John Heginbotham, Choreographer & Artistic Director (he/him) Originally from Alaska, John Heginbotham graduated from The Juilliard School (1993) and was a member of Mark Morris Dance Group (1998-2012). In 2011, he founded Dance Heginbotham, a contemporary dance company based in Brooklyn. John received a 2018 Guggenheim Fellowship and the 2014 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award. As a freelance choreographer, John’s projects include Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy; the Tony Award and Olivier Award-winning revival of Oklahoma!, directed by Daniel Fish; and John Adams’s Girls of the Golden West, directed by Peter Sellars. John is the Director of the Dartmouth Dance Ensemble and is a founding teacher of Dance for PD®
CAST
Lindsey Jones, Performer (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based dancer and herbalist, originally from St. Louis, MO. A SUNY Purchase alum, she has been a member of Dance Heginbotham and Pam Tanowitz Dance. Lindsey has performed with Trisha Brown Dance Company, Kimberly Bartosik, Sally Silvers, Bill Young, Caleb Teicher, and others. Since 2012, she has collaborated with the Merce Cunningham Trust, performing Merce’s repertory. She is certified to teach Cunningham Technique® and Dance for Parkinson’s. lindseycjones.com
Joey Kipp, Performer (he/him), born in Brazil and raised in Mtn. View, CA, with a BA in Biology and Dance from Marymount Manhattan College. Joey has worked with Heather Kravas, Heidi Latsky, Bill T. Jones, David Byrne, Ani Taj, Yasmine Lee, and Steven Hoggett. Joey is a collaborator with Pioneers Go East and has been featured in the New York Times for his work with Biba Bell, Stacy Grossfield, and Jody Oberfelder.
Paige Barnett Kulbeth, Performer (she/her) is from Lafayette, LA, with a Chemical Engineering degree from University of Louisiana (2017). After college, she began creating dance installations at Basin Arts and was soon commissioned to direct the rework of NYC artist Tina Girouard’s Mardi Gras Suites and Quartets (1974/2018). Paige has danced with Dance Heginbotham and Karole Armitage in the Marc Jacobs Spring 2020 Fashion show. vpbarnett.com
Mykel Marai Nairne (she/her) is a Bessie-nominated dance artist, administrator, and creative producer from New York City. After receiving a BA from Dartmouth College, Mykel joined DH in 2018. Since then, her performance work has brought her to venues across the US, including St. Ann’s Warehouse, Jacob’s Pillow, the Whitney Museum of Art, and Danspace Project. Mykel currently collaborates and performs with Monica Bill Barnes & Company, Jordan Demetrius Lloyd, and Megan Williams Dance Projects. MykelMaraiNairne.com
Daniel Pettrow (he/him) is a Brooklyn-based interdisciplinary artist, actor, director, and teacher. He is the Director of Performance and Communication Training for Heifetz International Music Institute. For the last 20 years, Daniel has worked closely with renowned French director Arthur Nauzyciel: Julius Caesar, Splendid’s, Black Battles with Dogs, Roberto Zucco, Hetero, and Jan Karski. Daniel is an associate actor with New York City-based experimental theater company The Wooster Group.
Cindi Qi is a violinist with over a decade of professional experience. She has received her bachelor of music from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University where she played with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and later received her master’s of music from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. Cindi currently resides in Florida, where she is currently second principal of the Florida Philharmonic; the associate concertmaster of the Sarasota Chamber Orchestra; and the concertmaster of the North Bay Chamber Orchestra.
DANCE HEGINBOTHAM (continued)
PRODUCTION
Shana Crawford, Production Stage Manager (she/her), is a production manager, lighting designer, dancer, and producer. Recent collaborators include Dance Heginbotham, Abigail Levine, Lime Rickey Intl, Jessie Young, Juliana May, jaamil olawale kosoko, Laurie Berg, and Madeline Best. You can find her at the Chocolate Factory Theater, producer of 4 River to River Festivals and organizer with AUNTS. sortofhere.com
Colin Jacobsen, Composer (he/him) was selected to receive a prestigious and substantial US Artists Fellowship for his work with Brooklyn Rider and orchestra The Knights. He has written pieces for Emanuel Ax, singers Anne-Sofie Von Otter and Jamie Barton, banjo player Bela Fleck, mandolinist Avi Avital, clarinetist Kinan Azmeh, and choreographers John Heginbotham and Brian Brooks. Jacobsen is the Artistic Director of Santa Fe Pro Musica.
