*Paloma Querida Note

The staging/reimaging of Paloma Querida is supported by a National Endowment of the Arts Grant, written and received in 2022 by Associate Professor Christian von Howard. This Latinx Dance project centers around the work of Michelle Manzanales, choreographer and director of the School of Dance at Ballet Hispánico in New York City, and aims to provide a culturally rich, artistic entry point into Latinx music, customs, and traditions. As a recently named Hispanic Serving Institution, this project has been housed at Montclair State University, but is a partnership with the First Avenue School of Newark, NJ. Ms. Manzanales along with dance faculty members Susan Pope and Elizabeth McPherson and dance majors from the Dance department have participated in workshops and performances with students from the elementary school on both campuses, creating opportunities for these young artists to dance and create their own personal choreography with similar themes and elements of the work created by Manzanales.

Biographies

Stefanie Batten Bland (Choreographer), a 2023 Creative Capital Winner and 2022 BAM NEXT WAVE–commissioned artist, is a global maker who exhibits a unique blend of African American flamboyance and European sensibility. She situates her work at the intersection of immersive and dance-theater in live and cinematic settings. Based in New York City, she founded Company SBB in France in 2008 and is a longstanding Baryshnikov Arts Center artist in residence. Kolonial, her 2021 dance film, has won 13 film festival awards and was nominated for three Bessies. Batten Bland is casting and movement director for Emursive’s McKittrick productions, serves as performance and identity consultant for Sleep No More and movement director for Eve’s Song at the Public Theater, and was head choreographer of the Paris Opera Comique. As a performer, Batten Bland has danced for Pina Bausch Tanztheater Wüppertal, PunchDrunk, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Compagnie Georges

Momboye, Compagnie Linga, and Pal Frenak. She received her MFA in interdisciplinary arts from Goddard College, is an assistant professor at Montclair State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, and lives in SoHo with her family. IG: @sbb_land

Sam Bloch (Lighting Designer) is a senior at MSU in the lighting design program. He has worked on multiple shows here in the past, including last year’s Spring Dance, and is excited to be ending his time at school getting to work on it again.

Cate Cameron (Rehearsal Assistant), a native of Durham, NC, is a junior at MSU majoring in Dance and minoring in Musical Theatre. She has performed in works by Christian von Howard, Michelle Manzanales, Maxine Steinman, Helen Pickett, and Kathleen Kelley. Her choreographic work has been featured in Dance Makers 2023 and MSU’s Creative Collaborations showcase (2022).

Tommie-Waheed Evans (Guest Artist/Choreographer) is a Guggenheim Fellow whose work explores blackness, spirituality, queerness, and liberation. His training began with Karen McDonald; he later received an Ailey School fellowship and an MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University. A former company member of Lula Washington Dance Theater, Complexions, and PHILADANCO, he has created works for BalletX, Dallas Black, DCDC, and Ballet Memphis, among others. His awards include Resident Fellow at the Center for Ballet and the Arts, Princess Grace Award in Choreography, and Joffrey Ballet Winning Works. He is an assistant professor at UArts and an artist in residence at PHILADANCO.

Kathleen Kelley (Choreographer/Projection Designer) is a choreographer, media artist, and associate professor at Montclair State University. She is the artistic director of Proteo Media + Performance, a collective that produces art at the intersections of technology and the body. Her choreography and video have been featured at venues such as Gibney Center, TheaterLAB, Movement Research, Judson Church, Gowanus Loft, and Triskelion Arts, in festivals such as the Oregon Short Film Festival, Newark International Film Festival, Utah Dance Film Festival, and online at the Triquarterly Literary Magazine, NPR’s First Look, Rutgers University, Philly Fringe, and Whitman College, among many others. She was a 2019 Gibney Work Up resident artist, a Chez Bushwick artist in residence in 2018, and a 2015–16 LEIMAY Fellow. She received her MFA in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her BFA in Dance from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, where she also received the 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award. You can find examples of her work at proteomedia.com

Shaena Kate (Rehearsal Assistant) from Greensboro, NC, is finishing her BFA in Dance at MSU. Kate has performed in works by Stefanie Batten Bland, Urban Bush Women, Pamela Pietro, Emmanuel Phuon, Ordinary Kids, and Leigh Ann Gann, among others. She has presented work at Mark Morris Dance Center, MSU’s Dance Makers, the University of Dundee, and Nutley Little Theatre. Currently, she works for production with Punchdrunk’s NYC ongoing show, Sleep No More.

