SW!NG OUT Biographies

WHO'S WHO IN SW!NG OUT

BRANDON BARKER (Dancer) is a performing artist who began his journey of dancing at the age of three at the Dance Theatre Harlem with the style of ballet. Following this he dove deeper into movement with modern dance and contemporary styles through grade school. He found a unique release from rigid structure and a freedom of creativity with Lindy Hop. Following this he allowed for this to become his main focus and passion guiding him through his studies to obtain a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance. He continued to study styles of ballet and modern along with West African, Hip Hop, and House. He is currently exploring the connections between all dances of the african diaspora and their lineage to each other. While having a physical connection of growth to the performing arts he also has an economic connection as well through working to ensure there is financial stability to the arts through his studies to obtain a Bachelor's Degree in Arts Public Policy.

TIMOTHY CHRISTOPHER (Dancer) is a self-taught Lindy Hop dancer, musician, and chemical engineer from Pensacola, FL. Despite not having any formal training in dance, Timothy taught himself Lindy Hop by watching online tutorials and attending swing dance events in Pensacola and other areas across the US. He quickly became a wellrespected member of the local swing dance community. Additionally, Timothy is an accomplished musician who plays the piano and trumpet, performing with jazz bands and playing classic tunes from the bebop era. Timothy earned his degree in chemical engineering from the Florida Institute of Technology and now works for a chemical plant in Savannah, GA as a Production Engineer. He is always balancing his demanding career with his passion for the arts and is known for his creativity and dedication. Timothy's story is an inspiration, demonstrating the power of hard work, dedication, and a love for the arts. Whether he's on the dance floor, playing music, or working in the lab, Timothy always strives to give his best and to let his passion for the arts shine through in all that he does.

GABY COOK (Dancer) is an esteemed, active professional in the global lindy hop community. For nearly 20 years, she has established her career performing and teaching for major swing dance festivals worldwide. She performed with The Joyce's debut SW!NG OUT cast (2021) and toured through 2021 and 2022. Stage credits include: Macy’s Day Parade Live Broadcast, for Nickelodeon’s Blue's Clues (2022), Decades of Dance at the BET Soultrain Awards (2021), Don’t Mean a Thing with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center (2021), Swingtime: Revolution in Rhythm with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra (2016), and many appearances in film and TV. As a choreographer, her work has been featured at the Guggenheim Works & Process, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Jacob’s Pillow’s Inside/Out Series, and Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing. She regularly advocates for lindy hop in industry dance communities and is consistently "on-call" with universitylevel programs (past: Julliard, Marymount, NYU, Columbia). Online at @gaby_cook Gatsby Party and many appearances at the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center. Wild Rhythm is a current dance company in residence at Brooklyn College through the CUNY Dance Initiative program for the 2019-2020 season.

WHO'S WHO IN SW!NG OUT

LAURA GLAESS (Dancer) started dancing in 2001 in San Antonio, TX. It wasn’t a very large scene, and her teachers hadn’t been dancing very long, but she instantly fell in love with Lindy Hop, the music, the history, and everything involved. When not in a pandemic, Laura travels the world teaching, competing, performing, and learning. She is a passionate believer in dancing with swing, with rhythm, and in pushing for something new while maintaining a connection with the original vintage context of Lindy Hop. She feels that honoring the history of the dance and its inventors is a crucial part of practicing the dance. She is madly in love with jazz music and movement and strives to convey that love to her students. She is also a strong believer that the best thing to do to get good at dancing is to DANCE. Classes are amazing and helpful, but they are merely supplemental to getting out there on social the social dance floor and just doing it. Laura believes that the local scene is the backbone of the global community, so she is an active participant in her home music and dance communities. Laura is also an artist, and works on blending her love of music and movement with a fine art medium. You can buy her prints at www.etsy. com/shop/lauraglaessart, T-shirt designs at lauraglaess.threadless.com/, and you can see her latest routines and dance tutorials at www.youtube.com/c/lauraglaess.

AJ HOWARD (Dancer) brings a unique style and energy to the Lindy Hop community. Getting introduced to the world of Lindy Hop at the age of 19, AJ quickly took an appreciation to dance which lead to him running home, getting changed, and heading out to dance almost every day of the week after working his job at a car dealership. He burst into the scene in 2016, winning competitions throughout the US with his partner Jennifer, showing the dance world what Sacramento really had to offer! Competing at international events such as Camp Hollywood and the International Lindy Hop Championships, AJ became well known for his generous use of aerials paired with his energetic dancing. AJ has also had the honor of performing with dance groups such as HellaBlackLindyHop, San Francisco Jitterbugs, and the Midtown Stompers, and the privilege to spread his love of dance through teaching at Lindy Hop events in the US, on a Carnival Cruise ship, and around Europe.

