MARIA MALMSTROM (Tea/Ensemble) Born and raised in Sweden, Maria has been dancing and performing since the age of six from Denmark’s Contemporary Dance School and later to London where she pursued her training at Pineapple Dance Studios. Studying with Benny and Javier Ninja, Maria has since 2012 been a proud member of The Legendary House of Ninja and has entered balls and competitions both internationally and in New York City. Working closely with choreographer Toniah Pedersen has been one of the most positive influences in her career. Maria has worked with choreographers such as Luam, Aakomon Jones, Jermaine Browne, Normann Shay, Soraya Lundy, Hok, Phillip Schebeeb and Binkie Reevey. And clients from H&M x Balmain, Adidas, Bloomingdales, Moncler, The Jimmy Fallon Show, NIKE, Jason Derulo, The GAP and Cirque du Soleil. Every opportunity to perform is a chance to express herself and she is grateful to do what she loves. EVAN MOODY (Flute/Ensemble) is just a kid from Raleigh, NC! His stage debut was ‘My First Bug Jar’ Musical as a 5th Grader at NC State University to now having credits that include: Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande, Mountain Dew, Keke Palmer, Alvin and the chipmunks 4, and Todrich Hall. So thankful for all the opportunities. He would like to thank his parents for helping him find a passion at such a young age and helping to focus and grow with it. Thank you Amanda Pope, Kate Oliver-Cummings, Ebonee Arielle, and David Moore for being hard on him and believing in his dreams. He hopes everything he’s become has made y’all proud!’ DAVID MARKS (Violinist) David Han Marks is a native of Chicago, IL. David collaborates with many musicians and is an active performer of solo, chamber, and orchestral repertoire. His collaborations have taken him across the globe from Disney Hall
in Los Angeles, California to Grosse Hall in Salzburg, Austria, to Moscow, Russia. Performances in New York City have been in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher, Alice Tully, and Bargemusic. David received both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in music from the Juilliard School. David currently resides in New York City. DJ BOO (DJ) is a NY based Fil-Am DJ/musician who has shared the stage with the likes of Ghostface Killah, DJ Kool Herc, KRS-1, Snoop Dogg, and Common. He has backed wordsmiths like Eternia, The Juggaknots, and Omar Offendum. In 2014 he served as a cultural ambassador for the United States, performing and conducting Hip Hop workshops with The Nomadic Wax Collective in Nepal, Mozambique, and Swaziland as part of the American Music Abroad Tour. As the DJ for Brooklyn based dance company, Decadancetheatre, he has had the honor of performing at Jacob’s Pillow. JENNIFER WEBER (Director & Choreographer) “Outstanding Emerging Choreographer” New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) nominee, Jennifer Weber is the artistic director of the award winning, theatrical hip-hop dance company, Decadancetheatre. Her work has been seen in venues across the US, UK, Russia and France including Jacob’s Pillow, The Apollo Theater, The Kennedy Center, London’s Southbank Center, The Everyman in Liverpool, New York City Center, Bumbershoot in Seattle, The Stanislavsky Music Theatre in Moscow and The Music Center in Los Angeles. She has choreographed for American Express, Uber, Ulta, L’Oreal Matrix, Reebok, Bloomberg, Philosophy, Marc Jacobs, CK2 and UK TV show, Blue Peter. Weber was the creative director for the 2016 tour of Lifetime’s Bring it! Live and choreographed the 16/17 tour of PBS’s Odd Squad Live. Weber and The Deca Crew were featured on Season 2 of TruTV’s theatrical competition series Fake Off. www.jenniferwebernyc.com www.decadancetheatre.com www. jenniferwebernyc.com MIKE FITELSON (Writer/Co-Creator) is the executive director of the United Palace of Cultural Arts (UPCA), which originally produced “The Hip Hop Nutcracker” in 2014, and co-created the show with Jennifer Weber, adapt-
ing the story and supplying the images for the scenery. Fitelson has worked to build the arts community in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan for over a decade. He co-founded the community’s annual arts festival, the Uptown Arts Stroll in 2003; served in every capacity of the Manhattan Times, the bilingual community newspaper of Washington Heights and Inwood, from 2002-2011; and serves on the steering committee of the new Washington HeightsBroadway Business Improvement District. ANDREW DIAZ (Set & Props Designer) is a set and props designer making prop magic out of his Brooklyn living room. His recent set designs include: Sox News (Martian Entertainment), Smoke (The Flea), My Daughter Keeps Our Hammer (The Flea), An American Family Takes A Lover (The Cell), and Revenge and Guilt (After Midnight). He has worked with theater companies New York Theatre Workshop, Carnegie Hall, Classic Stage Company, Primary Stages, The Public, Theater For A New Audience, Cherry Lane Theater, Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, among others. Andrew holds a BFA from the University of Arizona School Of Theater Arts. andrewdiazdesign. squarespace.com BURKE WILMORE (Lighting Designer) is a member of United Scenic Artists Local 829 and an honors graduate of Wesleyan University. He was the resident designer for Battleworks (2001-2010) and lit Robert Battle’s Juba, In/Side, Takademe, The Hunt and Strange Humors for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He designed Stephen Petronio’s evening-length ballet Tragic Love, for Ballet de Lorraine at the Montpelier Festival. Since 2005, he has been the resident designer for Keigwin+ Company, lighting Boys, Girls, Canvas, Trio, Triptych, Elements, Birdwatching, Love Songs, Mattress Suite, Exit, and nine iterations of Bolero. His work is in the repertories of Sweden’s NorrDans and Holland’s Introdans. He has also lit the work of Camille A. Brown (Mr. Tol. E. Rance, City of Rain, Good & Grown), Brian Brooks (Again Again), and Keely Garfield (Twin Pines). He frequently collaborates with Broadway star André de Shields, for whom he lit the Louis Armstrong musical Ambassador Satch, the play Killa Dilla, and designed scenery and lighting for De Shields’ production of Ain’t Misbehavin’. Mr.
THE HIP HOP NUTCRACKER
Wanted Cru, at many venues all over the world, including World of Dance. Because of his eclectic training, Alex’s dance style has become a fusion of urban and contemporary styles, strongly influenced by b-boying. Some of Alex’s other credits include Gala de Danza, Youth American Grand Prix, Establish Your Empire, Dance Stellar Productions, Chicago Dance Crash, and Culture Shock Chicago.