About the Artists and Performers

STYLIST Vivian Chuang

Vivian Chuang is a wardrobe stylist and creative consultant based in New York. Her diverse background in visuals and sports culminate in a singular perspective and considered eye. It is with this sentiment that she creates compelling work with commercial clients such as Nike and on editorial platforms such as New York Magazine and Vogue.

LIGHTING DESIGNER Ben Rawson

Ben Rawson is an Atlanta based Lighting Designer for Dance, Theatre, and Opera, member USA 829. Regional Theatrical/Opera design work can be seen at The Alliance Theatre, Detroit Opera, Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Glimmerglass Opera, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Utah Opera, Atlanta Opera, Florida Studio Theatre, Center Repertory Company, Theatrical Outfit, Aurora Theatre, Actors Express, and others. Dance design work includes collaborations with choreographers Johan Kabborg, Ana Maria Lucaciu, Claudia Schreier, Jennifer Archibald, Troy Schumacher, Remi Wörtmeyer, Kiyon Ross, Bruce Wells, Danielle Agami, Garrett Smith, Omar Roman De Jesus, Houston Thomas, Tara Lee, and Heath Gill as well as with companies such as Atlanta Ballet, BalletCollective, Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, Prisma Dance Festival - Panama, BocaTuya, 92Y, Riverside Dance Festival, Fly On A Wall, and others. benrawsondesign.com

SOUND DESIGNER DJ Potts

Off-Broadway: Traverse32: Triple Threat | PAC NYC: Icons of Culture, Refuge: A concert Series | The Shed: Open Call | The Drama League of NYC: The Bull Jean Stories, Hello Again | REGIONAL: Shakespeare Theatre Company: Kunene and The King | Chautauqua Theater Company: Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine | Vermont Northern Stage: King James. Education: The New School: Romeo & Juliet, Glass n’ Mirrors. | Rutgers: Angela Davis School for Girls With Big Eyes, Holy Week.

STAGE MANAGER Zach Jenkins

Zach is excited to join the BMP / PROTOTYPE Team full time after 10 years of freelancing as a production manager and stage manager for opera, theatre and events in New York City and regionally. Favorite production management credits include The Public Theater, Opera Omaha, Bedlam, Page 73, and The Civilians. Favorite stage management credits include American Soldier at PAC NYC, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, two seasons with Opera Theatre of St. Louis, Houston Grand Opera, Detroit Opera, Hawaii Opera Theatre, The Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, American Repertory Theatre, and Seattle Repertory Theatre.

REHEARSAL VOCAL COACH Matthew Stephens

Matthew Stephens is an in-demand music director and pianist based in NYC. He recently joined the National Tour of The Sound of Music as Associate Conductor and has appeared in concert with world-renowned soprano Deborah Voigt. His work spans opera, musical theatre, and new works, with credits including Carmen (Fort Worth Opera), The Body Politic (NY Musical Theatre Festival), The Mikado (New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players), and Kurt Weill on Broadway at Feinstein’s/54 Below.

Matthew has music directed productions and workshops with Abingdon Theatre Company, York Theatre Company, Seagle Festival, Light Opera of New York, and American Lyric Theater. A strong advocate for new works, he collaborates with composer/librettist duo Hurley & Osborne and has developed projects like Voir Dire (Fort Worth Opera) and The Life and Death(s) of Alan Turing (American Lyric Theater).

A passionate educator, Matthew teaches at Montclair State University and previously held the prestigious Lincoln Center Education Teaching Artist Fellowship.

CAMPAIGN VIDEOGRAPHER Philip Nix

Philip Nix is an award-winning and internationally published photographer and director based in New York City. A Southern native, Philip earned his BFA in Photography before moving to New York to pursue his creative career. Since then Philip has created advertising campaigns, published editorials, and personal projects falling in and out of the genres of documentary, travel, portraiture, lifestyle, and automotive.

Through evocative, cinematic visuals and a commitment to elevate and honor the people and places he encounters, Philip’s passion lies in impactful storytelling from across the globe with work spanning over 18 countries.