MICHAEL JAGGER (Dancer) has been an international Lindy Hop instructor for 16 years. His stage credits include South Pacific (associate choreographer, Chichester Festival Theater, UK), two consecutive appearances at Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Festival with his dance company, Syncopated City, which he co-directed with his dance partner, Evita Arce. They were featured dancers for Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in Let Freedom Swing, a celebration of jazz for Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the Kennedy Center and again with the J @ LCO for a tribute to Benny Goodman at the Rose Theater in NYC. As a principal dancer, he starred as Lindy Hop specialist in several productions of the Broadway musical Swing!, including regional productions at Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, the California Music Circus in Sacramento, and the 2008 Japanese tour. He would like to acknowledge his mentors, the Elders, and Karolina for all that they have afforded him to be on this stage!

WHO'S WHO IN SW!NG OUT

JENNIFER NICOLE JONES (Dancer) is a New York City based Dancer. Originally from Akron, OH. She received a BFA in Dance Performance from Wright State University while performing with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Jennifer has performed in many regional and Off Broadway productions.

DEE DANIELS LOCKE (Dancer) started Swing Dancing at the age of four with her dad in the basement at her grandma’s dance parties, wearing her mom’s heels and her favorite plaid skirt. After a hiatus into hip-hop performance during her school years, she was called back to Lindy Hop, and co-founded her college swing dance club. She has become an influential member of the Minneapolis scene, teaching and mentoring. For two decades she has shared her love of Lindy Hop and Jazz with dancers young and old. Dee loves feeling free on the dance floor and advocates for self-expression and individual creativity as the true spirit of Lindy Hop and Vernacular Jazz. Weaving music and movement allow her the expression. She dances for joy both in partnered or solo dancing and searches for presence in each moment. She loves responding to the music and partner, priding herself on making each dance unique to the musical experience and partner, creating an authentic dance conversation. She has taught, performed, and choreographed nationally and internationally, but mostly she wants to have a good dance, and she wants you to have a good dance.

BRIAN LAWTON (Understudy - Dancer) is a dancer, instructor, choreographer, and director. He has an eclectic background in ballet, jazz, and modern as well as Latin and Ballroom dances with a specialty in the vernacular jazz dances of the 1920's-1940's. He has performed on Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Shakespeare in the Park’s Comedy of Errors, and with the Red Hot Chili Peppers at Madison Square Garden and in their music video Go Robot. He was the Choreographer and Resident Director of the A Charlie Brown Christmas National Tour and is a Resident Choreographer for Norwegian Cruise Line as well as the Assistant Director/ Choreographer of the new musical Part of the Plan (TPAC) and the Associate Director of Distant Thunder (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma).

WHO'S WHO IN SW!NG OUT

Born and raised in Nagoya, Japan, MARTHA KATO (Piano) is a pianist, composer, and arranger in her blossoming career in New York. Based in New York since 2009, she has performed across the world as a bandleader and collaborator at major venues such as Blue Note, Jazz Standard, Blue Note Tokyo, Cotton Club Japan, The Jazz Gallery, Dizzy’s Club, Smoke Jazz & Supper Club, and Smalls Jazz Club. Playing in a wide range of styles and instrumentations, she has shared the stage and studio-recording with collaborators including Remy Le Boeuf, Miho Hazama, Takuya Kuroda, Alexis Cuadrado, and Pedro Giraudo. Martha’s awards and honors include the ASCAP Foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award and she is a second-place winner of Montreux Jazz Solo Piano Competition in Kawasaki 2014. She was a scholarship recipient of The Juilliard School and The New School, where she studied with Kenny Barron, Kevin Hays, Robert Sadin, Reggie Workman, and more. She is on Remy Le Boeuf's Grammy-nominated album Assembly of Shadows as a pianist.