Maile Okamura, Costume Designer (she/her) is a San Diego native and danced with Boston Ballet II, Ballet Arizona, and for over 20 years with Mark Morris Dance Group. She currently performs with Pam Tanowitz Dance. Maile has designed and constructed costumes for Dance Heginbotham, Mark Morris Dance Group, Pam Tanowitz Dance, Tanglewood Music Festival, Houston Ballet, Atlanta Ballet, Bard College, Middlebury College, American Classical Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, and JACK Quartet.
Emily Schmit, Lighting Designer (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based lighting designer and collaborative artist working in theater, dance, music, fashion shows, live events, installation, and immersive experiences. Emily is an artistic associate with immersive theater company Optika Moderna and resident lighting designer of the Monterey Jazz Festival. Proud member USA829. www.emilyschmit.com
serena wong, Lighting Designer (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based freelance lighting designer for theater and dance. Her designs have been seen at Lincoln Center, Fall for Dance at City Center, the Joyce, and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, among others in the US and abroad—including, oddly enough, a Celebrity cruise ship. Most recently she has designed for choreographers LaTasha Barnes, Gemma Bond, Caleb Teicher, Leonardo Sandoval, and Bill T. Jones.
Omar Zubair, Sound Designer (he/him) After writing his first book Disorientation Therapy in 2007, Omar Zubair found that the closer to the core of being he looked, the more blurry it became, so he began to listen to it instead. And ever since, listening has become his primary compositional technique—whether creating a theatrical score for The Wooster Group, sound designing for a blind choreographer so that she can continually orient toward the audience, or improvising with a dance class at Juilliard to coax authentic movement out of each student.
NATURE PROVIDES HERB WALK with Bob Linde
Bob Linde, AP, RH Acupuncture Physician, Registered Herbalist (AHG) took a circuitous route to becoming an herbalist and acupuncture physician. His career changed many times; commercial lobster and conch diver, treasure hunter, sail and canoe instructor, wilderness youth counselor, long-line fisherman, infantryman in Desert Storm and GreenPeace worker. He grew up in the Bahamas and learned a great deal of the food and medicine that we can find here in Florida.
Now, for over 20 years, Bob focuses as the owner of Acupuncture & Herbal Therapies in St. Petersburg Florida and the director of Traditions School of Herbal Studies.He lectures regularly at conferences, colleges and organizations around the US. You can see many of the past episodes and bioregional classes on the Traditions School of Herbal Studies Youtube page. Bob is also a traveler and travel writer. He has lived in Europe and traveled to the Amazon, Galapagos, Yukon Territory, Caribbean and throughout the US. Bob recently completed 12 episodes for INTI TV,“Sanaciones con Bob Linde”, an exploration of indigenous people’s herbal practices. He has also appeared on Animal Planet and a number of other tv shows. Find out more at www.acuherbals.com and www.traditionsherbschool.com
COMPAGNIE ZOLOBE (MADAGASCAR)
Sakasaka
Vagnonjara, Author, composer, actor, and musician
Vagno’s favorite instrument is the kabôsy (traditional guitar of Madagascar). He also plays the electro-acoustic guitar, the harmonica, and the djembe. He was one of the first members of the Zolobe company and organized the Zegny’Zo street arts festival for 11 years. In 2012, he created his own group named after his instrument (Vagno Kabôsy) and has since recorded 2 albums (Lemarijy in 2014 and Mahatsiaro in 2022). Vagno participated in the IZAO project with “Growing up with dignity” Diégo-Suarez prison juvenile section. His encounter with clowns gave him the opportunity to develop a new direction in his musical work by creating the original music for the show Zarazarao (2012) and the show Sakasaka (2019).
