25/26 ARTISTIC COLLABORATORS

  • Since 2002 she has been an Associate Artist with Punchdrunk, for whom she has co-directed (with Felix Barrett) and choreographed the multi-award-winning Sleep No More (London, Boston, New York, Shanghai) (2002 – present), The Burnt City (2022) The Drowned Man, The House Where Winter Lives, The Firebird Ball, Faust, Masque of the Red Death, Tunnel 228, The Duchess of Malfi (an operatic collaboration with English National Opera and Thorsten Rasch) and The Yellow Wallpaper. A documentary on Punchdrunk’s work, entitled Behind the Mask, premiered on Sky Arts in January 2023. A further re-imaging of Sleep No More will be opening in Seoul, South Korea in 2025.

    Work for film and television includes the feature film Mari (dir: Georgia Paris), The Third Day – Autumn (Punchdrunk), Brave New World (dir: Owen Harris) and 20:20 Vision (dir: Jake Polonsnky). Work for theatre and opera includes The Cunning Little Vixen (Glyndebourne), Faust (Germany) Evening at the Talk House (National Theatre) and Electra (Old Vic).

    Maxine has created dance theatre work for The BalletBoyz (UK), The Martha Graham Company (USA) in collaboration with Bobbi Jene Smith, Verve (UK) and Johannes Wieland Company (Germany) and is a regular principal artist at Springboard Dance Montreal, B12 Festival in Berlin and has mentored for the iconic Jacobs Pillow Dance Season.

    In 2019 Maxine created the award-winning, site specific work Sunset (Australian Dance Award) for Strut Dance and the Perth Festival and in 2022 she premiered the large scale stage and installation work Here Not Here in collaboration with visionary artist Es Devlin and GöteborgsOperans Danskompani.

    In 2023 Maxine continued her collaboration with Es Devlin with the crictically acclaimed dance installation work – Salamander – for the Brisbane International Festival and Australasian Dance Collective. Most recently, Maxine created FIFTEEN MINUTES (2024) for Netherlands Dance Theatre 2 in collaboration with composer Cassie Kinoshi. Future projects include new work for Dart Dance Company (Berlin), Eisenhower Dance Company (US) and Form Dance Projects (Australia).

  • Yoshito Sakuraba is the founding artistic director of Abarukas and an award-winning choreographer. Originally from Japan, Yoshito began his career in New York City and has expanded to presenting work in Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, Israel, Mexico, and nationally across the U.S. including Joyce Theater, BAM, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jacob's Pillow, Kaatsbaan, and McCallum Theater (Palm Desert Choreography Festival). He has received the Best Choreography Award at FINI Dance Festival in Italy, the Audience Award at Masdanza International Contemporary Dance Festival in Spain, and he's a winner of NW Dance Project's Pretty Creatives International Choreographic Competition and Whim W'Him's Shindig. In addition to his company repertory, he’s been commissioned by numerous companies including Bayerisches Staatsballett (Munich), DAF (Rome), Lamondance (Vancouver), Whim W'Him, Louisville Ballet, Ballet Arkansas, Ballet Des Moines II, Litvak Dance, Levy Dance, Pony Box Dance Theater, Modas Dance, Kit Modus, Nimbus Dance, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, and Graham II. He seeks to inspire young artists in their artistic expression and has been invited to create works and teach at institutions such as Joffrey Ballet School, Alvin Ailey/Fordham University, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Peabody at Johns Hopkins University, Reed College, Marymount Manhattan College, Barnard College, DLNY, MOVE l NYC and Steps on Broadway Conservatory. Most recently he was commissioned by the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts in Michigan.

  • Madeline Merwin (b. 1998) is an American composer and teacher specializing in contemporary classical music composition and multimedia music projects. She enjoys working with dance, film, and theater, as well as in traditional classical concert settings, and strives to blend classical music with pop/funk groove influences.

