Trisha Brown Dance Company

	EDUCATION & OUTREACH
•	ny classes & workshops
•	international student programs
•	residencies

Trisha Bauman, Neal Beasley, Michelle Boulé, Barbara Dilley, Kathleen Fisher, Lance Gries, Sandra Grinberg , Chisa Hidaka , K.J. Holmes, Eva Karczag, Lisa Kraus, Daniel Lepkoff, Diane Madden, Mariah Maloney, Juliette Mapp, Jodi Melnick, Tiffany Mills, Hope Mohr, Brandi Norton, Cori Olinghouse, Jimena Paz, Lisa Schmidt (Lani Nahele), Shelley Senter, Vicky Schick, Scott Smith , Stacy Matthew Spence, Todd Stone, Wil Swanson, Keith Thompson, Trina Thompson, Gwen Welliver, Abigail Yager, Ming-Lung Yang

Trisha Bauman lives in Paris and performs in the company of Mathilde Monnier. She has danced in the companies of Alain Buffard and Daniel Larrieu, and in NY with RoseAnne Spradlin and Vicky Shick. Her research and performance collaborations include work with Rahel Vonmoos (London), Herman Diephuis (Paris), and Lisa Nelson. Certified in BMC and Laban-Bartenieff Studies, she guest teaches the companies of Sasha Waltz, Angelin Preljocaj, Philippe Decoufle, at PARTS/Rosas and Impulstanz Festival. back to top

Neal Beasley was born and raised in Mississippi, where he began his dance training. For the duration of his high school years, he attended the Idyllwild Arts Academy in Southern California on scholarship. He received his B.F.A. in dance from NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, and danced for choreographers Johannes Wieland and Lorraine Chapman prior to joining the Trisha Brown Dance Company in 2003. In 2004, he was honored with a Princess Grace Foundation - USA award for dance.back to top

Michelle Boulé Michelle Boule, currently a member of Miguel Gutierrez and the Powerful People and John Jasperse Company, has also worked Donna Uchizono, Beth Gill, Doug Varone, Gabriel Masson, and Judith Sanchez-Ruiz, among others. She has taught at Movement Research, DNA, George Washington University, the Hong Kong Performing Arts Academy, and the University of Illinois. In '02, she was a DanceWEB scholarship recipient in Vienna. She has shown work at Danpsace Project’s Food for Thought, P.S. 122’s Hothouse, the Krannert Center in IL, and the University of Utah. back to top

Barbara Dilley studied and performed dance in NYC from 1960-1975: performed with the Merce Cunningham Dance Co.(1963-1968) and the Grand Union, a dance/theater collaboration that was to extend the definitions of the art of improvisation(1969-1976). She has taught at the Naropa University in Boulder, CO since 1974, first designing the Dance/Movement Studies Program, and then serving as President (1985-1993). Her teaching emphasizes "embodied awareness" through dance/movement studies, creative process, and the meditative disciplines of mindfulness/awareness. She has continued to create original performance work and to support emerging artists through critique and mentoring. back to top

Kathleen Fisher is a performing artist, teacher, and bodyworker. She was a member of Trisha Brown Dance Company from 1992-2002, and currently performs in Bebe Miller Company and Jane Comfort and Company. She has appeared as actor or vocalist in several theatrical productions and short films. Her teaching is influenced by these varied performance and creation situations, exploration of improvisational forms, study of the Alexander Technique, investigations of breath and sound, and training in Trager work and Kripalu bodywork. back to top

Lance Gries was a Bessie Award winning member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company from 1985-1992. Since then he has been choreographing, performing and teaching worldwide. His choreography has been presented at various venues in NYC, including three seasons at Danspace Project at St. Mark's Church, two at The Kitchen, as well as in festivals in many European and Australian cities. Lance is a renowned teacher, having taught workshops and classes around the globe. From 1995 to 2001 he was the "key teacher" and developer of the contemporary program at P.A.R.T.S. in Brussels, Belgium under the direction of Anne Theresa de Keersmaeker. He has also taught and directed various pieces of Trisha Brown's repertory to international companies, including: "Set and Reset," "Newark," and most recently "Astral Convertible." back to top

Sandra Grinberg was born in Gdansk, Poland, where she first started dancing, and graduated from The Ballet School. In 1995, she joined P.A.R.T.S., the national dance school in Brussels. Ms. Grinberg then moved to New York to continue her studies on scholarship at the Trisha Brown Studio. She began working with the Company in 1999, and has since danced internationally and throughout the U.S. as a featured performer. Ms. Grinberg teaches at the Trisha Brown Studio and for Company residency activities worldwide. back to top