Hervé Randriamanana, Actor, musician, clown, artist, and music teacher
With a solid theoretical and practical musical training initiated at age 8, Hervé plays and performs on the guitar, djembe, piano, flute and his favorite instrument, the accordion (diatonic and chromatic). He’s been a member of Zolobe since 2010 and is also an accordion teacher in a music school in the city of Diégo-Suarez. Hervé discovered the art of clowning with Julien Delime in 2010 and joined the team of the show Zarazarao and Sakasaka with Zolobe. Thanks to his musical skills, he was part of several musical groups such as the Vagno Kabôsy group and the Lamalama group in Diégo-Suarez.
Ridel Bezara, Clown, actor, musician, author, director, puppeteer, and festival organizer
In 2010, Ridel discovered the art of clowning and has participated in the show Zarazarao co-produced by the company Matapeste, based in Niort in France, and Sakasaka Zarazarao was performed more than 350 times internationally, allowing him to become a professional in the field of live arts. Ridel has been a member of the Zolobe since 2005. In 2017 he created his own percussionist company (DS Velively) that brings together young people from different neighborhoods of Diégo and with this new company he launched a percussion festival, the Takadoum. Ridel plays the djembe, the congas, the cajon, and the faré. As a teacher, he gives theater workshops in diverse organizations such as detention centers, Alliances Françaises of Madagascar and in various Malagasy and French associations.
Jacquelin Jaozafy Riller, Clown, actor, puppeteer, dancer, stilt walker, author, and director
After starting out in drawing and photography, Jacquelin discovered the live arts and joined the Zolobe company in 2007. A very good traditional dancer, he is in charge of illustrating the music pieces with dance demonstrations during the company’s concerts. He also started playing the kaïamba rambo (traditional bamboo percussion) and singing. A curious and multidisciplinary artist, he embraced the art of clowning under the direction of Julien Delime. This art allows him to exploit his talents in body games and improvisation. He joins the show Zarazarao in which he can give free rein to his fertile imagination. This show allows him to become a professional. He renews this challenge on stage where he takes the place of “auguste” in the clown trio of the show Sakasaka
Mohamad is above all a dancer trained in many disciplines: urban dance, classical, modern, and capoeira. This solid training has given him a great sense of rhythm and an excellent physical condition. He discovered clowning in 2010 with Julien Delime, with whom he created the show Zarazarao, co-produced by the Cie Matapeste, which has been developing clown shows internationally for more than 20 years and which ensures their distribution. Zarazarao has been performed more than 350 times and has earned him professional recognition in his country, Madagascar, and beyond. He has been a member of the Zolobe company since 2006. In the company’s concerts, Mohamad plays the rhythm with traditional Malagasy maracas, the faré. He also participates in many events organized by the Zolobe (Zegny’Zo festival, awareness shows, and interventions in the neighborhoods of Diégo-Suarez). In addition to his commitment to the Zolobe, Mohamad is the head of a dance association and is very active in the field of youth training (dance, capoeira). He is also trained in combat sports such as French boxing and Creole moringue. He even obtained his diploma of referee and official delegate of these disciplines.
Julien Delime, Clown, juggler, comedian, stilt walker, lecturer, and director
A professional in the circus arts for more than 25 years, he studied the foundations of clowning at the Centre National des Arts du Cirque under the direction of Paul-André Sagel with professors and former students of the Jacques Lecoq school (Norman Taylor, Jos Houbens, Alain Gautré, Martine Dupé). Apart from his performance work, Julien is a pedagogue of the gestural arts and lecturer on nonverbal language.
