WinterWorks
WinterWorks is an annual dance performance of original, world-premiere choreography, featuring the mainstage debut of contemporary dance first-year students performing commissioned work by alumni guest artists currently working in the field. This year’s guest artists are Joe Gonzalez and Christopher Kinsey. Alumni guest artist residencies are made possible through the Dance Division’s Alumni Commissioning Project.
Also on the program are works by current student choreographers, showcasing the many choreographic voices and talents of our student population. Fourteen choreographers create work seeped in culture and depth. WinterWorks is a concert of new choreography that doesn’t disappoint.
Program Information
Welcome Note
—Diane Arvanites, Artistic Director/Producer
From the Dean
—Tommy Neblett, Dean of Dance
precipice::transmission (world premiere)
Creative Assistant: Madison Wada
Rehearsal Direction: Dean Vollick
Rehearsal Assistants: Derek Lee, Emma Jane Zahler
Music Credits: Slim Soledad and Chris Kinsey (“ufo95”)
Costume Design: Jen Greeke
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Akin Mponjika, Audrie Gonzales-Ellsworth, Chela Levy, Emmerson Cauthren, Fiona Zhang, Harper Leggett, Kaden Stone, Leah Brighter, Mackenzie Jensen, Maya Kaufman, Olivia Yi, Pinelopi Paschali, Sophia DeCesare, Sophia Hall, Wynona Moon
Program Note: precipice::transmission examines femininity as an inherited, relational architecture—shaped through proximity to women, queerness, and the body as both a site of becoming and resistance.
454 (world premiere)
Music: Isaiah Javier (“Untitled”)
Costume Design: Brianna Smith
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Ava Gregg, Kevin Higgins, Karina Jimenez, Ella Schroeder, Kyana Luyando
A Circadian Rhythm (world premiere)
Music: Dal, Leah, Yeger (“Those Days”); Flako (“Gelis”); Tom Misch, Yussef Dayes (“What Kinda Music”)
Costume Design: Karina Jimenez
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Angela Hamlin, Kiley Nomura, Madi Mcalister
mizu kai (world premiere)
Music: Kangding Ray (“Athem”); Dasha Rush (“Intro—Space Privet for Cosmonauts” and “Relative Perspective”)
Rehearsal Assistant: Azaliah Kekuna
Costume Design: Kiley Nomura
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Abby Osterink, Angelina Curtin, Electra Nearey, Ella Schroeder, Emma Daniels, Grayson Gizdic, Julia Zingler, Lilia Holladay, McKinley Tolliver, Shiori Hamanaka
3:03 (world premiere)
Music: Jerskin Fendrix (“Paris”)
Costume Design: Maddox Stott
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Maddox Stott
Program Note: Exploring what it means to let go of perfection and over-analyzation when approaching choreography.
Echoes of Schindler (world premiere)
Rehearsal Assistants: Leah Brighter, Rachel Dobbs
Music: John Williams, as performed by Itzhak Perlman and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (“Theme from Schindler’s List”)
Costume Design: Marissa Lazovick
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Morgan Beyer, Emily Fusco, Kyana Luyando, Lucy Nagraj, Sayler Nguyen, Sarah Swoope, Colette Walsh, Taylor Moxey, Ayden Wilson
Program Note: Echoes of Schindler is inspired by the story behind the Academy Award–winning film Schindler’s List and the film’s visual motifs. The piece explores how acts of courage and compassion create generational ripples of hope, extending beyond those directly affected to inspire others to believe, to remember, and to act.
On One: Not Deux Two (world premiere)
Music: 2CELLOS (“Mombasa”); TSVI (“The Healer”)
Costume Design: Matthew Crittenden
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Muna Blake, Matthew Crittenden, Emma Daniels, Toryn Hester (Thursday/Friday), Ashlee Holloway, Jaidyn Johns, Joelis Martinez-Santiago, Lauren Smith, Kylah Walker (Saturday) Makayla Williams
Program Note: On One: Not Deux Two is a continuation of the first On One ballet which premiered in January 2025, and ended with dancers standing at the edge of possibility—leaving them grounded, prepared, and ready to take on life’s challenges. In this new chapter, the dancers enter a heightened state of rush, taking on too many obstacles at once while navigating expectation, pressure, and responsibility. On One: Not Deux Two explores what it means to step into your own, find your way through chaos, and boldly proclaim who you are, both within yourself and the community.
Subject to Change (world premiere)
Music: Ori Lichtik (“Dr. Nnn”); Ryuichi Sakamoto (“Andata”); RaggedyAngst (“Footsteps”)
Costume Design: Nigel Clifford and Derek Lee
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Nigel Clifford, Derek Lee
ENCORE! (world premiere)
Music: The Manhattan Singers (“Dancing Fool (From Copacabana)”); Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band (“Sing Sang Sung”); Ben Matthews (“Stella’s Smile”); Soil and “Pimp” Sessions (“Paraiso”)
Costume Design: Julia Zingler
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Angelina Curtin, Caitin Eswein, Logan Monaco, Electra Nearey, Kiley Nomura, Joelis Martinez-Santiago, Ella Schroeder, Rebecca Zigmond
Program Note: ENCORE! dives into the highs and lows of a performer, showcasing the ability to collaborate and interact with others needed to thrive in show business. When the lights fade and the applause echoes the performer standing is caught between exhaustion and exhilaration. Through powerful jazz movement, driving rhythms, and moments of reflection, the dancers embody the courage it takes to rise, perform, entertain, and do it all again with endless passion.
