, Abby Osterink, Aja Simms, Justine Schmaltz, Brooke Zide, Julia Zingler

Program Note: “My wish is to live, to laugh, to sing. Life is very sweet!” —Georgi Vasilev Iliev

Artist Statement: 
I aspire to celebrate vulnerability, discovery, and absurdity within an accumulating mood of endurance.
We let it all go—release, breaking, spilling, spraying—we give of ourselves, of our substance, to each other, and it feels very good. —Charles Keil 
I am here. I am here. I don’t know how to do things in a small way, only in a dervish-like way, a holy way.

—Kimberly Vasileva, choreographer

Choreography: Aja Simms
Music: Anthony Willis, London Contemporary Orchestra (“The Maze”); Andy Stott (“Selfish”); Caroline Shaw, iSing Silicon Valley (“So Quietly”); Albert Brumley, Caroline Shaw, Sõ Percussion (“Some Bright Morning”)
Costume Design: Aja Simms
Lighting Design: Paul Marr

Performers: Yuniel Betancourt, Tamia Blackwell, Kayenne Charles-Pierre, Nigel Clifford, Emily Crone, Molly Jane Dunne, Angela Hamlin, Derek Lee, Madi McAllister

Program Note: In the end, we all wish not to be forsaken. To experience the joy that it is to love someone, but also the pain that exists when they depart. To cherish the community around us because of the understanding that this time is finite. 

Artist Statement: 
As an artist I,  
Embrace the tenderness of being human.
Invite vulnerability, collaboration, and authenticity.  
Treasure the community around me. 
Explore storytelling, diversity, and textures. 

—Aja Simms, choreographer

Performers: Michael Braun, Kamryn DeAngelis, Shiori Hamanaka, Kevin Higgins, Maia Madrigal, Mia Nolte, Esmé Stone, McKinley Tolliver, Emily Winkelbauer 

Program Note: dear diary….

Artist Statement: 
“The only constant is change.” —Heraclitus  
Maybe this, maybe that, yes, or no. Movement for movement's sake or to cascade stories of the heart. 
Whether a novice or an expert there is space for everyone. 
Dance is a world of emotions my words may never come close to describing.
(If I had to try, maybe nirvana with the occasional uppercut.) 
I aim to tackle reality and fantasy in my choreography. Blurring the lines between time and space. There is no definite answer to
my work.
All I ask is 
What do you feel? 

—Madison Wagaman, choreographer

Performers: Suriya Allain, Ellie Balzano, Kayenne Charles-Pierre, Emily Crone, Angela Hamlin, Karina Jiménez, Aja Simms, Esmé Stone, Brianna Sullivan, Kimberly Vasileva, Chloé Wasser, Ana Perez Yudin

Program Note: My heart on my sleeve, for me, for you, for us, dedicated to my friends that I love so dearly. Thank you. 

Artist Statement: My favorite thing about dance is its universality as a language. There is no need to define what I’m saying with my movement, there is no need to explain what someone might see. I aim to create work that is unspoken yet understood, a physical conversation between us, uniquely personal to me and all observers alike, communicated through the union of music and movement. 

—Cara Breeding, choreographer 

Performers: Yuniel Betancourt, Tamia Blackwell, Cara Breeding, Ali Cederholm, Cammie Coleman, Campbell Colimore, Derek Lee, Dimitris Michailidis, Kimberly Vasileva

Program Note/Artist Statement: This work specifically is inspired by the relationship I have to my heritage and family—exploring what that means to me and my cast, as I build a world that encapsulates the essence of time and events as we experience them with others. Finding common ground of both physical and emotional expression is the essence of humanness. As an artist, my work is to express and physicalize sensations through my art so that it can resonate with people through a new lens and perspective. To me, dance is so special and should be shared in order to bring people together, to express emotion, to raise a question, to be uncomfortable, to show vulnerability, and to push the viewers’ understanding of predictability. I continue to fall into the human experience while pushing the physical extremities that my dance training has provided. An exaggeration of time, an exaggeration of physical limits, and an exaggeration of ridiculousness is what I am perpetually exploring. 

—Amber Lew, choreographer 

1. an american prayer
2. solitaire
3. the movie
4. time and truth (or lack thereof)
5. found God in this club
6. the ghost song 

Choreography: Macy McCann in collaboration with the dancers
Music: Jim Morrison and the Doors (“An American Prayer,” “The Movie,” “The Ghost Song”); Sting (“Shape of My Heart”); ilyTOMMY (“Princess Bubblegum”); Steve Miller Band (“Fly Like an Eagle”); Thundercat, Tame Impala (“No More Lies”); Tory Lanez (“Prom King//Love on Acid”); Charli XCX, Ariana Grande (“Sympathy Is a Knife”)
Costume Design: Macy McCann
Lighting Design: Paul Marr

Performers: Pandora Basset, Michael Braun, Grace Chaney, Ana G. Delgado Cruz, Lauren DeVaul, Emma Hourigan, Sarah Hughes, Eliana LaBreche, Noa Loewinger, Swathi Maddi, Electra Nearey, Mar Rivero, Rebecca Zigmond

Program Note:  “Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.” —Jim Morrison

Artist Statement: 
Moving to the music of life
lost in folds of the fabric of reality and its lesser known variations,
obsessed with deepening my understanding.
This is research.
We speak in dynamic abstraction
every interaction:
a two way street
@ the intersection of time and space.
When we meet eye to eye in this present moment
may we see past this illusion,
and allow the truth to reflect light into our souls.
I crack a smile; deep doesn’t mean serious.
My spirit is alive, and my senses are open.

—Macy McCann, dance artist/choreographer 

Performers: Yazmine Akamine, Suriya Allain, Kanella Benavides, Samantha Blanton, Lilly David, Amanda FitzGerald, Hailey Fleming, Hannah Laski, Hannah Morris, Mia Nolte, Tess O’Riordan, Justine Schmaltz, Bridget Suchar, Brianna Sullivan, Giovanna Ward, Chloé Wasser, Emily Winkelbauer

Artist Statement: Creating community defines the importance of my work. As an artist, I seek to empower individuals, encouraging them to shine brightly and support one another, ultimately building a vibrant, harmonious space where everyone can thrive. The success of the whole is reliant on the creation of an uplifting environment. I am motivated by the individuality found in humanity, and I am driven to foster connections that celebrate our diverse experiences. This enhances the sense of belonging and joy within the community, allowing each person to express their unique identity while contributing to a collective spirit. 

—Hannah Bilodeau, choreographer