Carrie Ahern Dance
911 Cortelyou Road
Brooklyn, NY 11218
carrie@carrieahern.com
Artistic Director:
Carrie Ahern,
a Wisconsin native, is an independent dance and performance artist who has been based in New York City since 1995. She worked primarily as a freelance performer/choreographer for over a dozen dance and theater companies until forming Carrie Ahern Dance in 2005.
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Company Manager
Stephanie Plaitin
A Canadian transplanted to NYC, Stephanie is an emerging writer and performer with extensive experience as an administrator for the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival, North America’s second largest Fringe. She has worked as an actor, dancer, dramaturge, writer, director, producer, and administrator for various productions (in Winnipeg, Vancouver, and New York) and has a comprehensive understanding of literally every angle of theatrical events. She is also Project Director/Producer at Horse Trade Theater Group heading up the forerunning festival on the CAFF circuit, FRIGID New York.
Jillian Hollis
A Syracuse native, Jillian Hollis graduated from Point Park University with a degree in dance. Her studies included concentration in jazz, contemporary jazz, modern and ballet. Since moving to New York City in 2002, Hollis has worked for a variety of choreographers. She is a member of Heidi Latsky Dance, Incidents Physical Theater headed by Edward Winslow and Christina Briggs, Rocha Dance Theater and has danced for Heather Harrington. Hollis has performed in burlesque and cabaret venues throughout NYC. She is a proud member of Jenny Rocha's 'Painted Ladies' who will be performing at LaMama Theater in May with the band 'The Woes'. This is Jillian's first full length project with Carrie Ahern. She is excited to be a part of the world Carrie is creating. Thank you for pushing me to the extreme and allowing me to lose myself in your creation.
Kelly Hayes
Kelly Hayes grew up outside of Chicago and has a BFA in Dance from the University of Iowa. Hayes is Co-Artistic Director, with collaborator Katy Orthwein, of RedShift Dance www.redshiftdance.com, whose work has been shown nationally. In addition to working with Carrie Ahern, Hayes has recently performed with Dixie Fun Dance Theatre and the incomparable cast of Conni's Avant Garde Restaurant www.avantgarderestaurant.com. Recent theatre collaborations include As You Like It for the Stonington Opera House in Maine, and Measure for Measure and The 365 days/ 365 plays Festival with blessed unrest.
David Figueroa
David Figueroa began performing as a child on the streets of Milwaukee, WI as a mime. He danced in New York for numerous choreographers including Sally Silvers, Yoshiko Chuma and the School of Hard Knocks, Douglas Dunn, Bill Young and Dancers, Allison Green, Meredith Monk and Jaime Ortega. His own work has performed throughout the Midwest, at the Painted Bride Arts Center in Philadelphia as well as in New York at P.S. 122, the Judson Memorial Church, and Dixon Place. While living in Provincetown, MA, he began MOVEMENT ARTS, a non-profit dance, movement and wellness center. David currently teaches public and private yoga classes throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan.
www.myspace.com/davidfig
www.myspace.com/davidfig
Donna Costello
Donna Costello is a dance artist focused on performing and teaching, and the findings each brings to the other. She is a founding member of Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance and has built rich relationships creating and dancing for jill sigman/thinkdance, Mollie O'Brien/ mob productions and Jimena Paz. Ms. Costello has a diverse background and has had the pleasure of working with an inspiring group of choreographers over the past years including: Stephan Koplowitz, Barbara Mahler, Juliette Mapp, Naomi Goldberg Haas, Melissa Briggs, Pele Bauch, Kelly Bartnik and others. Ms. Costello choreographed Flying Fig Theater Company's production of Shirtwaist for the NYC fringe and has collaborated on works with fellow dance artist Laura Hymers. She has appeared in dance video work by GKI productions and Anna Brady Nuse. Ms. Costello has been on faculty at Queensborough Commmunity College, Poly Prep Country Day School, and in residence with Cora Dance and jill sigman/thinkdance. She is currently a teaching artist for Lincoln Center Institute, Brooklyn Arts Exchange and Dance New Amsterdam. She began dancing for Carrie Ahern in June 2009.