CAMPAIGN PHOTOGRAPHER Meyrem Bulucek

meyrem is an award winning romanian photographer and director based in new york city. she has photographed large scale advertising campaigns, editorials, and has been exhibited in numerous fine art galleries and museums around the world, including France, England, Spain, Italy, Scotland, Romania, and United States (New York, Los Angeles, Savannah, Atlanta, Washington D.C.)

Ellis Ludwig-Leone

Ellis Ludwig-Leone writes music distinguished by its narrative sweep and attention to subtle shifts in emotional valence. Lauded by The New Yorker’s Jia Tolentino for his “knack for simultaneously expressing beauty and crisis,” Ludwig-Leone writes works that combine lush, naturalistic textures with moments of thorny complexity to walk the line between wonder and dread. Since coming to international attention as the songwriter behind the celebrated indie band San Fermin—with whom he has released five records, three EPs, and two live albums while touring extensively—Ludwig-Leone has enjoyed a musical double life as a composer of works for the concert hall and stage. 

Together with his bandmate Allen Tate, Ludwig-Leone is a founding partner of Better Company Records, a Brooklyn-based label with an eclectic roster and an emphasis on collaboration. Headquartered out of Better Company Studios in Fort Greene, the label has seen over 150 releases from more than 50 artists since it was founded in 2020. Ludwig-Leone is the recipient of the 2024 Ellis-Beauregard Composer Award, awarded to one composer each year, and is a recipient of residencies from MacDowell, Yaddo, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. He has been the composer-in-residence for the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, and his concert works have been recorded for Sony Classical, New Amsterdam, and Better Company Records. He has composed for a wide range of ensembles and soloists, including ACME, ADAM Quartet, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Attacca Quartet, BalletCollective, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, The Crossing, Decoda, Grand Rapids Ballet, Het Gelders Orkest, Indianapolis Symphony, International Contemporary Ensemble, JACK Quartet, NOW Ensemble, The Knights, New York City Ballet, Orchester im Treppenhaus, Sandbox Percussion, yarn/wire, vocalist Eliza Bagg, harpist Lavinia Meijer, violist Nadia Sirota, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, and more.

Allen Tate

Allen Tate is producer, mixer, songwriter and musician based in Brooklyn, NY. As a performer, he is best known as the lead singer and main collaborator for the indie rock band San Fermin. As a producer, his work has been featured by NPR, Rolling Stone, Under the Radar and many other national outlets as well as being placed on editorial playlists for all of the major streaming platforms and released by major and independent labels. In 2021, Tate founded the label Better Company Records with his bandmate Ellis Ludwig-Leone as a joint venture with The Orchard. 

Allen has released two solo albums under his own name, Sleepwalker (2016) co produced with Ludwig-Leone and, In The Waves (2019) co-produced with John Agnello (Waxahatchee, Sonic Youth, Kurt Vile).

Allen works primarily out of his studio building and label HQ, Better Company Studios in Fort Greene.

Claire Wellin

Claire Wellin is an actor, singer, writer, multi-instrumentalist, educator, and organizer originally from Bismarck, North Dakota. Now living in Brooklyn, Claire, is the lead singer of the indie rock powerhouse San Fermin, makes music as Youth in a Roman Field, teaches kids and adults of all ages, and is a proud volunteer with SURJ NYC. A member of the Recording Academy, she has performed on Broadway (Once: The Musical), written and performed the score for the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway play Accidentally Brave, toured extensively with Delta Rae, San Fermin, and MALINDA, recorded as a singer and violinist on over 40 albums, and regularly composes for dance and immersive visual art projects. Broadway: Once ; National Tour: Once ; Regional: Eastland (Lookingglass Theatre Company) To Kill A Mockingbird, Man In Love (Steppenwolf Theatre Company).

Stephen Chen

Stephen Rodes Chen is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and producer/arranger based in Brooklyn, NY. After studying psychology at Yale University and music at Berklee College, he settled in NYC to forge a fiercely unique musical identity built on multiple disciplines and styles. His original music as Behaviorist explores the hidden and hushed-up sides of human nature, and he demonstrates his energetic performance style as the saxophonist of multiple bands including San Fermin and Ghost Funk Orchestra. As a producer, Stephen is interested in amplifying diverse voices, nurturing unique ideas, and creating new relationships within NYC’s often-fractured music community. Visit stststephen.com for more.

