Fall Student Dance Concert Friday, November 10 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 11 at 7:30 p.m. BLC Theater Rider University 2083 Lawrenceville Road Lawrenceville, N.J.
A Note from the Curator The choreographers and I would like to welcome you to our very first Rider University Student Dance Concert. Today marks a special moment in which the Department of Performing Arts presents this new event. Our dance program is proud to support and nurture tomorrow’s budding young choreographers who are all so very talented. What you will see this evening is a showcase of innovative dance works that are completely student generated. The works presented are a confluence of dance films, site specific choreographic studies, and live performance of solos, duets, and significant group works. Rider’s vibrant dance program is proud to present these twelve student choreographers who range in expertise from new freshmen students who have newly joined our program to graduating seniors who have studied with us for four intense years. I am proud of the accomplishments of our dance majors and also excited to present the first student concert. It is an honor to curate this performance and bring it to the Rider stage. Thank you for attending tonight’s performance. We hope you enjoy the show! Sincerely, Christine Colosimo Visiting Lecturer of Dance Department of Performing Arts College of Arts and Sciences Curator, Fall Student Dance Concert
PROGRAM Breath Choreography
Amanda Pescatore Catch My Breath by Kelly Clarkson
Ariana Cotto Lauren Feldman Mekhia Gwynn Ian Kent
Amanda Pescatore Itai Serra Toby Trish Megan Kukulka
Interconnecting Choreography Kate Harbinson and Jamie Peña Dear Reader, Mirrorball, You're Losing Me, Evermore, and Seven by Taylor Swift Alexa Barreiros Kayla Faynor Victoria Figon Sophia Frosoni Kate Harbison
Marissa Hassan Jamie Peña Keiaira Rainey Kaylie Smith Marissa Stellato
Acknowledging Vulnerability Choreography
Marissa Stellato I Love You by Oliver Tank
Kate Harbison Jamie Peña
Itai Serra Marissa Stellato
I Have Nothing Choreography
Adrianna Noel I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston
Mekhia Gwynn Megyn Kukulka
Adrianna Noel Felicia Roehm
Warped Reality Choreography
Alexa Barreiros Mia's Mission by Cornel Wilczek Quain by Cornal Wilczek Le Monde by Richard Carter
Keiaira Rainey Sophia Frosoni Alli Fama Kayla Faynor Madison Reilly Sharp Ariana Cotto
Jamie Peña Felicia Roehm Kate Harbison Victoria Yzaguirre Francesca Roehm Kaylie Smith
Dance Film: Within the Space Choreography
Victoria Figon Victoria Figon
Ode to Sappho Choreography
Sharp Pomegranate by Quarterly Kate Harbison Madison Reilly
To The Studio Choreography
Ian Kent What Kind of Love by Childish Gambino Feeling Like the End by Joji my future by Billie Eilish
Jamai Brown Ian Kent Jamie Peña Itai Serra
Sophia Frosoni Hailey O’Hagan Keiaria Rainey
Unified Closure Choreography
Kayla Faynor Le Gentil and the Transit of Venus by Rob Scallion Sunrise by Coldplay
Sharp Marissa Stellato
Kayla Faynor Victoria Yzaguirre
The Mind Place Choreography Koy L. Withers At Les [Verus Beatless Versions] (Feat. Francesco Tristiano, Les Siècles and FranćoisXavier Roth), At Les, At Les (Christian Smith's Hypnotica Remix) by Carl Craig Kaniah Browne Sophia Frosoni Jossie Hunter Anastasia Katsaras Ian Kent
Hailey O’Hagan Madison Reilly Aniky Salima AJ Tilmon
Dance Film: What Was I Made For Choreography and Video
Madison Reilly Music by Billie Eillish Madison Reilly
My Mind Choreography
Jossie Hunter My Mind by Yebba
Kaniah Browne Victoria Figon Sophia Frosoni Destiny Gardner
Jossie Hunter Itai Serra Koy L. Withers
~ Intermission ~ Fortanach Choreography
Aniky “Niky” Salima Music by Ólafur Arnalds and Alice Sara, Ezio Bosso, Luca D’Alberto, and Peter Gregson
Kaniah Browne Ariana Cotto Destiny Gardner Marissa Hassan Jossie Hunter Anastasia Katsaras Ian Kent Megyn Kukulka
Hailey O’Hagan Madison Reilly Itai Serra Sharp Toby Trish Koy L. Withers Victoria Yzaguirre
Production & Administrative Team Dance Curator Technical Director Lighting Design Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences Director of Production Management Director of Performance Management Associate Director of Performance Management Photographer
Christine Colosimo Buck Linton Todd Loyd Kelly Bidle Jason Vodicka Buck Linton Kristen Rodgers Leandra Acosta Peter Borg
Student Production Team Administrative Assistant Administrative Assistant Stage Manager Lighting Designers
