Company Danzante Contemporary Dance
Choreographers.
Kjara Wurst
Commissioned Choroeographer
Off the Leash
Premiered 2019
Kjara Wurst is a Slovene choreographer/teacher based in Washington DC, combining technically stylized classical ballet, broken lines of contemporary ballet, and the fluidity of contemporary dance. Her choreographies emphasize interpretation filled with the suggestiveness of everyday movement, exposing humanity within the dancers.
She has choreographed for the Slovene National Ballet, KDP Contemporary Ballet, The Washington School of Ballet, APT, Dissonance Dance Theatre, Triennale di Milano, Slovene National Ballet Conservatory ...
In 2010 she founded KDP, a project based contemporary ballet company for young dancers, to create more opportunities for stage experience and her dancers/students have gone on to perform with the Batsheva Ensemble (Tel Aviv), Vertigo (Jerusalem), IT Dansa (Barcelona), Ecole Rudra, Bejart (Lausanne), National Ballet Theatre (Slovenia), Ballet Junior de Geneva (Switzerland)…
She completed her training with the Slovene National Ballet Conservatory and later studied with her mentor Fred Lasserre, joining SPP modern dance company under his artistic direction in 1997. As a dancer she performed nationally and internationally at Vienner Festwochen (Austria), Festival d’Avignon (France), Bonner Biennale (Germany), Bologna Festival (Italy), Intercult (Sweden), Marato (Spain), Lent Festival (Slovenia), Slovene National Ballet (Slovenia, Maribor), NY Summer Stage (USA), La Mente Artistica (Italy) works by Fred Lasserre, Jennifer Archibald, Matjaž Farič, Tina Dobaj Eder, Siniša Bukinac, Nijawwon Matthews and others.
She holds a formal Status of Choreographer and Educator by Slovene Ministry of Culture.
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Shaun Boyle is a dance practitioner and educator with research interests in classical and contemporary ballet, modern/contemporary dance, and choreographic practice. Shaun’s choreography has been showcased nationally and internationally at venues such as the Joyce Soho Theater and Ailey Citigroup Theater in New York, The Bonnie Bird Theatre and The Robin Howard Theatre at The Place in London, Officina Giovani in Italy, Markgrafentheater in Germany, and Dance City and St. Mary’s Heritage in Newcastle, England amongst others.
Shaun was also a recipient of The Field's Artist Residency grant in New York, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program in California, and the prestigious choreographic initiative DanceLines at the Royal Opera House in London where she received direct mentorship from choreographer Wayne McGregor.
Shaun's performing credits include dance companies such as Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, BalletMet, Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, and The Dario Vaccaro Dance Project. She has also performed in projects such as David Dorfman's ‘Underground’ at the BAM Nextwave Festival and in the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay performances in England.
Shaun holds a BFA in Dance with Honors from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and an MA in Choreography with Distinction from The Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. Additionally, Shaun is a graduate of the William Esper Studio where she studied Meisner acting technique with legendary Bill Esper.
Currently Shaun is a faculty member in the Dance Department at the University of California, Irvine after having previously taught at the University of Utah and other dance institutions in the United States and United Kingdom.
Diego Vazquez has created 26 works, which are part of the repertoire of his own company Laleget Danza, and other companies in Mexico such as the National Dance Company, Taller Coreográfico UNAM, Cia. Tania Pérez-Salas, Jalisco Ballet, Morelos Ballet and Fóramen M. With Laleget Danza, he has carried out tours to Spain, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Curaçao, and regularly presents his work in the most important venues of Mexico. His pieces range from contemporary versions of The Nutcracker, Petrushka and Les noces by Stravinsky, to original works based on scores by Pärt, Chavez, Revueltas, Brahms, Chopin and J.S. Bach, among others.