Amina Kolenc (Rehearsal Assistant) is a senior BFA Dance major at MSU. She has performed in works by Brice Mousset, Urban Bush Women, Stefanie Batten Bland, Michelle Manzanales, and Christian von Howard. Kolenc has participated in the Bates Dance Festival and workshops with the Limón Dance Company, and her choreographic work was featured in MSU’s Dance Makers 2023 and Creative Collaborations 2022. As an administrator, she has interned with Dance New Jersey and Emursive Productions and acted as rehearsal assistant for Pamela Pietro, Jessica DiMauro Marks, and Maxine Steinman.

Michelle Manzanales (Guest Artist/Choreographer) is a New York City–based choreographer and dance educator whose recent commissions include new works for the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and Contemporary West Dance Theatre. Her choreography for Ballet Hispánico, Con Brazos Abiertos, described as a “savvy but deeply sincere meditation on her Mexican American background” (Marina Harss, New York Times ) and “an exceptional, heart-tugging beauty” (LA Times ), premiered in 2017 and has since toured worldwide to critical acclaim, including its feature at the BAAND Together Dance Festival at Lincoln Center and New York City Center’s 2018 Fall for Dance Festival. Other acclaimed works by Manzanales include Sugar in the Raw (Azucar Cruda), which was applauded by the Chicago Sun-Times as “a staggering, beautiful, accomplished new work.”

Manzanales is delighted to share with the MSU dancers Paloma Querida, her homage to Frida Kahlo, which was described by the Chicago Sun-Times as a “gorgeously designed, richly hallucinatory, multifaceted vision of the artist.”

Manzanales is the co-founder of the Latinx Dance Educators Alliance and director of the Ballet Hispánico (BH) School of Dance. She previously led the organization’s professional company as rehearsal director and artistic associate for seven seasons. Manzanales’s newly commissioned work for BH about Juana Inés de la Cruz, or Sor Juana, is set to premiere in June 2023 at New York City Center.

Alyssa Miller (Rehearsal Assistant) is from Richmond, VA, and currently is a junior striving for a BFA in Dance with a minor in Sports Nutrition. She grew up training at Spotlight Studio of Dance and eventually attended Appomattox Regional Governor’s School for the Arts and Technology. Her training allowed for her to travel around the world, which included attending University of the Arts Pre College Summer Institute and Point Park University’s International Summer Dance. Miller has performed in works by Christian von Howard, Pearlann Porter, Maxine Steinman, Katie Swords Thurman, and Michelle Manzanales.

Anthony Levi Morici (Scenic Designer) is a junior in the BFA Theatre Design, Technology, and Management program pursuing lighting and scenic design. His previous credits include lighting designer for Flux Dance Showcase, Jump the Turnstile and assistant lighting designer for Elephant’s Graveyard and Head over Heels (Molloy University).

Brice Mousset (Guest Artist/Choreographer) is founder, artistic director, and choreographer of OUI DANSE, a New York City project-based dance company. Born and raised in Paris, France, Mousset studied Biology and Human Sciences at Nanterre University before falling into the world of dance. After an eclectic performing career in Europe in musicals, operas, TV, and dance companies, Mousset moved to New York City to begin teaching and choreographing. In Europe and the USA Mousset choreographs for OUI DANSE and for film, fashion, circus, operas, and musicals. He has choreographed for Broadway Bares and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and taught and made dances for some of the most prestigious American dance institutions, such as Martha Graham Dance 2, SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, Point Park University, Ailey School Professional Division, Broadway Dance Center, Peridance Center, Joffrey Ballet School, and STEPS on Broadway. Mousset has choreographed for and performed with Christine Dakin, former principal dancer and artistic director of Martha Graham Dance Company. He was also chosen by Robert Battle for the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation New Directions Choreography Lab.

