June 4, 2026
Photo by Matailong Du featuring Trevor Frantz
FROM DANA TAI SOON BURGESS
Welcome to DTSBDC’s second annual Young Choreographers’ Showcase titled ORIGINS.
Dance is a field of mentorship; one can’t learn to dance from a video, TikTok, or Facebook. Rather dance is an artform that is handed down from teacher to student.
As DTSBDC considers the future of the field, we believe that it is our responsibility to provide a platform for the next generation of choreographers. It is truly a joy to celebrate these dance makers.
Sincerely,
Dana Tai Soon Burgess
Program
Amor de Hombre (A Man’s Love)
Choreography: Armani Colón and Felipe Moltedo
Dancers: Armani Colón and Felipe Moltedo
Music: Amor de Hombre by Mocedades
Costume Design: Armani Colón and Felipe Moltedo
Structured Improv [In Red]
Choreography: William Robinson
Dancers: William Robinson
Music: That’s All Right by Mrs. Laura Rivers & Talking ‘Bout A Good Time by Moving Star Hall Singers feat. Benjamin Bligen
Costume Design: William Robinson
Amor de Lousia
Choreography: Armani Colón
Dancers: Armani Colón
Music: Luis Enrique, Gilberto Santa Rosa, and Manuel Barrueco.
Phone Call voice: Carmen Louisa Navarro - Armani’s grandmother
Spoken word translation:
“Grandma, I love you with all of my life and all of my heart”
“I am just a little bit sad today. I have a ton of things that I need to do and I just miss you and grandpa so much”
“When everything is bad, you are my person. When I need money, or a good recipe, you answer that Facetime call. Thank you for being my little girl friend. I dance for you. I love you Grandma”
Costume Design: Armani Colón
Unreturned Presence
Choreography: Felipe Moltedo
Dancers: Joan Ayap and Felipe Moltedo
Music: Fauré: 3 Mélodies, Op. 23: No.1, Les berceaux & Requiem, Op. 48: Pie Jesu by Gabriel Fauré
Costume Design: Felipe Moltedo
Life is But a Dream (Excerpt)
Choreography: Baylee Wong
Dancers: Baylee Wong
Music: Sonar by Michael Wall
Costume Design: Baylee Wong
Reflexiones at the Crossroads
Choreography: Felipe Moltedo - Max Goldman (Collaborator)
Dancers: Max Goldman and Felipe Moltedo
Music: I Thought That I Could Get Away with It & Broken
Hearted Kota by Joseph Shabason
Costume Design: Felipe Moltedo
Join us for a 20-minute post-performance audience Q & A with the choreographers and Dana Tai Soon Burgess immediately following tonight’s performance
Photo by Matailong Du featuring Tomas Fischer
Photo by Matailong Du featuring Baylee Wong
About The Artists
Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo (DTSBDC Associate Artistic Director - ChoreographerDancer) is in his fourteenth season with the Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. Originally from Santiago, Chile, he began dancing at the age of twelve and has since received numerous awards and distinctions, including Chile’s Best Dancer Inter-American Circle of Dance Professionals Award. In Santiago, he founded and directed his own contemporary dance company, which toured both nationally and internationally.
Felipe holds a B.F.A. in Dance and an M.A. in Dance Education with honors from the University of Chile, as well as an M.F.A. in Dance from The George Washington University. Felipe’s choreography has been shown at different national venues such as The Kennedy Center, Dance Place, The Arts Club of Washington, The Corcoran Museum, and the National Dance Institute to name just a few.
In addition to his roles as Associate Artistic Director and dancer, Felipe is the company’s multimedia designer and creator, producing engaging visual content that connects audiences to the company’s artistic mission. He also serves as webmaster and consulting
UX/UI designer for a diverse portfolio of clients including DTSBDC’s digital platforms, ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group and The Department of Transportation for the DC Government.
Armani Colón (Choreographer - Dancer) is in his first season with the Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. He is a Puerto Rican dancer, choreographer, model, and cultural organizer whose work explores identity, memory, and the intersections of classical form with diasporic expression. Armani began his dance training at 14 when accepted into the Dance program at The Chicago High School for the Arts. He earned his BFA in Dance from the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where he trained under Danah Bella and developed a foundation in ballet, modern, and contemporary techniques. As an independent dancer and choreographer across the DMV area, he has performed and choreographed nationally, including at Lollapalooza with British pop singer “Flowerovlove”, and has collaborated with choreographers such as Gabriel Mata, Bernard Brown, Diedre Dawkins, Tracy Kofford, Kim T. Davis, Kevin Iega, Dolly Sfier, Tiffanie Carson, Jess Beach, and
others.