Mr. Vázquez was awarded a grant to complete his studies in dance by the government of The Netherlands and received his BFA from CODARTS (Rotterdam Dance Academy). In the meantime, Vázquez had the opportunity to work with dancers and choreographers from the Scapino Ballet, Netherlands Dance Theatre, The Forsythe Company and Ballet Perljocaj. As a dancer, Mr. Vázquez has performed pieces by Angelin Perljocaj, Jiri Kilyán, Itzik Galili, Neel Verdoorn, Keith Derrick-Randolph, Anabelle Lopez Ochoa, Glenn van der Hoff (Djazzex), Tania Pérez Salas and Raúl Parrao (UX Onodanza). In 2006, he participated as guest dancer in the farewell tour of Ballet Nacional de México.
He has been awarded the Young Artists Scholarship (Jóvenes Creadores) by the National Found for Culture and Arts of Mexico. He regularly receives support from the Ministery of Culture of The Netherlands, thr National Institute of Fine Arts of Mexico and the National Council for Culture and Arts, the National Autonomous Universiy of Mexico and Cervantino International Festival for the production of his choreographies and international tours.
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Choreographer, dancer, and educator, Ms. Reedy is the founder and artistic director of Karen Reedy Dance (KRD). A highly musical artist with strong choreographic sensibilities for pattern, texture and emotion, her works span the continuum of classical and contemporary dance in traditional as well as site specific performance. Her work is often highly collaborative with musicians and visual artists.
Ms. Reedy was the recipient of a 2008 Kennedy Center Local Dance Commissioning Grant for the creation of Sleepwalking and was a 2012-2013 American Dance Institute Incubator Artist for the creation of Albatross. With an interest in creating dance specifically for film, she was awarded the 2014-2015 Mathy Junior Faculty Award for the research of her first screendance titled Les Falaises.
Ms. Reedy’s choreography is in the repertory of companies and colleges throughout the country. As a dancer, Ms. Reedy has performed with The Mark Morris Dance Group, Robert Battle, Eric Hampton Dance, DC Dance Theater, Luis Johnson and Sue Bernhard among others.
As dance educator, Ms. Reedy has been among the faculty at the Juilliard School, The Mark Morris Dance Group, The Washington Ballet and The Chautaqua Institution. Presently, she is an Assistant Professor of Dance at George Mason University.
MARCUS JARRELL WILLIS
Houston, TX
Marcus Jarrell Willis began his formal training at the Johnston Performing Arts Middle School, the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and Discovery Dance Group in Houston, Texas. At age 16, he moved to New York City and studied at The Ailey School as a fellowship student.
Mr. Willis is a recipient of a Level 1 ARTS award given by the National Foundation for the Advancement in the Arts and has received scholarships to many schools including the Juilliard School. He was a member of Ailey II and also worked with Pascal Rioult Dance Theater, Dominic Walsh Dance Theater, and Tania Pérez-Salas Compañía de Danza.
Mr. Willis is currently a member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Since joining the company, he has choreographed for the annual Ailey Dancers’ Resource Fund Performances and The Ailey School. His work has been presented in the 2009 TDDC Contemporary Dance Festival, Dance Gallery Festival, Dance Gallery Level Up in NYC. He is happy to continue his exploration in the choreographic world.
Commissioned Work : "Le Mariage: Le Noces" Premier September 2014 at the Kennedy Center
Commission sponsored by The Ruggiero Family
Marden Ramos
Santiago, Cuba,
was invited to the Ballet of Camaguey at the age of 6 to study ballet under the tutelage of Fernando Alonzo. By age 15, Marden joined the company, performing principal roles in all the classical ballets. Marden’s performing career spans over 30 years where he has danced for companies such as the National Ballet of Television-Havana, Cuba, the National Ballet of Mexico, Complexions, Eliza Monte Dance, and two companies based in Barcelona, Increpacion Dance Company and David Campos Ballet Company. Marden’s credits include, principal dancer in the Off Broadway production, Nostalgia Tropical and numerous guest artist appearances with choreographers and companies including Donald Byrd, John Passafiume, Paul Sanasardo, and Brett Raphael. Marden is a dance teacher and choreographer who has taught as an adjunct professor in ballet and modern at Wittenberg University, Wright State University, and Ohio State University. For six years
Marden has been the Artist in Residence at the Richland Academy in Mansfield, Ohio where he has trained students aged 10-18 in ballet and contemporary dance, directed the student company, choreographed original works which have been chosen to perform at the All Ohio Dance Festival, and coached students who have received scholarships to attend summer programs at ABT, Joffrey Ballet, Orlando Ballet and the Ailey School. Marden has produced performances with his professional project company Danza Libre, taught for summer intensives including SummerDance at Mason, and coached solos for the Youth American Grand Prix.
