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Donna Cicchesi Donna Cicchesi graduated from Hofstra University, earning a BA in Dance. Upon graduation, she moved to Los Angeles where she performed as a Guest Artist with Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company / Kate Hutter. While on the West Coast, Donna co-produced a collaborative event, Transient Truths. With hopes to broaden the dance audience, she brought together a community of artists for one night and featured performances by several LA based dance companies, with local artists' work displayed throughout the space, as well as multi media, dance film and a live DJ set. Donna has since moved back to NYC, where her work was selected for Newsteps, a choreographer's showcase, presented by H.T. Chen She is excited and grateful to be back in NY, teaching Pilates, and dancing with Etch Dance Co. and MVworks. |
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Michael Ingle Michael Ingle is a New York based dance artist and choreographer. He began dancing at the University of Kansas while earning his BFA in Art History. Since moving to New York City in 2007, he has performed with Hilary Easton + Company, Tere O’Connor Dance, Laura Peterson Choreography, Deganit Shemy & Company, Megan Sprenger/mvworks, Makiko Tamura/small apple co., Bill Young/ Colleen Thomas & Co., Christopher Williams Dances and Miriam Wolf, among others. Michael also creates work with his own group Michael and the Go-Getters. |
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Tara O’Con Tara is happy and proud to have been working with mvworks since 2006. Outside of the company, she is also a long time collaborator/performer, with Third Rail Projects and performs regularly in their immersive theater experience, Then She Fell (thenshefell.com). Her own work has been presented by Dance Theater Worskhop (Fresh Tracks Residency 2007), Danspace Project, The Chocolate Factory Theater, and most recently as part of the River To River Festival produced by The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. She is currently a 2012- 2013 Movement Research Artist in Residence. |
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Kendra Portier Kendra Portier, direct from Ohio, trained and performed with BalletMet and received a BFA in dance from OSU. Since relocating to NYC, she has had the fortune of working with brilliant beings such as Lisa Race/Scott Cohen, Jennifer Nugent, White Road Dance Media, 5'4", Hoi Polloi, Nicole Wolcott Dance, and apprenticed with David Dorfman Dance. Currently, Kendra is making her own works and studies with Launch Movement Experiment, while running community movementancepantsnyc. In addition, she is dancing with Vanessa Justice Dance, Annie Kloppenberg, and on faculty at M project donroe Dance Academy and Hunter College. |
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Alli Ruszkowski Alli Ruszkowski, originally from Connecticut, graduated with a BFA in dance performance from the Ohio State University in 2003. She has had the pleasure of working with MVworks, Vanessa Justice Dance, Julian Barnett, Fivefour, and Annie Kloppenberg. |
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Megan V Sprenger Megan V. Sprenger is the Artistic Director of MVworks. In addition to her work with the company, she has choreographed for the The Shakespeare Forum (Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2013); curated Am I too Close?, a Friday's at Noon program at the 92nd Street Y; and was a member of the Dance Theater Workshop Fresh Tracks Performance and Residency selection Panel in 2010. As a performer she has danced with Tina Croll & Dancers and Catherine Tharin. She recently had the pleasure of guest performing with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company and participating in Maya Ciarrocchi’s I’m Nobody! Who Are You?, an installation of a series of life-sized video portraits. Ms. Sprenger worked in the marketing department at Dance Theater Workshop from 2003 – 2011 and was the Director of Marketing and Public Relations when the organization merged with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company to form New York Live Arts, where she worked until 2012. She currently can be found at Polskin Arts & Communications Counselors, the leading firm in cultural public relations with a record of six decades of service to distinguished clients around the world. Ms. Sprenger has guest lectured at New York University, Pratt Institute, Bard College, and Marymount Manhattan College. Ms. Sprenger served on the board of SYREN Modern Dance from 2008 – 2010 and is currently a board member of The Shakespeare Forum. |
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Anna Adams Stark Anna Adams Stark has performed works by Lindsey Dietz Marchant, Alexandra Beller, Laura Peterson Choreography, Alex Springer & Xan Burley/the median movement, Jennifer Kayle & Company, Ellie Goudie-Averill/Stone Depot Dance Lab and Meg Hebert Dance. Currently Anna is working with Sarah A.O. Rosner/A.O. Movement Collective, Megan Sprenger/mvworks, Tara Aisha Willis, and Kendra Portier/BANDPortier. Anna occasionally makes her own dances, which have been shown at THROW, AUNTS, Dance New Amsterdam, the Tank, and Triskelion Arts. Anna is one of the founding producers of RoofTop Dance, www.rooftopdance.com. She received her B.F.A. in Dance from the University of Iowa. This is Anna's first project with mvworks and is thrilled to be joining this lovely group. |
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| Joe Levasseur | Lighting Designer Joe has worked closely on lighting and production with many contemporary dance artists, including John Jasperse, RoseAnne Spradlin, Sarah Michelson, David Dorfman, Beth Gill, Maria Hassabi, Ashleigh Leite, Jennifer Monson, LeeSaar the Company, Anna Sperber, Megan Sprenger, Christopher Williams, Pavel Zustiak, and Big Dance Theater. Levasseur is a recipient of a New York Dance and Performance "Bessie" Award for his body of work for the 2007–08 season. When not in the theater, Levasseur is in the studio, pursing another calling as a visual artist. For more information visit joelevasseur.com. |