JON THOMAS (Piano), a graduate from The Juilliard School‘s Jazz department (MM ‘19) helmed by Wynton Marsalis, has performed with artist such as Charles Tolliver, Marquis Hill, Dominick Farinacci, Bruce Williams, Richie Goods, Jazzmeia Horn, and the Cleveland Jazz Orchestra, among many others. A staple in the New York City jazz scene, Thomas can be found at his bi-weekly residency at Smalls Jazz Club which he has hosted since 2015. He has been a student to pianists Aaron Goldberg, Dan Nimmer, Aaron Parks, and Taylor Eigsti. In 2012 Thomas was awarded The ASCAP foundation Herb Alpert Young Jazz Composer Award. Thomas is also a graduate of The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music (2015) and The Juilliard School (2019). Born and raised in Cleveland, OH, he benefited from the city’s wide range of jazz veterans and swing-rooted tradition. Sonically, his sound harkens to the creative influences he’s adopted. Influences such as Kenny Kirkland, Wynton Kelly, and Mulgrew Miller are apparent muses and thus lend their sound to his style.

JULIETA EUGENIO (Tenor Saxophone) is an Argentinian Saxophonist based in New York city. Julieta embedded herself into the Argentinian jazz scene and performed in renowned jazz venues in Buenos Aires alongside master musicians. In 2013, Julieta was accepted to study at Queens College for a Jazz Master degree in NYC. After her Master Graduation, nowadays, Julieta is playing alongside the finest jazz musicians from the worldwide and New York city jazz scene. Julieta had the opportunity to perform on one of the most prestigious jazz broadcast radios in the US - WBGO As well as being featured on a piece of ABC7 News nationwide alongside Master Philip Harper. In April 2017, Julieta Eugenio won the International Women in Jazz Competition as a member of the SIJ trio and will perform at the Saint Peter's Church for the IWJ Festival in NYC. Julieta has shared the stage multiple times with the Jazz Legend Johnny O’Neal, where she was featured on his residencies at Smoke Jazz Club, Ginny’s Super Club, Smalls Jazz club, Mezzrrow, and more. Over the years, Julieta had the opportunity to perform with prestigious musicians such as Leon Parker, Joe Farnsworth, Tardo Hammer, Pasquale Grasso, Bertha Hope, and Eric Reed, to name a few. In October 2021, Julieta performed at The Joyce Theater in NYC for a two-week residency with the Eyal Vilner Big Band as part of SW!NG OUT.

In December 2021, Julieta performed at the Guggenheim Museum in NYC for the Rotunda Solstice Concert with the Eyal Vilner Big Band. In March 2021, Julieta recorded her debut album JUMP on Greenleaf Music, a record label by Dave Douglas. The album

WHO'S WHO IN SW!NG OUT

presents her own compositions featuring Jonathan Barber and Matt Dwonszyk. The Julieta Eugenio Trio has won the 2022 DCJazzPrix, an International competition presented by the DC Jazz Fest and has performed at The Mid Atlantic Jazz Festival, College Park Jazz Fest, and will be performing at the Elkhart Jazz Festival in Indiana and Washington DC Jazz Festival. Julieta started performed with SW!NG OUT in 2022 and has since toured all across the US including California, Texas, Oregon, Michigan, Virginia, Massachusetts, New York, and more. Julieta has presented her debut album in NYC with her trio at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Summer Stage, Smalls Jazz Club, Bushnell Park Jazz Festival, and toured in Los Angeles, CA, performing at Sam First, Just Jazz Series, and ETA Highland Park. Some of her other accolades include: "Best New Artist" (NomineeJazz Music Awards, October 2022); "10 Jazz Emerging Artists To Watch" (NomineeGRAMMY Magazine, 2023); Next Jazz Legacy (Semifinalist - 2023). 2023 highlights include performing at the Kennedy Center with the legendary Dee Dee Bridgewater for the Mary Lou Williams Jazz Festival.

