The Essence Of Being - Drexel Dance Ensemble

May 30 & June 1, 2024

7:30pm Department of Performing Arts presents

The Essence of Being

Mandell Theater — 33rd & Chestnut Street

$5 Drexel Students

$15 General Admission

Photo Credit: Johanna Austin

DREXEL DANCE ENSEMBLE CORE VALUES

We strive to provide a safe environment where students can be imaginative, explorative, challenged, surrounded by pluralistic ideas, and guided to achieve artistic and technical goals. We value hard work, working as a team, and the communal spirit it takes to achieve a fully produced dance performance. This home – and place of artistry – will serve the students. This is a place for dancers to learn, expand, unite, and be.

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

Dear friends,

Welcome to the beautiful Mandell Theater! FreshDance, our company of freshman dancers, has joined the upperclassmen ranks of Drexel Dance Ensemble this spring for our final performances of the year! For the past four months, sixteen professional and student choreographers and their casts have rehearsed for hours to bring a broad array of artistic visions to life. Producing sixteen works is ambitious, but we strongly believe that experiences with professional choreographers will develop the performance and technical abilities of our dancers and offer them a post-graduation network. As part of our value system/philosophy, we equally believe in the importance of amplifying our dancers’ unique voices through choreographic mentorship. We are excited to present the culmination of these experiences!

The two performances of The Essence of Being feature eight works choreographed by regional and NYC professional artists, including two Guggenheim Fellowship awardees, Silvana Cardell and Netta Yerushalmy. Choreographer Val Iffil opens the show with ova, the second iteration of a collaborative work exploring tensions navigating gender expectations and expressions. Tim Stickney’s To the Moon launches his cast into the stratosphere to the inimitable tunes of the Rolling Stones and David Bowie In Amor (Love), Silvana Cardell uses the ebb and flow of water to speak of love and remembrance. Dara Meredith brings the magical rhythms and songs of Umfundalai to life in Body Language which closes the first act. After intermission, Camille Moten Rennie showcases the aesthetic and dynamism of contemporary jazz dance in suite / one. Netta Yerushalmy restages her quirky and highly entertaining Pictograms especially for DDE. Rebecca Malcolm-Naib’s Instinctual captures an essential element of humanity. To close the show, Melanie Cotton whips dance club culture, including ballroom scene Voguing and Waacking, into a fabulously fun concoction in Untitled.

Thank you so much for coming and enjoy the show!

Warmly,

Becky Malcolm-Naib, Director of Drexel Dance Ensemble and FreshDance

ALETTERFROMTHEPROGRAM ANDDEPARTMENT

Welcome to this presentation by the Dance Program in the Department of Performing Arts. Dance is a way to express oneself that can only be expressed through embodiment. It is also a platform for understanding other cultures and people; it is about human connection. We hope that the students involved in this performance feel themselves represented, and at the same time learn about others. We also hope the same for our audience. We want all who come to feel comfortable and enjoy the concert, finding ideas and vocabularies that are familiar to them, as well as new concepts and ways of moving.

Both the Dance Program and the Department of Performing Arts are dedicated to providing rich and meaningful artistic opportunities while at Drexel. We offer them the opportunity to perform in large, organized, and professionally directed ensembles. Our goal is to give them the best experience we can offer while they are here and prepare them for an artistic life after graduation. We prepare and encourage our students to continue with dance whether it be a vocation or an avocation.

We want to take this opportunity to thank the dedicated and talented dance faculty in our Department. These accomplished professionals not only create opportunities to learn and develop, but also share their passion for dance, which is contagious to the students. We are so grateful to them for all they do.

We appreciate your support by being here. On behalf of the students and faculty, we sincerely thank you for attending this performance.

