Anna Adams Stark has been living and working in NYC as a dancer, performer, producer, and arts worker for over 15 years. She has performed with artists such as Kim Brandt, Walter Dundervill & iki nakagawa, Ivy Baldwin, Laurie Berg, Levi Gonzalez, Tara Aisha Willis and many others. Anna has also built an extensive career as a production manager and stage manager, working most recently with inDANCE/Hari Krishnan, Antonio Ramos and the Gangbangers, Harlem Stage and Brooklyn Ballet’s The Brooklyn Nutcracker. Anna was a founding producer of RoofTop Dance (2010-2013) and ROVE (2014), and recently produced the Jo Andres: DREAMING OUT LOUD exhibition in 2023 and the Jo Andres: Before Your Eyes exhibition in 2024. Anna held key roles at Dance New Amsterdam (2009-2013) and Movement Research (2014-2023). Recent highlights include performing in Joan Jonas’ Mirror Piece I & II at MoMA (2024), providing directorial support for Jenna Riegel’s new work Varvara (2024), and performing as part of Jennifer Kayle’s Turns Improvisation ensemble (2024). Anna was raised in Normal, IL and received her BFA in Dance from the University of Iowa.
Will Ervin is an East Coast native. He earned his BFA in dance from Montclair State University (2017). He graduated with an MFA in dance from the University of Illinois in (2020). He has also trained with Joffrey Ballet, EMIA Rennie Harris, Jacobs Pilow, and Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet. Since graduating, Ervin has performed at the Alexander Kasser Theatre, the Joyce Theatre, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music with the Hearts of Men ensemble. As Artistic Director of his company Erv Works Dance, he has presented choreography at the University of Illinois set on 1st year Dance Majors, the Dumbo Dance Festival, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, and Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Recent works were choreographing for Kemar Jewels Dance Film project headlining 2021’s Global Black Pride event where Kemar’s work was presented after the keynote speaker President Joe Biden, Battery Dance Festival, Maria Torres’s Sol El Bario, and the Joyce Theatre in partnership with Future Dance Festival, 92st Y, and The Martha Graham Dance Company. Other accomplishments include apprenticing with Camille A. Brown & Dancers and interning with American Ballet Theatre’s Major Gifts Department. He was recently named Dance Lab Ny by Josh Prince’s 2022 fall cycle choreographer, Dance on the Lawn's 2022 emerging commissioned choreographer, and just set work on Dimensions Dance Theater of Miami, Accent Dance NY & Brooklyn Ballet.
Avram Finkelstein, Art Director, is an artist and writer from Brooklyn, NY. He is a founding member of the Silence=Death and Gran Fury collectives. His work has shown at MoMA, the Whitney Museum, the Metropolitan Museum, the Hirshhorn, PS1, the Brooklyn Museum, David Zwirner, and Smack Mellon, and is in the permanent collections of MoMA, the Whitney, the New Museum, the Metropolitan, and the Brooklyn Museum. He is a 2024 Creative Capital Grant Recipient, a 2023 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant Recipient, has received commissions from the New York City AIDS Memorial, The Shed, For Freedoms, and the Public Art Fund, and is featured in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art. His book for UC Press, After Silence: A History of AIDS Through its Images was nominated for an International Center Of Photography 2018 Infinity Award in Critical Writing. He has been interviewed by The New York Times, Frieze, Artforum, NPR, Slate, and Interview, and spoken at Harvard, Yale, Columbia, and NYU. He has done production design for numerous narrative and documentary films.
David Forni, Lighting and Video Designer, is very excited to be returning to both lighting design and The Nutcracker after a twenty-year break from both as he followed his career in video creation and projection. David was happy to have worked on The Brooklyn Nutcracker in 2016, creating the production’s videos with Avram. This will be his eighth production of The Brooklyn Ballet's "Brooklyn Nutcracker".
David has worked on such Broadway productions as The Phantom of the Opera, Cats, Starlight Express, Chess, Frankenstein, the original Les Misérables, Aspects of Love, and The Milford Plaza. He also worked on the Off Broadway productions of Godspell, Wuthering Heights, the first Blue Man Group show, Little Shop of Horrors, and Other People’s Money.
K. Meira Goldberg, collaborating choreographer, is a flamenco performer, teacher, choreographer, and scholar. She has performed in Spain with many of the greats, such as Antonio Canales, Arturo Pavón, Diego Carrasco, and Ramón El Portugués, and in the US has been first dancer with Carlota Santana, Fred Darsow, and Pasión y Arte. She has been awarded choreography grants (Pew Charitable Trusts, American Dance Festival, NY State Council on the Arts), and has choreographed several award-winning opera productions. She co-curated 100 Years of Flamenco in NYC (NYC Public Library for the Performing Arts, 2013), co-edited Flamenco on the Global Stage (McFarland, 2015), The Global Reach of the Fandango in Music, Song and Dance (2016), and Transatlantic Malagueñas and Zapateados in Music, Song, and Dance. She teaches at FIT and is a Scholar in Residence at the Foundation for Iberian Music (CUNY). Her monograph Sonidos Negros: On the Blackness of Flamenco has been published by Oxford University Press.