Chisa Hidaka, MD is a graduate of the Weill Medical College of Cornell University and a scientist at the Hospital for Special Surgery where she conducts research on cartilage and bone healing and regeneration. She is also a graduate of the Program in the Arts/Dance at Barnard College, and has performed in her own works, and in the works of a variety of independent choreographers including Marta Renzi, Pooh Kaye, Mark Dendy, Bill Young and Frey Faust among others. As a dancer and choreographer her studies included not only traditional dance forms, but other complimentary disciplines such as the Alexander technique and T'ai Chi Chuan with several wonderful teachers (June Ekman, Eva Karczag, Deborah Gladstein, among others) who have deeply influenced her approach to the inter-relationship of anatomy, physiology and dance technique. back to top

K.J. Holmes is a dancer, singer and poet who has been exploring improvisation as process and performance since 1981. Contact Improvisation is a primary practice in her work, as training and as source for dance improvisation and composition. back to top

Eva Karczag is a dance maker, dancer and educator. For the past three decades she has practiced, taught, and advocated explorative methods of art making. She performs solo and collaborative work internationally and many of her collaborations involve links across the arts. Her performance work and her teaching are informed by dance improvisation and mindful body practices (including T'ai Chi Ch'uan and Qi Gong, the Alexander Technique (certified teacher), Ideokinesis, and Yoga). Since 1972, she has been a member of leading groups in the field of experimental dance, including the Trisha Brown Dance Company (1979-86). She has taught throughout the USA, Australia, and Europe, including on the European Dance Development Center, (EDDC) Arnhem, The Netherlands (1990-2002). She has an MFA degree (Dance Research Fellow) from Bennington College (2004). Through her performing and teaching, she aims to communicate her love of full-bodied dancing and her interest in the practice of being in the moment.back to top

Lisa Kraus lives near Philadelphia where she teaches (for Swarthmore College and Philadelphia Dance Projects), writes (for Dance Magazine and the Philadelphia Inquirer) and choreographs (currently “the Partita Project” which previews at the Joyce Soho in March). She is this season’s Community Education Center’s Resident Artist in Dance and a Pennsylvania Commonwealth Speaker, bringing her talking-and-dancing-with-Power-Point performances to audiences in unlikely and far-flung places. She danced with the Trisha Brown Dance Company from
1977-1982.back to top

Daniel Lepkoff is one of the founders of Movement Research in NYC. He has taught at dance centers and schools worldwide, including: The Trisha Brown Studio; NYC; The American Dance Festival; PARTS in Brussels; Tanzfabrik, Berlin; Chisenhale Dance Space, London; Moving Arts, Koln; Bewegungs Art, Freiburg; as well as in Russia, Japan, Hungary, Slovakia, Brasil, Argentina, Venezuela.
Daniel was a central figure with Steve Paxton and others in the development of Contact Improvisation from its first public showing in 1972, actively teaching, performing, and exposing this work to audiences worldwide. He has published numerous articles articulating concepts that are central to his own work and to the work of others working in a similar vein. These writings appear in CQ, The MR Performance Journal, and Contredanse Publications in Brussels.back to top

Diane Madden Diane Madden has danced with the Trisha Brown Company since 1980, acting as Rehearsal Director from 1984-2000. She was an original cast member of Foray Forêt and participated in its recent Company revival. Diane has studied, performed, and taught improvisation extensively since 1977. Ms. Madden has received two awards from the Princess Grace Foundation and a “Bessie”. She has taught in NYC and around the world, both her own work and that of the Trisha Brown Dance Company. back to top

Mariah Maloney performed with the Trisha Brown Dance Company from 1995-2002. She has since served as guest faculty at Dartmouth College, Hunter College, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, SUNY Purchase, and University of Maryland, Baltimore. In March 2004, Mariah premiered "Dialogue," presented by The Hopkins Center at Dartmouth College. In New York City, Mariah joins Dance Space, the Trisha Brown Studios, and the Panetta Movement Center as a guest artist, and collaborates with Chisa Hidaka in teaching JAM (Joint Articulation and Movement) lab. Mariah earned a B.F.A. in dance from SUNY Purchase. back to top

Juliette Mapp has danced with the John Jasperse Company since 1996. Juliette also makes her own dances and teaches throughout NYC and Europe. In 2002, Juliette received a Bessie for her work with John Jasperse. Her dancing and teaching is influenced by her more than ten-year study of the Alexander Technique. back to top

Jodi Melnick is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. Currently, she works with Sara Rudner, Vicky Shick, Susan Rethorst, Dennis O'Connor, and Yoshiko Chuma. She was a member of Twyla Tharp and Dancers and Irene Hultman Dance, and recently worked with Trisha Brown on the making of Winterreise. In 2001, Jodi received a “Bessie” for sustained achievement in dance. back to top