As Communications Manager and an Ambassador of the Latinx Movement Festival D.C., Armani aims to uplift Latine artists and expand dialogue around performance, culture, and community. His work embodies hybridity, resilience, and joy that bridges tradition with contemporary innovation.
William Robinson (Choreographer - Dancer) is in his second season with Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. He was raised in Washington, DC where he was first introduced to dance in middle school at Georgetown Day School. While at GDS, William met his mentor Jan Tievsky and where he first met Dana Tai Soon Burgess, performing original works set on the students there. During high school, he expanded his dance practice learning breaking from Emanuel Sanchez and joined the breaking crew Back 2 Basics.
William went on to attend The University of the Arts high school summer program where he truly fell in love with dance. During this summer program William met Wayne Saint David who became a mentor and directed him to study at The Dance Institute of Washington under the direction of the late Fabian Barnes. After graduating
high school William went on to attend The University of the Arts on a full scholarship, earning his B.F.A. in modern dance performance, and receiving both the Outstanding Achievement in Modern Dance Award and the President’s Award. While in school he used his summers to study at the Paul Taylor School.
At UArts he had the honor of performing original works by faculty and mentors, Silvana Cardell, Brian Sanders, Donald Lunsford, Roni Koresh, as well as works set on students by Momix and Rennie Harris. He has also danced professionally in projects and guest artist work for Diavolo, Ishmael Houston Jones, Raven Symone, Tierra Whack, and Boris Charmatz.
William was recently the assistant to the choreographer on the film The Young Wife by Tayarisha Poe, and worked as the project manager for Cardell Dance Theater’s Disposable Bodies. He has been on faculty at The University of the Arts and Georgian Court University.
Baylee Wong (Dancer) is in her third season with Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company. She is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher based in the DMV area and passion for movement led her to train in various styles, including ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and ballroom.
Baylee graduated from Towson University, where she obtained a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography. During her time there, she received several accolades, including the Outstanding Award for Choreography, the Jim Snyder Award for Technical Excellence, and was honored to be an Undergraduate Commencement Speaker. At Towson, she had the privilege of working with Linda Denise Fischer-Harrell, Runqiao Du, Catherine Horta-Hayden, Vincent Thomas, Caroline Rocher Barnes, Xiang Xu and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar.
Baylee has taught at Towson University, the Maryland Public High School Dance Festival and at Dance Sanctuaries at the Kennedy Center Reach. Additionally, her original choreography has been showcased at the Peabody Dance Festival, Origins hosted by DTSBDC, Motion Mixers hosted by GRIDLOCK, and at S.H.E./Moves hosted by Maryland Youth Ballet.
As a performer, Baylee is a member of the Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company, Gridlock Dance, and performed with Orange Grove Dance. Behind the scenes, she serves as the Assistant Director at The Berwyn Ballet School.
Joan Ayap (Dancer) is in her ninth season with Dana Tai
Soon Burgess Dance Company. Joan was born in Washington, DC, and raised in Manila, Philippines. She started her dance training at the HaliliCruz School of Ballet and the Philippine Ballet Theatre Conservatoire.
While earning a B.S. in Interior Design from Assumption College, San Lorenzo, she also pursued a dance career. Her professional journey began with the Philippine Ballet Theatre, where she worked with renowned teachers and choreographers such as Gener Caringal, Ronilo Jaynario, Anatoli Panasiukov, Enrico Labayen, Tony Fabella, Maiqui Mañosa, and Graham Lustig. In Washington, DC, she has performed with DC Contemporary Dance Theatre and Bowen McCauley Dance. She has competed in Rising Star and Open Pro divisions in American Rhythm, as well as Amateur International Latin events. Additionally, she worked as a correspondent and field producer for The Filipino Channel. She teaches at CityDance, The VIVA School of Dance, and DTSBDC’s educational programs. Currently, Joan is pursuing an M.A. in Cultural Heritage Management at Johns Hopkins University.
Max Goldman (CollaboratorDancer) is from Maryland, USA. He began his dance education
in modern dance at the age of 7 and has since performed in a number of venues as an ensemble dancer or a soloist.
Currently Max is an intern with Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company and continues his Modern/Contemporary dance training with a variety of teachers around the nation.