Brian HallowDreamz Henry, the New York Krump King from Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, is widely known for his Tedx talk titled "Krump is Language'' and for playing a major role in building the New York Krump community. A founding member of the dance trio The Nuu Knynez, he calls his personal Krump style BROOKLYN BUCK. Inspired by Mijo and Tight Eyez "The creators", Brian has been pushing the Krump movement relentlessly with great passion since he started krumping in 2004. He is 1 1/2 of the leaders of EO Squad (Entertainers Only), an entertainment group founded by his older brother George Depeyster. In 2008 Brian joined E.S.K. (East Street Kingdom) a branch of the group STREET KINGDOM founded by Tight Eyez. Brian has taught at and collaborated with EXPG, Broadway Dance Center, Guggenheim, PMT, House of Duende, The Met, Alvin Ailey, Brick House, Kaatsbaan, Coupe, Joffrey's Ballet, The August Wilson Center and many more studios/locations. Also, with experience in street dance, all style competitions, Ballet, Modern, contemporary, and African, he has become one of the most sought after krump/dance teachers and performers. Brian has worked with some amazing creatives such as Madonna, J Balvin, Nas, Asap Ferg, Bill T Jones, 50 Cent, Andrea Miller, John Grant, Spike Lee, Oshun, Karol G, Lous and the Yakuza, etc.
Along with her studies of Theaterwissenschaft at Munich University and a doctoral dissertation on the history of dance notation systems, Claudia Jeschke was professionally trained in various dance forms. Deeply interested in theater she started with choreographing and performing as well as acting and directing – always with strong emphasis placed on issues of documentation, notation and archiving. Her respective academic and practical expertise allows her to approach dance heritage as well as current developments both 'in actu' on stage and in academic writing – for example in deciphering Vaclav Nijinsky’s dance notation system and restoring his ballet L’Après Midi d’un Faune (with Ann Hutchinson Guest). As guest professor, she has taught in Europe, the USA (University of California at Riverside), Canada (University of Toronto), Asia (several universities in Tokyo and a lecture tour to China) and South America (universities of Sao Paulo and Porto Alegre), and she helped introduce dance studies as an academic discipline in German theater and dance departments such as Munich, Leipzig and Cologne. In 2004 she joined the faculty of the academic Department for Studies in the Fine Arts, Music, and Dance at Salzburg University as the then first and only professor of dance studies in Austria and became head of the Derra de Moroda Dance Archives (ddmarchiv.org). Her publications and performances focus on dance-historical and theoretical issues as well as on movement research and notation – and the discursive transfers between these fields and strategies of research. Spectres is her third collaboration with Brooklyn Ballet.
Kai-Ti Kao, Stage Manager, was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. She studied theatre with Dr. Tawnya Pettiford-Wates. Since 2005, she has been working as a freelance Stage Manager for Akim Funk Buddha, Brooklyn Ballet, Brown Girls Burlesque and brASS Burlesque. As a founding member of The Conciliation Project, she strives to use performing arts as a platform to bridge the gap between cultures and races. She is ecstatic and honored to be back for this year’s Nutcracker with Brooklyn Ballet. She would like to thank her loved ones for their support, making it possible for her to continue pursuing her passion.
Barry Kerollis is an award-winning director, choreographer, dance educator, and media personality based in New York City. He currently works as Artistic Director of Movement Headquarters Ballet Company. His work has been commissioned by Columbia Ballet Collaborative, CelloPointe, Uptown Dance Company, and the Men in Dance festival. In 2014, he was selected from more than 60 international applicants for the National Choreographers Initiative. Additionally, his works have been performed by Pacific Northwest Ballet and in programs at Steps on Broadway, Mark Morris Dance Center, Broadway Dance Center, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and Alaska Dance Theatre (in collaboration with the Alaska Native Heritage Center). Outside of choreography, Kerollis teaches on faculty at Broadway Dance Center, writes for Dance Media publications, and hosts the Pas de Chát: Talking Dance podcast on the Premier Dance Network.