RESIDENT CHOREOGRAPHERS
Arturo Garcia, a native of Monterrey, Mexico, graduated from Escuela Superior de Música y Danza de Monterrey with a degree in contemporary dance. He studied on scholarship at the Central School of Ballet in London where he also performed and toured with the resident company. He has participated in national and international festivals, as well as tours to The United States, England, France, Italy, Venezuela, Egypt, Ireland and Israel. As a member of the company, Tania Perez-Salas Compania de Danza for 6 years, Arturo performed in festivals such as, Fall For Dance at City Center in NY, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, the Galway Arts Festival in Ireland, Oriente Occidente festival in Italy and the Biennale of Art in France. As a teacher, Arturo has taught at universities and international festivals as well as summer dance intensives in Chicago and DC.
Arturo has been awarded numerous grants from The Mexican National Foundation for the Arts for work as a choreographer and performer. In 2009, Arturo founded The Danzanorte-Danzante Collective, a collaborative choreography performance group based in Mexico. In 2010, Arturo was commissioned to create a work for Piel Morena Contemporary Dance Company based in Chicago, which premiered in the Fall of 2011. Arturo is the co-founder and resident choreographer of Company Danzante, for which he has staged several new choreographies, performed, created video dance and photo series, and taught master classes. Arturo is the recipient of the Kennedy Center’s 2014 Local Dance Commissioning Project, and presented his commissioned work during Company Danzante’s season at the Millennium Stage in September. Arturo is on faculty at Dance Academy of Virginia where he teaches the student modern and contemporary technique and coach contemporary solos for the Youth American Grand Prix. Arturo is a guest artist for summer intensive programs in Mexico, Washington, DC and Chicago and is the 2015 recipient of the Strauss Artist Grant awarded by the Arts Council of Fairfax County.
Katherine Horrigan has performed with numerous dance companies including Tania Perez-Salas Compañía de Danza, Elisa Monte Dance, Ailey II, Nathan Trice/Rituals, The Francesca Harper Project, and seasons with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal. She has worked with acclaimed artists such as Alonzo King, Aszure Barton, Robert Battle, Jessica Lang, Dwight Rhoden, Scott Rink, Igal Perry, and Rodrigo Pederneiras of Grupo Corpo. As a guest artist, she has worked in Israel, Egypt, Ireland, Venezuela, Brazil, Trinidad, Montreal and throughout Europe. She has been the rehearsal director for The Francesca Harper Project, setting new work on the Ailey Summer School and the Steps on Broadway Repertory Ensemble. While based in Mexico for four years, Katherine performed, toured, taught, choreographed, and developed a pre-professional dance intensive program.
Katherine is a guest artist for professional companies, festivals, and universities in the States and Mexico where she teaches company classes, master classes, workshops, and auditions. She is an annual guest teacher for Piel Morena Contemporary Dance Company's summer intensive in Chicago and recently helped to develop George Mason University School of Dance's first summer intensive program.
Katherine holds her MA in Arts Management from George Mason University and her BFA in Dance from Fordham University/The Ailey School.
Katherine is the Assistant Director at Adagio Ballet, a dance school in Arlington, VA. She is also an adjunct professor of dance at George Mason University’s School of Dance.
Katherine is a co-founder of Company Danzante.