Instantly recognizable for her sophisticated and spiritual sound, JORDAN PETTAY (Tenor Saxophone, Clarinet) has been described by JazzTimes as “the sort of soloist that can translate a spiritual journey into musical terms.” She has performed with many of the world’s premier jazz, R&B, and hip-hop artists including Christian McBride, Adrian Younge, Lizzo, and Grammy-nominated vocalist Nicole Zuraitis. She resides in New York City, where she appears regularly as a freelance artist, educator, and leader of The Jordan Pettay Quartet. Her recent debut album, First Fruit (2019), was co-produced by Christian Sands and features a blend of jazz, R&B, and gospel influences. Finding herself comfortable in a variety of settings, Jordan has appeared on three NPR Tiny Desk Concerts in the last two years with hip-hop producers Adrian Younge and Ali Shaheed (A Tribe Called Quest) and with the indie rock band Foxing, as a featured soloist. In 2016 she appeared with rappersinger Lizzo, performing her hit single Good As Hell on Full Frontal with Samantha Bee. With her faith in Jesus Christ being the source of inspiration to her life and music, Jordan’s debut album, First Fruit, is a devotional project featuring several reimagined hymn arrangements and songs meant to convey gratitude and love towards God. According to Downbeat Magazine, “One of the bandleader’s strengths is her obvious fluency in deep-fried Southern gospel, and her masterful ability to fuse a sanctified sound with other distinct styles—r&b and jazz, in particular.” “Pettay’s evocative musicality, at once refined and raw, makes 200-year-old Christian music standards, like ‘I Am Thine O Lord,' feel fresh.” As a child growing up in Fort Worth, TX, Jordan drew early inspiration from the classic jazz recordings of Charlie Parker and Duke Ellington, as well as the gospel music she was immersed in. She sought to attain the musical depth of the jazz masters while maintaining the raw and sacred feeling of the church. In high school Jordan attended Booker T. Washington Performing Arts High School in Dallas, and in 2008 received a full scholarship to attend The Juilliard School in New York City. In her fourth year, she was awarded the first Gerry and Franca Mulligan Scholarship. At Juilliard, Jordan was mentored by iconic New York saxophonists Ron Blake and Steve Wilson while traveling Europe, South America, Asia, and Australia as a guest clinician and performer. Since graduating with her Master’s degree in 2014, Jordan performs and teaches around the New York area, making regular appearances at top NYC venues including Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, Ginny’s Supper Club, Smalls and Smoke Jazz Club. Jordan also enjoys being an in-demand saxophonist for jazz vespers and religious services around the New York area, often playing and arranging music for St. Peter’s Church, Redeemer Presbyterian, Marble Church, and Fort Washington Collegiate Church. As an educator, she is on faculty at Borough of Manhattan Community College (a CUNY school), Nyack College, and is an instructor for the Wells-Fargo Jazz for Teens program at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ.

WHO'S WHO IN SW!NG OUT

JOHN LAKE (Trumpet) is a trumpet player and composer living in New York City, maintaining a busy performance schedule as a jazz soloist and in-demand lead trumpet player and featured jazz soloist. In the thriving NYC big band scene, John has performed and recorded for numerous up-and-coming names including Remy Le Bouef, Steven Feifke, Jihye Lee, Eyal Vilner, Brian Krock, Angela Morris and Anna Webber, the Terraza Big Band, and many more. John released his debut jazz small-group recording, Seven Angels, in June 2020, and continues to write and perform his own music across the US and internationally.

BRANDON LEE (Trumpet) was born and raised in Houston, TX. Growing up in a musical family, Lee started on piano at age five and switched to trumpet at age nine. He found his love for jazz at the early age of 11 years old and never looked back. In 2001, Brandon moved to New York City to further pursue his jazz studies at The Juilliard School, where he received a Bachelor of Music, Masters and Music, and Artist Diploma. After studying, Brandon taught at Juilliard as one of the youngest to ever teach on faculty in the jazz studies department, from 2008-12. Brandon then moved to North Carolina from 2013-2018 to pursue a college teaching position for the Miles Davis Studies program at University of North Carolina, Greensboro (UNCG). As a sideman, Brandon is a member of the Christian McBride Big Band, Birdland Big Band, David Berger Big Band, and recently joined the Count Basie Orchestra. He also plays frequently with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Maria Schneider Orchestra, Fat Cat Big Band, Eyal Vilner Big Band, and many others. Over the years, Brandon has played with notable artists and groups including Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Aaron Diehl and Cecil McLorin Salvant, Kurt Elling, and Kenny Barron Quintet, and many more. He has recorded on over a dozen albums as a sideman. In February 2018, Brandon was awarded his first Grammy as a sideman on Christian McBride’s big band album, Bringin’ It. As a leader, Brandon has recorded three albums: From Within (2007), Absolute-Lee (2010), and his latest, Common Thread (2017). Brandon also coleads a ten-piece ensemble, Uptown Jazz Tentet (UJT). UJT released its first album, There It Is in March 2017 and second album, What’s Next in October 2020. Currently, Brandon resides in New York City where he is continuing to pursue more performance-based opportunities in the city and abroad.