    Madeline is the winner of the 2018-19 American Prize in Composition, awarded for her dance/film/electroacoustic musical work Ceilings Made of Glass. She has received commissions from prominent organizations such as the Nashville Ballet, Wright State University, and X-Contemporary Dance Ensemble, and has completed many other collaborations both domestically and throughout Europe. She is an alumna of the Conservatorium van Amsterdam erasmus program (2019), the Filmscoring Academy of Europe Summer Program (2020), and the European-American Musical Alliance summer music festival (2022). She most recently completed a residency fellowship at the University of Michigan to compose a full-length ballet with Eisenhower Dance Detroit, premiering in winter 2026, during which time she also taught undergraduates as an Adjunct Professor of Music Theory and Aural Skills at Henry Ford College.

    In addition to her performance work, Madeline is passionate about advocating for accessibility of classical music for modern audiences. She was selected as an official TEDtalk presenter in 2018, and completed a TEDtalk on the socioeconomic barriers facing the classical music industry today.

    Madeline completed an undergraduate thesis dissertation on the political motivations behind the delineation of opera and musical theater genres, and plans to pursue her interest in researching socioeconomic pressures in the music industry alongside her composition endeavors.

    Madeline is currently earning her second master’s degree at the University of Southern California, where she is completing a Master’s of Business Administration, which she will apply to her music industry career. Before receiving her Master of Music degree in Composition at the University of Michigan in 2023, Madeline received her Bachelor of Music degree in Composition at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music in 2021, and graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy with a major in Composition in 2017. In her free time, Madeline enjoys listening to TrueCrime podcasts and spending way too much money on candles.

PAST ARTISTIC COLLABORATORS

  • TAMISHA A. GUY, a native of Trinidad and Tobago, began her formal dance training at Ballet Tech, under the direction of Eliot Feld. Later she attended Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, and SUNY Purchase College as a double major in dance and arts management. She has performed works by William Forsythe, Bebe Miller, Doug Varone, Merce Cunningham, Pam Tanowitz and Mark Morris. In 2013 Guy graduated with honors from SUNY Purchase College and joined the Martha Graham Dance Company shortly after. In 2016 Guy was selected as one of Dance Magazine' Top 25 to Watch and she also received the 2016 Princess Grace Award. She was featured in the segment “Spotlight on Success” in Dance Informa Magazine as well as the Caribbean Life newspaper, where she discussed her upbringing and the distinguished Princess Grace Award. In 2017, she was named one of the Best Dancers of the Year by Dance Europe, and in 2021, she received the 2022 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Dance. Guy has been fortunate to teach masterclasses in Hawaii, London, Berlin, Haiti, Colombia, Minneapolis, Arizona, Dallas etc. Tamisha currently dances with A.I.M, under Artistic Direction of Kyle Abraham, and she is a Lecturer in Dance at Barnard College.

  • Acclaimed International Choreographer and Artistic Director Marc Brew trained as a professional dancer at the Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School and The Australian Ballet School. He has been working in the UK and Internationally for over 24 years as a director, choreographer, dancer, teacher and speaker; with the Australian Ballet Company, State Theatre Ballet Company of South Africa, Infinity Dance Theatre, Candoco Dance Company and AXIS Dance Company. Marc was Associate Director with Scottish Dance Theatre, Associate Artistic Director with Ballet Cymru in Wales and was Associate Artist in 2015 at Tramway Theatre in Glasgow and Artistic Director of AXIS Dance Company from 2017-2021.

    Since 2008 Marc has been dedicating time to his own choreography with Marc Brew Company and his recent choreographic commissions include: University of South Florida (USA), Restless (Aus), San Francisco Ballet Trainees, Dancing Wheels (USA), Scottish Ballet, Ballet Cymru (Wales), YDance (Scotland), AXIS Dance Company (USA), Candoco Dance Company (UK), Touch Compass (NZ), Amy Seiwert’s Imagery (USA) and Scottish Dance Theatre. Marc was presented with a Centenary Medal for Outstanding Contribution as a dancer and choreographer. His work Remember When was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Best Performance (individual) and his recent solo work For Now, I am… was listed in the Guardians Top 10 Dance Shows for 2016.