MiriamGiguere,PhD PerformingArtsDepartmentHead

The Essence of Being

ova

Choreographed by Val Ifill and Dancers

Dancers: Molly Fernandez, Piper Filiault, Aria Iuso, Ella Karow, Hannah Kryman, Emily Uhler

Music: “Worth it” by Moses Sumney,“Tokyo

/ Vermont Counterpoint” by Steve Reich, “This Feeling” by Alabama Shakes

Costumes: Julie Padovan

Lighting: Dom Chacon

Set/Props: Chris Tatora

TotheMoon

Choreographed by Tim Stickney

Dancers: Catherine Citsay, Catherine Conway, Paige Gibson, Sophie Jarger, Audrey Kingree, Sara Kocinsky, Josie Mangano, Ellie Matus, Brigid O’Neill, Georgia Parsons, Sasha Sapon, Understudy: India Scott

Music: “She’s A Rainbow” by The Rolling Stones, “Starman”by David Bowie

Costumes: Julie Padovan

Lighting: Dom Chacon

Amor(Love)

Choreographed by Silvanna Cardell "Amor"(Love),settoClaudioMonteverdi's"AriadelaNinfa,"encapsulatestheintricatedualityofgrief Monteverdi’sstirringharmoniesand poignantmelodiesenhancetheemotionallandscape,reflectingthe transformativepowerofloveandremembrance

Dancers: Mayrav Bader, Chahak Chawrekar, Ellie Engleka, Grace Fisher, Anna Gordover, Lex Gorman Kaitlin Gwanmesia, TJ Kroger, Chloe Mazza, Kara Moran, Brigid O’Neill, Sage Warmund

Music: “Aria de la Ninfa” by Monteverdi

Music Performed by Alexandra Day

Lighting: Dom Chacon

Set/Props: Chris Tatora

BodyLanguage

Choreographed by Dara J. Meredith

Dancers: Mayrav Bader, Maya Bryan, Anna Cham Joey Cody, Catherine Conway, Emily Cratin, Eowyn Crowley, Summer Dilworth, Imani Gegner, Sophie Jager, Dakota Langlitz, Mareina Mitchell, Emma Polyak, Neha Rani, Sami Sienkiewicz, Anastasiya Tarasevich

Music:“Andando Pela Africa” &“Baianá” by Barbatuques

Costumes: Allyson Mojica

Lighting: Dom Chacon

suite|one

Choreographed by Camille Moton Rennie

Dancers: Morgan Cruise, Emilia Daguanno, Mary Grace Dempsey, Madison Handfinger, Quincy Hines

Hannah Kryman, Rachel Lee, Ellie Matus, Sara Patterson, Emma Riddell, Kaleigh Stuart, Emily Uhler

Understudy: Aria luso

Music: “My Queen is Mamie Phipps Clark” & “My Queen is Harriet Tubman”by Sons of Kemet

Costumes: Allyson Mojica

Lighting: Dom Chacon

PICTOGRAMS(DrexelSpecialEdition)

Choreographed by Netta Yerushalmy

*PICTOGRAMS (2014) was commissioned by the American Dance Festival and premiered there with an ensemble of 19 dancers and original lighting design by David Ferri. It has since been restaged numerous times. This version for Drexel was created, in part, with and for these 13 wonderful dancers

Dancers: Piper Filiault, Grace Fisher, Alexa Gorman, Sara Kocinsky, Aria Iuso, Audrey Kingree, Audrey Miller, Brigid O’Neill, Callie Pierpoint, Molly Reilly India Scott, Kaleigh Stuart, Lyutfiya Yussupova

Music: “Nautilus” & “Bpm 130” by Anna Meredith, “ny” by Mark degli Antoni

Costumes: Allyson Mojica

Lighting: Dom Chacon

INSTINCTUAL

Choreographed by Rebecca Malcolm-Naib

Dancers: Emily Cratin, Summer Dilworth, Erin Ford, Ella Herman, Paloma Parrotta, Emma Polyak Marideth Read, Lismari Rosario, Madeleine Yurchuk, Rebecca Wolin