Tiffany Mills is a choreographer, teacher, performer, and artistic director of the NYC-based Tiffany Mills Company. Her work is grounded in partnering and improvisation, and is frequently shown in NYC. She teaches at Trinity/LaMama (NYC), as well as colleges and universities nationally. Tiffany is currently making a trilogy of dances with her company to music by John Zorn and video by Ela Tryoano. The entire evening will be performed next at Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's Time Based Art Festival in September 2005. back to top

Hope Mohr trained at the San Francisco Ballet School and on scholarship at the Merce Cunningham Dance Studio. She has performed with Lucinda Childs, Douglas Dunn, Della Davidson, Mimi Garrard, Liz Gerring, Pat Catterson, Lea Wolf and many other choreographers in New York and the Bay Area. Hope joined the Trisha Brown Dance Company in August of 2002. back to top

Brandi Norton began her dance training with Norman Shelburne in Alaska where she was born and raised. She continued her studies at the Juilliard School under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy. Brandi has since danced with the Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company and Brian Brooks Moving Company. She was a member of Trisha Brown Dance Company 1998-2006 and has taught internationally for the Company. back to top

Cori Olinghouse Cori Olinghouse is a dancer, teacher and choreographer based in Brooklyn, NY. She was a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company from 2002 to 2006. Cori recently joined Bill Irwin for the 2008 premiere of The Happiness Lecture at the Philadelphia Theater Company, and she will teaching at Tilt in Milan, and the Moscow Summer Dance School Tseh. Cori teaches regularly at the Trisha Brown Studio in New York City, and she has been a guest teacher at the London Contemporary Dance School, Bennington College, Fordham University, and Sushi Visual and Performing Arts Gallery, among others. In September 2006, Cori joined the Manhattan Center for the Alexander Technique to pursue her certification to become an Alexander Technique teacher. back to top

Jimena Paz, a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner (CM), has studied Feldenkrais for the past eight years and is interested in bringing the Method to the particular needs of dancers. She has worked with Martha Clarke and the Stephen Petronio Company (2000-2006). Her work as an independent teacher includes: Dance New Amsterdam, The Trisha Brown Studio, 92 St Y, Feldenkrais Associates, Sports Physical Therapy, SILO Pilates, The Australian Dance Theater and most recently, Element (Paris).back to top

Lisa Schmidt (Lani Nahele) is most known for her joyful, articulate approach to life and dancing. She was a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company from 1984-1992. She then spent several years in Brazil, Argentina, France, and Germany where she was commissioned to make work, perform and teach. Lisa created numerous evening length duets and improvisationally based work. She currently practices bodywork, performs, and teaches throughout the east coast and Europe. As a Practitioner of Body-Mind Centering®, she integrates this and Shamanistic Healing in her work. back to top

Shelley Senter has performed and taught around the world, as an independent and collaborative artist and as a member of such companies as the Trisha Brown Dance Company and Bebe Miller and Company. Shelley continues to work with the Trisha Brown Dance Company as a guest artist, directing special projects throughout the U.S. and abroad. She was recently awarded a San Francisco Bay Area Isadora Duncan ("Izzy") Award for her performance and staging of Brown's Choreographic Material from “Glacial Decoy” and “Foray Forêt.” Senter has collaborated with many artists in the New York, Bay Area and international dance communities and has been critically recognized for her distinct approach to movement and movement education. She is a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique. back to top

Vicky Shick is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer. She was a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company for six years and has worked with many other choreographers as well. During her time in the Trisha Brown Dance Company she received a Bessie Award for performance, and in 2003 she received another "Bessie" for her collaborative pieces with visual artist, Barbara Kilpatrick. She regularly teaches and shows her own work in New York City and in Europe. back to top

Scott Smith teaches, makes dance and music, performs, works in mixed ability groups, and collaborates. He has studied and performed with Steve Paxton via contact improvisation and material for the spine, and also Lisa Nelson with Image Lab, researching the realm of the senses and perception, as foundational to form and composition. Scott has worked in dance companies such as, Bebe Miller (NYC), and Tanzfabrik (Berlin). His training and professional experience include traditional/modern and classical dance forms as well as contemporary/new dance and improvisational focuses. Originally from Kansas, USA, he is currently living in the UK, from where he teaches internationally, has danced in the companies of Fin Walker and Yolande Snaith, provides live music and recordings for performance and video, in addition to creating solo and collaborative performance works. He is currently performing Instructions for survival, made in collaboration with Charlie Morrissey.back to top