  • Two time “Bessie Award” winner, Hope Boykin was an original member of Complexions, danced with Philadanco, and most recently completed her 20th and final year with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Hope has choreographed for numerous dance companies including Philadanco, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Minnesota Dance Theater, Ballet X, Ballet Black of London, American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, and has created three works for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, along with commissions ranging from contemporary dance to ballet by Damian Woetzel, the Kennedy Center, and Vail Dance Festival.

    Hope has garnered much acclaim with her virtual work for Carolina Performing Arts, Guggenheim Works And Process Virtual Commissions initiative, and the National Black Theatre. As a motivator, Hope has been an annual keynote speaker for Lincoln Center Activate, a national education forum, which has included a special Weekend With Hope, a series of talks with friends and dance industry professionals, discussing crucial topics in our dance world.

    Hope serves as Artistic Advisor for Dance Education for the Kennedy Center and Artistic Lead for the Kennedy Center Dance Lab. She is Artist-In-Residence at USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and was advisor for the Howard University Department of Dance for their 2021 spring semester.

    Hope continues to build on her work, as a writer; blending her words and cadence as the foundation of her developing movement-language.

    As a director and dance-maker Hope received a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for her own Covid Safe residency #BoykinBubble and in the fall of 2021 premiered a full evening of her choreography, An Evening of Hope at 92nd Street Y in New York City, to much acclaim. Most recently she released “Beauty Size & Color” a short film commenting on what has changed in the first twenty years of the 21st century on AllArts.org as well as a weekend of her own work, Moments By Hope, … a concert.

    As an educator, creator, mover, and motivator, Hope firmly believes there are no limits.

  • Born in Bayombong Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines and raised in Los Angeles, CA Norbert De La Cruz III is recognized for his versatility in performance and choreography. He is a performing and collaborative artist with roots in classical and contemporary dance. After moving to New York, he received a BFA in Dance from the Juilliard School followed by an MFA in Dance from Hollins University. He is a New York and Los Angeles based freelance dance artist.

    Norbert's movement practice has brought nationwide attention to dance companies and educational programs. His physicality is shaped by his training experiences from the Gabriella Foundation, LA County High School for the Arts, Marat Daukayev School of Ballet, The Juilliard School, and through his performance career as a professional dancer. He started training in classical dance at age 11 (Cecchetti and Vaganova) with ballet masters Vera Ninkovic and Marat Daukayev.

    Professionally, Norbert has performed as a soloist with the Metropolitan Opera's production of Aida, Aszure Barton & Artists in Germany & Austria (Blue Soup & Busk), Balletto Teatro di Torino (Italy), Joe Goode Performance Group, Sydney Skybetter & Associates, Santa Clarita Ballet, Lustig Dance Theatre, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Boca Tuya with Omar Román De Jesús. As a pre-professional, he was honored the Music Center's 17th annual Spotlight Award, the Emerging Young Artist Award, Youth America Grand Prix 2nd place in non-classical, and represented the Juilliard School at Kodak Theatre’s first annual Dizzy Feet Foundation Gala in Hollywood, CA. Norbert recently been casted in Warner Brothers Pictures film adaptation of Tony-winning musical In The Heights.

    Additionally, Norbert has performed works by choreographers José Limón, David Parker, Adam Hougland, Johannes Wieland, Ohad Naharin, Aszure Barton, Jerome Robbins, Larry Keigwin, Jiri Pikorny, Hernando Fernando Magedan, Spenser Theberge, Jeremy McQueen, Camille A. Browne, Dwight Rhoden, Desmond Richardson, Lightfoot & Leon, Crystal Pite, Alonzo King, Zachary Tang, Omar Román De Jesus, Gregory Dawson and Jirí Kylián.