Music: -“Flying Kite” by Paolo Vivaldi, “La Genese” “Crowds” & “I Come from the Ocean” by Armand Amar

Costumes: Julie Padovan

Lighting: Dom Chacon

Untitled

Choreographed by Melanie Cotton

Dancers: Morgan Cruise, Mary Grace Dempsey

Miguelfi Guzman, Marissa Powell, Nova Schreiner

Madison Simoes, Marianna Solares, Preslie Winn

Lyutfiya Yussupova

Music: “SOS” & “Sneaky” by Little Sims

Costumes: Julie Padovan

Lighting: Dom Chacon

ABOUTOURPROFESSIONALARTISTS

Rebecca Malcolm-Naib (Director & Choreographer) danced professionally with ZeroMoving Dance Company, Karen Bamonte Dance Works, Chamber Dance Company, Freedman/ Coleman Dance Company, Claudia Murphey Dance Company, Battery Dance Company, and with several independent choreographers in prestigious venues including the Joyce Theater (NYC), Meany Center for the Performing Arts (WA), Walker Art Center (MN), Jacob’s Pillow (MS), Annenberg Center (PA), Saltzburg Tanz Festival (Austria), and The Kennedy Center (DC). She was Co-Founder and Co-Director of Travesty Dance Group from 1997-2010. Rebecca’s choreography has been performed in Cleveland, Seattle, Philadelphia, Maine, Toronto, Houston, and New York City. She is the 2022 recipient of the Ellen Forman Memorial Dance Award for her choreography. Rebecca has taught full-time at the University of Washington and Kent State University, master classes at several U.S. colleges and universities, at Bates Dance Festival’s Young Dancers Workshop, and as adjunct faculty at Bryn Mawr College and Swarthmore College. She is the Director of the Drexel University Dance Ensemble. Her research has been published in Impulse: The International Journal of Dance and Science, Medicine, and Education. Rebecca graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Holyoke College and received her Master of Fine Arts from the University of Washington She was a member of the Board of Directors for BalletX from 20122021 and rejoined the board in 2022.

Abby Toll (Producer & Stage Manager) is a graduate of Drexel University with a Bachelor of Science in Entertainment and Arts Management. Since graduating in 2018, she has worked as a freelance Stage Manager and Arts Administrator in Philadelphia and the surrounding areas. She has worked for Delaware Shakespeare, Inus Nua, Azuka, and many more. When not working in the arts, Abby is a preschool teacher, working with kids ages 3-5. She loves introducing the magic of the arts to young minds.

Mary Elizabeth Stickney (Assistant Director) is a graduate of Drexel University with a Bachelors of Science in Dance and a Masters of Science in Elementary Education with a Special Education certificate. As a teacher of 6 years, this is her third year as a case manager and special education teacher at Pastorius-Richardson Mastery Charter School in Philadelphia. Mary is an alumnus of ArtistYear, an AmeriCorps teaching artist fellowship program; she completed her service year in 2017-2018 teaching movement fundamentals and choreography for South Philadelphia elementary students. Mary enjoys freelance performing and choreographing; she choreographed for the Philadelphia Youth Ballet’s 2015 Spring Concert. Mary has studied and worked with global and local artists including David Parsons, Boris Charmatz, Tania Isaac, Leah Stein, Antoinette Coward-Gilmore, Beau Hancock, and Caroline O’Brien.