GELSEY BELL
Gelsey Bell, Composer/creator
Gelsey is a Brooklyn-based songwriter, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and scholar. In addition to mɔɹnɪŋ, her recent works include Cairns, Skylighght, Mouthful, and shuffleyamamba: Yamamba as a Bear. She is the Co-Artistic Director of thingNY and Varispeed, and has released multiple albums including the recent Heads Together. Performance highlights also include Dave Malloy’s Natasha, Pierre, & the Great Comet of 1812 (Broadway) and Ghost Quartet; Robert Ashley’s Foreign Experiences and Improvement; Darius Jones’s Samesoul Maker; and Kate Soper’s Here Be Sirens. gelseybell.com
Tara Ahmadinejad, Director
Tara is an Obie-award-winning director and co-founder of the live arts collective Piehole. Recent Piehole works: Disclaimer (Drama League Award Nominee) and Christmas Mountain. Other recent directing includes Grief Hotel by Liza Birkenmeier (Clubbed Thumb/The Public); Sarah Einspanier’s Lunch Bunch (Clubbed Thumb/PlayCo); and digital collaborations with Satoko Ichihara (Japan Society), Eliza Bent (New Georges), and Scarlett Kim (Oregon Shakespeare Festival). NYTW Usual Suspect; New Georges Affiliated Artist; MFA in Directing, Columbia University.
Mia Pak, Performer
Mia Pak is a performer, singer-songwriter, and passionate climate advocate based in Brooklyn, New York. Recent Off-Broadway credits include Three Houses (Signature Theatre), Suffs (The Public Theater), Your Own Personal Exegesis (LCT3), and In The Green (LCT3). She releases music under the name “miamiamia” and will be releasing a full album this fall titled All Too Much. Represented by Nicolosi & Co Talent Agency. IG: @ miajpak and @miamiamusic
Brian McCorkle, Performer
Brian is a composer, performer, and digital artist. McCorkle was the co-director of Panoply Performance Laboratory (PPL) for over a decade and is a founding member of Varispeed Collective. As a composer McCorkle has written music for 6 original operas with PPL, and several scores for theater, dance, installation, and performance art. Residencies include Yaddo, LMCC, Momenta Art, Harvestworks, and many more. McCorkle holds degrees in Comparative Literature, Music, Computer Science, and Applied Mathematics.
Aviva Jaye, Performer
Aviva is a multi-disciplinary artist and performer. Recent projects include Lydian Gale Parr (Target Margin), An Incomplete List musical by Dante Green (Prism Fest 2024), Samesoul Maker (Roulette), Colored School No. 3 (National Sawdust) and We Can Change the Country by Darius Jones (Roulette); composer for LORDES (New Ohio Theater); music direction and performance for Four Questions, (LaMama). Aviva is a band member with Arthur Moon, Dessa, Echo Bloom & Raia Was. linktr.ee/avivajaye
Paul Pinto, Performer
Paul creates and performs multi-disciplinary opera-theater, installation, and performance. Some highlights include Patriots with Jeffrey Young, Peter Maxwell Davies’s Eight Songs for a Mad King, Whiteness with Kameron Neal, Robert Ashley’s Perfect Lives, and Thomas Paine in Violence He sang and danced on Broadway in Dave Malloy’s Great Comet of 1812 and created many tiny performances during the pandemic. He’s currently creating a hypermasculine monodrama Mano a Mano, directed by Kristin Marting. pfpinto.com
Afsoon Pajoufar, Scenic Designer is a NYC-based designer of stage and environment for play, opera, and other live performances. Recent works include Cyrano de Bergerac (Pasadena Playhouse), Fuente Ovejuna (Theatre for a New Audience), Adoration (Beth Morrison Projects), Out of Character (Berkeley Rep), Molière’s Dom Juan (Fisher Center at Bard SummerScape), English (Studio Theatre), Lady M (HeartBeat Opera), Word. Sound. Power. (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Paper Pianos (EMPAC). She is a member of USA829. afsoonpajoufar.com
Masha Tsimring, Lighting Designer Masha Tsimring (Lighting Designer) Off Broadway: Six Characters (LCT3); Staff Meal (Playwrights Horizons); Grief Hotel (Clubbed Thumb); Sad Boys in Harpy Land (Playwrights Horizons/Abrons Art Center); Terce (PROTOTYPE); Self Portraits (Bushwick Starr); Montag (Soho Rep). Dance/ Opera: Me. You. We. They. (LA Dance Project); Deepe Darknesse (Lisa Fagan/Lena Engelstein); The Hunt (Miller Theater); Rodelinda (Hudson Hall); Der Freischütz (Wolf Trap Opera). She is a proud member of USA829. More info at www.mashald.com.