    Norbert's choreographic career was further mentored by esteemed Aspen Santa Fe Ballet (ASFB) Directors, Tom Mossbrucker and Jean-Philippe Malaty. His early career was recognized through the support of the Jerome Robbins Foundation’s NEW Essential Works Grant (2012), commissioning his first large-scale ballet, “Square None” (2012) with ASFB. He was then a finalist of Hubbard Street’s National Choreographic Competition (2013), a Princess Grace Foundation-USA Award under the choreography fellowship (2012), Alvin Ailey New Directions Choreography Lab (2013), finalist for the Joffrey Academy of Dance’s 2014 Winning Works and a recipient for the 2015 National Choreographic Initiative in Irvine, CA. He was selected for the 2017 and 2018 Spring Sessions at the New York Choreographic Institute, an affiliate of New York City Ballet, where he created his “Lunar” and "Traces" ballet alongside Juilliard composer and esteemed collaborator, Nathan Prillaman. Additional honorable mentions include the Asian Arts Alliance Jadin Wong Award, McCallum Theatre Choreography Festival Award, and was featured in Dance Magazines Top 25 to watch.

    He has since been commissioned to create and premier new works for companies such as Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Hubbard Street 2, Joffrey Academy of Dance, James Sewell Ballet, Tulsa Ballet II, Barak Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, Ballet Florida, Peridance, Golden State Ballet, Attack Theatre, Ballet X, Olympic Ballet Theatre, and Periapsis Music & Dance.

    De La Cruz has instructed and created works for such schools as The Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, Ailey Fordham University, Princeton University, University of Richmond, Hollins University, Marymount Manhattan College, Columbia University, Cal State University of Long Beach, Hartford University, Grier Private School, Golden State Ballet, and taught at the International Ballet School intensives at Gdynia, Poland for two summers. He is a former faculty member and New Dances: Edition 2021 guest choreographer at the Juilliard School under the direction of Alicia Graf Mack and Mario Alberto Zambrano.

    While navigating a freelance career as a choreographer, performer, and educator, Norbert operates a bi-coastal freelance dance career between NYC and LA. He is in constant search of inspiration; seeking for more valuable collaborations and human connections.

  • WeWolf is the collaborative project between Rauf “RubberLegz” Yasit and James Gregg.

    RubberLegz

    Who’s real name is Rauf Yasit is a Los Angeles based choreographer, director, dancer and visual artist who was born and raised in Germany.

    When he was a child his father, who was a folklore-dance teacher, taught him traditional folk dances.

    It didn’t take long for him to discover his passion for Breaking. As a self-taught B-Boy, he began perfecting his skills and growing his passion in 1998. Not long after, he was aptly dubbed “RubberLegz” by his mentor Maxim for his ability to miraculously contort his body into unthinkable shapes and positions. He gained international respect for his unique style. For years, he competed in and judged competitions worldwide. To this day, he continues to perform and teach workshops all around the globe.

    By 2007 his repertoire evolved to include performing in contemporary dance productions. It was inevitable, with his endless hours of training, that he would transform his movement skills from a childhood dream into his life’s work and passion.

    Rubberlegz was recently awarded 'Best Dancer 2019' by Danza&Danza Magazine for his 'original language' that breaks down barriers between dance genres.

    He has worked with William Forsythe, National Opera of Paris, USC, CalArts, LACMA, ZKM Center for Media and Art Karlsruhe, Malou Airaudo, MuDA, Nike RT, Burberry, GAP, Arashi, Puma, Replay, Sadlers Wells, Flying Steps, Red Bull, Muscle Milk, Moderat, Sony, Sonos, Fiat, WAD MAG, Tumi, HP, Pandora, Pfadfinderei, PACT Zoll Verein, ArtFactory International, CNDC Angers, Loyola Maramount University, Dance Reflections by Van Cleef and Arpels, Maison de la Danse, La Biennale de Lyon, Juli Dans, TAP Theatre and Auditorium of Poitiers, La Filature Scene Nationale Mulhouse, Théâtre de Liège, MC2:, Bodytraffic, Jacob Jonas The Company, Renegade Theatre Herne, Malou Airaudo, Andy Hines, Jessica Young, Justin Daashur Hopkins, Elliott Sellers, OURO Collective, Modus Operandi, Whim W’Him, Torino Danza, Pottporus, Urban Arts Ensemble Ruhr, OSCA, University of Central Oklahoma, Kalamta Dance Festival, Teatro Municipal Do Porto and more.

    RubberLegz is an Associate Producer of Films. Dance a the global platform for dance.