Britt Whitmoyer Fishel (Assistant Director) is an award-winning choreographer, screen dance maker, educator, scholar, and author. Her work examines relationships between the ephemeral nature of live performance and the permanence of dance in the digital sphere, with a research focus on the rhizomes of feminism, gender gap, the environment, and their relationships to each other. She holds a BFA in Dance from East Carolina University and a MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan. Fishel has led company tours throughout New York City, Philadelphia, D.C., Richmond, Asheville, Charlotte, Raleigh, Wilmington, Atlanta, Chicago, London, and Italy Her screen work has been seen in Greensboro Dance Film Festival, Y’allywood Film Festival, Detroit Dance City Festival, EnCore Dance on Film Festival, DanceBARN, Dance for Reel, FilmFest by Rogue Dancer, Women in Dance Leadership Conference, FringeArts, MashUp Dance’s IWD Festival, as well as several gallery exhibitions across the country. Outside of Drexel Dance, she is the director Britt Fishel and Artists and Opine Dance Film Festival. In 2021, Fishel received the Primo “Lorenzo il Magnifico” International Award for Performance from the Florence Biennale. Most recently, Fishel authored “The Screendance Practitioner’s Workbook: A Pre-Production Guide for Creativity and Organization” in 2022.

Dom Chacon (Lighting Designer) is a Lighting Designer and Production Manager based in Philadelphia. He has been working in Philadelphia since he arrived here in 2002 from the University of Iowa. Taking a small break to get his MFA from Temple University he has been involved in many projects around the East Coast. He is an Adjunct Professor at Drexel University and the Lighting Coordinator for the Lang Performing Arts Center at Swarthmore College. In Philly he has designed for Walnut Street Theatre, Azuka, People’s Light and many more Outside of Philly his work has been seen at Capital Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, Bowery Street Theatre and Long Wharf Theatre. He is dedicated to making theatre a collaboration as well as a learning experience. In addition to his theatre work he is very passionate about his civic duties volunteering for Planned Parenthood, The Trevor Project, and the ACLU. Some of his favorite collaborations have been Peter and the Starcatcher (Walnut Street Theatre), Nes Quitez Pas (Opera Company Philadelphia as an ALD), Blood Wedding (PAC), Dido+ (Curtis Opera). To find out more check out his website domchacon.com

Asaki Kuruma (Costume Designer and Costume Shop Manager) is originally from Japan, a multi-disciplinary artist who has been working professionally with many theater companies and artists in the Philadelphia area. Design credit: Tick, Tick...Boom! (Theatre Horizon), The Lehman Trilogy, Backing Track (Arden Theatre), Percy Jackson the Lightening Thief, Songs for the New World (Drexel Theatre), Cymbeline (Delaware Shakespeare), Death of a Driver, 72 Miles to Go..., Man of God (InterAct Theatre), The Taming!, Pericles (Shakespeare in Clark Park), the Spanish Tragedy, House of Desire, A Midsummer Nights Dream (Villanova Theatre), Boycott Esther (Azuka Theater), Las Mujeres (Power Street Theatre Company), Tiger Style! (Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists), Romeo & Juliet, Complete History of America, Abridged, Measure for Measure (Commonwealth Classic Theatre Co). Asaki is also the Costume Shop Manager at Drexel University. MA -Villanova University. Next up: world premiere of Siluetas the New Musical with Power Street Theatre Co.

Chris Totora (Production Manager and Scenic and Prop Designer) is the Technical Director/ Production Manager for the Mandell Theater. Outside of Drexel, Chris serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Vineland Regional Dance Company. He holds a BA in Theatre and a MA in Arts Administration from Rowan University.

Allyson Mojica (Costume Designer) is designer and seamstress new to the Philadelphia arts scene from North Carolina. Currently, she holds the title of Costume Supervisor at Sesame Place in Langhorne, PA. Previously, she has done freelance design for musical theatre and dance including shows such as Kinky Boots, School Girls: The African Mean Girls Play, and Urinetown. Outside of theatre, she has done Bridal alterations, Interior design production, and general crafts. She would like to give thanks to her mentor Cybele Moon for this opportunity to be introduced to the Philadelphia theatre and dance community.

Julie Padovan (Costume Designer) is a costume designer and theater technician. Her previous credits include: Costume Designer- Disney Descendants at Wolf Performing Arts Center (2023) , Drexel Dance Ensemble & Fresh Dance Winter and Spring Concerts (2022). Wardrobe Supervisor- This is The Week That Is (2023) at 1812 Productions, The Play That Goes Wrong (2023) at 1812 Productions.