Stacy Matthew Spence received his BA in Dance from Loretto Heights College in Denver where he was also on faculty and Regis University. He received his MFA from Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Stacy has danced and collaborated with Polly Motley and filmmaker Molly Davies, The Phyllis Lamhut Dance Company, Hilary Easton Dance Company, Aleta Hayes, and Eun Me Ahn. In 1997, Stacy joined the Trisha Brown Dance Company and leads classes, workshops, and lectures dealing with different works and aspects of Trisha Brown repertory. This past year he staged a version of Set and Reset/Reset for eDGE Dance Company at London Contemporary Dance School. back to top

Todd Stone danced with Irene Hultman Dance Company and Wil Swanson, before joining the Trisha Brown Dance Company in 1998. He also worked with Pearl Lang Dance Company, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, and Neta Pulvermacher and Dancers. Todd graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Dance. In addition to teaching at the Trisha Brown Studio in New York, Todd directed the restaging of “Floor of the Forest” for students in Houston, TX and New York, NY, and assisted in the restaging of “Set and Reset” at the London Contemporary Dance School. His own work has been presented at various NYC venues. back to top

Wil Swanson is the Artistic Director of WIL SWANSON/DANCEWORKS. Wil was a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company from 1988 to1997. His investigations have led him to various forms, theories and philosophies that encourage and support the awakening ease and health of body, mind, and spirit. Wil's teaching is influenced by Hellerwork, Alexander Technique and Ken Dychtwald. Wil presents his choreography and teaches in Europe, Asia and the United States. back to top

Keith Thompson performed with the Trisha Brown Dance Company from 1992-2001, and served as the Company's Rehearsal Assistant from 1999-2001. Before joining TBDC, he worked with acclaimed choreographers Danny Buraczeski, Bebe Miller, Dan Wagoner, and Creach/Koester. Keith was also a member of Zenon Dance Company in Minneapolis. He received his BA in Dance from SUNY Empire State College and is currently attending Bennington College as a research fellow. Keith has taught extensively both internationally and in the US, and will have a New York season of his work at Danspace Project at St. Mark's Church in February 2002. back to top

Trina Thompson danced with the Trisha Brown Dance Company 1998-2006, and has since performed and taught internationally with the Company. Most recently, she assisted with the “Set and Reset” restaging project at the London Contemporary School of Dance. Prior to joining TBDC, Trina performed in the works of Wade Madsen and Joanna Mendl Shaw in Seattle, and Michael Mao Dance, Artichoke Dance Company, and American Dance Ensemble in New York. Trina was born and raised in Alaska and earned a BFA in Dance from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. back to top

Gwen Welliver performed with Doug Varone and Dancers from 1991-2000, and in 2000 joined the Trisha Brown Dance Company as Rehearsal Director. Gwen is a winner of a “Bessie” Award for Sustained Achievement in dancing. She has taught at numerous studios, festivals and universities in the US and abroad, including ADF in North Carolina and Chile, Bates Dance Festival, International Summer School of Dance (Japan), Kalamata International Dance Festival (Greece), and the Moscow Contemporary Dance Summer School 'TSEH'. Gwen was on faculty at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts from 1995-2000. back to top

Abby Yager was a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company from 1995 though 2002. She has had the pleasure of performing, teaching and lecturing throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. Greatly influenced by her studies of Klein Technique, Yoga, and the Alexander Technique, she draws on elements from each to inform her practice. She has served as guest faculty at the University of Washington (Seattle), ADF Winter Intensive (New York), P.A.R.T.S. (Brussels), and the Korean National University of the Arts (Seoul, Korea) among others. Abby is currently on the faculty of the American Dance Festival (Durham, NC) and is project manager for the Set and Reset/Reset Project at the Taipei National University of the Arts (Taipei, Taiwan). back to top

Ming-Lung Yang , independent choreographer, teacher and dancer, earned his B.A. in Dance from Chinese Culture University and his M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Mr. Yang was a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company from 1994-1999. He has also worked with Henry Yu and Dancers, Ku and Dancers, Dance Forum Taipei, Hillary Easton, and Wally Cardona. In 2000, Mr. Yang returned to his native Taiwan and became resident choreographer at Dance Forum Taipei, and later served as its Artistic Director until 2005. His choreography has been presented by numerous venues across Asia, Australia and the United States including Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Dance Theatre Workshop, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors Festival, Little Asia Dance Exchange Network, Crown Art Theatre (Taipei), Rencontres Choreographique Internationales de Seine-Saint-Denis, Seoul Platform (Seoul, Korea), Taipei Theatre (New York), and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Foundation. Mr. Yang was an Assistant Professor at the Taipei National University of the Arts from 1999-2005 and has been a member of the ADF faculty since 2000. Mr. Yang is currently serving as Guest Professor at the Choreography Division of the Korean National University of the Arts in Seoul, Korea. back to top

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