Choreographer: Roderick George
Performers: Adelae Allen, Gavin Barone, Zadie Etienne, Gienna Fasano, Zarra Gross, Jaelynn Hernandez, Liam Moss, Maya Pencakowski, Samantha Smith, Kadin Williams
Music: Tigga Calore
Ensemble Coordinator: Tadej Brdnik

Roderick George was born in Houston, Texas. George studied at Ben Stevenson’s Houston Ballet Academy and the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. George was a bronze winner of the Youth America Grand Prix in 2005 and a YoungArts Winner and Presidential Scholar in 2003. He has danced professionally for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Basel Ballet/Theater Basel, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, and The Forsythe Company.

Choreographer: Maxine Steinman
Performers: Tracy Dunbar and Miguel Miranda
Music: 3 Gymnopédies: No. 2 in C Major, Lent et triste (Erik Satie) played by Anne Queffélec (excerpt) Gymnopedie 5 (Erik Satie) played by Daniel Eppinger (except) Gymnopedie No. 3 (Erik Satie) played by Wahneta Meixsell
Costumes: Maxine Steinman

Maxine Steinman is a choreographer, performer, and educator whose work has been presented at venues and festivals including Joyce SoHo, the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Festival, the Battery Dance Festival, and the American Dance Guild Festival. Her choreography has been performed internationally across Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Praised as “ingenious” and “a jewel” by critics Jack Anderson and Jennifer Dunning, she has received multiple grants from the O’Donnell-Green Foundation for Music and Dance, with additional support from Dance New Jersey. Steinman has taught and choreographed at institutions including Montclair State University and The Ailey School. A former soloist with Eleo Pomare, she also performed with the José Limón Dance Company and currently serves as Associate Professor at Montclair State University.

Choreographer: Melanie Futorian – “Between Us ” and  Anita Havel – “Tinder”
Performers: Anita Havel, Mindy Haywood, Antonio Melenciano, Yumiko Nimi, Emmanuel Zumbo
Music: John Patitucci and Pete Lewis
Costumes: Melanie Futorian

Melanie Futorian is the founder of Half Century Dance, a company that features dancers over the age of 50 and celebrates the power of mature artistry while challenging perceptions of aging in dance. The company explores new ways of moving, demonstrating that emotional depth and expressive nuance only grow richer with experience. Its performers bring remarkable professional backgrounds, having appeared on Broadway, toured nationally, and performed with renowned companies such as Béjart Ballet, Bat-Dor Dance Company, and Alwin Nikolais.

Choreographer: Julia Weber
Performers: Georgia Greene, Quinn Kuch
Music: Chopin: Ballade No.1 in G Minor, Op.23; pianist: Daniela Liebman
Costumes: Julia Weber

Julia Weber is a Polish-born, New York–based choreographer and graduate of Juilliard School. She has performed works by leading choreographers, including Aszure Barton, Shen Wei, and Sidra Bell, and appeared in R.O.S.E. with LEV Dance Company at the Park Avenue Armory.

Her choreography has been presented at Juilliard, the DUMBO Dance Festival, and the Traverse City Dance Project. In 2026, she was selected for the SoloDuo Dance Festival and the Young Choreographers’ Festival at The Joyce Theater. She has also created work for the New York City Ballet through its Choreographic Institute.

Choreographers: Ted Thomas and Frances Ortiz
Performers: Rose Engel, Deanna Garcia, Natalie Gasparini, Melissa Weber, Mairead Moore
Music: Chris Benstead, Nicola Matteis Jr & Theodtime Langloisde Swarte, Gibran Alcocer
Costumes: Nicole Roque

Thomas/Ortiz Dance, founded in 2001 by Ted Thomas and Frances Ortiz, brings a fresh and emotionally engaging vision to contemporary dance. Blending Thomas’s urban, athletic movement style with Ortiz’s Latin-influenced sensibility, the company creates work that reflects a dynamic fusion of choreographic and musical approaches. Comprising twelve dancers from diverse cultural backgrounds, the company performs a repertory that explores a wide range of thought-provoking and socially relevant themes, offering audiences both powerful storytelling and high-energy performance. Thomas and Ortiz are co-owners and directors of the New England Academy of Dance and New England Dance Theater in New Canaan, CT.

Choreographer: Nat Wilson in collaboration with Grace Whitworth
Performers: Nat Wilson and Grace Whitworth
Music: “eidolons beginning p = (m2Abeta* do not z countless2 am to (rho” by Paul Jebanasam

Nat Wilson is a dancer, teacher, and choreographer based in Brooklyn, New York, whose work focuses on cross-cultural communication and a passion for expansive physicality. In 2016, they joined Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, giving them the opportunity to perform and teach around the world, including China, Peru, South Korea, and India. Across their career, they have traveled around the world and throughout the United States, sharing their craft on stage and in the studio, inspiring others to indulge in being as thoughtful as they are bold.

Nat works closely with Yue Yin as a dancer in YY Dance Company, certified FoCo Technique™ instructor, and repetiteur for Yue Yin’s choreography. Nat is also a valued member of kNoname Artist | Roderick George and Boca Tuya, among other freelance work. As a choreographer, they blend the movement language of FoCo Technique™ with their own idiosyncrasies and a dramaturgical voice inspired by their time in Israel.

Choreographer: Jon Lehrer
Performers: Mahalia Brookes, Cristiana Cavallo, Michael Miller, Riccardo Passera
Music: Budo, The Cinematic Orchestra, Grey Reverend
Costumes: Laura Vanner

Jon Lehrer Dance Company (JLDC), founded in 2007 in Buffalo, NY, and based in New York City since 2019, is led by choreographer Jon Lehrer. The company is known for its distinctive style, blending modern and jazz dance into work that is athletic, expressive, and often infused with humor—striking a compelling balance between artistry and entertainment. JLDC tours extensively worldwide, with performances across Europe and Russia, including four tours sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. In New York City, the company is a three-time recipient of the CUNY Dance Initiative Award (2022, 2023, 2025).

Choreographer/Director: Sidra Bell
Performers: Sarah Housepian, Jillian Linkowski, Amy Saunder, Kar’mel Small, Razvan Stoian
Composer: Score Composed and Performed by Dennis Bell © July 2026 Dennis Bell/Mark of Aries Music (BMI)
Costumes: Norma Kamali, BADINKA, costume supervision by Mark Eric Design

Founded by Jonathan Hollander in 1976 in lower Manhattan, Battery Dance now serves as one of America’s leading cultural ambassadors, connecting the world through dance. With its exceptional team of dancers who also serve as teaching artists and choreographers, the Company pursues artistic excellence and social relevance, creating vibrant new works, performing on the world’s stages, presenting dance in public spaces, serving the field of dance with low-cost studios in its home in Tribeca and teaching people of all ages with special attention to the disadvantaged and areas of conflict. Battery Dance is committed to enhancing the cultural vibrancy of its home community in New York City, extending programming throughout the U.S., and building bridges worldwide through international cultural exchange with programs in 75 countries to date.