Tyler McDiarmid

NYC-based recording engineer and guitarist Tyler McDiarmid has recorded and mixed many of the biggest names in jazz and acoustic music including John Scofield, Gregory Porter, Chris Potter, Jim Hall, Ron Carter, Fred Hersch, Esperanza Spalding, Lee Konitz, Dave Holland and Ambrose Akinmusire. With over 20 Grammy-nominated albums under his belt, Tyler has earned praise for his ability to capture artists’ true intentions in the studio and on location. In addition to his work in the recording studio, Tyler has over a decade of broadcast audio experience mixing music for NBC’s Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.  He also attributes much of his success and musical aesthetic to maintaining a busy performance schedule. Tyler has played and/or toured with Gil Goldstein, Lenny Pickett, Toots Thielmans, Kurt Elling, Bob Mintzer and Keiko Matsui, among others. He is also the guitarist in the critically acclaimed chamber-pop band, San Fermin (Sony Entertainment).

Griffin Brown

Griffin Brown is a composer-performer, poet, and artist based in New York. Described by The Wire as “impressive” and “original,” his music and performance have been featured at venues and festivals across the United States, Europe, and Canada. Premieres and commissions of various media have come from the S.E.M. Ensemble, Metropolis Ensemble, Yale University Art Gallery, Opera Elect, Princeton University Glee Club, and icarus Duo, among others. His poems appear in The Paris Review, Oxford Poetry, Plume, Poetry Northwest, and elsewhere.

Colin Brookes

Passionate and approachable violist Colin Brookes delights in drawing audiences into his warm, colorful sound world. A Pittsburgh native, his work as soloist, chamber musician, and teacher has taken him across the U.S., Europe, and Central America. An avid chamber musician, he co-founded the Ulysses Quartet and has performed as soloist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He is a winner of the Pittsburgh Concert Society, Symphony North Competition, and Tuesday Musical Club. Festival appearances include Kneisel Hall, Fontainebleau, and Casalmaggiore. Colin champions new music and creative collaborations, including scoring Daniel Pfeffer’s short film Let There Be Sol with members of X Ambassadors. He has worked with Le Train Bleu, A Far Cry, and Cantata Profana, and performed with Ani Kavafian, Diana Ligeti, and others. A Juilliard and Yale graduate, he is pursuing his DMA at Stony Brook with Nicholas Cords and Lawrence Dutton.

Andy Clausen

Andy Clausen is a New York-based trombonist, composer, producer, and educator. A graduate of The Juilliard School, he served as principal conductor and Artistic Director of Jazz at New York Youth Symphony from 2016–2023. In 2021, he joined the faculty of The New School as Artist in Residence and professor of trombone and composition. As a composer, Andy’s work spans orchestral and large ensemble commissions, classical and jazz chamber projects, and scores for film, television, radio, and podcasts. A versatile collaborator, he has performed, recorded, and arranged for artists across genres including Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver, Aaron Dessner, Joanna Newsom, Big Thief, Feist, Common, A$AP Ferg, Maria Schneider, Wynton Marsalis, Bill Frisell, and John Zorn. His projects showcase a unique voice bridging jazz, classical, and popular music.

Lauren Cauley Kalal

Violinist Lauren Cauley is a leading figure in New York’s avant-garde, known for genre-defying performances that push the boundaries of her instrument. Praised as a “mainstay of the local new music scene” (New York Times) and for her “fierce precision” (Cleveland Classical), Lauren has collaborated with renowned artists such as Chance the Rapper, Sigur Rós, George Lewis, Steve Reich, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Wadada Leo Smith, and Saul Williams.

Her international career spans prestigious festivals like Venice Biennale, Newport Jazz, Beijing Modern Music Festival, and Lincoln Center Festival. She has premiered her own compositions at the Guggenheim Museum and performed as a guest artist at institutions like Princeton, Harvard, UC Berkeley, Shanghai Conservatory, and Eastman School of Music. A sought-after recording artist, Lauren has appeared on Grammy Award-winning and Emmy-nominated projects. In 2026, Lauren will appear as soloist with the Columbus Symphony to premiere a new concerto by Jeffrey Mumford.