    He is a multi-disciplined tour de force and his talents are not limited to dance. While pursuing his dance passion, he received his diploma in 3D-Vizualization and Animation. He worked for several years with professional design agencies as a visual artist before moving to Berlin and working as a freelance artist in both design and dance.

    In Los Angeles, RubberLegz is busy focusing on his many projects and utilizing his photography, design and dance skills.

    James Gregg

    Colorado-born, Oklahoma-raised. James Gregg is now an international choreographer. He has created choreographic works on Whim W’Him, Danceworks Chicago, Dark Circles Contemporary Dance, Ballet X, Northwest Dance Project, Nashville Ballet's Emergence, Springboard Danse Project Montreal, River North Dance Company, Elements Contemporary Ballet, Cirque du Soleil at Sea and L’École Supérieure de Danse de Quebec.Most recently, James was the recipient of the prestigious 2015 Princess Grace Choreography Fellowship Award. He was also the winner for Ballet Austin's 2014 New American talent choreographic competition, a finalist in Milwaukee Ballet's 2013 Genesis Choreographic competition, and in 2011 the winner of the International Choreographic Competition at Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur.

    As a performer, James has worked with Rubberband Dance Group, Bodytraffic, Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Aszure & Artists, and River North Dance Company. Throughout his career he had the opportunity to do the works of many renowned choreographers including Victor Quijada, Barak Marshall, Aszure Barton, Crystal Pite, Rodrigo Pedernieras, Frank Chauves, Danny Ezralow, Mauro Bigonzetti, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Cayetano Soto, and more. James also has been featured in several music videos, feature films, and in TV documentaries and specials. Elton John, Lyon, Kresha Turner, Ils Dansent, On the road, and Soul Survivors are a couple of examples of this. These experiences to work with such a variety of artists and different artistic avenues has given James the tools to create his own language and helped mold his choreographic voice and vision.

    His biggest interest is to create movement from the inside out and exploring different paths and routes through which the body can move. Discovering how these various avenues can evoke emotion and how those emotions translate throughout the body.

  • A native New Yorker Maleek Washington is a performer, choreographer, and teaching artist at Broadway Dance Center. Previously Maleek has worked with Sia, Kyle Abraham, Rihanna, ASAP Rocky and currently a collaborator with Camille A Brown and Dancers. While also creating an extensive career as a teaching artist Washington has taught at Joffrey jazz and contemporary, Boston conservatory, LaGuardia Highschool for performing arts, Bard College, Move NYC, and NYU Tisch to name a few.

    With multidisciplinary, experiential performance works that investigate the people, practices, and spaces shaping Washington's black identity, he is proud to present his art in 2017 at the Boston Dance Festival, Pepatian and BAAD!, Periapsis Dance and Music Noesis, and at the legendary Movement Research at Judson Church in Spring 2018. Washington is also a 2017-18 Dancing While Black top 10 choreographic finalists. Gibney granted Mr. Washington a evening length show in 2019. Maleek is honored to be nominated for a 2021 Bessie Award for “Outstanding Breakout Choreographer”. Currently Maleek is the assistant choreographer to Camille A. Brown for the Metropolitian Operas historical “Fire Shut up in my Bones” with the first black composer Terence Blanchard.

  • Micaela Taylor is a professional dancer/choreographer/ Artistic Director of The TL Collective. She is the recipient of the Inaugural Springboard EMERGE Choreographic Award and recently named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch,” 2018. Her work is trailblazing in the city of Los Angeles and beyond.

    Alongside the launch of The TL Collective, Taylor has been commissioned to choreograph and teach by BODYTRAFFIC, Springboard Danse Montreal, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, B12 Festival Berlin, Carlos Acosta’s Acosta Danza, and more. Her work has been presented at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Broad Stage, Ford Amphitheatre, The Barclay Center, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, and more. Her quirky style of facial expressions and athletic theatricality sets her work apart. SNAP, a commissioned work created for BODYTRAFFIC set her mark as a choreographer that transcends one style of dance. Now she embarks on a new journey and looks forward to touring her new work 90Sugar to the east coast later this year.