Griffin O’Connor (Production Stage Manager) is both proud and excited to be a part of this collaborative dance piece. Previously, O’Connor has worked on Only Human (ASM) at Vivid Stage; Love’s Labour’s Lost (ASM) and Heathers: The Musical High School Edition (ASM/co-fight director) at Scranton Shakespeare Festival; Black Snow (ASM), Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (ASM), and Rent (ASM) at Montclair State University. He would like to thank the wonderful dancers, choreographers, and the crew as well as his assistant stage manager Johanna for the incredible work that they have done and for the wonderful experience. He would also like to thank his friends and family for always supporting him and his complicated schedule.

Kimberly O’Loughlin (Sound Designer) is a Queer Transfeminine New York City–based sound designer and composer. Selected Off-Broadway/NYC credits include Two by Synge (Irish Rep), While You Were Partying (SoHo Rep), Leaving Eden and Overture (NYMF ’19), Drama League Director Fest 2022 (ART/NY), Ogygia (The Tank), What’s Your Wish (NYMF ’18), and Caroline, or Change (Astoria PAC) .Selected regional credits include I Am My Own Wife (Long Wharf), The October Storm (Hudson Stage), Till (ATG), Into the Woods, Lucky Stiff, and Popcorn Falls (The Barnstormers Theatre). IG:kimomakessounds

Sloan Pearson (Répétiteur) is a dancer, dance teacher, and model currently based in New York City. She is originally from Charlotte, NC, where she began studying dance at Charlotte Ballet under the direction of ballet luminaries Jean-Pierre Bonnefoux and Patricia McBride. Simultaneously, she continued dancing at her performing arts middle and high school, Northwest School of the Arts. During her senior year her mentors introduced her to alumni from Point Park University, which locked her sights on continuing her education in their Conservatory of Performing Arts. With a focus in Modern Dance, she graduated in 2016 with her bachelor of fine arts. While in school, Pearson was offered an apprenticeship with the August Wilson Dance Ensemble. Pearson has danced with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Kybele Dance Theater, Debbie Allen, and Taylor 2 Dance Company. At Taylor, she worked with Ron K. Brown, Larry Keigwen, and most recently Peter Chu.

Dolly Sfeir (Choreographer) grew up in Lebanon and moved to the US at the age of 19. She is a 2022 NYFA/NYSCA Artist Fellow in Choreography. She is the 2019 Grand Prize winner of the Palm Desert Choreography Competition, and recipient of the Ann & Weston Hicks choreographic fellowship at Jacob’s Pillow. She was artist-in-residence for Abingdon Theatre Company and was awarded a production residency with CUNY Dance Initiative to create an evening-length work that premiered in spring 2022. Her commissions include Holstebro Dansekompagni in Denmark, WHIM W’HIM in Seattle, Montclair State University, and CSU Long Beach. Her film It Cries Too Loudly has been at festivals such as San Francisco Dance Film Festival and Portland Film Fest and has received “best short film” from Wilddogs Festival and “best cinematography” from Eastern Europe Film Festival. Sfeir’s work has been performed at the Battery Dance Festival, Diavolo Dance Theater, Alvin Ailey City Theater, and many more. Her work “Everybody Is Happy These Days” is currently touring in Denmark. She graduated summa cum laude from CSU Long Beach with a BFA in Dance. Sfeir appeared in nationwide musicals by the Rahbani Brothers including work choreographed by Debbie Allen.