Addison Maye-Saxon

Addison is currently the Principal Trombone of Symphony in C, has subbed as principal in the Princeton Symphony, and has performed with the American Brass Quintet. He won the Aspen Brass Concerto Competition, and went on to perform the Grondahl Concerto for Trombone and Orchestra with the Aspen Conducting Academy. He was a Young Artist in Residence on Minnesota Public Radio, Performance Today, featured in a solo segment. He has been a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival twice, as well as at the Tanglewood Music Center.

Mckenzie Cahill

Mckenzie Cahill is a musical theater actress based in NYC. She is a rising sophomore at NYU Tisch Drama in the New Studio on Broadway. She is 2024's Orange County Artist of the year and is thrilled to be making her professional debut with The Woods!

Annalise Gehling

Annalise Gehling is a movement artist, choreographer, and performer based in NYC. A graduate of Loyola Marymount University’s Dance and Theatre Arts programs, their work crafts immersive experiences at the intersection of movement, music, fashion, film, visual art, and digital media. Film credits include Amanda Kramer’s feature film By Design (Sundance) and Heavy Boots’ short film Moullier (Cannes). They have collaborated with and performed for music artists Shygirl, Allie X, Audrey Nuna, King Woman, Garzi, and RY X and fashion brands such as Nike and Dreamhouse. They are a founding member of Trin Dance Theatre and co-creator of the performance project FLESH VESSEL with Keilan Stafford.

Influenced by experiences in the underground, Annalise’s work explores the body as an altar to evoke transformation, expression, and rebellion. Their practice lives at the intersection of the sacred and the visceral, inviting audiences into embodied experiences.

Sophie Rose Shapiro

Sophie Shapiro is an actor from Los Angeles with a love for powerful ensemble-driven storytelling. She is a graduate of UCLA’s Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program and a former Joffrey Ballet School trainee. Recent credits include dancing with Disney Live Entertainment, the indie short film Carnival, and performing with her band, The Painted Ladies. She’s proud to be making her NYC debut with the incredible artists of Ballet Collective.

Thomas Hogan

Thomas Hogan is a choreographer and dancer born and raised in New York City. As a performer, Thomas has danced with Annie Rigney, Akira Uchida, GALLIM, and the Verdon-Fosse Legacy. He has performed at venues including New York City Center, the Joyce Theater, the 92nd St Y, and Lincoln Center. Thomas is a 2025 ETD New Choreographer Grant Recipient and a National YoungArts Winner in Choreography. His work has been presented at Bryant Park, the Brooklyn Museum, Xposed Gallery, Chez Bushwick, and the Martha Graham Studio Theater. Thomas is a proud alumni of LaGuardia Arts High School and SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance.

Mizuho Kappa

Mizuho Kappa is a choreographer and performing artist with a degree in Entomology, originally from Osaka, Japan. She has recently performed with Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More NY, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, and Yoshiko Chuma & The School of Hard Knocks, among others. 

Her multidimensional choreographic works have been presented at The Shed, La MaMa, Dixon Place, Gene Frankel Theater, TheaterLab, The Brick, Arts Nova and more. She also collaborates with cross-disciplinary artists, including a neuroscience researcher, a transmedia playwright, a hybrid writer, and a choreographic researcher. These works have been showcased at New Museum, New York Hall of Science, Open Source Gallery, Grace Exhibition Space, City University of Hong Kong, House of Yes, Chocolate Factory and beyond.

Kappa was a resident artist at Experimental Film Virginia 2022, where she performed lead roles in two award-winning films, Devouring Stones Up Close and Sole, both of which premiered at Lincoln Center’s Dance on Camera Festival.