JOIN US AT OUR NEXT PERFORMANCE
THE MALLORCA SUITE
The Kreeger Museum
June 13th / 1:30 & 3:00 PM SOLD OUT
DTSBDC Celebrates
PRIDE: Charlie Chan and The Mystery of Love
MLK Jr. Memorial Library
June 27th / 11:30 AM | FREE
A STUDY IN FORM: ASAWA, NOGUCHI & FRANKENTHALER
National Portrait Gallery
August 9th / 4:00 PM | FREE
Photos by Matailong Du
DANCE WITH US THIS SUMMER
Elevate your technique and artistry at DTSBDC’s Modern Summer Intensive —a rare opportunity to train with Dana Tai Soon Burgess and members of D.C.’s premier modern dance company
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About Dana Tai Soon Burgess
Dana Tai Soon Burgess is a leading American choreographer and cultural figure known internationally as the “Diplomat of Dance.” In 1992, he founded Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company, Washington, DC’s preeminent modern dance company, now in its 33rd season. As noted by Pulitzer Prize–winning critic Sarah L. Kaufman of The Washington Post, Burgess is “not only a Washington prize, but a national dance treasure.”
His contemporary modern dance works explore the joy, sorrow, and beauty of the human experience. Burgess has served as a Cultural Ambassador for the United States Department of State for more than two decades and has received three Fulbright Program Senior Scholar awards.
In 2016, Burgess was named the first Choreographer-inResidence at the Smithsonian Institution, where he created works inspired by museum exhibitions and developed public and educational programming through 2023.
The son of two visual artists, he approaches choreography as a visual canvas, with dancers functioning as living brushstrokes. His work has been presented at the
National Gallery of Art, Noguchi Museum, National Museum of Asian Art, and National Portrait Gallery.
Burgess has served as a mayoral-appointed commissioner for the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the DC Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs. He is the author of Chino and the Dance of the Butterfly and editor of Milestones in Dance History, and hosts Slantpodcast. com, which focuses on Asian American arts and culture.
This podcast is an ongoing conversation around the Asian American experience through the lens of artists and luminaries. Hosted by Dana Tai Soon Burgess.
Listen on all streaming platforms.
About DTSBDC
Now in its 33rd season, Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company (DTSBDC) creates and performs contemporary modern dance works to celebrate, through dance, the indomitable American spirit.
DTSBDC performances uplift, inspire and bring insights to seasoned dance lovers and new audiences alike in Washington, DC, around the United States, and the world. The Washington Post says of the company, “not only a Washington prize, but a national dance treasure.”
DTSBDC makes all its programs ADA accessible and at free or reduced pricing.
DTSBDC is a leader in the national movement to collaborate with and perform at visual arts museums as well as theaters. In 2016, DTSBDC was named the Smithsonian Institution’s first-ever resident dance company. DTSBDC has a long history of artistic collaborations and partnerships with other organizations including: NASA, the U.S. State Department, National Gallery of Art, the Kreeger Museum, the Mayor’s Office of Asian
Pacific Islander Americans, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and more. DTSBDC has been presented at NYU Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, The Sylvia and Danny Kaye Playhouse, Arena Stage, the United Nations, La MaMa, the Asia Society, and the Korean Cultural Center, among others. DTSBDC is the modern dance company in residence at The Kreeger Museum, Maryland Youth Ballet, and The Arts Club of Washington.
As a U.S. State Department cultural envoy for over 25 years, Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company has toured extensively both nationally and internationally to 5 continents and over 30 countries including Egypt, Israel, South Korea, China, India, Mongolia, Venezuela, Germany, Latvia, Ecuador, Panama, Mexico, Peru, Cambodia, the British Virgin Islands, and Suriname to name a few. For more information about DTSBDC visit www.dtsbdc.org
DONOR LISTING
We gratefully acknowledge the support of the following corporations, foundations, government agencies, and individuals who supported Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company during our 25-26 season.
Major Supporters
$50,000-150,000
DC Commision on the Arts and Humanities
$20,000-49,999
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Patch Canada*
Mary Eccles
March Forth Foundation
Maryland Youth Ballet*
The National Endowment for the Arts
Philip L. Graham Fund
$5,000-19,999
AARP
Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts
Jack Davis and Eric San Juan
The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Inc.