Social Media Program Design Program Design Videographer
Aniky Salima Kaniah Browne Brock Warren Paula Ciko Abigail Dorwart Brock Warren Kaylie Smith Aniky Salima Kaniah Browne Riley Dun Will Dusinberre
About the Choreographers LEX BARREIROS, CHOREOGRAPHER, is a senior Dance studies and Elementary Education major with a minor in Middle School Education with a certification in Spanish. She has performed in Rider Dances since her freshman year here at Rider University. She has been in performances off-Broadway with the tap city youth program. She was also recently invited to perform in the META conference in Italy in Merli Guerras’ Constellation Stories piece. KAYLA FAYNOR, CHOREOGRAPHER, is a junior Dance major with a minor in Psychology. She is active in the dance community at Rider performing in shows such as the Fall 2022 Dance Day performance, Rider Dances 2023: Expanding Communities, and is part of various clubs such as Rider Dance Ensemble, Rider Dance team, and the Chinese club. After completing her undergraduate degree, Kayla intends on coming
back to Rider to pursue a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a concentration in Dance Movement Therapy. KATE HARBISON, CHOREOGRAPHER, is a junior Dance Performance and BFA Acting double major. Past Rider performance credits include: Rider New Works, Rider Dances: Here We R, The Children's Hour, and Rider Dances: Expanding Communities. Past Rider choreography credits include: Spring Opera: LAST WORDS and Rider Student Theater Company's Lonely-Hearts Club Cabaret. JOSSIE HUNTER, CHOREOGRAPHER, is a Psychology major with a minor in Dance. She began dancing competitively when she was 13 years old and has had a passion for dance for as long as she can remember. She has traveled to California, all around New Jersey, Philadelphia, and New York taking classes with some of the best and wellknown choreographers. IAN KENT, CHOREOGRAPHER, is making his Rider University stage debut as a choreographer and a dancer in the 2023 Fall Student Dance Concert. He is a freshman Arts and Entertainment Industries Management and Dance Performance double major. Ian is excited to join the Rider Dance community, but will always remember his 15 years spent at his home studio, The Dance Factory, in Skillman, NJ. He hopes the audience enjoys his piece and all of the other wonderful student choreography as well! ADRIANNA NOEL, CHOREOGRAPHER, is a sophomore Elementary Education and Dance double major. This is Adrianna’s second performance in the dance department. JAMIE PEÑA, CHOREOGRAPHER, is a Dance Performance major with a double minor in Arts and Entertainment Industries Management and Entrepreneurial Studies. Her Rider performance credits include Rider Dances: Here We R and Rider Dances Expanding Communities, and she choreographed for the Rider Student Theatre Company's The Lonely-Hearts Club Cabaret. She represented Rider University in Florence, Italy at the Meeting of European Theatre Academies 2023, performing Desiderium. This past June, Jamie participated in the Battle of the Boroughs, celebrating 50 years of Hip-Hop. AMANDA PESCATORE, CHOREOGRAPHER, is a senior at Rider University and currently teaches dance at Talk of The Town Dance Studio. During her time at Rider, she has completed an internship with The Walt Disney World Company® and has toured with dance competitions. She has previously performed on the Rider University stage in Rider Dances and with the Rider Dance Ensemble. After graduation, she plans to continue teaching the arts and to pursue a performance career. ANIKY SALIMA, CHOREOGRAPHER, is a senior double majoring in Dance Performance and Acting for Film, Television, and Theatre. Her Rider credits include: Rider Dances: Negotiating Balance, Rider Dances: Here We R (Assistant Stage Manager), Rider Dances: Expanding Communities, Rider Dance Day, Rider New Works (Spotlight Operator). Her professional credits include: Desiderium: Remnants of Longing performed