Leslie Andrea Williams

Leslie Andrea Williams, a native of Raleigh, NC, earned her BFA from The Juilliard School of Dance. As a Principal Dancer with The Martha Graham Dance Company, Leslie tours globally, performing iconic roles like Medea in “Cave of the Heart” and the lead in “Chronicle”—a performance that earned a spot on The New York Times’ “Best Dance of 2019” list.

Described as "hypnotic" and "larger than life," Leslie captivates audiences with her ability to embody complex characters and command the stage. Beyond dance, she is a singer, songwriter, actress, model, and movement director. Leslie also serves on the board of the theater company Off-Brand Opera, contributing to its innovative projects. Her diverse talents and passion continue to enrich the performing arts community, making her a dynamic and influential force in the industry.

Arcadian Broad

Arcadian Broad is from Titusville, FL originally. He began dancing in various styles like Tap, Hip-hop and Jazz. After winning a scholarship at ADC IBC, he attended the Orlando

Ballet summer program at age 15 and fell in love with the challenge of ballet. 

Arcadian is a former Principal Dancer for Orlando Ballet, Cincinnati Ballet, Sarasota Ballet for 13 seasons. He danced roles such as Romeo (Romeo & Juliet), Franz (Coppélia), Basilio (Don Quixote), Twyla Tharp's Sinatra Suite, Jerome Robbins’ Fancy Free, Prince Seigfried (Swan Lake), Prince Ivan (The Firebird), Jonathan Harker in Michael Pink's Dracula, Prince Charming

AKA Bob in Val Caniparoli’s A Cinderella Story, The Scarecrow in Septime Webre’s Wizard of Oz

Arcadian is also a choreographer and composer, having created 15 contemporary works and 2 full-length ballets: Beauty & the Beast and WonderLand: Mad Tales of the

Hatter. His full-length productions feature original orchestral scores composed by himself. Arcadian was a Top 10 finisher on Season 4 of America’s Got Talent, and has been featured on The Ellen Show and So You Think You Can Dance.

His theater credits include Tulsa in Gypsy and a Principal Dancer in Flashdance: The

Musical. TV credits include The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Etoile.

Justin Daniels

Atlanta native Justin Daniels embarked on his artistic journey at Tri-Cities High School’s Visual & Performing Arts Program in East Point, GA. He holds a B.F.A. in Contemporary Dance Performance with a minor in Psychology from The Boston Conservatory and abroad at The Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. Now as an New York based dance artist, choreographer, and photographer represented by BLOC NY. Justin has worked with world Grammy award winning artist Jon Batiste and recently with global sensation Serpentwithfeet on “Heart of Brick”, a groundbreaking production intertwining music, theater, and dance. Justin has also been a collaborator in incubators with Dance Lab New York and residences at Kampnagel Summer Festival, Kaatsban, and Turnpark Summer festival. Featured in DanceItalia! (Spring,2021’) and VoyageATL(Spring, 22’) Magazine Justin is committed to exploring and expanding the collectiveness of concert, commercial, and digital dance spaces.

Shizu Higa

Shizu Higa (she/they) is an Okinawan-Japanese American who was born in Tokyo and grew up in the Bay Area as a new generation immigrant. While attaining a Cognitive Neuroscience (B.S.) and Sociology (M.A.) degree from Stanford University, she worked with Alex Ketley and Katie Faulkner. Shizu now moves as a freelance dancer based in NY and hopes to collaborate with other artists, equally excited to imagine a more beautiful reality that embraces multi-hyphenate identities.

Salma Kiuhan

Salma Kiuhan, a south Florida native, studied at Dreyfoos School of the Arts before attending NYU to study dance performance at Tisch and philosophy through the College of Arts & Sciences. Salma has performed works from George Balanchine, Trisha Brown, Andrea Miller, Paul Taylor, and Johannes Wieland, among others; and is the co-founder of sound-movement improvisation collective fai come vai, composing evening-length works in real time. In fall 2025, Salma will be a guest performer with Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch.