Silvana Cardell (Choreographer) dancer, choreographer, and educator, a 2022 Guggenheim Fellow in Choreography since 2022. With roots in Argentina and the US, she has directed dance companies and developed programs in both countries. Cardell’s performances blend dance, theater, and visual arts, and draw inspiration from her personal experiences and cultural background. Her work addresses social issues and challenges dominant cultural narratives. Her projects have received significant funding, including the National Endowment for the Arts, Pew Center for the Arts & Heritage, and the New England Foundation for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, and Mid Atlantic Foundation of the Arts. Committed to advance dance in her communities, Cardell has found several organizations, including EDA Escuela de Danza del Abasto, a three-year professional dance training program sponsored by Secretaria de Cultura de la Nacion in Argentina, and Sala Ana Itelman, a performance space sponsored by the Instituto Nacional del Teatro in Buenos Aires and Cardell Dance Studio in Philadelphia In Philadelphia, Cardell has collaborated extensively with Manfred Fishbeck at Group Motion Dance Company, Myra Bazell and Madison Mario at Scrap Performance, Merian Soto, theater director Blanka Zizka and created Cardell Dance Theater and Cardell Dance Studio. Since 2009 she has served as the Director and Chair of the Department of Dance at Georgian Court University.

Melanie Cotton (Choreographer) is a Philly native who works in and around the greater Philadelphia area as a choreographer, dancer, actor and teaching artist. She integrates a range of forms into her performance and creative practice: clown, musical theater, improvisation, Hip- Hop, and street dance styles. Melanie’s work as a choreographer has been featured in The Legend of Georgia McBride (The Arden Theater), This is The week That Is (1812 Productions), The Appointment (Lighting Rod Special), TJ Loves Sally Forever (Theater Horizon), Alice in Wonderland: A Musical Panto (People’s Light) Spring Awakening (Arcadia College) and more! Her performance credits include productions with Walnut Street Theater, 1812 Productions and Pig Iron Theater to name a few. Melanie’s original work The Women’s Revolutionary Vagime has been featured as part of the Philadelphia Fringe festival and The Ladies Of Hip-Hop Festival. Her recent collaborative work with choreographer Danelle Currica in The Savoy Sisters was featured in 2023’s Strut: A Harlem Renaissance Cabaret with Opera Philadelphia.

Valerie Ifill (Choreographer) M.F.A. is a researcher, scholar, artist and dance educator focused on the embodied practice as a form of storytelling. Assistant Professor of Dance at Drexel University, Valerie’s research explores movement in community engaged practices, expressions of shifting identity development throughout a lifespan, and centering the body as a way to understand the experiences of marginalized people. Her work invites people to engage their bodies to inform cross-disciplinary conversations, knowledge-sharing and storytelling. Valerie has founded and directed university-community dance programs at Drexel University through Dornsife Center for Neighborhood Partnerships in Philadelphia, PA, and at Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, NC. Supporting community engaged work at Drexel University, Valerie is a Faculty Fellow with the Lindy Center of Civic Engagement. She was also a 2022-23 Community Engaged Scholar with Campus Compact, partnering with other scholars and community members to shape the future landscape of community-university engaged work Valerie’s research and/or movement workshops have been presented at the National Arts Education Association conferences, International Conference on Urban Education, National Dance Education Organization conferences, the Journal of Dance Education, the South Carolina Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance conference, The American College Dance Association festivals, Blumenthal Performing Arts Educational Lunch & Learn series. Valerie earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance from the University of Oregon, completed the Independent Study Program at The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree with a Dance minor from Kent State University.