WAYNE TUCKER (Trumpet) is a trumpeter, composer, arranger, violinist, and vocalist based in New York City. He has released five albums under his name and performs regularly with his band, The Bad Mothas in New York City. Wayne has toured and recorded with a diverse array of notables such as jazz musicians Kurt Elling, Al Foster, Dee Dee Bridgewater, and Cyrille Aimée; pop acts Taylor Swift, David Crosby, Elvis Costello, Matt Simons, and Eric Hutchinson; R&B singers Ne-Yo and Gabriel Garzon-Montano; hip hop artists Jidenna and Ryan Leslie; and with the rock band Brass Against. This diversity is represented in The Bad Mothas energetic sound where the American Songbook gets a welcome update, including selections by Michael Jackson or Earth Wind & Fire. Tenor saxophonist Miles Tucker (Wayne's brother) holds a lean mean counterpoint to Wayne's gentle affability on trumpet. Drummer Diego Joaquin Ramirez and bassist Tamir Shmerling provide solid underpinning which accommodates a varied cast of pianists, most notably the gospelinfluenced Willerm Delisfort. The group was featured in The New York Times for its steady schedule of street performances during the 2020 shutdown, representatives of New York City's infamous grit. Wayne continues to maintain a dedicated presence in the small clubs of New York City alongside a career which makes occasional forays into venues like Madison Square Garden, The Hollywood Bowl, and The Tonight Show, to name a few. Tucker wrote the soundtrack and co-stars in the short film Hotel Bleu.

ERÁN FINK (Drums) is originally from Israel, where he attended the Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts. His passion for music and jazz in particular then led him to Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he studied with jazz masters Ralph Peterson Jr., Hal Crook, Bob Gulotti, and Jamie Haddad, among others. Since moving to New York City in 2011, Fink has been active in the jazz, R&B, Ethiopian, and Afro-Cuban music scenes. He is a sought-after accompanist at the city’s top dance schools, including the Alvin Ailey School and Martha Graham School.

Saxophonist, composer, arranger, and Managing and Co-Artistic Director of Jazz Lives Philadelphia, JOSHUA LEE (Baritone Saxophone) is fully dedicated to the advancement of the Philadelphia jazz community. Joshua graduated from Temple University in 2016 and 2019 with both a Bachelors and Masters degree in Jazz Performance. Joshua brings performance experience gained in the trenches of the Philly and New York scene that has been fostered by mentors like Barry Harris, Terell Stafford, Tim Warfield, Dick Oatts, and Gary Smulyan. In June of 2018, Joshua joined the Legendary Count Basie Orchestra and currently performs with them around the world. He also is a regular substitute with groups like Terell Stafford’s Jazz Orchestra of Philadelphia, The Mingus Big Band, and Memo Acevedo's Manhattan Bridges Orchestra and has had the privilege to travel around the country with the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, Delfeayo Marsalis, and the Upton Jazz Orchestra, and Orquestra Akokan. He, along with classmate Sarah Leonard, founded Jazz Lives Philadelphia in 2015-its mission being to celebrate Jazz in Philadelphia through Performance, Education, and Community outreach. Since its existence, Jazz Lives Philadelphia has presented music in unconventional venues and given free jazz education master classes for thousands of Philadelphia school children. Joshua has taught Jazz at his high school alma mater Pennsbury since 2017 and joined the Jazz Faculty at Temple University in the fall of 2019.

NYC-based musician RON WILKINS (Trombone) has been performing on tenor and bass trombones, euphonium, tuba, bass trumpe,t and jazz vocals for over 40 years. He is currently trombonist for the Broadway revival of Funny Girl, and has played numerous other musicals including Wicked, The Lion King, West Side Story, Phantom Of The Opera, and many others. Ron has performed at the highest levels touring around the world with his own groups as well as premiere artists, including Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Lena Horne, Dizzy Gilespie, Jimmy Heath, Jon Faddis, Eddie Daniels, Randy Brecker, Wycliffe Gordon, and many others. He is the bass trombonist with The Count Basie Orchestra, and tenor trombonist with the Dizzy Gillespie All Star Big Band, and the Birdland Big Band. Ron has also performed The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra and The Mingus Big Band, among others. Ron Wilkins plays Greg Black custom mouthpieces and S.E. Shires trombones. He released his latest album, Ron Wilkins-Trombocalist (Jazz Legacy Productions) in August 2021. For more listings to purchase Ron's lbatest album, along with upcoming performances, videos, and educational tips, go to ronwilkins.net.