Anne Hege (Composer)
Born in Oakland, CA, Anne Hege (composer,performer) began her musical studies singing with the Piedmont Children’s Choir and the Oakland Youth Chorus. Formative projects with innovators Keith Terry and Linda Tillery inspired her multimedia leanings. Currently, she performs original works in her performance duos, New Prosthetics and Sidecar, as well as in the vocal trio, Celestial Mechanics while working on her doctorate in music composition at Princeton University. Her latest work lies somewhere between ritual, music, and theater with some homemade instruments thrown in for good measure.www.annehege.com
Olek (set and costume designer)
www.agataolek.com graduated from Adam Mickiewicz University in Poland with a degree in cultural studies. In New York, she rediscovered her ability to crochet and began her crocheted journey/madness. Olek's crocheted camouflage life "armors" have appeared at Under The Bridge D.U.M.B.O Arts Festival, on the vaporetto in Venice, Italy, and at 9th International Istanbul Biennale. Her work has been exhibited at Oliver Kamm/ 5 BE Gallery in Manhattan("a tour-de-force center", Holland Cotter,The New York Times), Photo New York, Chelsea Hotel, Transformer Gallery in Washington D.C., and Metropolitan Pavilion among others. She designed public installations for the 2004 Life Arts Festival in Philadelphia and the 2004 Toronto Fringe Festival, where by introducing crocheted objects (chairs, ladders, couches, tables) she offered a reference to domestic and workplace environments. She designed costumes and set for racoco productions that were called "artworks in themselves" and "fantastically crocheted" by John Rockwell of The New York Times. In 2004, Olek received the Ruth Mellon Award for Sculpture and in 2005 was selected for the artist-in-residency program at Sculpture Space in Utica, NY, where she created an installation/ performance for its 30th anniversary. In July 2007, her new work in collaboration with dance artist Rachel Cohen was presented at The XIV Annual International Contemporary Dance Conference and Performance Festival in Poland. In the summer of 2007, her new collaborative work (inspired by Rene Magritte's painting "The Liberator") with artist Naomi White was showed at Supreme Trading gallery in Williamsburg. Olek has designed sets and costumes for dance, theater, and film. She has also taught costume design workshops for Materials for the Arts www.mfta.org, the source of inspiration for many of her creations. Her work has been reviewed by The New York Times, Washington Post, Observer-Dispatch, WB11 Utica, Newsday, artnews, freewilliamsburg, The Village Voice, Backstage, CNN Turkey, and Radical.
Greg Heffernan (Composer)
is a cellist whose musical passions have led him to work in improvisation, jazz and electronic music. Since moving to New York in 2001, and attending NYU from 2001-2005, Heffernan now works in the city as a freelancer and bandleader in all sorts of musical settings. He studied under cellist Marion Feldman, but it was the teaching of Erik Friedlander that left the most impressionable impact on his musical approach. He has recently been touring the world with the legendary saxophonist Lee Konitz, who played on Miles Davis defining Birth of the Cool album. Other musicians Heffernan has supported include Fred Hersch, Doc Severinson, Burt Bacharach, Alice Coltrane, Ravi Coltrane, Bill Frisell, Kurt Elling, Lucia Pulido, Anat Cohen, and Jenny Scheinman, among others. Heffernan also performs and produces his own electronic-based music under the alias Cosmo D. His latest original electronic album Plantastic Voyage has been called "an album of textural creativity and vision" by CD Baby. Heffernan released an album with his new band, Sauce in the fall of 2007.
www.gregheffernan.com
www.gregheffernan.com
Jennifer A. Cooper
Jennifer A. Cooper has been performing and choreographing in NYC since 1991.
She worked with Ridge Theater from 1993-2001 and was a founding member of
Safer & Secrest. She has had the pleasure of working with many talented artists including, James Godwin, the Elementals, Mac Wellman, Pam Tanowitz,
Karl Anderson and Clare Byrne. Her own work has been presented throughout
NYC, Baltimore and Florida. She co/created Blue Lucy, a performing duo, with
Leigh Secrest and they regularly perform with Uncle Jimmy's Dirty Basement.
She also sews and designs costumes for dance and theater. She has enjoyed
many years of dance adventures with Ms. Ahern.
Carolyn Hall
Originally from Los Angeles, Carolyn Hall has been living and dancing in New York since 1996. She is grateful for all of the opportunities she has had to work as a freelance dancer with a variety of talented choreographers both nationally and internationally and is a recipient of a 2002 "Bessie" award for performance. Carolyn is currently working on additional projects with Lionel Popkin and Allyson Green. Many thanks to Carrie, this great bunch of women and much love to Kelly Ray.
Donna Bouthillier
Donna Bouthillier has been living and dancing in NYC since 1995. In addition to performing with Carrie Ahern over the years, Donna worked with Clare Byrne Dance from 1996-2003. She has also danced with Jennifer A. Cooper, Imago Dance Theatre, and Veracity Dance, among others. She worked for two years with experimental theatre company, Terra Incognita. Donna is currently a member of the Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble, a multi-disciplinary performance group which aims to promote empathy, free-thinking and greater social awareness through provocative theatre. She is also developing work as a part of the Theatre Within Workshop. Donna is a Licensed Massage Therapist and is currently working toward certification in Zero Balancing
Julie Betts,
originally from Iowa, moved to New York in 1996. Since her arrival, she has performed with a diverse group of artists. In addition to Carrie Ahern: Red, she is currently dancing with Kriota Wilberg/Dura Mater and Shannon Hummel/CORA. She is the Office Manager/Education Coordinator for the Brooklyn Arts Exchange, a Brooklyn resident and a bicycle commuter. She holds a Bachelor's Degree in Dance from The University of Illinois. This is her first project with Ms. Ahern.
Yoko Sugimoto
Yoko Sugimoto received her BFA in dance from Nihon University College of Art, and upon graduation was awarded the MARESUKE KAWANO PRIZE for the best artistic achievment of the year. Since moving to NY in 2000, she has worked with Robin Becker,Charles Moulton and Jenny Rocha among others. Her work has also been presented at the DTW-Fresh Track Series and at Aaron Davis Hall for E-Moves.