in Florence, Italy with Luminarium Dance Company (Guest Artist), Constellation Stories: Stories of the Night Sky, and Sporadic Moon Phases (Soloist). SHARP, CHOREOGRAPHER, is a sophomore Dance Science major and Philosophy minor in the Baccalaureate Honors Program. They are on a path to a Doctorate in Physical Therapy post-graduate, and a current performing member of Redef Movement. They focus on choreography about philosophical concepts and political commentary, in contemporary, modern, and ballet styles. They are Community Outreach Chair and a choreographer for the Rider Dance Ensemble. MARISSA STELLATO, CHOREOGRAPHER, is a senior Dance Performance major with a minor in English Writing. Previous performances include: Desiderium: Remnants of Longing performed in Florence, Italy with the Luminarium Dance Company, the spring and fall Rider Dance Ensemble showcases, and performances with the Rider Dance team. Some of her past favorite roles include Arabian/Coffee solo from The Nutcracker, “Boredom” in Untitled by Laney Englehard for Rider Dances 2022: Here We R. Over the years, she has enjoyed the opportunity of choreographing for the Rider Dance Ensemble as it has allowed her to expand her creative mind. KOY WITHERS, CHOREOGRAPHER, is a dancer, choreographer, and educator based in New Jersey and Philadelphia. He is currently a senior at Rider University with a dual major in Dance and Elementary Education. His recent performances feature Cinderella with Princeton Youth Ballet, Rider Dances 2023: Expanding Communities, Dance Day.
About the Production & Administrative Team LEANDRA ACOSTA, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT (she/her), is a graduate of Rider University with degrees in dance performance and arts administration. During her time performing at Rider, she was awarded both the Dance Merit Scholarship and Mildred S. Hawkins Dance Scholarship and helped adopt the Dance Mentorship Program. She is grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many fantastic choreographers during her time performing at Rider including: Kate Ladenheim, Randy James of 10 Hairy Legs, Angela Cusumano, Merli Guerra of Luminarium Dance, Jennifer Gladney, Robson Alves, Lynn Neuman of Artichoke Dance, and Ryan Davis. She was recently featured as a choreographer for the 2023 Senior Dance Capstone performance, Acknowledgements. In her role as Associate Director, Leandra creates programs for and manages the social media pages for the Department of Performing Arts and Westminster Choir College. CHRISTINE COLOSIMO, CURATOR (she/her), Visiting Lecturer of Dance, PhD Candidate, MA, BFA, CMA, is a working dancer-scholar, choreographer, dance educator, and arts administrator. Degrees earned from Teachers College, Columbia University, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, Temple University (ABD), and the Laban Institute of Movement Studies NYC. Christine’s scholarly research is based on the American modern dancer, Erick Hawkins, where she was a
company member, teacher, and assistant to the company. Christine has collaborated with visual artists from around the world creating pieces that combine live dance with video dance, live music with electronic music, and live dance with light painting and photography. Her interests lie in the collaborative process of working with visual artists, musicians, photographers, videographers, poets, and opera singers. Christine is New Jersey State certified in Dance Education and K-5 Education. BUCK LINTON, DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT/TECHNICAL DIRECTOR. Earning his MFA in Scenography and Technical Design (Virginia Tech), Buck joined Rider University as its Technical Director in 2012 and became the Director of Production Management in 2022. He professionally produced more than 200 productions with such venues as The Kennedy Center, Paper Mill Playhouse, Manhattan Theatre Club, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse and McCarter Theatre. Selected works include Travesties, Sleeping Beauty Wakes, Take Flight, Herringbone, Lookingglass Alice and A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Falstaff, Die Zauberflöte, Pelléas et Mélisande, Dialogues des Carmélites, La Clemenza di Tito, Oreste, Sunjata Kamalenya, The Odyssey Experience, Die Fledermaus, Rigoletto, Turandot, Chicago, EDDA (Ping Chong & Sequentia Ensemble, international tour). Since 2012, he has produced more than 100 productions for Rider University’s College of Arts and Sciences in the performing arts. TODD LOYD, LIGHTING DESIGNER, is the lighting director for Rider University’s Department of Performing Arts. He supervises the lighting for every performance that the department produces in addition to mentoring several students that assist in designing, hanging, focusing, and programming the lighting for each show. At Rider he has designed over 30 