Liberó su Calma (world premiere)
Music: Pipo Romero (“Privo di Luce”); Rita Payés and Elisabeth Roma (“Quién Lo Diría”)
Costume Design: Sophia Cobo
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Angela Hamlin, Ava Gregg, Brianna Smith, Emily Crone, Kiley Nomura, Logan Monaco, Maddox Stott, Maia Madrigal, Natalie Marlowe, Salomon Villalobos, Shiori Hamanaka, Taylor Moxey
Program Note: “Liberó su calma,” meaning “release of their calm,” is a deeply personal piece about breaking free from emotional silence and celebrating life. An homage to my Venezuelan roots and the years I spent living there.
TIMECRUNCH (world premiere)
Music: Cristóbal “Imaabs” Rawlins (“Voy”)
Costume Design: Lauren Smith
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Muna Blake, Lauren Smith
Program Note: TIMECRUNCH is a choreographic interpretation of two common human reactions when enduring stressful and high-stake periods of time, frantically rushing and at ease. Two employees have the same work deadline to meet, but both handle the pressure differently. It explores themes of scrambling, inhibition, and comparison in both the workplace and the real world.
OFTIME (world premiere)
Music: Whatever the Weather (“12 °C”); Machinefabriek, Anne Bakker (“Foon”); Frank Bretschnieder (“A soft throbbing of time”)
Costume Design: Ava Gregg
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Brianna Smith, Lillia Holladay, Logan Monaco, Demetris Michaelides, Maddox Stott, Taylor Moxey, Sayler Nguyen
Program Note: OFTIME explores themes of surrender, longing, and personal growth through submission. It reflects on the ordinary rhythms of daily life while examining both the rewards and consequences of overextending oneself.
Unidentified Moving Bodies (world premiere)
Music: Rene Aubry (“Remember” and “Ten chi”)
Costume Design: Logan Monaco
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Sophia Cobo, Nigel Clifford, Karina Jimenez
Embers (world premiere)
Music: Kronos Quartet and Mary Kouyoumdjian (“Silent Cranes – I. slave to your voice”)
Costume Design: Kevin Higgins
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Caitlin Eswein, Grayson Gizdic, Emma Hourigan, Marissa Lazovick, Natalie Marlowe, Elvis Pietrzak, McKinely Tolliver, Kylah Walker, Brooke Zide
Program Note: Embers portrays a community in the aftermath of disaster, examining the connections that grow in the face of destruction. Inspired by witnessing the recovery processes of several climate-based natural disasters in my home state of North Carolina (most notably Hurricane Helene in 2024), this piece investigates how we find the drive to move forward in times that feel hopeless.
EXARSIS (world premiere)
Music: Michael Gordon (“Idle”)
Costume Design: Demetris Michaelides
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers: Kayenne Charles-Pierre, Nigel Clifford, Sophia Cobo Ruiz, Lilly David, Ava Gregg, Angela Hamlin, Lillia Holiday, Karina Jimenez, Derek Lee, Madi Mcalister, Ana Perez-Yudin, Brianna Smith
Program Note: EXARSIS moves through moments of breaking and rebuilding, where shared struggle turns into power. Rooted in memory, rhythm, and ritual, this is a piece of the unbreakable force of togetherness and of hope.
In Step with Tomorrow (world premiere)
Rehearsal Direction: Russell Clarke
Rehearsal Assistants: Kayenne Charles-Pierre, Nigel Clifford
Music Credits: FKJ, Keynvor/Sebastian Plano, Jóhann Jóhannsson, and Kangding Ray
Costume Design: Jen Greeke
Lighting Design: Paul Marr
Performers:
Aaron Gensler, Aliyah German, Arthur Welsh, Dafne Tekmen, Hadley Russell, Isabella Diaz, Ivie Lewis, Jed McManus, Kimani Hopkins, Laura Trend, Lia Waldie, Marilyn Chen, Mia Urban, Paulina Allsbrook, Piper King, Rachel Dobbs, Rachel Tse, Ruien Zhang, Skylah Miller, Sydney Holcomb
Program Note: Exploring how individuals move forward together, finding strength, trust, and hope through motion and becoming one voice, shaped by unity, rhythm, and shared intention.
Artist Bios
Joe González is an Afro-Latino American dancer and choreographer from Boston, Massachusetts. He began his training through Boston Ballet’s City Dance outreach program and continued at the Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts and the Boston Arts Academy, where he received the Dance Award and a YoungArts Merit Award from the National Foundation for Advancement of the Arts. His additional intensive training includes programs at the Boston Conservatory, American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, and Springboard Danse Montréal. In 2011, González earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Boston Conservatory.