WHO'S WHO IN SW!NG OUT

IMANI ROUSSELLE (Vocals) is a Texas-born vocalist with a love for interpreting and delivering the message of lyric. Whether jazz standards or contemporary compositions, her voice invites you to follow along as she fills the spaces between the silence with carefully crafted sound. She currently resides in New York City, having graduated the Manhattan School of Music in the spring of 2021. Prior to moving to NYC, Imani studied at Columbia College Chicago where she obtained her Bachelor's Degree in Voice as well as a double minor in environmental science and management. While in Chicago, she performed on many stages around the city including the legendary Jazz Showcase and The Green Mill, and since moving to New York just before the global shutdown, Imani was able to sing on stages such as the world famous Dizzy's Jazz Club, Clements Place, the Schomburg Center in Harlem, and more. She is excited to be joining the world's audiences again, *safely.*

serena wong (Lighting Designer) 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, Danspace, 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. She enjoys biking, baking, and pottery.

KELLY MARTIN (Assistant Lighting Designer) is a lighting designer and associate based in New York City. He has lit productions with numerous theatre, opera, and dance organizations, including the Slovak National Theatre, Boston Early Music Festival, Pick Up Performance Co, The Joyce Theater, New York Theatre Ballet, Opera North, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, The Bang Group, Duncan Lyle Dance, Co•Lab Dance, Suffolk University, and MIT. He frequently works with designers both in the city and regionally. Member United Scenic Artists Local 829. Alumnus Boston University.

JOSEPH WOLFSLAU (Sound Designer) is a set, sound, and costume designer based in Brooklyn. Recent designs include production design for La Sonnambula (Promenade Opera), production design for Magnum Opus: A Retrospective (The People Movers), sound for The Emperor's Nightingale (Pan Asian Rep.), sound for The Peanut Butter Show (Little Lord), production design for Cendrillon (Promenade Opera), sound for Romulus the Great (Yangtze Rep.), sound for Brideshead Obliterated (Dixon Place), set, sound, and costumes for 410 [Gone] (Yangtze Rep), sound for CoIncident (JACK), sound for Ski End (New Ohio), sound for CoVenture (Baryshnikov), and set and costumes for Poor Sailor (Tugboat Collective).

Born in Mexico City, Mexico, MÁRION TALÁN DE LA ROSA (Costume Designer) has nurtured her work by collaborating with artists and innovators of dance, drama, and opera for over the last two decades. She has been the wardrobe supervisor and designer at the Juilliard School for 15 years, and has designed at NYU Steinhardt School for approximately 13 years in collaboration with Joe Salvatore on plays and research-based performances including the Verbatim Performance Lab (VPL). Her most recent project of note is the GRAMMY nominated

WHO'S WHO IN SW!NG OUT

Fire in My Mouth composed by Julia Wolfe and performed by The New York Philharmonic, The Crossing, and the Young People’s Choir of NY. This highly acclaimed piece was inspired by the New York Triangle Shirtwaist Fire that took place on March 25, 1911 and was performed with a symbolic 146 women’s choir. Other works include collaborations with choreographers Caleb Teicher, Sonya Tayeh, and Bryan Arias and has had work featured in Fall for Dance at City Center, BAM Next Wave Festival, Jacob’s Pillow, American Dance Festival, The Joyce, The Gibney, The New Victory Theater, the DUMBO Light Festival, and WHITE WAVE Festival, among others. Márion is a proud member of United Scenic Artists Local 829.

MELANIE GEORGE (Choreographic Advisor) is the founder and director of Jazz Is… Dance Project and Associate Curator and Director of Artist Initiatives at Jacob’s Pillow. As a dramaturg, she has contributed to projects by Raja Feather Kelly, Ephrat Asherie, Susan Marshall & Company, Kimberly Bartosik/daela, LaTasha Barnes, and Urban Bush Women, among others. Melanie is featured in the documentary UpRooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance and founded the global advocacy website jazzdancedirect.com. She is the former Dance Program Director at American University, and has guest lectured at Harvard University, the Yale School of Drama, and The Juilliard School.

JACOB WEXLER (Production Manager) (he/they) is a professional stage manager based out of New York City and proud SUNY Purchase graduate. Focused primarily within the dance industry, Jacob has worked both domestically and internationally with acclaimed companies and choreographers such as Martha Clarke, L.A. Dance Project, Jessica Lang Dance, and Alonzo King Lines Ballet. Other past credits include stage managing for the School of American Ballet, Fall for Dance, and the Fire Island Dance Festival. When Jacob is not stage managing, they can be found reading leftist literature, playing with their beagle named Bagel, and fighting for a more egalitarian world. Please consider making a donation to an organization that is very dear to their heart, NYC-based Black Disabled Lives Matter. Ways to donate can be found on the IG @blackdisabledlivesmatters.