Dara Meredith (Choreographer) an Atlanta native, began her training under Dawn and Terrie Axam. She received her B.F.A. in Dance at the University of the Arts and was the recipient of the highest honored Stella Moore Award. She also received her M.F.A. at Temple University and was awarded the Rose Vernick Choreographic Achievement Award Dara has had an extensive touring and performance career over the course of 25 years. She served as the Assistant Artistic Director, Rehearsal Director, and Principal Dancer for Eleone Dance Theatre. She co-founded and directed her own dance intensive, DCNS Dance Intensive, for 20 years. Dara is currently an Adjunct Professor at Drexel University, Temple University, and a full time dance educator at West Philadelphia High School. She is certified in the Pan-African, Umfundalai technique and Progessing Ballet Technique. Her choreography has been featured as a Drexel University Ellen Forman Award recipient, Chicago’s Deeply Rooted Dance Theatre’s Emerging Artist, Stuttgart, Germany’s International Tanz Festival, and several dance companies and Universities. Dara’s choreography explores tropes of the African-American community, mental illness, social injustices, and the relationships between people and society. She aims to create an experience for the dancer and the audience alike with the hope to evoke change, create provocative conversations, and create ripples of change and healing through art! She is a wife and proud mother of 3!

Camille Moton Rennie (Choreographer) is originally from Somerset, New Jersey and began her professional dance training with PHILADANCO!’s 2nd company while earning a BFA in dance from Temple University. She went on to perform extensively in concert dance, musical theater, and Latin ballroom as a freelance artist, and five years later she was selected to join the inaugural MFA cohort of the Mason Gross Dance Department at Rutgers University. For her thesis concert, Camille choreographed and produced the evening-length dance production of “Ella’s Trip” (2019), and subsequently published an excerpt of her written work in the January 2020 issue of Black Dance Magazine. She also worked as Assistant Choreographer to Andre DeShields for the Tony Award-winning Crossroads Theater Company’s 2018 production of “Ain’t Misbehavin’” at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC). She returned to Crossroads the following year as Choreographer of “A Christmas Carol”, which ran during the grand opening season at the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC, 2019). Camille’s choreography has since been presented by Dance New Jersey, Project for Empty Space (PES), Mana Contemporary Arts, Newark Dances, WestFest Dance, Rutgers University, Drexel University, Drew University, Stockton University, BAAD! Bronx, and coLAB Arts, along with many other schools and institutions of dance. She was awarded a 2024 Individual Artist Fellowship by Mid Atlantic Arts and the New Jersey State Council of the Arts Camille continues to share her dance creations and artistic productions through the Company of Collaborative Artists (CoCA) - a 501c3 non- profit dance company she founded in the summer of 2021. Camille has a passion for empowering dance artists and servicing all levels of movers as a university department adjunct professor in dance and somatics, a wellness practitioner, a retreat curator, and a certified yoga instructor (RYT 200-hour). www.cocamoves.com | https://linktr.ee/cocamoves

TimStickney(Choreographer) began his dance training at the age of 3 and furthered his training at The Gold School in Massachusetts. He continued his education at the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A Program, where he earned his B.F.A in 2014. Tim supplemented his education with summers at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and The Equus Project in Sweden. In 2012, he became a member of the Francesca Harper Project and in 2013 participated in visual artist Nick Cave’s HEARD NY Installation at Grand Central Station Tim continues to work with both Francesca Harper and Nick Cave - most recently in 2018 for Cave’s Bessie-Award winning production of The Let Go at the Park Avenue Armory. He has performed the works of choreographers Alvin Ailey, Dwight Rhoden, Ronald K. Brown, Bob Fosse, and Alejandro Cerrudo, to name a few. He has taught a variety of master classes for professional and pre-professional programs across the United States and Canada, including Washington University of St. Louis, Drexel University, and Appalachian State University among others. Tim was a member of Complexions Contemporary Ballet from 2014 to 2022, and continues on as a Rehearsal Assistant with the company. He is also currently a Project Manager and Artist with FHP Collective based in NYC, with notable performances at the Guggenheim and Lincoln Center in 2023 and 2024.