productions including plays, musicals, dance recitals, cabarets, and operas. Some of the highlights include Kiss Me, Kate, Clean Slate: A World Premiere Musical, The One-Act Play That Goes Wrong, Urinetown, Cabaret, Polaroid Stories, Rider Dances: Moving in Our Community, Pippin, Bright Star, Hair, Heathers The Musical, The Theory of Relativity, Once On This Island, She Kills Monsters, Our Town, A Chorus Line and Metamorphoses. Other selected professional projects include Rock of Ages and Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery at Forestburgh Playhouse, Clean Slate: A World Premiere Musical and The Gun Show at Passage Theatre, and Journey to Oz with the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte and Experiential Theater Company. SAMUEL STEPHENSON, COORDINATOR OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT (he/him/his), received his Bachelor of Arts degrees in English Literature and Music from Wabash College, graduating magna cum laude under a full-ride Lilly Scholarship. As a Joseph Flummerfelt Scholar, he received his Master of Music in Choral Conducting with distinction from Westminster Choir College. Samuel has performed with many choirs across the world. He toured with the Wabash College Glee Club internationally to Taiwan and organized and managed the renowned Choral Institute at Oxford, a summer program at the University of Oxford for inspiring conductors to work with leading figures in the choral world. He has performed with The Same Stream, whose recordings can be found on all major music services, and at the
Weiwuying National Center for the Arts as part of the opera chorus for Verdi’s La Traviata. Most recently, Samuel conducted Morten Lauridsen’s Mid-Winter Songs with the Westminster Choir in concert at Washington D.C. He currently works as the Performance Management Coordinator at Rider University and Music Director at St. Andrew’s United Methodist Church in Warminster, PA.
Congratulations to the Senior Dancers! ALEXA BARREIROS ‘24 is a senior Dance Studies and Elementary Education major with a minor in Middle School Education and a certification in Spanish here at Rider University. Barreiros is involved in the Gail Biernbaum Women's Leadership Council and the Rider Dance Ensemble. She has been involved in Rider Dances as someone backstage and a dancer since her freshman year here at Rider. She recently went to Italy to perform in Merli Guerra's Constellation Stories at the META conference. Barreiros currently teaches at Millstone Dance and plans to continue teaching there even after she leaves the Lawrenceville area. After graduation ,Barreiros plans on moving back home to North Jersey and becoming an elementary school teacher who can teach dance or just the regular subjects to young minds in the elementary school she gets a job. KANIAH “KEKE” BROWNE ‘24 is a senior Dance major with a minor in Entrepreneurship. Keke has performed in Rider Dances and Dance Day at Rider. She is currently teaching at Ms. Cece’s School of Dance Arts located in Lansdowne, PA while also performing with Rider Dance Team. After graduation, she plans on opening multiple dance studios, while still educating the youth on dance education in dance studios. She also plans on enrolling in cosmetology school to continue her love of beauty. ANASTASIA KATSARAS ’24 is a Dance Science major. She is currently performing with the Rider Dance Team and participated in two pieces in the Fall Student Dance Concert. She is on the executive board of the Rider Dance Team as a Risk Manager and part of the Rider Club Sports Council. Previously she has performed with the Rider Dance Ensemble every spring, performed in 2023 Rider Dances: Expanding Communities, and was on tech crew for the 2023 Senior Capstone showcase: Acknowledgements. She plans on getting an internship soon. After graduation, she plans to attend graduate school to become certified as an athletic trainer for dancers or collegiate athletes. AMANDA PESCATORE ‘24 is a Dance Performance major with a minor in Psychology. Amanda currently teaches dance at Talk of The Town Dance Studio. During her time at Rider, she has completed an internship with The Walt Disney World Company® and has toured with dance competitions. She has previously performed on the Rider University stage in Rider Dances and with the Rider Dance Ensemble. After graduation, she plans to continue teaching the arts and to pursue a performance career.