Leila Ligougne, LED Tutu Designer, is a New Yorker by adoption. She has lived in Quebec, Paris, London and New York getting inspired from the youngest of age. After studying in Paris, and having her clothing line in Canada, Leila spent most of her career getting a rich experience from collaborating with renowned architect Gaetano Pesce and working the two opposite ends of the fashion design and business spectrum alongside Catherine Malandrino and later as a Design Director at Victoria’s Secret. Most, recently, she started “Ligougne Studio” consulting in the fashion industry and started an eponymous collection of summer dresses and cover-ups. Ligougne is always dabbling with art and she is now also pursuing her interest in forward computational fashion. Leila is one of the designers for Brooklyn Ballets 'The Brooklyn Nutcracker'.
Jasmine Mans is a Black American poet and artist from Newark, New Jersey. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin Madison, with a B.A. in African American Studies. Her debut collection of poetry, Chalk Outlines of Snow Angels, was published in 2012. Mans is the resident poet at the Newark Public Library. She was a member of The Strivers Row Collective. jasminemans.com
Sylvia Nolan, Costume Designer, is Resident Costume Designer at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, where she has been working for over 14 years. She is at the head of the main costume shop: here, the staff makes or modifies costumes and accessories for 28 productions, put on during the 33 weeks of a theater season. She also has a passion for ballet: she permanently works for the New York Theatre Ballet and has been collaborating with internationally renowned choreographers, such as Martha Connerton, Matthew Neenan and Benoit-Swan Pouffer. Sylvia is the costume designer for Brooklyn Ballet's Nutcracker.
NYC Resistor is a hacker collective with a shared space located in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn. Members meet regularly to share knowledge, hack on projects together and build community. www.nycresistor.com
Rebeccah Pailes-Friedman is the Founder and Principal of Interwoven Design Group, where she combines her expertise in wearable technology with a passion for design. She is the author of Smart Textiles for Designers: Inventing the Future of Fabrics, released in 2016 by Laurence King Publishers, London. Rebeccah’s unique vision has been realized internationally; her clients range from start-ups to NASA. She has over 25 years of experience designing products for active sportswear, and has held positions as design director for Fila, Champion and Nike. She is founding director of the Intelligent Materials Applied Research & Innovation Lab (IMARI) at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY and a former research fellow at the T-Lab for Wearable Technology at the Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator.
JoVonna Parks is a Philadelphia native where she began her intense formal training in Ballet, Horton and Graham techniques. She attended Ailey/Fordham under the direction of Ana Marie Forsythe and graduated with her BFA in dance in 2012. She has had the pleasure of working with and performing works by Camille A. Brown, Ronald K. Brown, Donald McKayle, Hofesh Shector, Robert Battle, Jill Echo and many others. JoVonna has also had the opportunity and pleasure to work with Ty Jones and The Classical Theatre of Harlem in their productions of MacBeth(soldier/ensemble), The Three Musketeers(Kitty/ensemble), Antigone(ensemble) and she served as dance captain production of A Christmas Carol in Harlem. JoVonna performed with Elisa Monte Dance under the direction of both Elisa Monte and Tiffany Rea-Fisher from 2014-2019. Whether performing or creating, she also teaches ballet, modern and contemporary techniques in the greater NYC and New Jersey area. Presently, she teaches at Essential Elements Dance Studio in Hazlet, NJ. She is currently a freelance dance artist in NYC with Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company, Clymove, Konverjdans and has been a guest artist with Ballet Vero Beach. Her own creations have been performed at Alpha Omega Theatrical Dance Company: Solo Suites as well as the all female collaborative choreography festival CounterPointe in 2019, 2022 and 2023. She recently made an appearance in Season 2 of HBO’s Random Acts of Flyness. JoVonna is a recipient of the NYFA City Corps Grant as well as a recipient of the 2021/2022 UMEZ grant from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture as choreographer in collaboration with Nite Bjuti. She is also the recipient of a microgrant from The Map Fund in its first microgrant initiative. JoVonna has also choreographed for Brooklyn Ballet’s Spring Season 2024.
Malcolm Parson, Composer & Cellist, is best known for his work as a member of both Turtle Island Quartet and Carolina Chocolate Drops. As a composer, he had his first break in 2019 by collaborating with Brian McOmber on the soundtrack to Little Woods (dir. Nia Dacosta). Since then, his film work has continued with projects such as Good Ol Girl, Ballet After Dark, LA28, Laying Flowers.:.Setting Fires, The World’s Greatest Storyteller, The Sentence of Michael Thompson and currently If I Go Will They Miss Me. As a cellist, he has performed on several featured films including Palmer, A Man Named Scott, Kingdom of Silence, Mudbound, and Blow The Man Down. In concert, he has performed with Somi, Kelsey Lue, The Eagles, Dianna Agron, Terence Blanchard, Bela Fleck & Abigail Washburn, Yebba, PJ Morton, BJ The Chicago Kid, Victory Boyd, Paquito D’Rivera, and Cyrus Chestnut to name a few. He has appeared on The David Letterman Show with Rhiannon Giddens, 2018 MTV VMA’s with Shawn Mendes, and The Jimmy Fallon Show with Niall Horan, The Roots, and Salaam Remi. Born in New Orleans, he moved to Atlanta at the age of 11 and began studying cello privately through Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s “Talent Development Program. He later earned his B.M in Contemporary Writing and Production from Berklee College of Music.