Devin Loh

From Fanwood, NJ, Devin Loh is a graduate of the Union County Academy for Performing Arts. She earned a BFA in Dance Performance from Purchase College, SUNY, and is the 2019 recipient of the Bert Terborgh Award. Upon graduation, Devin continued her performance and pedagogical studies at the Martha Graham School as a member of Graham 2. In 2021, she joined the Martha Graham Dance Company and since then, has performed Graham classics and contemporary repertoire by Jamar Roberts, Hofesh Shechter, and Sonya Tayeh across the world. In addition to performing, Devin teaches regularly at the Martha Graham School and as a guest master instructor. Recently, she has been awarded the 2025 Distinguished Graduate Award of UCAPA for her work with students and audiences alike. 'The Woods' is Devin's first performance with BalletCollective!

Marzia Memoli

Marzia Memoli, from Palermo, Italy, joined the Martha Graham dance Company in 2016 and performed lead roles in Graham’s El Penitente, “Steps in the Street” and works by Pontus Lidberg, Bobbi Jean Smith, Maxine Doyle, Lar Lubovitch, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Troy Schumacher and Andrea Miller. In 2018 Dance Spirit said she “may be the...Company's newest dancer, but her classical lines and easy grace are already turning heads”. She graduated with high honors from the Academy of Teatro Carcano in Milan and studied at the Maurice Bejart School, where she performed with the Bejart Ballet Lausanne in the “The IX symphony ”, “La Gaîté Parisienne ”, “Le Sacre du Printemps”.

Solange Rodrigues

Solange Rodrigues is a professional dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher residing in Brooklyn, NY. She is currently dancing with Brooklyn based dance company The Pocket Fuel Groovers, and Harlem based company KR3Ts while teaching at Brooklyn Ballet in downtown Brooklyn. Solange is a graduate of SUNY Purchase College, Class of 2020, with a BFA in dance, and a Concentration in Composition. Solange was a recipient of the Baryshnikov Artist Residency for the Spring 24’ season, as well as the 2022 NYS Choreographers Initiative by the NYS Dance Force, in partnership with the New York State Council on the Arts. She often returns to her hometown of Rochester, NY where she originally trained at Little Red Dance Studio. She spent several years teaching hip hop, contemporary, ballet, and musical theater at various schools and studios throughout the city of Rochester from 2020-2023. She has grown a passion for theater through choreographing Byron-Bergen’s High School productions of Hairspray (2023), Beauty and the Beast (2024) and Honk! (2025). She is often traveling, teaching, and choreographing for studios across the state, and is always looking for opportunities to engage with the community and collaborate with other artists.

Annika Wong

Annika Wong (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer and artist who has worked in theatre, immersive theatrical experiences, and film in NYC. She is currently dancing with The Dynasties (dir. Preston Mui), Gotham Dance Theater (dir. Marc Nuñez) and is excited to be performing this summer in BalletCollective's newest production, The Woods, directed and choreographed by Troy Schumacher. She was co-dance captain and featured dance ensemble for Marina Montesanti's new musical, EXIST, where she worked closely with Broadway veteran Ahmad Simmons. Her work with Bated Breath Theatre Company includes their shows Chasing Andy Warhol and Bittersweet: a new play, the latter of which she was on the creative devising team for. Other credits include The Founding of the World dance visual for BAMPFA by visual artist Kenneth Tam, choreographed by Juri Onuki, as well as David Cartahena Lee’s new immersive dance experience, RESONANCE. She is a 2022 graduate of the Peridance Certificate Program. www.annikawongnyc.com 

Marzia Memoli

Marzia MemoIi from Palermo, Italy, joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 2016. Her repertoire with the Company includes Graham’s The Rite of Spring as the Chosen One, El Penitente, Chronicle, The Princess in Cave of the Heart, Satyric Festival Song, Diversion of Angels, Act of Light, Deep Song. 

She performed works by Hofesh Shechter, Elisa Monte "Treading",  Benjamin Millepied, Bobbi Jean Smith, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Maxine Doyle, Pam Tanowitz, Sonya Tayeh, Lar Lubovitch, Andrea Miller, and Jamar Roberts. In 2022 she performed for Twyla Tharp in "In the Upper Room" and "Nine Sinatra Songs" at New York City Center. During the 24/25 season, Memoli is working with Twyla Tharp for her “60th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee” tour performing nationwide. 

