Laura Stokes Performing Arts Librarian, University Library
Abigail Wang Theatre Technician
Brown/Trinity Program Faculty
Shura Baryshnikov DGS, Associate Professor of the Practice
Curt Columbus Interim Director of MFA Programs, Artistic Director of Trinity Rep, Professor of the Practice
Rebecca Gibel Visiting Lecturer, Professional Development
Brian Mertes Head of Directing, Professor of the Practice
Max Rosenak Head of Voice & Speech, Visiting Assistant Professor of the Practice
Sophia Skiles Head of Acting, Associate Professor of the Practice
Brown/Trinity Program Staff
Jeremy Chiang Technical Director
Sammi Haskell MFA Program Coordinator
Jill Jann MFA Academic Coordinator
FESTIVAL OF DANCE
April 30 - May 3, 2026
Don Quixote: The Dream Scene by Marc Spielberger after Marius Petipa
This is how we got here (Brown University version, 2026) by Stacy Matthew Spence in collaboration with the performers
Complimentary by J Dellecave in collaboration with the performers
Perspectives by Patricia Seto-Weiss back of the throat by Shura Baryshnikov in collaboration with the performers
- 10-minute intermission -
Two Snails Going To The Funeral of a Dead Leaf
by Michelle Bach-Coulibaly and Company
The Spring Festival of Dance is generously supported by the Irene Lewisohn and Alice Lewisohn Crowley Endowment, the Julie Adams Strandberg Fund for Dance, the Sue E. Perlmutter Fund for Dance, and a gift from the estate of TAPS Emeritus Professor James O. Barnhill.
A Note from Theatre Arts & Performance Studies
Chair,
Patricia Ybarra
In times of crisis, it can be easy to question the value of art because there are so many other things that seem more urgent. It may seem even harder to argue for the theatre, given that so many political pundits use the word theatre to gesture to the false, the fake, and the unnecessarily histrionic actions of those in public life. I believe that theatre and performance are more important than ever before, however. This is because the creative world-making on stage, backstage, and off stage allows us to imagine otherwise at a time in which our imaginations are constrained and visions of common flourishing are scarce. In this season, that does not mean only staging joyful possibilities; Machinal and The Flick discuss reactions to gender and class violence openly, even when they stage moments of intimacy; Muses’ focus on love is not without obstacles; our Writing is Live Festival of new works speaks to both history and the current moment in ways we have not yet anticipated. Our Festivals of Dance, too, emerge from the virtuosity of embodied movement in our current cultural moment. Rather than being a synonym for the false, our performance season is in fact a series of embodiments of truth, which display multiple viewpoints for various audiences. These productions allow us to consider each other in all of our complexities, a quality often absent in many forms of contemporary media. We invite you to join us for each and every performance.
Celebrating Michelle Bach-Coulibaly’s Career
In the lobby, you’ll see a collection of photographs featuring past dance works choreographed by Michelle Bach-Coulibaly. Michelle Bach-Coulibaly retires this year after 39 years at Brown, where her artistry, mentorship, and creative vision have helped shape the Dance program and generations of dancers. Presented alongside Spring Festival of Dance 2026, which features her final choreographic work at Brown, the photos offer a moment to reflect on her contributions and to celebrate a remarkable career.
Production Staff
Head of Dance .................................................... Patricia Seto-Weiss
Production Director ......................................................... Barbara Reo
Mohammed Abasi ‘27 RISD, Max Beattie ‘29, Dylan George ‘29, Christopher Kim ‘29, Andres Martinez ‘27, Oona O’Brien ‘29, Noa Saviano ‘29, Bailey Willis ‘29
Special Thanks
Brown Arts Institute
Please take a moment to note the fire exits. There are three exits on the south side of the theatre. Use of recording devices, cameras, and cell phones is not permitted. As a courtesy to patrons and performers, please silence all electronic devices. The video taping or other video or audio recording of this production by any individual not expressly directed to do so by Brown University is strictly prohibited. All or portions of Brown University events and their participants may be captured by photography or video and used for news or Brown promotional purposes.
Sue E. Perlmutter Fund for Dance
The dance program is honored and grateful for the support of the Sue E. Perlmutter Fund for Dance.
The Sue E.Perlmutter Fund brings visiting choreographers, dancers, and musicians to Brown University annually for the benefit of dance scholarship and for the enjoyment of students, faculty, and the general public. The Fund was established in loving memory of Sue E. Perlmutter P’06 by her husband, Marc E. Perlmutter ’74, P’06, as a lasting legacy to Sue, her love of dance, and her commitment to the joyful celebration of life through movement.
Sue Perlmutter (1952-2015) was born in Philadelphia and earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Connecticut before obtaining a Masters degree in Education at Tufts University in 1975. She loved music and the arts and had a particular passion for Jazz Dance throughout her adult life, both as a student and a performer. “She had a smile that lit up the studio and a contagious zest for life,” one of her instructors has observed, and “flew into class like Tinkerbell, sprinkling her positive fairy dust amongst us all.” Trained as a teacher, Sue taught Jazz Dance to American, Japanese and Southeast Asian students at several schools, including The American School in Japan, while living as an expatriate with her family in Hong Kong and Tokyo for seven years. Sue also valued diversity and, after returning to New York in 1993, she pursued her interest in learning and teaching about different world cultures while working as a cross-cultural acclimation specialist with clients moving to and from the US. The Sue E. Perlmutter Fund for Dance was established by her husband of forty years, Marc ’74, and her children Dara and Eric ‘06 in loving memory of Sue and as a lasting legacy to her lifelong study of dance.