Ásta Bennie Hostetter, Costume Designer Ásta is a costume designer for new work, strange performances, and plays. Recent projects include: The Coast Starlight (Lincoln Center), The Bandaged Place (Roundabout), Dom Juan (Bard Summerscape), Gnit (TFANA). Favorite New York world premieres include: Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie (Mad Ones), Dance Nation (Playwrights Horizon), Wolves (Lincoln Center), John (Signature), Men on Boats (Playwrights Horizons). Ásta also directed Marie It’s Time, a production with her company minor theater. USA 829 member.
Hidenori Nakajo, Sound Designer
A New York-based award-winning sound designer. Off Broadway & NYC: Molly Sweeney (Irish Rep), Still (Colt Coeur), The Life & Smiles of Marc Summers (New World Stages), The Creeps (Playhouse 46), OCTET (Signature, Obie Award), Autumn Royal (Irish Rep, Drama Desk nom., Henry Hewes Design Awards nom.), Dodi & Diana (Colt Coeur). Music Composition: he recently made international theatre debut as composer for New Renaissance In Paris—Pyramid of 1989 in Tokyo, Japan.
Katie Scibelli, Touring Stage Manager
Katie Scibelli is a stage manager and designer/technician from Staten Island, NY. Management credits include The How and the Why with Good Egg Theater, the 2023 TYA tour of Ellis Island: Gateway to a Dream with Sundog Theatre, and the last three annual Night of Covenant House Stars galas for Covenant House International. She holds a BA in Drama from Vassar College.
MONDO BIZARRO
Invisible Rivers
Monique Verdin is a citizen and former councilwoman of South Louisiana’s United Houma Nation and stewards The Land Memory Bank & Seed Exchange. For decades, she has intimately documented the complex interconnectedness of environment, economics, culture, climate, and change in southeast Louisiana. Her Indigenous Houma relatives and their lifeways at the ends of the bayous, in the heart of America’s Mississippi River Delta, have been the primary focus of her storytelling practice. She is the subject / co-writer / co-producer of the documentary My Louisiana Love. Her interdisciplinary work has been included in environmentally inspired projects, including Cry You One as well as the publications Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas and Return to Yakni Chito: Houma Migrations
Mondo Bizarro Productions is a New Orleans-based company that has been creating interdisciplinary art and fostering creative partnerships in local, national, and international communities for 18 years. Our creative endeavors range from ensemble performances to large-scale community festivals, from innovative digital storytelling projects to site-responsive productions. As artists of place, our journeys begin and end in New Orleans: we tour to embolden our efforts here. Our creations embody the urgency of our desire to listen to our land and culture, develop allies in collective action, and provide a platform for using art as a tool to understand what makes us commonly human and individually unique. Since 2002, our wide array of imaginative projects have toured to art centers, universities, and outdoor locations in 38 states across the country and abroad.
Mondo Bizarro has been utilizing the arts as a tool for catalyzing emotional engagement in the essential social and environmental issues of our region for the last 22 years. From 2012-2019 we produced Cry You One, an interdisciplinary project featuring a 2.5-mile outdoor processional performance with 17 uniquely designed spaces, an online storytelling platform, a music concert, and a series of cultural organizing salons. In the spring of 2014, Cry You One’s cultural organizing salons toured to 5 states along the Gulf Coast. Working directly with local, regional, and federal policy makers, salon participants created a collaborative action plan that was presented to President Obama’s Restore Council. During this time, we partnered with over 50 local, state, and federal organizations in 14 states and learned a tremendous amount about the complexities of producing large-scale outdoor gatherings on or near bodies of water.