Memoli is a recent recipient of the Fini International Rising Star Award.

Nicole Ashley Morris

Nicole Ashley Morris, a movement artist from Sarasota, Florida, has been passionate about the arts from a young age. She trained intensively with Cheryl Copeland and Sarasota Ballet before earning her BFA in Dance from Florida State University. After graduation, Nicole moved to New York City, where she began working with Kristin Sudeikis and Jackie Nowicki’s NOW Dance Project. She continues to perform actively with Kristin Sudeikis Dance. As a concert dancer, Nicole has performed works by Twyla Tharp, Al Blackstone, Reed Luplau, Lauren Lovette, Troy Schumacher, Hope Boykin, Melissa Hough, Josh Prince, and Cherice Barton. She has also participated in pre-production workshops for several Broadway shows. Nicole’s additional credits include music videos for Darlingside’s “All the Lights in the City,” Ben Harper’s “Uneven Days,” and “Disappear,” and Alison Sudol’s “The Runner,” all choreographed and directed by Kristin Sudeikis

Lorenzo Pagano

Lorenzo Pagano is an international award-winning contemporary performer whose career has spanned across Concert Dance, Theatre and Opera. He started his career by joining the Martha Graham Dance Company in 2012, becoming a Guest Artist and Assistant Rehearsal Director in 2023. He has embodied the most iconic male roles of the repertory and originated starring roles for new works by Lucinda Childs, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Nacho Duato, Andonis Foniadakis, Pontus Lidberg, Hofesh Shechter, Pam Tanowitz among others. In addition, Pagano is a regisseur for the Martha Graham Center and just restaged Chronicle and Panorama with the Rome Opera Ballet Academy in Italy.

In 2024, Pagano was part of the original cast of the musical GATSBY. He has also performed with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet.

Mr Pagano was honored with the Italian International Dance Award as “Male Rising Star” in 2016 and the Premio Nazionale La Sfera d’Oro in  2022.

CO-CREATOR, DIRECTOR & CHOREOGRAPHER Troy Schumacher

Troy Schumacher is an American choreographer, dancer, and director living in New York, NY. His athletic aesthetic draws upon the artists he collaborates with to produce fresh, unexpected results. He is a soloist dancer with New York City Ballet and the founder and Artistic Director of BalletCollective. He has been dubbed a “visionary artist” by TMagazine and is “one of his generation’s most acclaimed choreographers” (PBS). His work has been featured on The New York Times’ Annual “Best Of” list and on the “Highbrow/Brilliant” quadrant of New York Magazine’s Approval Matrix multiple times.

Schumacher’s work has been presented by New York City Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lincoln Center, Performa, Danspace Project, Guggenheim Works & Process, Guggenheim Bilbao, Peak Performances, the Joyce Theater, the Savannah Music Festival, and NYU Skirball Center, among others. He has collaborated with many internationally famous artists including Jeff Koons, Karen Russell, Zaria Forman, Thom Browne, Ken Liu, Ellis Ludwig-Leone, Maddie Ziegler, and David Salle, in addition to famous ballet dancers, Broadway and opera performers, and super models. In addition to live performances, Schumacher has choreographed numerous art, fashion and commercial shoots, including works for Google, Sony PlayStation, Capezio, HP, Aritzia, CRFashion Book, Tom Ford, and The New York Times.

Click here to learn more about Schumacher

CO-CREATOR, COMPOSER & MUSIC DIRECTOR Ellis Ludwig-Leone

Ellis Ludwig-Leone writes music distinguished by its narrative sweep and attention to subtle shifts in emotional valence. Lauded by The New Yorker’s Jia Tolentino for his “knack for simultaneously expressing beauty and crisis,” Ludwig-Leone writes works that combine lush, naturalistic textures with moments of thorny complexity to walk the line between wonder and dread. Since coming to international attention as the songwriter behind the celebrated indie band San Fermin—with whom he has released five records, three EPs, and two live albums while touring extensively—Ludwig-Leone has enjoyed a musical double life as a composer of works for the concert hall and stage. 