  • Zachariah Hagy is a multi-faceted contemporary photographer and film director with a young mind and an old soul. His works have very close relationships to fashion art and cinéma vérité.

    Growing up in a small town of 2,000 residents in central Michigan created a very unique childhood for him. Without a lot of friends and resources nearby, he and his siblings often made up games or created a fictional world to be a part of. He was encouraged to go out and explore, be curious and make mistakes. Even though his career looks much different now than it did growing up, his foundation is rooted in simplicity and curiosity.

    Working in the arts and media for over 6 years now, he has been able to be a part of some amazing projects and has been published in numerous publications and articles all over the world. With the love for printed matter he has even started his own magazine which has featured and published over hundreds of artists in print and digital.

    As the future is both exciting and scary, Zachariah will continue to explore the depths of his creativity and international collaboration with other artists.

  • JOSHUA L. PEUGH (he/him) is the Founder and Artistic Director of Dark Circles Contemporary Dance and Co-founder of Fair Assembly. A graduate of Southern Methodist University and an alumnus of Universal Ballet (under the direction of Oleg Vinogradov), he has created work for festivals in Asia, Europe, and North America, winning awards for his choreography in South Korea, Japan, Canada, and the USA. He was the recipient of the Grand Prize at the McCallum Theatre's 18th Annual Choreography Festival, and Dance Magazine chose him as one of their "25 to Watch." Joshua served as choreographer for legendary soprano Kathleen Battle's concert Underground Railroad - A Spiritual Journey and was the 2018 recipient of the Natalie Skelton Award for Artistic Excellence. He has created over 50 new works for Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, BalletX, Ballet Memphis, The Big Muddy Dance Company (My Dear Watson), BODYTRAFFIC, Bruce Wood Dance Project, Collage Dance Collective, Company E, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, Dallas Theater Center (Colossal), Dance Lab NY, DanceWorks Chicago, Eisenhower Dance, Korea National Contemporary Dance Company, MADCO, METdance, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Pegasus Contemporary Ballet, Richmond Ballet, Tulsa Ballet, Verb Ballets (Romeo and Juliet), and Whim W'Him, among others.

  • Tess Voelker is both a dancer and choreographer, born in 1997 in San Francisco. She grew up between Chicago and the east coast of the USA. She began with commercial jazz dance, then trained in ballet from the age of 11 with the Rock School for Dance Education and Barbara Sandonato School of Ballet in Philadelphia. After graduating high school in 2015 from Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Boston, she trained at Joffrey Ballet Chicago while spending her weekends studying improvisation methods with a contemporary dance company founded by Ronn Stewart. While training, she has gone on to win awards from both the YoungArts Foundation and Youth American Grand Prix. Her professional career started in 2016 when she moved to Germany to join Ballett Dortmund for a year before joining Nederlands Dans Theater II in 2017, and then the main company NDT I in 2020. That same year, Aurélie Dupont recognized Tess for her own improvisation style and commissioned her, thus becoming the youngest choreographer to create for the Paris Opera Ballet at 23 years old. Since then, Tess has focused on more collaborative and creative pursuits which has led her to become a solo artist starting July 2023.

  • I was born in Ontario, Canada to a Finnish mother and American father. I became interested in food at a very young age and loved to cook with my mother and maternal grandmother learning how to cook traditional dishes of both Finnish and American influence. I attended culinary school and then went on to study Nutrition and Food Science. In 2008 I became a Registered Dietitian (RD) and worked with a diverse client population in supporting healthy eating choices as well as teaching cooking classes to impart more consciousness about where food comes from. Making the connections to how our food is sourced and made, adds joy and pleasure to eating, fosters a healthy relationship with food and brings healing to our body and spirit.

    My RD career led me into a leadership position where I managed 10 dietitians and nutritionists. This experience gave me the opportunity to develop others through mentoring and coaching and successfully work with diverse teams. Through this, I have developed a strong ability to set, work towards, and achieve goals.