ANIKY SALIMA ‘24 is a senior double major in Dance Performance and Acting for Film, Television, and Theatre. During her time at Rider, Salima has performed in Rider University’s annual dance showcase: Rider Dances, and Dance Day. Salima also works as a choreographer, creating pieces for dance studios in NYC/New Jersey. MARISSA STELLATO ‘24 is a senior Dance Performance major with a minor in English Writing. Previous performances include Desiderium: Remnants of Longing performed in Florence, Italy with Luminarium Dance Company, the spring and fall Rider Dance Ensemble showcases, and performances with the Rider Dance Team. Before attending Rider, Stellato studied original Fosse choreography with Mary Ann Lamb, Bill Hastings, and Justin Boccitto. Stellato is influenced by the choreography of Twyla Tharp and Isadora Duncan. She enjoys the challenge of taking contemporary ballet into other forms of dance, especially hip hop, and pushing to expand her interpretive abilities. Plans after graduation include auditioning for performance opportunities, companies, Broadway shows, Radio City Rockettes, etc., and choreographing for studios and local community/high school theatre. KOY WITHERS ‘24 is a dual major in Dance and Elementary Education. Since coming to Rider in 2020, he has performed in Rider Dances, Dance Day, as well as with the Princeton Youth Ballet. In the future, Koy plans to partner and work with different initiatives to bring the performing arts into public schools. Additionally, he plans to be a rehearsal director for local companies before expanding himself nationwide.
About Rider University and The Department of Performing Arts Located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey, Rider University is a private co-educational, student-centered university that emphasizes purposeful connections between academic study and real-world learning experience. Rider prepares graduates to thrive professionally, to be lifelong independent learners, and to be responsible citizens who embrace diversity, support the common good, and contribute meaningfully to the changing world in which they live and work. The College of Arts and Sciences is dedicated to educating students for engaged citizenship, career success, and personal growth in a diverse and complex world. The college cultivates intellectual reflection, artistic creativity, and academic maturity by promoting both broad academic inquiry and in-depth disciplinary study, while nurturing effective and ethical applications of transferable critical skills. The College consists of four schools: the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, the School of Communication, Media, and Performing Arts, the School of Science, Technology, and Mathematics, and Westminster Choir College. Through its dynamic mix of academic programs, The Department of Performing Arts helps aspiring professional performers, producers, managers, designers, technicians and entrepreneurs find their unique path in an ever-evolving industry. Acknowledged as innovative and contemporary, the Department of Performing Arts aspires to build a more equitable, engaging and sustainable future for the performing arts while exploring the many diverse historical, cultural, social and creative threads that add to our rich tapestry.
Rider University gratefully acknowledges the generous support of: The Martinson Family Foundation for its support of theater technology equipment. Michael T. '89 and Susana Santaguida '89 Gummel for their support of our new Rider Friend of the Arts patron program.
Upcoming Performances FALL OPERA: SUOR ANGELICA & HERMIT SONGS Friday, November 17, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, November 18, 7:30 p.m. Rider University – Yvonne Theater RIDER UNIVERSITY CHORALE CONCERT Saturday, November 18, 7:30 p.m. Rider University – Gill Chapel WESTMINSTER JUBILEE SINGERS FALL CONCERT Sunday, November 19, 7:30 p.m. Rider University – Gill Chapel WESTMINSTER CONCERT BELL CHOIR AT OCEAN COUNTY COLLEGE Friday, December 1, 7:30 p.m. Ocean County College WESTMINSTER CONCERT BELL CHOIR: TOMORROW SHALL BE MY DANCING DAY! Saturday, December 2, 4 p.m. Gill Chapel NATASHA, PIERRE AND THE GREAT COMET OF 1812 Friday, December 8, 7:30 p.m. Saturday, December 9, 2 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. Sunday, December 10, 2 p.m. Rider University – Bart Luedeke Center Theater AN EVENING OF READINGS AND CAROLS Friday December 8, 8 p.m. Saturday, December 9, 8 p.m. Princeton University Chapel – Princeton, NJ FOR MORE INFORMATION ON UPCOMING PERFORMANCES, SUBSCRIPTION AND PATRON PROGRAM OPTIONS, VISIT RIDER.EDU/ARTS.