“The Trees”, “The Nature of Daylight” and “The Leftovers: Departure Suite” by Max Richter
Two Snails set out in the evening for the burial of a dead leaf. With black spiralling shells, crepe around their horns and love in their hearts, they set out. The poem, written by French poet Jacques Prevert, along with additional text by Assitan Coulibaly tells the story of their journey on a beautiful autumn night. They are impeccably dressed and determined to make it to the funeral but because they move so slowly, spring has already sprung.The snails become very disappointed when they realize the leaves have been resurrected by the summer’s sun. Their journey takes many different turns when the immortal woman calls them to attention, as the three French agents confuse the scenario.
Choreographer Bios
Marc Spielberger was trained at the Ballet Academy Munich, Heinz – Bosl Foundation. He danced with the Staatsoper Unter den Linden in Berlin and performed as a Soloist with the Miami City Ballet under the direction of Edward Villella. He has danced at the Kennedy Center, the Music Center/L.A, New York City Center and throughout Europe, China and Russia, performing works by Maurice Bejart, Roland Petit, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, William Forsythe, John Neumeier, Twyla Tharp, Paul Taylor, Jiří Kylián, Nacho Duato, Edward Villella, Patrice Bart, Mark Baldwin, Peter Martins, and others. Since his retirement, he has taught at schools in Japan, Germany, France, Austria and ballet companies throughout the United States and Germany.
Mr. Spielberger is also a noted choreographer. He has choreographed works for Miami City Ballet among others. His ballet Sanctuary won the Prix Nouveaux at the American Ballet Competition in 2009.
Stacy Matthew Spence is a New York City based choreographer, dancer, and teacher. Stacyʼs choreography has been commissioned by Danspace Project, New York Live Arts: Live Artery, The High Line with visual artist Ronny Quevedo, The New School, Ishmael HoustonJones’s Platform 2012: Parallels for Danspace Project and Tisch School of the Arts. Stacy has performed in co/ motion directed by Margaret Peak as part of Jason Moranʼs Whitney Biennial: Bleed, in Deborah Hayʼs Blues as part of Ralph Lemonʼs One Fine Day at The Museum of Modern Art NY, Joanna Kotze’s BIG BEATS, as well as Vespers Reimagined (2025) and Indifferent Forest with Bebe Miller. Stacy danced with The Trisha Brown Dance Company from 1997-2006, was Education Director from 2018-2021 and continues collaborating with the company through teaching and re-staging Trisha’s work. He has also taught nationally
and internationally at institutions such as The New School, Juilliard, Barnard College, Tisch School of the Arts, Manhattan Marymount College, London Contemporary Dance School, Centre National de Danse Contemporaine, and Movement Research. Stacy is currently an instructor at The New School in New York City. Grants and residencies include New York State Council on the Arts Support for Artists Grant 2026, Gibney Dance in Process (DiP) Resident Artist 2022-23, Movement Research Artist Parent Residency; Workspace Artist-inResidence, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council NY; Manhattan Community Fund, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, NY; New York Live Arts Studio Series Residency; Artist Residency at Centre National de Danse Contemporaine in Angers, France; Movement Research Artist-in-Residence.
J Dellecave is a Brooklyn and Providence-based interdisciplinary performance-maker, scholar, and educator concerned with how bodily experience intersects with external fields of social, cultural, and political knowledge. They were awarded a PhD in Critical Dance Studies (UC Riverside), MA in Performance Studies (NYU), and BFA in Dance (Temple University). As an artist, their work straddles the genres of dance, performance art, movement-based theater, installation, video, and sound. As a scholar J’s work theorizes how contemporary art and performance engage audiences in inside-of-the-body ways of reckoning with US imperialism. J’s scholarship and work with the Un/Commoning Pedagogies Collective have been published in Radical Teacher, Performance Matters, and Dance Chronicle with articles forthcoming in Theatre Survey, Social Text, and Dance Research Journal. Current projects include Silence a multidisciplinary look at silence as a mode of political resistance, and their book-in-progress Activating the Insides: How Embodied Arts Expose Imperial Violence in the 21st Century. J is an Assistant Professor of the Practice at Brown University in the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies.
Patricia Seto-Weiss is Head of Dance and Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Department of Theatre Arts and Performance Studies at Brown University. Seto-Weiss has created original choreographies for the department since 2022 and produced the Spring Festival of Dance since 2023. Recent works include The Seto-Weiss Variation, part of the Martha Graham Dance Company’s Lamentation Variations; and IN_FLUX, a collaboration with intermedia artist John Crawford and composer Hayley Yu Qin that premiered at the University of California, Irvine in April 2026. Originally from Germany, Seto-Weiss graduated from Iwanson International School of Contemporary Dance in Munich before continuing her studies at The Ailey School in New York City.