    My greatest values are learning and continuously expanding my knowledge as it relates to food and nutrition. These values led me to pursue a master’s degree in gastronomy. As a dietitian, foodie, creative, educator and chef, the curriculum at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy allowed me further develop my skills and knowledge specifically around food and food systems and gain a deeper understanding on how creativity and design thinking can inspire regenerative solutions and bring innovation to the experience food.

    My mission is to design food and create food experiences that provides optimal nourishment and inspires connection, curiosity, joy and healing.

  • Asa Nagao is a versatile artist who hails from Japan. She pursued her education in Craft, specializing in Textile Design, at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit. During her studies, Asa developed a strong foundation in fashion and costume design, incorporating digital media into her work.

    Post-graduation, Asa delved into various disciplines of design, including experience design, interior design, product design, fashion design, and automotive CMF design. She had the opportunity to work with esteemed companies such as Calty Design Research (a Toyota Company), Kmart Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and Tommy Hilfiger.

    Aside from her professional work, Asa actively participated in Museum and Gallery shows, contributing as an experience and fashion designer. Drawing from her dual background in the United States and Japan, Asa possesses a wealth of knowledge across different design mediums. This diverse expertise serves as a constant inspiration for her unique sense of style showcased in her personal and professional projects.

    Taking a break to focus on raising her children, Asa discovered a new passion for ceramic arts and began teaching pottery lessons to both children and adults. This led her to establish Cocoyo Studio, a design and teaching studio located in Chicago. Additionally, she continues to provide design consultancy services through Cocoyo Studio in Detroit, channeling her creativity into aiding the performance arts and education through various charitable endeavors.

  • Edgar Zendejas, born in Mexico, embarked on an artistic journey that spanned the globe, earning him a reputation as one of the most innovative voices in contemporary dance and circus choreography. His early passion for movement led him to the United States, where he was awarded a bursary to study at the United States International University in San Diego. His career blossomed in Chicago, where he performed with renowned companies such as Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Giordano Jazz Dance. However, it was with Les Ballets Jazz de Montreal (BJM Danse) that Edgar's choreographic talent truly began to flourish, thanks to the company's diverse repertoire and international tours.

    In 2005, his breakthrough work Breve Enlace debuted to critical acclaim, followed by Besame Mucho!, which captivated Montreal audiences. His work has been recognized with prestigious awards, including honors from the Festival Danse Encore, Hubbard Street 2 National Choreographic Competition, and the Youth American Grand Prix.

    Edgar's choreographic reach extends beyond traditional dance, bridging contemporary dance and circus arts. He has created for major international companies such as Jacob's Pillow, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Ballet Hispanico, and Cirque du Soleil. His work with Cirque du Soleil as a content creator and artistic advisor on productions like Totem and Cirque du Soleil at Sea has solidified his role as a key figure in the evolution of circus choreography.

    Co-founding ezdanza in 2006 allowed Edgar to explore innovative choreographic collaborations, including Perpetua, featuring works by Mexican choreographers Mauricio Nava, Victor Quijada, and Zendejas himself. His unique style, deeply influenced by his Mexican heritage, delves into the human soul, blending humor, emotion, and technical brilliance. This vision has driven him to create pieces that speak to audiences worldwide, combining contemporary dance with elements of acrobatic performance.

    His works have graced stages across North America and Europe, including the Festival International Danse Encore and Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, as well as performances for prestigious companies like the Joffrey Ballet Academy, Richmond Ballet, and State Street Ballet.

    In 2021, Edgar's groundbreaking creation, The LORCA Project—inspired by Federico Garcia Lorca's life and poetry—brought together contemporary dance, acrobatics, and circus arts. This collaboration with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens marked a new chapter in his career, expanding his choreographic reach.

    In 2023, Edgar's global recognition continued to soar with a grant from the Basque and Quebec governments, allowing him to develop new work with Dantzaz in San Sebastian, Spain. His leadership in circus arts was further cemented with his creative direction of the graduating student show at the National Institute of Circus Arts in Melbourne, Australia.

    Through his dynamic career, Edgar Zendejas has remained a passionate creator, seamlessly integrating the worlds of dance and circus while continuing to inspire audiences with his innovative and emotionally resonant works.