Hilla Shapira is a costume designer and multidisciplinary artist originally from Tel Aviv, Israel. Currently she is based in Brooklyn,NY. Her work deals with the relationships between common design and body regimen. By making functional mundane objects she questions design norms and the political aspects of things. She designed costumes for different performances and festivals in Israel, Europe and USA including: Brooklyn Ballet (Brooklyn, NY) Limon Dance Company (NY, NY) Yasmeen Godder Company (Tel Aviv, Israel) Inbal Theater (Tel Aviv, Israel) Hazira Festival (Jerusalem, Israel) Mekudeshet Festival (Jerusalem, Israel) and Israel Festival (Jerusalem, Israel). She has presented artistic projects in Israel, Europe, and the USA including: Art Basel (Miami, FL), NY Textile Month (NYC, NY), Jerusalem Design Week (Jerusalem, Israel), Depo2015 (Pilsen, Czech Republic), Neve Schechter Gallery (Tel-Aviv, Israel), Hansen House (Jerusalem, Israel), Textile Arts Center (Brooklyn, NY) and Wasserman Projects (Detroit, MI). Shapira's work had been featured in different publications including: Hyperallergic Magazine, Metalsmith Magazine, Portfolio Magazine, Haaretz, and the Jerusalem Post.
Saúl Ulerio is a Dominican-American dance, music and light artist. Ulerio has been seen in the works of Heather Kravas, RoseAnne Spradlin, Daria Fain, Rebecca Lazier, Kota Yamazaki amongst other, and currently performs in the works of Antonio Ramos, Daria Faïn, Ivy Baldwin. Ulerio was a 2011-2012 New York Live Arts Fresh Tracks Artist and a 2012-2014 Movement Research Artist in Residence.
Nick Vermeer, LED technologist, has always been compelled to build things and experiment with technology. As a child, he would disassemble all of his toys and use the parts in his experimental projects. Not much has changed since then. He is a maker and hard ware hacker who enjoys working at the nexus of technology and art. As a member of NYCResistor he has worked on projects for RedBull Creation, Hackerspace challenges, and since 2013 with Brooklyn Ballet.
Nicole von Arx is a Swiss & British performer and choreographer. She is a 2023 NYSCA grant recipient, 2023 JCAL Major Commission artist recipient, GLUE 2023 artists in residence, 2022 Dance Initiative artist in residence, 2022 Leimay Incubator, 2020 Lauréate of a Gland Culture Grant, a 2020 Jacob’s Pillow Choreography Fellow, and 2018 STUFFED artists in residence at Judson Memorial Church. Nicole most recently choreographed the opera “Orphée+” at the Edmonton Opera. She’s been commissioned to create original works for “Der Freischütz” at Wolf Trap Opera, Stanford Live, Whim W’Him, SALT2, LINK Choreography Festival, NW Dance Projects, and the Luminato Festival. Her performance career led her to becoming a soloist at the Royal Opera House and Chicago Lyric Opera while dancing for Jasmin Vardimon. She’s worked for Carte Blanche - The Norwegian National Company for Contemporary Dance, Bryan Arias, The Metropolitan Opera, Company XIV, Loni Landon, and Romeo Castellucci. She creates under the name NVA & Guests. More info at www.nvonarx.com
Production Manager Cassandra Weibel’s production credits include Stage Manager for the 2019 Dance and Performance Awards (The Bessies), Production Assistant at the Metropolitan Opera, and Production Coordinator at The Mark O'Donnell Theater, formerly known as the Actors Fund Arts Center. Other NYC credits include Brooklyn Dance Festival at BAM Fishman Space, Encompass New Opera Theatre performances of Angel of the Amazon and The Theory of Everything at The Baryshnikov Arts Center and Symphony Space respectively; Burning in China at FringeNYC 2010 at the 4th Street Theatre; and Long Island University’s productions of Twelfth Night and The Glass Menagerie. Ms. Weibel has also worked in production outside of New York with Cedar Rapids Opera, Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival, and The University of Iowa’s Dance and Opera Production Department. She is thrilled to be working on this year's production of The Brooklyn Nutcracker!