Christina Briggs
is originally from Virginia where she danced with the Richmond Ballet, the Concert Ballet of Virginia and the Virginia Opera. Since moving to New York, she has worked with many choreographers, including Pat Cremins, Heidi Latsky, and Susan Osberg. Christina is also the Rehearsal Director for the Hudson Vagabond Puppets and the Co-Director of Incidents Physical Theater. Christina will be dancing in Beacon, NY with Susan Osberg in April and at St. Mark's Danspace Project with Heidi Latsky in May.
Eun Jung Gonzalez
is a multi-faceted artist who has worked as a dancer, teacher, choreographer and multi-media artist. Originally from South Korea, she has had wonderful opportunities of performing with companies and collaborators, including Malashock Dance & Co. (San Diego), Sean Curran Co., Allyson Green, Limn Dance Co., Laura Peterson, Risa Jaroslow, Catey Ott, Pulso Ca. de Danza (Mexico), Helena Franz (Sweden), Katja Wachter (Germany), Laughing Stone Dance Co. (Korea), and Eun Me Ahn (Korea). After graduating with a Master's degree in Interactive Telecommunications from NYU, she has worked as a videographer, interactive designer, and graphic designer while continuing to pursue her career in dance. Her own work has been seen in New York, Milwaukee, San Diego, Korea and Mexico. In April 2006. Her collaborative work, with Pulso Cia. de Danza will be presented as a part of Global Exchange at Danspace Project. This is her first performance with Carrie Ahern and she is delighted to be a part of this amazing group of fully talented women
www.mutednarrative.com
www.mutednarrative.com
Kristin Norderval (composer)
www.norderval.org, soprano, is a composer and improviser who specializes in developing new works for voice and interactive electronics. Commissions have included works for Den Anden Opera in Copenhagen, the Bucharest International Dance Festival in Romania, and for jill sigman/thinkdance in New York. She was the recipient of a Norwegian artist's stipend (Statens kunstnerstipend) for 2004 and 2005 for the development of new work and the winner of a Henry Cowell Award in 2005. As a singer her credits include performances as a soloist with the Netherlands Dance Theater, the San Francisco Symphony, Oslo Sinfonietta and the Philip Glass Ensemble. She has recorded for CRI, Nonesuch, Mode, Deep Listening, Eurydice, Aurora and Point records. This year Ms. Norderval assumed the position of Artistic Director for the Norwegian Theater Academy in Fredrikstad, Norway.
Naoko Nagata (costume designer)
Naoko Nagata started her career as a biochemist in Japan. Her evolution into costume making is a long story. With literally no formal training, Nagata's first costume was created for Jeanine Durning in 1998. From that moment, she has been creating nonstop for a diverse group of choreographers and dancers non-stop. She has collaborated with David Dorfman Dance, Bebe Miller, Liz Lerman, David Neumann, Gina Gibney, Nina Winthrop and many, many others. Working closely with collaborators, Naoko helps bring to life what she herself calls, "The creation of a shared dream." Currently she is working with Reggie Wilson for his upcoming show at DTW.
Elena Demyanenko
is a Russian-born graduate of the
Academy of Theatrical Arts (Moscow) and has been
dancing and choreographing in New York City since
2001. She has performed internationally with Nikolai
Androsov's Russian Seasons Dance Company (1994-98),
director Valery Fokin's production of " Van Gogh
too..." (1998), and as guest artist with the Moscow
Ballet in Riverdance (1998-2001).
Elena joined the Stephen Petronio Company in 2003. As a member of the Company she has appeared at the Dance Umbrella Festival (London), The Joyce Theater (NYC), San Francisco Performances, UCLA Live!, New Art New Mexico, UC Santa Barbara, and the Dublin International Dance Festival etc.
Elena has taught internationally at many festivals and frequently in NYC schools including Dance New Amsterdam, Harkness Center for Dance, and Baryshnikov Arts Center. Her choreography has been presented at various downtown venues including BRIC, Wow Theater, Movement Research at Judson Church and Dixon Place. For the last few years Elena was working simultaneously on dance films. In 2007 she was the recipient of a EMPAC Dance Movies Commission.
Elena joined the Stephen Petronio Company in 2003. As a member of the Company she has appeared at the Dance Umbrella Festival (London), The Joyce Theater (NYC), San Francisco Performances, UCLA Live!, New Art New Mexico, UC Santa Barbara, and the Dublin International Dance Festival etc.
Elena has taught internationally at many festivals and frequently in NYC schools including Dance New Amsterdam, Harkness Center for Dance, and Baryshnikov Arts Center. Her choreography has been presented at various downtown venues including BRIC, Wow Theater, Movement Research at Judson Church and Dixon Place. For the last few years Elena was working simultaneously on dance films. In 2007 she was the recipient of a EMPAC Dance Movies Commission.
photo credits:
Julie Lemberger
Michael Faulkner
Olek
King Morgan
Steven Schreiber