Maxine Steinman (Choreographer) has presented her choreography at Joyce Soho, 92ndStreet Y Harkness Dance Festival, Westfest Dance Festival, American Dance Guild Festival, DUMBO, Battery Dance Festival, Outlet Dance Festival, and Liberty Hall Dance Festival and was an artist-in-residence at The Church (Mount Vision, NY). She has traveled to Taiwan, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, Cyprus, and Lebanon to teach, choreograph, and perform her work. Jack Anderson and Jennifer Dunning of the New York Times have called her choreography “ingenious” and a “jewel,” and twice she was awarded grants from the O’DonnellGreen Foundation for Music and Dance and a Dance New Jersey Mini-grant (2022). Steinman has created works for Montclair State University, Hofstra University, Fordham Ailey BFA Program, Marymount Manhattan College, the Ailey School, Institut del Teatre, and the University of Colima. Steinman performed with Eleo Pomare (12 years) and worked with Denishawn Repertory Dancers, Mafata Dance Company, Robin Becker, Regina Larkin, Sue Bernhard, Spiritdance, Danceimprints, the José Limón Dance Company (LINKs project), and others. Steinman holds a BFA (Adelphi University), an MA (Teachers College Columbia University), and an MFA (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Peck School of the Arts) and is associate professor and program coordinator of the BFA Dance division at MSU.

Rebecca Vigna (Rehearsal Assistant), a New Jersey native and senior at MSU, will be graduating with her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography this May. Past performance credits include choreographers Grace Buckley, Maleek Washington, Rachelle Rak, Stefanie Batten Bland, TweetBoogie, and Urban Bush Women, among others, and she has dance captained for multiple processes. Past choreography credits include Chicago, Rock of Ages, Broadway World’s Next On Stage Competition, Rent (Montclair State University), and Newsies, which was nominated for Outstanding Choreography at the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards. See her latest work premiering at MSU this May in ZEITGEIST, the spring 2023 Senior Project concert.

Christian von Howard (Artistic Director/Choreographer) is the artistic director of the VON HOWARD PROJECT, a contemporary dance company based out of New York City. As an international artist, he has worked with many dance artists such as Doug Varone, Fernando Bujones, Douglas Becker, Germaul Barnes, Daniel Gwirtzman, and various others. Von Howard is a Fulbright Specialist (2019–21) and a NJ State Council of the Arts Choreographic Fellow (2006), and his choreography has been produced in various venues across the globe including Germany, Japan, Bulgaria, Colombia, Chile, and South Korea and in the States at Dance Theater Workshop (now New York

Live Arts), Joyce SoHo, Dixon Place, and the Ailey Citigroup Theater, among others. His guest artist teaching/residency highlights include the American Dance Festival, Dance It! Festival (Bulgaria), Peridance Dance Center, and the Korean Dance Festival. Von Howard is a 2013–14 recipient of the Distinguished Achievement in Teaching Award from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts, where he was part of the teaching faculty in the Department of Dance & Choreography from 2008 to 2014. He is an associate professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Montclair State University and concurrently teaches at the Alvin Ailey School in NYC, where he has been on faculty since 1998. Von Howard serves as the Northeast Regional director of the American College Dance Association. He holds advanced degrees in Performance and Choreography from the School of Classical and Contemporary Dance at Texas Christian University and from Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.

Olivia Wojtowicz (Rehearsal Assistant) is from New Egypt, NJ. She is currently a junior working towards achieving a BFA in Dance and a minor in American Sign Language. She was a student at American Repertory Ballet throughout her youth and attended their summer intensive until eventually branching out to the Alvin Ailey Summer Intensive in 2019. Since attending MSU, she has performed in many of the works choreographed by the faculty and guest artists, including Christian von Howard, Maxine Steinman, Michelle Manzanales, and Tommie-Waheed Evans.

Acknowledgements

Thank you to Gerald Appelstein for his generous scholarship support for dance majors.