As a professional performer, González has toured nationally and internationally with companies including Anna Myer and Dancers, Deborah Abel Dance Company, and Prometheus Dance. He has also performed with DMB|#DBdanceproject, Putty Dance Project, Dance IQUAIL, Zoé Dance, Danza Orgánica, WaheedWorks, and David Dorfman Dance. González was a performing artist of Philadanco! (the Philadelphia Dance Company) for eight seasons and served as artistic director of the youth ensemble D/3.
González is currently in his fourth season with Complexions Contemporary Ballet as a senior artistic associate and collaborator. He is the cofounder and co–executive artistic director of Jo-Mé Dance Theatre Inc., serving as resident choreographer and co–artistic director. His work has been commissioned by Bryn Mawr College, Rowan University, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Boston Arts Academy, the Philadelphia Dance Theatre, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and others. A former professor at Temple University and Georgian Court University, González continues to perform, choreograph, and create opportunities for artists in Boston and Philadelphia.
Christopher Kinsey is a Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist, choreographer, DJ, and director whose work merges contemporary dance, performance art, and immersive club culture to investigate identity, collectivity, and embodied physical narratives. A graduate of Boston Conservatory, Kinsey has performed with madboots dance, Pfalztheater Kaiserslautern, and GALLIM, and has restaged Andrea Miller’s work at the Juilliard School, NYU Tisch, Marymount Manhattan College, and Towson University. Kinsey worked as creative assistant to Andrea Miller on a new work for New York City Ballet’s Fall Fashion Gala in 2021, and has served as a creative assistant on new works at Martha Graham Dance Company and Ailey II. Kinsey is the founder and director of PVMNT, a queer performance collective specializing in immersive, interdisciplinary environments that situate dance in traditional performance spaces as well as within nightlife and other socially engaged contexts. Through PVMNT, they develop collaborative works that blur the boundaries between stage, installation, and gathering—foregrounding performance as a site to investigate one’s identity, the queer experience, protest, transformation, and the unspoken complexities of the heart. PVMNT annually produces Dancers Demand Action in NYC, a performance initiative mobilizing artists in response to urgent socio-political issues impacting queer communities. Learn more about PVMNT.
Production Credits
Artistic Director/Producer – Diane Arvanites
Rehearsal Directors – Russell Clarke, Dean Vollick
Costume Designer – Jen Greeke
Lighting Designer – Paul Marr
PRODUCTION STAFF:
Director of Performance Services – Hanna Oravec
Assistant Director of Production – Rebecca Donald
Production Stage Manager – Hazel Peters
Production Assistant Stage Manager – Emily Pascucci, Morgan Rotman
Mainstage Technical Director – Taylor Kaufman
Assistant Technical Director – Caleb D. Harris
Costume Shop Manager – Alison Pugh
Wardrobe Manager – Blue Barber
Wardrobe Assistant – Taz Meyers, Ana Delgado
Stock Manager/Draper/Stitcher – Kathy Scott
Drapers/Stitcher – Evan Petrow, Sam Martin
Stitchers – Aryn Murphy
Costume Production Assistant – Jackie Olivia
Costume Shop Intern – Gavin Wills
Lighting Supervisor – Jacob Inman
Production Electrician – Nate Morrissey
Sound Supervisor/A1 – Andrei Radu
Sound Engineers – Maddy Poston, Jess Hawkins
Properties Managers – Hannah Spangler, Sara LaFever
Fly Console Operator – Nick LaRosa
Performance Technology Technicians – Goran Daskalov, Sara Pagiaro
Assistant Director of Concert Services – Luis Herrera
Senior Ticket Operations and Patron Services Manager – Kelley Brennan
Production Technicians – Addie Pates, Jude Riley, Hazen Polsonetti, Morgan Rotman, Thomas Fowler, Vir Gupta, Paul Vekiarides, Derek Putnam, Buzz Korolenko, Hannah Ashe, Sami Parazin, Sandy Doll, Nick LaRosa, Mac Weaver
STUDENT PRODUCTION STAFF:
Costume Shop Assistants – Elizabeth Hillman, Clara Palmadottir, Ellie Sawyer
Student Assistant Stage Manager – Carson Hollingsworth, Demitra Ypsilantis
Production Assistants – Judah Woomer, Milo Darlington, Naman Kasana, Valeria Caicedo, Matt Logos, Victoria McDougall, Danny Hernandez, Gavin Sexton, Isabelle Costanzo
Light Board Operator – Willow Garrison
Sound Board Operator – Maggie McClure
Wardrobe Crew – Evan Danyliw, Catie Gorton, Sadie Moore
Run Crew – Ava Schara
Special Thanks
Boston Conservatory thanks audience members for viewing this program information online. This paperless program saved 4,200 sheets of paper, 449 gallons of water, and 377 pounds of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions.