Producing Artistic Director, EG Gionfriddo Co-Producing Directors, Sinclair Emoghene and Joel Valentín-Martínez
MARCH 5 AT 7:30 P.M. (PREVIEW)
MARCH 6-8 AT 7:30 P.M.
MARCH 9 AT 2:00 P.M.
B. IDEN PAYNE THEATRE F. LOREN WINSHIP DRAMA BUILDING
DANCE
Vacíos
To Offer A Withheld Embrace
CHOREOGRAPHER
Annie Laura Irizarry-Pérez
Presley Gouge and Cameron Suckle
Motherless Child Raúl Tamez
Agape Love
Lone. Lean. Less.
The Altar of Humanity The Convocation
The Resolution The Benediction
Stage Manager: Rebecca Couch
Assistant Stage Manager: Valeria Blanco Perez
Technical Director: David Tolin
Iyalochá Nadia Milad Issa
Quilan “Cue” Arnold
Michelle N. Gibson
Archival Team: Ariyana Bogan, Catalina Duong, Merrin Foley, Kate Mooney, Cassidy Perry, Eden I. Ryder, IvyCamille R. Sampson, Grace Falconer, Lorna Luciano
There will be one 10-minute intermission. The videotaping, photographing or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.
The Department of Theatre and Dance is a world-class educational environment that serves as the ultimate creative incubator for the next generation of artists, thinkers and leaders in theatre and performance.
Dear Friends,
By gathering here to witness bodies in artistic motion, we affirm our humanity. In fact, rather than referring to “bodies” on stage, remember that each body is a full and complex human, containing stories to share. The magical thing about dance is that while a group of dancers shares a unified story through choreography, they simultaneously share their own individual stories. It would take years to hear all those stories out loud, but they can be felt deeply and intimately in an instant when we witness with and through our own bodies.
I encourage you to witness with your whole body. Allow yourself to feel alongside us. Allow yourself to take deep breaths, lean forward, relax back, cross your arms, bounce a knee, smile, sigh, feel your throat tighten or your eyes well up… then stretch your body or talk with a friend between each piece. This is what it means to affirm our humanity. To share space and be affected by one another — to allow ourselves to be changed by one another.
The works on this program touch on important stories. You may recognize some of your own stories reflected on stage. Others may be new, exciting, strange or hard to understand. What we can trust is that each moment shared is true to someone’s life experience and worthy of being seen. Thank you to the choreographers who have dared to share their stories with us. Thank you to the dancers and designers who have carried those stories with courage and care. And thank you, dear friend, for being an active participant in this exchange. As parts of our world threaten to dehumanize us, our gathering here is a small act of refusing to be stripped of our stories. Dance has always been, and will remain, a quiet insistence to be radically human.
Bryli Lee Jameson, Giovanni Ledezma, Christian Ortega, Cassidy Perry, Arianna Nayeli Puente
From the Choreographer
Vacíos tells the story of Puerto Rican women during the decades of the 40-60s, who were confronting the massive clinical experimentations of sterilization operations. As the island kept increasing its population, U.S. laboratories came to control the propagation of its inhabitants. Studies estimated over 150,000 bodies were intervened with unsolicited sterilization. This contemporary piece is a conversation with Caribbean rhythmic influences, utilizing artivism as a vehicle to transcend catastrophe. It is a validation that the Puerto Rican people have been accustomed to surpass pain through radical joy. It focuses on the meaning of being fertile and what is brought into existence when communities transcend chaos.
This is our vow—to lead with open hearts, stand softer and listen deeper. To give more hugs, make others feel seen, and write more love letters.
I dedicate this piece in loving memory to my grandmother, Sylvia (Moo), who just recently passed away. To the amazing woman who gave me my best friend, my mom, and to both for shaping who I am today. - Cameron Suckle
I dedicate this piece to my parents, Erin and Martin Gouge- my very best friends. They have taught me what it means to love with depth and grace. Thank you for everything. - Presley Gouge
An homage to women's resistance through history. To the exploited and disappeared women. To the mothers separated from their children. To the missing sons and daughters. This piece delves into profound themes such as women's rights, female abuse, misogyny, discrimination, slavery, diasporas, persecution and motherhood. It unravels complex emotions experienced by women in harrowing circumstances. It is a ritual of stoicism and resistance, a poetic clamor of hope. It is an homage to my disappeared biological mother.
INTERMISSION
Agape Love
Choreography: Iyalochá Nadia Milad Issa
Costume Designer: Lindsey Rae Thurston
Lighting Designer: Zach Young
Sound Designer: Ava Gassen
Rehearsal Assistant: Katie Jones
Cast:
Grace Falconer, Jesus Gutierrez, Marcel Johnson, Katie Jones, Natalie Vargas
From the Choreographer
This is a dance eulogy for those I claim as Kin who are impacted by the 1963 Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama. We meet to give space concerning violent acts of religious racism, one that aims to disembody Black folx from their spiritual wellness. We are committed to a solidarity of grief that brings us back to our bodies and gives time and space for mourning. I wish for you to feel our presence and holding of you through any grief you may be working through. Ibaé Baé Tonú (rest in peace in Yoruba Religious context) Addie Mae Collins, Carol Denise McNair, Carole Rosamond Robertson, Cynthia Dionne Wesley. Lúz.
Choreography: Quilan “Cue” Arnold
Costume Designer: Lindsey Rae Thurston
Lighting Designer: Gavin Strawnato
Sound Designer: Ava Gassen
Projection Designer: Amber Huchton
Rehearsal Assistant: Julia Leitner
Cast:
Jeremy Benavides, Ariyana M. Bogan, Merrin Foley, Khoa Le, Julia Leitner, Makenzie Peacock, Hunter Purvis
From the Choreographer
I love you Abuela, Maria Ward, may you continue to rest in Jesus. Created to honor the spirit of Others-Centered, Club KINGDOM, the Kingdom of Heaven, the Ward and Arnold families and the ancestors. This is for all who have felt the exhaustion of loving a community when we felt they didn't love us back. May we find the source that will empower us to keep loving anyways.
The Altar of Humanity The Convocation The Resolution The Benediction
Ariyana Bogan, Caroline Buchhorn, Emma Flores, Audrey Friloux, Victoria Angelina Montemayor, Kate Mooney, Christian Ortega, IvyCamille R. Sampson, Madysn Watkins
From the Choreographer
This work houses the reality that, as human beings who walk this earth together, our spiritual cyphers are intertwined. WE are a reflection of one another in many ways. Our experiences and identities, through all the ways we differ, are not to be ignored… but to be observed, honored and respected. My question is, where is the healing practice? How, when and why must we use our individual cultural practices to reach a spiritual experience together? What does it look like to surrender and kneel at the altar as one? Ase’ Mz. G
Quilan “Cue” Arnold (Choreographer – Lone. Lean. Less. ) is a movement artist and M.F.A. candidate from Union City, New Jersey, who uses his God-given gifts to create systems that advocate for the liberation of all people. He is the director of onCUE Chronicles, a kinetic storytelling company that uplifts historically oppressed demographics through performance and activism. He's a 2023/2024 CUNY Dance Initiative awardee, a 2022 New Directions Choreography Fellow at Alvin Ailey, and is featured in the ALL ARTS documentary Alvin Ailey New Directions
Brittney Barton (Scenic Designer) is a firstyear graduate student with a focus in scenic design. Recent scenic design credits include UTNT (UT New Theatre) 2025. She is originally from Florida where she designed shows for the University of West Florida including Shakespeare in Love, 9 to 5 and Blithe Spirit
Rebecca Couch (Stage Manager) is a first-year B.A. in Theatre and Dance major with an emphasis in design and technology and a focus in stage management. This is her second production with Texas Theatre and Dance, following her role as assistant stage manager for CYPHERS (2024).
Sinclair Emoghene (Co-Producing Director) is a dancer and dance researcher whose work explores the body as a performance surface while reinterpreting the ways historical data in African and African diaspora dances are structured, presented and archived. His ongoing research, "The Living Archive: Analysis, Description, and Assemblages of African Dance," leverages cutting-edge technologies to create comprehensive dance archiving research that collects, replicates, analyzes and interprets dances from the bodies, lands and oral traditions of Africa and its Diasporas.
Valeria Nuñez Estrada (Assistant Scenic Designer) is a second-year B.A. in Theatre and Dance major with an emphasis in design and technology. She recently served as assistant scenic designer for A Midsummer Night's Dream (Texas Theatre and Dance, Studio Series, 2024), light board operator for Romeo y Juliet (Texas
Theatre and Dance, 2024) and sound board operator for Directing the Young Performer (Department of Theatre and Dance, 2023).
Ava Gassen (Sound Designer) is a B.A in Theatre and Dance student at The University of Texas at Austin with an emphasis in performer’s process. This is her first time sound designing with Texas Theatre and Dance.
Presley Gouge (Co-Choreographer – To Offer A Withheld Embrace) is a B.F.A. in Dance major also pursuing a business minor at The University of Texas at Austin. Recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include And I Can Breathe Again (Fall For Dance, 2022) and Quiet Echoes (Points of Intersection, 2024), as well as Anna Valdman's piece in The Cohen New Works Festival (2023), entitled Falling Into Structured Meaninglessness.
Michelle N. Gibson (Choreographer – The Altar of Humanity The Convocation The Resolution The Benediction) ) is a consummate storyteller, employing body and mind to build a bridge between the culture and academia. On stage and in the classroom, Gibson’s dance, choreography and associated scholarship evoke the social, political, economic and spiritual understandings central to building bonds within and across cultures. Gibson has taught and choreographed globally, most recently teaching at the International Association of Blacks in Dance and choreographing for the esteemed Ohio State University.
Amber Huchton (Projection Designer – Lone. Lean. Less., To Offer A Withheld Embrace) is a B.A. in Theatre and Dance major with an emphasis in design and technology at The University of Texas at Austin. Recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include James and the Giant Peach (2024), Ride the Cyclone (2024) and Fishing for Stars (The Cohen New Works Festival, 2023).
Annie Laura Irizarry-Pérez (Choreographer – Vacíos) was born in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. Irizarry-Pérez is a professional dancer, choreographer, dance educator, researcher and healer. Her training has consisted of Caribbean
CREATIVE
rhythms, contemporary, improvisation, ballet, modern and jazz. Irizarry-Pérez earned her B.A. with a Dance concentration in the Artes, Diseño e Industrias Creativas Department at Universidad del Sagrado Corazón in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She has received training from Ana Sanchez-Colberg, Nibia Pastrana, Sofía Valentín, Jesús Miranda, Petra Bravo, Lourdes Gómez and Alejandra Martorell among others.
Iyalochá Nadia Milad Issa (Choreographer – Agape Love) is a first-year M.F.A. in Dance candidate at The University of Texas at Austin. Issa earned their Master of Theological Studies degree from Harvard Divinity School. Their research is cultivating their concept of spiritual reparations concerning Regla de Ocha-Ifá and other Afro-Caribbean Diasporic traditions. Issa has received training from and performed in dance works by Cristal Brown, Frederick Earl Mosley, Princess Mhoon, Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane, Bebe Miller, Yeniselt Galata Calvo, Obini Batá, and Camille A. Brown. (they/them)
PJ Jetton (Assistant Scenic Designer) is a firstyear B.A. in Theatre and Dance student with an emphasis in design and technology at The University of Texas at Austin, focusing on scenic and lighting design. Recent credits include light operation for La Traviata (Butler Opera Center, 2024) and the Song Reimagined Series (Butler Opera Center, 2023). They are passionate about using theatrical design to convey powerful stories and engage meaningfully with audiences.
Valeria Blanco Perez (Assistant Stage Manager) is a first-year B.A. in Theatre and Dance major with an emphasis in design and technology and a focus in stage management. She previously served as light board operator with StageWorks Theatre and served in various roles within Cypress Creek Theatre Company. This is her first production with Texas Theatre and Dance.
Ava Sofia Settoon (Costume Designer – Motherless Child) is a first-year M.F.A in Theatre (costume design) candidate at The University of Texas at Austin with a focus in costume design.
Recent costume design credits include Bat Boy: The Musical (2023), The Second Star to the Right (2024), and Mary Sweet Mary (2023) for Emerson Stage. She has also designed for the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.
Gavin Strawnato (Lighting Designer – Vacíos, Lone. Lean. Less., The Altar of Humanity The Convocation The Resolution The Benediction) is a third-year M.F.A. in Theatre candidate studying lighting, scenic and media design. Past work with Texas Theatre and Dance includes Fall For Dance (2023) and EMERGE (2023).
Cameron Suckle (Co-Choreographer – To Offer A Withheld Embrace) is a B.F.A. in Dance major also pursuing a minor in arts management and administration. She grew up in Los Angeles, California and trained at The Industry Dance Academy. Recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include And I Can Breathe Again (Fall For Dance, 2022), Falling into Structured Meaninglessness (The Cohen New Works Festival, 2023), what we cannot hold (Fall For Dance, 2023) and Quiet Echoes (Points of Intersection, 2024).
Raúl Tamez (Choreographer – Motherless Child) is a dancer, choreographer and sociologist. He became the first Mexican choreographer to have worked with the Limón Dance Company, after Limón himself. He is the winner of a Bessie Award 2022 in New York in the category of outstanding choreographer for his piece Motherless Child. In 2016, he won the National Dance Award of Mexico. He has created around 40 dance pieces that have been presented in important theatres in Mexico and around the world.
Lindsey Rae Thurston (Costume Designer –Agape Love, Vacíos, To Offer A Withheld Embrace, Lone. Lean. Less. ) received her M.F.A. in Theatre (costume design) from The University of Texas at Austin in 2021. She has worked at theatres across the west including The Phoenix Theater Company, Arizona Broadway, the Utah Shakespeare Festival and the Utah Festival of Opera and Musical Theatre. She is an owner at Hook & Eye, LLC, a couture and costume
fabrication studio in Austin, Texas and an adjunct professor at Concordia University.
David Tolin (Technical Director) was born and raised in Casper, Wyoming. He received his B.A. in Theatre with a concentration in design/ technology from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. He received his M.F.A. in Theatre from The University of Texas at Austin before teaching at Westlake High School for seven years. Tolin works at Texas Performing Arts’ Fabrication Studios as the Project Manager and as faculty in the UT Live Design and Production area.
Joel Valentín-Martínez (Producing Director) toured throughout the world as a dancer with Garth Fagan Dance from 1990-2003. ValentínMartínez’s most recent choreographic commissions include Last Dance (2023) for Serafín Aponte in Mexico City; Dear Brother (2023) with Toronto’s KasheDance; otros dias de guardar (2022) and De aquí, de allá (2019) with Mexico City’s Barro Rojo Arte Escénico, and #rupturapasaje2 (2019) for Andanza Compañia Puertorriqueña de Danza Contemporánea.
Zach Young (Lighting Designer – Motherless Child, Agape Love, To Offer A Withheld Embrace; Projection Designer - Motherless Child) is a third-year M.F.A. in Theatre (live design and production) candidate studying lighting, scenic and media design. Past work with Texas Theatre and Dance includes Dance Repertory Theatre’s Fall For Dance (2022), Points of Intersection (2024) and CYPHERS (2024)
Jeremy Benavides
Maxima Isabella Velasquez Alvarez
Mia Blitz.
Madeleine Birmingham
Ariyana Bogan
Caroline Buchhorn
Triana Cisneros
Katelyn Doyle
Lauren Dorsett
Catalina Duong
Grace Falconer
Merrin Foley
Emma Flores
Audrey Friloux
Leili Givens
Jesus Gutierrez
Bryli Lee Jameson
Marcel Johnson Katie Jones Khoa Le
CAST
Julia Leitner Lorna Luciano Parker Manning Victoria Angelina Montemayor
Kate Mooney Makaila Natividad
Christian Ortega Makenzie Peacock
Cassidy Perry Drew Phipps
Arianna Nayeli Puente
Hunter Purvis
IvyCamille R. Sampson
Lauren Simpson
Katherine Grace Templeton
Natalie Vargas
Madysn Watkins Kendall Wenmohs
Maxima Isabella Velasquez Alvarez (Dancer –Motherless Child) is a third-year B.F.A. in Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. She grew up living between Matamoros, Tamaulipas and Brownsville, Texas, where she received extensive training in ballet, jazz, tap and acting. Her credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include ETERNAL BONDS .2 (Fall For Dance, 2023), where to go from here (CYPHERS, 2024), as well as Dance Action's S.E.E.D (2022-2023).
Jeremy Benavides (Dancer – Lone. Lean. Less.) is a third-year UTeach Dance major. He previously performed as part of The Cohen New Works Festival (2023) and was an assistant choreographer for Ride the Cyclone (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2023). More recently, he performed in CYPHERS (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2024). This marks his second performance with Dance Repertory Theatre.
Madeleine Birmingham (Dancer – Motherless Child, To Offer A Withheld Embrace) is a secondyear UTeach Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. Birmingham began her career as a dance performer and choreographer in her hometown of Carrollton, Texas, where she competed and taught throughout her childhood. Her most recent performances with Texas Theatre and Dance include Claudia Lavista’s Oxido (Rusty) (Points of Intersection, 2024) and Meredith Rainey’s Ode to Cicadas (CYPHERS, 2024).
Mia Blitz (Dancer – To Offer A Withheld Embrace) is a fourth-year B.F.A. in Dance major also pursuing a pre-health professions certificate and law, justice, and society minor. She grew up in Long Island, New York, and attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia Arts High School while also training at Kanyok Arts Initiative. Credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include why they are the way that they are (EMERGE, 2023), Womanhood (The Cohen New Works Festival, 2023), what we cannot hold (Fall For Dance, 2023) and Quiet Echoes (Points of Intersection, 2024). Additional credits include TEDxUTAustin (2022) and Dance Action’s S.E.E.D. (2021-2022).
Ariyana Bogan (Dancer – Lone. Lean. Less., The Altar of Humanity The Convocation The Resolution The Benediction) is a second-year B.F.A. in Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. She is originally from Houston, Texas and has a background in various dance styles, including hiphop, jazz and contemporary. She has performed at Austin Dance Festival (2022) and Bailando International Dance Festival (2022). Recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include 10 + 1 (Points of Intersection, 2024), Evolution (2024) and where to go from here (CYPHERS, 2024).
Caroline Buchhorn (Dancer – The Altar of Humanity The Convocation The Resolution The Benediction, To Offer A Withheld Embrace) is double majoring in UTeach Dance and human development and family sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. She is a third-year member of The University of Texas D1A Competitive Dance Team and is one of the captains of the team this year. She is from San Antonio, Texas, where she trained with the Collective Dance Artistry Performance Company. This is her first performance with Dance Repertory Theatre.
Triana Cisneros (Dancer – Motherless Child) is a second-year B.F.A. in Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. She is from Laredo, Texas, where she received extensive dance training at the Laredo School of Contemporary Dance. She is a member of Dance Action and has recently choreographed in their annual showcase, S.E.E.D. (2024). Her recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include Óxido (Rusty) by Claudia Lavista (Points of Intersection, 2024), On and On by Le’Andre Douglas (CYPHERS, 2024) and Evolution (2024).
Lauren Dorsett (Dancer – Motherless Child) is a B.F.A. in Dance and B.S. in Kinesiology double major at The University of Texas at Austin. She has an extensive background in dance and grew up dancing competitively. This is Dorsett’s second year with the Department of Theatre and Dance. Recent credits with Texas
Theatre and Dance include Claudia Lavista’s Óxido (Rusty) (Points of Intersection, 2024) and Le'Andre Douglas' On and On (CYPHERS, 2024).
Katelyn Doyle (Dancer – Motherless Child) is a second-year B.F.A. in Dance and English double major at The University of Texas at Austin. She attended Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas. This will be her third performance with Dance Repertory Theatre.
Catalina Duong (Dancer – Motherless Child) is a second-year B.F.A. in Dance Major also pursuing a pre-med certificate at The University of Texas at Austin. She is from Houston, Texas, where she attended Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and trained in a variety of dance techniques. Her recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include CYPHERS (2024), Points of Intersection (2024) and Evolution (2024).
Grace Falconer (Dancer – Agape Love) is a thirdyear B.F.A. in Dance major. She has received extensive dance training from the Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston, Texas. Falconer’s credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include The Cohen New Works Festival (2023), ETERNAL BONDS .2 (Fall For Dance, 2023), Un Intento (An Attempt) (Points of Intersection, 2024) and Shift... (CYPHERS, 2024), as well as Dance Action’s S.E.E.D. (2022). Most recently Falconer performed with Boot Dance Project at {254}DANCEFEST.
Emma Flores (Dancer – The Altar of Humanity
The Convocation The Resolution The Benediction) is a second-year B.F.A. in Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. She is from Austin, Texas, where she grew up doing competitive dance and musical theatre. She most recently performed with student dance team Barkada in the annual dance competition GoodPhil (2024) and in CYPHERS (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2024).
Merrin Foley (Dancer – Lone. Lean. Less.) is a third-year B.F.A. in Dance and Bachelor of Science in Advertising double major also pursuing a minor in business. She grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, where she trained in numerous dance styles and techniques through school, studios and intensives. Recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include Fall For Dance (2023), The Cohen New Works Festival (2023), Points of Intersection (2024) and Evolution (2024).
Audrey Friloux (Dancer – The Altar of Humanity
The Convocation The Resolution The Benediction, To Offer A Withheld Embrace; Rehearsal Assistant – To Offer A Withheld Embrace) is a second-year B.F.A. in Dance major pursuing a minor in arts management and administration at The University of Texas at Austin. She grew up dancing competitively and is now teaching and choreographing for students in Austin. She most recently performed with Dance Repertory Theatre in Meredith Rainey’s Ode to Cicadas (CYPHERS, 2024).
Leili Givens (Dancer – To Offer A Withheld Embrace) is pursuing a B.F.A. in Dance with a minor in behavioral and social sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. She is originally from Houston, Texas, where she studied at Houston Ballet Academy and was in the second company of Houston Contemporary Dance. Recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include Evolution (2024) and CYPHERS (2024). She has also performed in Dance Action’s S.E.E.D. (2023, 2024).
Jesus Gutierrez (Dancer – Agape Love) is a first-year UTeach Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin also pursuing a minor in psychology. This is his first year with Dance Repertory Theatre.
Bryli Lee Jameson (Dancer – Motherless Child, Vacíos) is a B.F.A. in Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. Originally from the Dallas, Texas area, she has an extensive background in modern, contemporary and hip-hop dance styles. Her recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include Evolution (2024) and CYPHERS (2024).
Marcel Johnson (Dancer – Agape Love) is a first-year B.F.A. in Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. They are a San Jacinto College alum, where they studied modern, jazz, ballet, choreography and performance, and received an Associate of Arts. Recent credits with the Department of Theatre and Dance include “Presente” by Angel Blanco (2024).
Katie Jones (Dancer –Agape Love, Motherless Child; Rehearsal Assistant – Agape Love) is a third-year B.F.A. in Dance major also pursuing a minor in social work at The University of Texas at Austin. She is from Katy, Texas, where she trained extensively in ballet and jazz. Recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include CYPHERS (2024), Points of Intersection (2024), Evolution (2024) and It’s Starting Again (created by Lauren Jershin, 2023).
Khoa Le (Dancer – Lone. Lean. Less.) is a B.A. in Theatre and Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. He has experience in dance, acting, singing and musical instruments, and recently contributed to a performance staged at the Visual Arts Center. He is currently developing an installation for the upcoming Atrium Series as part of The Cohen New Works Festival.
Julia Leitner (Dancer, Rehearsal Assistant –Lone. Lean. Less.) is a B.F.A. in Dance and B.A. in Sociology double major at The University of Texas at Austin. She has an extensive background in dance and has been dancing for the past 16 years. Leitner’s recent work with Texas Theatre and Dance includes Angel Blanco’s Un Intento (An Attempt) (Points of Intersection, 2024).
Lorna Luciano (Dancer – To Offer A Withheld Embrace) is a fourth-year B.F.A. in Dance major also pursuing a minor in arts management and administration at The University of Texas at Austin. She is from San Antonio, Texas, where she trained extensively in contemporary, jazz and ballet dance styles. Credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include Pop Refuge (Fall For Dance, 2022); Blue, Contrapposto, Blue (EMERGE, 2023); tooth fairy (Fall For Dance, 2023) and Un Intento (An Attempt) (Points of Intersection, 2024).
Parker Manning (Dancer – To Offer A Withheld Embrace) is a fourth-year B.F.A. in Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. Manning grew up in Houston, Texas training and competing with Masters The Upper Level Dance Company. Recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include And I Can Breathe Again (Fall For Dance, 2022), Falling Into Structured Meaninglessness (The Cohen New Works Festival, 2023), what we cannot hold (Fall For Dance, 2023) and This Eternal Round (Points of Intersection, 2024).
Victoria Angelina Montemayor (Dancer – The Altar of Humanity The Convocation The Resolution The Benediction) is a third-year B.F.A. in Dance major. She grew up in Laredo, Texas and trained in numerous dance styles with the Laredo School of Contemporary Dance. Her credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include Blue, Contrapposto, Blue (EMERGE, 2023), Quiet Echoes (Points of Intersection, 2024), It's Starting Again (project by Lauren Jershin, 2023), Evolution (2023) and Shift.. by Love Muwwakkil Estes and Ode to Cicadas by Meredith Rainey as part of CYPHERS (2024). This is her final year with Texas Theatre and Dance.
Kate Mooney (Dancer – The Altar of Humanity The Convocation The Resolution The Benediction) is a second-year B.F.A. in Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. She has danced and trained in a multitude of styles for many years.. Recent credits include CYPHERS (Texas Theatre and Dance, 2024) and Dance Action's S.E.E.D. (2023, 2024)
Makaila Natividad (Dancer – Motherless Child) is a third-year B.F.A. in Dance student at The University of Texas at Austin, also pursuing minors in arts management and administration. kinesiology and health education. She trained with Prisma Dance in Oahu until 2022, Visceral Dance Summer Intensive (2024) and Entity Contemporary Winter Intensive (2024). She has performed in Dance Repertory Theatre with artists Valeria Gonzalez (2023) and Jennifer Archibald (2024). As a grant recipient, she is developing work for the 2025 Cohen New Works Festival.
Christian Ortega (Dancer – Vacios, The Altar of Humanity The Convocation The Resolution The Benediction) is a second-year B.F.A. in Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. He was born and raised in Brownsville, Texas where he trained at Dance Expressions Studio. This will be his third performance with Dance Repertory Theatre.
Makenzie Peacock (Dancer – Lone. Lean. Less. ) is a second-year UTeach Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. She is from Austin, Texas and has studied and taught many styles of dance including ballet, modern and contemporary. Recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include Choreomaniac 1518 (UTNT (UT New Theatre) 2024) and Shift... (CYPHERS 2024). Additional credits include Dance Action’s S.E.E.D. (2022-2024).
Cassidy Perry (Dancer – Motherless Child, Vacíos) is a second-year B.F.A. in Dance major also studying psychology and minoring in Radio-TelevisionFilm at The University of Texas at Austin. She is from Maryland and has an extensive background in numerous dance styles, having trained primarily in ballet. Her Texas Theatre and Dance credits include Points of Intersection (2024) in Joel Valentín-Martínez’s 10+1 and CYPHERS (2024) in Meredith Rainey's Ode to Cicadas. She has been a member of the archival team for a year.
Drew Phipps (Dancer – Motherless Child) is a third-year B.F.A. in Dance and B.S. in Kinesiology and Health double major at The University of Texas at Austin. Recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include Oxido (Rust) (Points of Intersection, 2024), ETERNAL BONDS .2 (Fall for Dance, 2023) and The Cohen New Works Festival (2023). Additional projects she has participated in include TEDxUTAustin, {254} DANCEFEST with Boot Dance Project and Barnstorm Dance Fest in Houston, Texas.
Arianna Nayeli Puente (Dancer – Vacíos, Motherless Child) is a fourth-year B.F.A. in Dance major, also pursuing a minor in kinesiology and health education at The University of Texas at Austin. She is from Brownsville, Texas, where she trained at Brownsville Dance Center. Credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include Witchcraft (Fall for Dance, 2022), Renaissance Futura (EMERGE, 2023) and what we cannot hold (Fall for Dance, 2023), along with Evolution (2022, 2023) and Dance Action’s S.E.E.D. (2021, 2022, 2023).
Hunter Purvis (Dancer – Lone. Lean. Less.) is a third-year UTeach Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. She is from Dripping Springs, Texas, where she received extensive training in various dance styles, competed at a high level and served as co-director of her studio's junior team. She most recently performed in Love Muwwakkil's Shift... (CYPHERS, Texas Theatre and Dance, 2024).
IvyCamille R. Sampson (Dancer – The Altar of Humanity The Convocation The Resolution The Benediction) is a third year B.F.A. in Dance major with a minor in arts management and administration. She was born and raised in Cypress, Texas where she was on her high school drill team. She later joined The Cypress Dance Project Company her senior year. Her recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include Evolution (2024), the inevitability of work (and the joy in it) (Fall For Dance, 2023) and EMERGE (2023).
Lauren Simpson (Dancer – Motherless Child) is a third-year B.F.A. in Dance major on the UTeach track. She is from Pflugerville, Texas, where she received extensive training at Greater Austin Dance Academy (GADA) and was a member of Heartsong Dance Co. Simpson actively teaches classes at GADA and sets choreography across the state. Her recent credits with Texas Theatre and Dance include Oxido (Rusty) (Points of Intersection, 2024) and the inevitability of work (and the joy in it) (Fall For Dance, 2023).
Katherine Grace Templeton (Dancer – Motherless Child) is a second-year B.F.A. in Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. She has an extensive background in performing and plans to continue pursuing performance opportunities post-graduation.
Natalie Vargas (Dancer – Agape Love) is a B.F.A. in Dance major. She was born and raised in Austin, Texas and has a competitive dance background where she trained in numerous styles. While attending University of North Texas she performed with their dance team in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and The Dallas Cowboys halftime show, as well as various dance films and showcases. She's currently a member of the Texas Pom Squad and a dance teacher. EQUINOX marks her first performance with Dance Repertory Theatre.
CAST
Madysn Watkins (Dancer – The Altar of Humanity The Convocation The Resolution The Benediction) is a fourth-year B.F.A. in Dance major with a minor in the analytics and business of sports at The University of Texas at Austin. Watkins studied at The Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Recent performances with Texas Theatre and Dance include Evolution (2024) and The Cohen New Works Festival.
Kendall Wenmohs (Dancer – To Offer A Withheld Embrace) is a B.F.A. in Dance major at The University of Texas at Austin. She has an extensive background in concert dance and competition dance. Recent credits include performances with the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. In addition to this, she has performed in various summer intensive shows with the Joffrey Ballet School and The Dance Awards.
TEXAS PERFORMING
ARTS FABRICATION STUDIO
ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR
KAREN MANESS
PROJECT MANAGER
DAVID TOLIN
OPERATIONS MANAGER
JASON LEE HUERTA
PROPERTIES MANAGER
CAROLYN HARDIN
LEAD FABRICATOR
HANK SCHWEMMER
PROJECT SPECIALIST
ASHTON BENNETT MURPHY
SENIOR TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
SCOTT BUSSEY
EMERGING ARTS PROFESSIONALS
BRIDGETTE CLIFFORD
DANIEL GELD
GRADUATE PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
DANIEL RUIZ BUSTOS
ALIK CLAY
JOSHUA MARTIN
ZACH YOUNG
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS
GABI HERNANDEZ
MADISON JACKSON
PRODUCTION LEADS
ELIZABETH BANDA
JULIA YELVINGTON
LEAH AUSTIN
FABRICATION PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
JUNO ADAIR
EVELYN BECERRA
NAHLA BELTRAN
AYLIN CIBIK
DANIEL COLCOCK
SARAH JAYNE EWING
ANA LARA
CODIE LIGHTFOOT
KRISTA MCLEOD
VALERIA NUNEZ ESTRADA
JOSE SALCIDO
MONSE SANDOVAL-
MALHERBE
KARINA TREJO
CREW
324P FABRICATION
PRODUCTION ASSISTANTS
JOE ADKINS
BENJAMIN BARCLAY
HAYLEY CARBAJAL
ALYSSA CONCHAS
TREVOR GATABAKI
EVELYN PANIAGUA
ZOE SALDANA
CHELSEA TREJO
ARIADNA VALTIERRA
PROP STOCK MANAGERS
KATELYN NGUYEN
LAURA SOARES
SCENERY/PROPS CREW
JORDYN ECKERS
JALISSA VITALIS
ANDREA BERNAL
COSTUME PRODUCTION AND FABRICATION STUDIO
COSTUME PRODUCTION DIRECTOR
NANETTE ACOSTA
PRODUCTION ASSOCIATES
DESIREÉ HUMPHRIES
JONATHAN WATERS
STAFF DRAPERS
SARAH BARBOUR
POUA YANG
STAFF FIRST HANDS
JENNIFER BALL
WAYNE FOWKS
STUDENT FIRST HAND
RILEY O’SULLIVAN
STUDENT STITCHERS
JACOB BENAIM
COSTUME CRAFTS ARTISAN
TANYA OLALDE
COSTUME CRAFTS ASSISTANTS
RACHEL GREEN
KATIE CONCANNON
STUDIO ASSISTANTS
LAYLA ISAAC
ALLISON JOHNSON
DEE FITZGERALD
WIG HAIR AND MAKEUP
SPECIALIST
STEPHANIE WILLIAMS
WIG HAIR AND MAKEUP ASSISTANT
PARIS FULKS
STUDIO CREW SUPERVISORS
KAITLYN COMFORT
MATTHEW SMITH
STUDIO CREW
ADAM FLORES
VALERIA GUAJARDO GALVAN
MIA HINDMAN
LUCY NICHOLS
JESSICA PAINE
ELI SMALL
MAGGIE TAYLOR
ESMERALDA TREVIÑO
LUCY WEBB
WARDROBE SUPERVISOR
TANIA HERNANDEZ
WARDROBE RUNNING CREW
HAILEY POTTER
JULIA VICKERS
ALE MARQUEZ
COSTUME STOCK SUPERVISOR
DESIREÉ HUMPHRIES
COSTUME STOCK ASSISTANTS
AVA SETTOON VIOLET CLEMMONS
EMORY KENNEMORE
LIGHTING/SOUND/ MEDIA
ACADEMIC PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY MANAGER
EARNEST MAZIQUE
ASSISTANT LIGHTING SUPERVISOR
MICHAEL SHANKS
ASSISTANT SUPERVISING ELECTRICIAN
FINN HIGGINBOTHAM
SENIOR LIGHTING TECHNICIANS
KP PIERCE
BRITTNEY BARTON
ZACH YOUNG
324P LIGHTING FACULTY SUPERVISOR
SEB BOONE
324P THEATRE AND DANCE
LIGHTING CREW
BRANDT AGOSTO-MEDINA
ANNA BLANCHARD
JAZ BURCHELL
MIYA CHAVIS
DAVID GONIMA
JUAN LINDO FERNANDEZ
DYLAN MARTINEZ FIGUERO
KAITLYN MCCULLEY
MICHAEL OKOOTI
SANDI RODRIGUEZGONZALEZ
BELEN TAMEZ
JAYCIE VOLLER
RYLIE WILSON
TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS
LIGHTING CREW
JOSE CALVILLO
ADAM CORONADO
COBY HUGHES
P.J. JETTON
BLAKE PERSYN
ETHAN SEBREE
RAIN SNYDER
LIGHT BOARD OPERATORS
PJ JETTON
EMMA SAFIER
ASSISTANT AUDIO VIDEO SUPERVISOR
K. ELIOT HAYNES
TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS
AUDIO CREW
SARAH APPLE
KALEB AZIZ
NADIA PETRU
AUDIO BOARD OPERATOR
ALEXIS HUNT
MEDIA GRADUATE ASSISTANTS
ARASH BAQIPUR
A.J. HURTADO
MEDIA SHOP CREW
STEFANY ORTIZ
KATIE QIN
KHALIA SACKO
JULIA VEIGA
MEDIA OPERATOR
RIZA HERNANDEZ
RUN CREW
CREW SUPERVISOR
AUSTIN SHIRLEY
FOLLOW SPOT OPERATORS
ANNASOFIHA GARCIA
JAYLA LOVE
PRODUCTION ADVISORS
STAGE MANAGEMENT
RUSTY CLOYES
DIRECTING
KJ SANCHEZ
ALEXANDRA BASSIAKOU
SHAW
COSTUME DESIGN
RAQUEL BARRETO
COSTUME TECHNOLOGY
DAVID AREVALO
LIGHTING DESIGN
MICHELLE HABECK
INTEGRATED MEDIA FOR LIVE PERFORMANCE
KATE FREER
SCENIC DESIGN
JOSAFATH REYNOSO
SOUND DESIGN
PHILLIP OWEN
DRAMATURGY
MADGE DARLINGTON
RESIDENT INTIMACY DIRECTOR
ANDY GRAPKO
CREW
DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION
RUSTY CLOYES
TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS DIRECTOR OF FABRICATION AND ACADEMIC PRODUCTION
JEFF GRAPKO
FRONT OF HOUSE MANAGEMENT AND TICKETING
DANA MCLAUGHLIN
PR/MARKETING
SYDNEY PATTILLO
KATY WIGGINS
PHOTOGRAPHER
SARAH NAVARRETE
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
JEFF GRAY
Dance Repertory Theatre Presents: EQUINOX
Producing Artistic Director, EG Gionfriddo
Co-Producing Directors, Sinclair Emoghene and Joel ValentínMartínez
PERFORMANCE ORDER: Vacíos
Annie Laura Irizarry-Pérez
To Offer A Withheld Embrace
Presley Gouge and Cameron Suckle
Motherless Child
Raúl Tamez
INTERMISSION ---
Lone. Lean. Less. Quilan “Cue” Arnold
Agape Love
Iyalochá Nadia Milad Issa
The Altar of Humanity The Convocation The Resolution The Benediction
Michelle N. Gibson
This program includes mature content and themes including portrayals of violence, expressions of grief and distress and references to deceased individuals. Performance includes loud noises and the use of haze.
Music featured in EQUINOX includes:
Vacíos – PURO TEATRO by Alonso Catalino Curet
Motherless Child – MOTHERLESS CHILD by Traditional Spiritual
Lone. Lean. Less. – LIGHTS ON (ACT 4) by Joseph Gabriel ArmonJones, James Mollison, Ifeoluwu Ademola Ogunjobi, Olufemi David Koleoso, Toyosi Jonathan Koleoso, M Roberts