Shura Baryshnikov is a performer and maker who works broadly across dance, theatre, and opera. She has collaborated with dance artists Paul Singh, Sarah Konner, Heidi Henderson, Besty Miller, Danielle Davidson, and Gabriel Forestieri, among others and with directors such as Anne Bogart, Melia Bensussen, Maria Mileaf, and Kimberly Senior. Choreographic and performance credits include projects with Apple TV, Boston Lyric Opera, Hartford Stage Company, Baryshnikov Arts, Trinity Repertory Company, FirstWorks, Motion State Arts, Emmanuel Music, Odyssey Opera, and the Contemporary American Theater Festival. She is an Associate Professor of the Practice in Theatre Arts & Performance Studies at Brown University and a member of Actors’ Equity Association, the American Guild of Musical Artists, and the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. In 2025, Shura was certified as a Countertechnique® teacher, a movement system to help the dancer think about the dancing body, focusing on the process of incorporating information into action.
Michelle Bach-Coulibaly: This will be Michelle’s final year and final choreographic work at Brown after thirty-nine years. It has been a pleasure teaching these brilliant and talented students all these years. I want to thank you all for your time, attention and hard work. I could not have done it without you. Thanks again. Love, Michelle
Performance Company Bios
Contemporary Dance Studio Project (CDSP) was established by TAPS Associate Professor of the Practice Shura Baryshnikov in the Fall of 2022. Designed to function as a training, research, and repertory model, students are encouraged to repeat the course, often multiple times, continually growing their range as movers, collaborators, and performers.
In the Fall semester, Contemporary Dance Studio Project supports the mentorship and production of works by student makers, and in the Spring, supports the creation of choreographies by faculty and guest artists. In seven semesters of performance, CDSP has brought 19 new works to the stage and built a cohort of dedicated dance practitioners. The opportunity to participate in the creation and performance of new work is an essential part of CDSP’s mission and vital to a robust dance education.
Guest artists in Contemporary Dance Studio Project have included Baye & Asa, Stephanie Batten Bland, Kellie Ann Lynch, Paul Singh, Colin Stilwell, Laila Franklin, Victoria Lynn Awkward, Maree ReMalia, Marissa Molinar, Joshua Tuason, Stephanie Turner, Ali Kenner-Brodsky, Sarah Konner, Makisig Akin, Anya Cloud, Heidi Henderson, Stacy Matthew Spence, mayfield brooks, and Ogemdi Ude.
Musician Bios
Roarke Menzies is a New York City-based musician and composer who incorporates his voice, mouth and body with audio tools and toys to craft deeply human electronic music (or deeply electronic human music). His work has been described by The New Yorker as “a layered electronic throb, coming and going, always enhancing but never overpowering.” In addition to solo performances and sound installations, Menzies creates scores for contemporary dance, games, television, and film, with work appearing in the New Museum, SF MoMA, the Tribeca Film Festival, IFC Films, the ICA Boston, VICE Media, the Kitchen, the American Dance Institute, New York Live Arts, Danspace Project, the Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College, and many others. With four albums to date, Menzies’s music has been featured on the BBC Radio 3 series, “New Year New Music: exploring iconic masterpieces, avant-garde experiments and the next generation of talent.”
Sock & Buskin
Sock & Buskin (S&B) is the board that selects and produces the main-stage theatre season for the Department of Theatre Arts & Performance Studies. It is a partnership between undergraduate students, faculty, and staff.
Founded in 1901 by Thomas Crosby, a professor in the Brown University Department of English, Sock & Buskin has maintained an unbroken string of performance seasons since being established.
Originally founded as an all-male organization, Sock & Buskin became a co-educational group in 1927 when it merged with an all-female theatre troupe from nearby Pembroke College.
The mission of S&B is to bring faculty, staff, and students together in the spirit of collaborative learning and artistry and to engage in open conversations among members of the Department of Theatre Arts & Performance Studies and larger Brown community in order to select and produce the works of the main-stage theatre season. Throughout this process, S&B values include collaboration, curiosity, experimentation and expansiveness, mentorship and sharing knowledge, creativity, diversity, education, and creating challenging theatre.
Sock & Buskin Board Members
Acadia Philips '28, Alex Haynes, Alex Nurkin, Alyse Harrell '28, Avi Levin '26, B Reo, Brianne Shaw, Brodie Gross '28, Connie Crawford, Ella Piscatello '27, Eric Hadley '26, Ethan Ho '28, Gillian Gordon '26, Julia Jarcho, Kym Moore, Lottie Doughty '26, Miles Justice Hardingwood '28, Noah Martinez '27, Patricia Ybarra, Rashaun Bertrand '27, Renee Surprenant Fitzgerald, Saja Alagaad '28, Sarah dAngelo, Thomas Ward '27, Zane Elinson '28
Student Employees & Support Staff
STUDENT TECHNICAL ASSISTANTS
Olivia Sydnia St Bernadette '26, Kate Baker '27, Elaina Bayard '27, Leana Lee '28, Sabine Maas '28, Austin Meadows '26, Nathan Scarborough '26