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| Naomi Luppescu | Costume Designer Naomi Luppescu received her BFA in Dance from SUNY Purchase in 2004 after which she danced professionally while studying fashion design at FIT and at the Danish Design School in Copenhagen. She always felt a great need for costumes that were better suited for the moving body, hence started NaLu Designs, a company specializing in costumes for dance (www.naludesigns. net). Naomi has worked with companies such as Parsons Dance, Alvin Ailey II, Kate Skarpetowska, Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Lucinda Childs Dance, Shen Wei Dance Arts, LeeSaar the Company, Nina Winthrop and Dancers, Murray Spalding Mandalas, among others. She is thrilled to be part of the creative team at MVworks. |
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| Brad Kisicki | Scenic Design Brad is a Designer, Technical Director and Production Manager who has been fortunate to work with many wonderful organizations, companies and individuals. Currently he works as an Architectural Designer specializing in performing arts centers at Auerbach Pollock Friedlander. Brad was the Production Manager for the Aspen Music Festival for 10 seasons and the Technical Director at Dance Theater Workshop for 5 seasons among many other great jobs. He holds a BFA from the North Carolina School of the Arts, an M.Arch from the Rhode Island School of Design and a monthly Metro Card. |
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| Jason Sebastian | Sound
Designer Jason has been working freelance in film, theater and music for the last 12 years or so. He is the touring engineer for Elevator Repair Service's The Select (The Sun Also Rises) and Gatz. He's worked closely with Radiohole, Young Jean Lee, Banana Bag and Bodice, and many others. Engineered and mixed slow/dynamite's the mountains are our people released on limited double vinyl. He is happy to be working with the MVworks team again and has a 2 year old son. |
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PAST COLLABORATORS
Sara Grundel | Direction Lost Mathematician
Sara was born in 1981 in Munich and raised
in the Black Forest in southwestern Germany. She studied Mathematics
and Physics at the University of Karlsruhe after her High School Graduation
in 2000. After she graduated with a Pre-Diploma, she transferred to
the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zurich were she graduated
with a Diploma (comparable with a Master’s degree) in Mathematics
in April 2005. She worked as a mathematical research assistant during
the Summer 2005. September 2005 she started the PhD program at the Courant
Institute of Mathematical Sciences at NYU in New York City.
Mary McKenzie | Costume Desinger
Mary is a Brooklyn-based fiber artist who is
fascinated with all things tactile and textile. She is the resident
costume designer for Red Metal Mailbox, and has costumed many other
dancer-type people through out New York City which you can check out
at www.marymck.com.
Maria Parshina | Performer
Maria Parshina is originally from Moscow, Russia.
In 2003 she received a BFA in Dance Performance from Purchase College.
Maria has had the pleasure of performing with MVworks, Sally Gross and
Dancers, and Oliver and Teri Steele.
The Peculiar Gentlemen | Direction Lost Composers
"Sweet" Willy Jive (gtr, vx) and "E"
Beats (keys, vx) have been writing music together for a little over
4 years. They met each other in upstate New York, where Sweet Willy
was working at a small private airport (he has a pilots license) and
E was driving chicken trucks. One thing led to another, and they decided
to quit their jobs and move to NYC to write music. In 2005 they released
their first official album, entitled Full Paw Special, which spanned
just about every musical genre that existed at the time. In fact, the
album predicted several musical trends now occuring here in 2006! The
album is available on itunes and at every Peculiar Gentlemen show. Recently,
the band has been playing with several different guest artists ,like
the famous blues harp and steel guitar player Seth the Bartender aka.
Sam House, the singer SheKeepsBees, bassist Nate Mars, and drummer "Lucky"
Shuck von Kavendisch. As we speak, the boys are in the studio, hard
at work on an E.P., which should be finished in a month or two, and
recording their second full length,which will be finished in 2007.
Yarden Raz | Performer
Yarden Raz was born and raised in Rishon Le'-zion, Israel. She danced for The Boomer Dance Company as a teen. After serving in the Israeli Army she began to study and explore Gaga - a dance technique conceived by Ohad Naharin, the artistic director of The Batsheva Dance Company. She was very lucky to work in a couple of projects with The Batsheva Ensemble. Since moving to NYC, Yarden has danced in the works of Stefanie Nelson Dance Group, Oliver Steele, and presented her own work at Triskelion Arts. She is thrilled to work with Megan and with this lovely, inspiring
group of dancers.
Aaron Rosenblum | Production
Management
Aaron is currently working on several projects
including Big Dance Theater's Comme Toujours, Here I Stand, Ethel's
Wait For Green, Dan Hurlin's Disfarmer, and an upcoming music festival
called Roosevelt Live!
Richert Schnorr | Performer
Richert Schnorr is a video maker, blogger, dancer,
and choreographer. His work uses the Internet, video, writing, design,
and the body to create personas, celebrity, and popular culture. GRAPHIC.GLORY,
his first full-length DVD/Album, was released in December 2008. Watch
GRAPHIC.GLORY and more at regularmotion.net. He has performed with Milka Djordjevich, Jennifer Monson, Max Steele,
and others.