Together with his bandmate Allen Tate, Ludwig-Leone is a founding partner of Better Company Records, a Brooklyn-based label with an eclectic roster and an emphasis on collaboration. Headquartered out of Better Company Studios in Fort Greene, the label has seen over 150 releases from more than 50 artists since it was founded in 2020. Ludwig-Leone is the recipient of the 2024 Ellis-Beauregard Composer Award, awarded to one composer each year, and is a recipient of residencies from MacDowell, Yaddo, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. He has been the composer-in-residence for the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, and his concert works have been recorded for Sony Classical, New Amsterdam, and Better Company Records. He has composed for a wide range of ensembles and soloists, including ACME, ADAM Quartet, Alabama Symphony Orchestra, Attacca Quartet, BalletCollective, Brooklyn Youth Chorus, The Crossing, Decoda, Grand Rapids Ballet, Het Gelders Orkest, Indianapolis Symphony, International Contemporary Ensemble, JACK Quartet, NOW Ensemble, The Knights, New York City Ballet, Orchester im Treppenhaus, Sandbox Percussion, yarn/wire, vocalist Eliza Bagg, harpist Lavinia Meijer, violist Nadia Sirota, pianist Simone Dinnerstein, and more. 

Click here to learn more about Ludwig Leone

STAGE DESIGNER & SOURCE ARTIST Jason Ardizzone-West

Jason Ardizzone-West is an EmmyAward-winning stage designer based in New York whose work spans theater, concerts, dance, film, and architecture. From intimate black-box theaters to massive stadium arenas, he creates embracing environments that transform storytelling into shared, deeply human experiences. Originally trained as an architect, Jason brings an innate understanding of space, light, and time to his designs, crafting visual narratives that bridge the physical and emotional landscapes of performance. Most recently, he designed the broadway musical Redwood, which Jesse Green of The New York Times described as “among the most beautiful and wondrous theatrical creations I can recall.”

Jason has collaborated with visionary theater-makers such as Tina Landau, Julie Taymor, Richard Nelson, Es Devlin, Pam Mackinnon, Mira Nair, David Leveaux, Sheryl Kaller, Susan Stroman, Awoye Timpo, Kenny Leon, Robert Barry Fleming, and more. His work also extends to global superstars, including Lady Gaga, Lana Del Rey, The Weeknd, Beyoncé, Dua Lipa, Idina Menzel, Hikaru Utada, Usher, Phish, Pentatonix, and Florence + The Machine.

His achievements include an Emmy Award for Jesus Christ Superstar Live (NBC) and multiple nominations for his innovative contributions to theater and live performance. His designs have appeared in renowned institutions such as The Public Theater, The Atlantic Theater Company, American Conservatory Theater, The Apollo, La Jolla Playhouse, Berkeley Rep, The Huntington, and St. Ann’s Warehouse, among many others.

Jason holds a Bachelor Of Architecture from Cornell University’s College Of Architecture, Art & Planning and an MFA in stage & film design from New York University. He is a proud member of USA 829.

Click here to learn more about Ardizzone-West

COSTUME DESIGNER Elena Velez

Elena Velez is an American fashion designer and entrepreneur from Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Her work is known for its non-traditional synthesis of metalwork and high fashion. Velez graduated from Parsons School of Design and completed her studies at Central Saint Martins in London. Of Puerto Rican heritage but raised in the rust belt, Velez claims that the industrial nature of her nontraditional upbringing as the only child to a single mother who is a ship's captain on the Great Lakes influenced her current artistic identity, one which she says draws heavily on the relationship between femininity and force. Her company was subsequently featured in Forbes for its work with Midwestern makers and mission to 'democratize resources and recognition' for artists outside of traditional creative capitals. Velez is the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s 2022 Emerging Designer of the Year, Elle Magazine’s 2023 Women of Impact recognizé, a 2022 Vogue Fashion Fund winner, recipient of the Fashion Trust US Sustainability Award, she is part of the 2023 Dazed 100 list, attended the 2023 Met Gala, and is a semi finalist for the 2024 LVMH Prize. Her work has been presented in institutions such as the V&A Museum and Barbican Centre. 

Click here to learn more about Velez