Netta Yerushalmy (Choreographer) is a NYC based dance artist. For her choreographic work, Yerushalmy has been awarded a USA Artists Fellowship, Guggenheim Fellowship, Princeton Arts Fellowship, Research Fellowship @New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Toulmin Fellowship for Women Leaders in Dance @Center for Ballet and the Arts, NY City Center Choreography Fellowship, Jerome Robbins Bogliasco Fellowship, Foundation for Contemporary

Arts Grants to Artists Award, National Dance Project, among others. Her work has been presented by venues such as Danspace Project, Jacob’s Pillow, Joyce Theater, American Dance Festival, New York Live Arts, HAU Berlin, Wexner, La Mama, River to River Festival, Center for the Arts/Buffalo, International Dance (Jerusalem), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Foundation, ODC & Bridge Project, Suzanne Dellal Center for Dance (Tel Aviv). Her work has been supported by the Baryshnikov Arts Center, Watermill Center, NCC/Akron, Djerassi, Movement Research, MANCC Working across genres and disciplines, Netta has contributed to artist Josiah McElheny’s Prismatic Park at Madison Square Park, choreographed a Red Hot Chili Peppers music video, worked with cellist Maya Beiser and composer Julia Wolfe on Spinning, and collaborated on evenings of theory and performance at ICI Berlin. As a guest artist and visiting faculty, She’s created work with repertory companies and students nationwide: Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Juilliard School, NYU Tisch, Rutgers, University of Utah, Zenon Dance Company, American Dance Festival, Alvin Ailey School, University of Texas at Austin, UNC Charlotte, Roger Williams University, and Sarah Lawrence College, Marymount Manhattan and many others. As a dancer, Netta has performed with Pam Tanowitz Dance, Doug Varone and Dancers, Joanna Kotze and others. She received a BFA in from NYU’s Tisch, where she is currently on faculty.

STAFF AND PROFESSIONAL CREDITS

ENSEMBLE STAFF

Ensemble Director: Rebecca Malcolm-Naib

Producer: Abby Toll

Assistant Directors: Mary Elizabeth Stickney & Britt Whitmoyer Fishel

THEATER STAFF

Mandell Theater Managing Director: Caroline Leipf

Mandell Theater Technical Director: Chris Totora

Audience Services Coordinator: Liv Shoup

Assistant Techincal Director: Russell Chissoe

Stage Manager: Abby Toll Deck: Sophia Hannah & Kenneth Wang

Master Electrician: Dana Taylor

Assistant Master Electrician/Swing: Layan Mouhamad

Sound Technician: Beckett Chase

Costume Shop Manager: Asaki Kuruma

Asst. Costume Shop Managers: Avery Boudreaux, Mae Merkle & Grace Weachter

PRODUCTION STAFF

Lighting Designer: Dom Chacon

Scenic/Prop Design: Chris Totora

Costume Designers: Julie Padovan & Allison Mojica

Graphic Design: Bridget McLaughlin

Program Design: Erin Ford

DEPARTMENT OF PERFORMING ARTS

Interim Department Head: Brent White

Department Administrator: LaShanetta Harris

Ensemble Production Assistant: Lauren Tracy

Interim Dance Program Director: Jennifer Morley

Music Program Director: Luke Abruzzo

Theatre Program Director: Nick Anselmo

Graduate Assistant: Esteban Reina Soto

OnJune7thweculminateayearlongcelebrationofthe flagshipvenueforPerformingArtsatDrexelUniversity!

JoinusforDrexelUniversityConcertBand’sspring performance,andcomplimentarypre-performance receptiontocelebratetheMandellat50.

DrexelMusicProgrampresentstheConcert Band’sSpringConcert: Perspectives—WhatWeHoldMostDear FriJun7|6:30PMReception|7:30PMConcert

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