Dwight Stuart Youth Fund
Eric Naison-Phillips Family Foundation
Events DC Community Grant Program
Fulbright Scholars
Cary Fuller
Elizabeth Wilson Harter
Bonnie Kogod
Ellen Kwatnoski
Microsoft
Kelly Dinglasan Minton and Joel Minton
Morningstar Foundation
Katia Norri
Eser Ozdeger
The Rosenfeld Rumford
Steckler Family Foundation
Teresa Saavedra
Leigh Slaughter
The Share Fund
Jan and Seth Tievsky
Aaron Tievsky and Frank
Delaney
Heinz and Liselotte Nehring
Stiftung Foundation
Winged Keel Group
$500-4,999
Eugene and Gina Adams
Anonymous (5)
John Ashford
Lisa Barry and Jim Gale
Bloomberg Philanthropies
Anna Kang Burgess
Ian Tai Kyung Burgess
Jason and Melissa Burnett
Jane Cafritz
Michael Caplin
Alan Cariaso
Kay Casstevens
Cherry Blossom Giving Circle
Claudia de Colstoun-Werebe
Laurie Davis and Joseph Sellers
Bianca DeLille
Christine Doyle
Diane Dragaud
Frank Farrow
FBB Capital Partners
David Fischer and Joy Kassett
Izette and Neil Folger
Julie Frantz
Jameson Freeman and Dana
Tai Soon Burgess
Mary A. Gifford
Susan Gigli
Jenny Goldman
Ross Goldman and Lauren
Roth
Bonnie Hammerschlag
Sergio Herrera and Kelly
Southall
Marcia Alexis Hilton
Celia Hoke
Erick Hosaka
Jill and Bill Hudock
Janice Kaplan
Roxane Kaufmann and Neal
Fitzpatrick
Lisa Kaye
Rebecca Klemm
Leslie Kobylinski
Richard Kwatnoski
Yoko Lawless
Marcia Lim
Barbara and Robert Liotta
Kristen Lund
Elizabeth McCallum
Gale McCallum
Laura McDonald
Kathy McGuire
Alanna McKee
Elvi Moore
Judith Viggers Nordin
Patricia O’Shea
Mark Ohnmacht
Dr. Susan Ohnmacht
Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo
Tina Matsuoka
PenFed Credit Union
Stacey Perelman
Annette Polan
Arnold Polinger
Heather Pultz
Young-Key Kim and Bertrand Renaud
Sheri and Robert Rosenfeld
Joan and Berry Rosenthal
Stephanie Rosenthal and Scott Meisler
Stuart Ross and Patricia Devine
Ben Sanders
Marian and Neel Saxena
Anita Seline and Michael Remez
Scout Properties
Steve Slaughter
Arnie Stolberg
Peter and Judith Storandt
Helen R. Trilling
Maida R. Withers
Yang-Ro Yoon
Barrie Zucal
We appreciate and acknowledge our donors who give between $25-499
*Denotes in-kind services
Photo by Matailong Du
DTSBDC STAFF AND BOARD
Leadership
Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Founding Artistic Director
Christine Doyle, Executive Director
Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo, Associate Director
2025-26 DTSBDC Dancers
Natasha Ames
Joan Ayap
Armani Colón
Christine Doyle
Tomas Fischer
Trevor Frantz
Felipe Oyarzun Moltedo
William Robinson
Baylee Wong
Artists
Anne Sidney, Rehearsal Director
Sarah Halzack, Assistant Rehearsal Director
Judith Hansen, Costume Design
Sigrid Johannesdottïr, Costume Design
Millicent Scarlett, Resident Musician
Dana Nichole Scott, Resident Musician
Staff
Bianca DeLille, Development Director
Patch Canada,
Public Relations Specialist
Jan Tievsky, Educational Principal
Joan Ayap, Wardrobe Supervisor
William Robinson, Production Assistant
Isel Perez, Accountant
Max Goldman, Intern
Riley Horner, Intern Board of Directors
Ellen Boyers Kwatnoski, President
Jan Tievsky, Vice President
Erick Hosaka, Treasurer
Mary Eccles, Secretary
Jack Davis
Jameson Freeman
Susan Gigli
Bonnie Kogod
Marcia Lim
Leigh Adams Slaughter
Kelly Moss Southall
Dana Tai Soon Burgess (ExOfficio)
Bianca DeLille (Ex-Officio)
Advisory Board
Kay Casstevens
Josue Castilleja
Nicole Colameta
Diane Dragaud
Sara Gay Forden
Sarah Halzack
Joshua Kaufman
Kelly Dinglasan Minton
Mark Ohnmacht
Anatol Steck
Yang-Ro Yoon
Organizational Mentors
Patch Canada
Michael Kaiser
Photo by Matailong Du featuring William Robinson
