Heidi Duckler Dance

4D Film Festival - Student Screening
2026-03-13 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Heidi Duckler Dance is thrilled to continue the 4D Film Festival, a groundbreaking initiative dedicated to the intersection of dance and cinema. Experience the magic of cinema under the stars! Join us for an enchanting outdoor screening on the iconic Bendix rooftop, where the city skyline meets the silver screen. Cozy up, soak in the night air, and let the art of dance and film transport you. Enjoy Quack Games, a fun pre-show trivia challenge, along with snacks and refreshments! ✨🎥🌙
This special evening will spotlight dance films by emerging student filmmakers, showcasing fresh perspectives and bold storytelling through movement and film. As part of HDD’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of artists, the 4D Film Festival provides a space where dance, film, and community converge in an unforgettable cinematic experience.

A Living Legacy @ The Bridge | Performance
2026-01-16 18:00 - 20:00 | Henry P. Rio Bridge Gallery at City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90012, United States
Heidi Duckler Dance (HDD) presents Vortex, a special site-specific live performance at the Rotunda of Los Angeles City Hall on Friday, January 16, 2026.
Choreographed by HDD Artistic Director Raymond Ejiofor and performed by HDD dancers with live vocals and cello, Vortex brings A Living Legacy to life by activating the iconic City Hall rotunda through movement that reflects more than four decades of groundbreaking site-specific work in Los Angeles. The Downtown Los Angeles City Hall Rotunda features soaring ceilings and a luminous atmosphere that feels alive with activity. As the symbolic heart of City Hall, it serves as an architectural crossroads where past and present converge at the center of Los Angeles
Vortex is a dynamic, site-responsive dance work that invites audiences into a spiraling exploration of human connection, energy, and momentum. Through fluid choreography and immersive sound, performers navigate the tension between chaos and harmony, illuminating the interplay between individual expression and collective movement.
This live performance serves as the culminating event of A Living Legacy, a landmark exhibition celebrating Heidi Duckler Dance’s deep connection to the city’s architecture, communities, and evolving cultural landscape. Drawing from the company’s extensive archives, the work honors HDD’s artistic journey while pointing boldly toward its future.
Friday, January 16, 2026 | 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM

6:00 PM – Explore the exhibition
6:30 PM – A Talk with writer Terry Wolverton
7:00 PM – Live performance
7:30 PM – Artist talkback and Q&A moderated by Joe Schenck
7:45 PM – Cake Celebration of 40 Year Anniversary

Opening of A Living Legacy in LA Exhibition
2025-12-11 16:00 - 19:00 | Henry P. Rio Bridge Gallery at City Hall, 200 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90012, United States
Heidi Duckler Dance (HDD) proudly announces A Living Legacy, a special exhibition at the Henry P. Rio Bridge Gallery at City Hall, showcasing 40 years of groundbreaking site-specific work and the dynamic relationship between dance and architecture.
Opening Thursday, December 11, 2025, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM, the exhibition features immersive displays of HDD’s archives, from striking photography and video projections to original costumes and choreography. Together, these elements illuminate the company’s enduring commitment to movement, storytelling, and the built environment.
Spanning rooftops, staircases, parks, urban corners, and more, A Living Legacy highlights the ways dance and architecture have coexisted and evolved together throughout HDD’s history, featuring both public and private spaces as stages for imagination and dialogue.
To conclude the exhibition, HDD will present a site-specific performance on Friday, January 16, 2026, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. This live performance will bring HDD’s archival journey to life, offering audiences a powerful embodiment of the company’s legacy and ongoing evolution.

MAP Live! Final Performance
2025-12-03 18:30 - 20:00 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join us for the culminating performance of the MAP Live! Workshop Series — a public showcase of original site-inspired works created by workshop participants under the guidance of our teaching artists. Experience how movement, architecture, and voice converge in new and unexpected ways throughout the Bendix Building.
6:30 PM: Doors Open / Reception
7:00 PM: Performances
8:00 PM: Program Ends

M.A.P. Live!
2025-11-30 11:00 - 2025-12-03 20:00 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join us for this year’s M.A.P. Live workshop (formerly known as Architecture Through the Body), taking place from November 30th to December 3rd, 2025, at the historic Bendix Building.
Heidi Duckler Dance’s annual workshop invites participants into four immersive days of movement, art, and performance. Led by professionals in dance, storytelling, and architecture, the program explores new ways of defining and experiencing space through creative collaboration.
Through guided workshops, participants will create original work informed by these interdisciplinary practices. Teaching artists provide feedback throughout the process, and the workshop culminates in a public performance showcasing participants’ creations.
With only 20 spots available, M.A.P. Live offers an intimate environment where artists of all backgrounds and experience levels can engage one-on-one with instructors. Work-study discounts are available for eligible participants.

Class Descriptions
Movement with Alejandro PerezThis session invites participants to create movement inspired by the world around us, drawing from architecture, sound, and objects as creative partners. We will start with a heart-centered warm-up to awaken the senses and open pathways for exploration and vulnerability. Through improvisation and guided creation, we will discover how movement shapes our perception of space and self, reconnecting us with the art of connection and expanding the possibilities of dance.
Architecture and the Body Through Folding Paper with Jeff MorricalExplore the relationship between the body, structure, and the built environment through the art of paper folding. Participants will learn folding techniques inspired by traditional origami to create large-scale, flexible sculptures. Each fold embeds a structural memory into the piece, transforming a flat sheet into a responsive, fluid, and living form in space. This hands-on process reveals the connections between our bodies, objects, and surroundings.
Voice with Joanna Lynn- JacobsDiscover the voice as a living, expressive instrument. We will begin with vocal and physical warm-ups that connect breath, body, and sound, encouraging curiosity over self-judgment. Through improvisation, accessible melodies, harmonies, and collaborative exercises, participants will expand their vocal range and creative expression, gaining tools and inspiration to carry into their own artistic practice and everyday life.

Workshop Schedule
DAY ONE – Sunday, November 30th, 2025 | 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM
*Drop-in fee available for individual workshops.
Schedule

12:00 – 2:00 PM Movement Workshop #1 (LEAD ARTIST: Alejandro Perez)
2:00 – 2:10 BREAK
2:10 – 4:10 PM ARCHITECTURE Workshop # 2 (LEAD ARTIST: Jeff Morrical)
4:10 – 4:40 DINNER BREAK
4:40 – 6:40 PM Voice Workshop #3 (LEAD ARTIST: Joanna Lynn Jacobs)
6:40 – 7:40 PM Creation Prep/Discussion
7:40 – 8:00 PM STRIKE

DAY TWO – Monday, December 1st, 2025 | 5:00 PM – 9:00PM
Schedule

5:00 – 6:00 PM Creation / Prep – Planning Session
6:00 – 6:10 BREAK
6:10 – 8:10 PM Creation
8:10 – 8:20 Break
8:20 – 8:50 PM Showing and feedback from lead artists
8:50 – 9:00 PM Strike
9:00 pm OUT

DAY THREE – Tuesday, December 2nd, 2025 | 5:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Schedule

5:00 – 5:15 PM WARM UP
5:15 – 7:15 PM Creation w/ assistance from lead artists
7:15 – 7:25 PM BREAK
7:25 – 8:25 PM Creation
8:25 – 8:55 PM WORK IN PROGRESS SHOWING / FEEDBACK WITH LEAD ARTISTS
8:55 – 9:00 PM Strike
9:00 pm OUT

DAY FOUR – Wednesday, December 3rd, 2025 | 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Schedule

2:00 – 3:30 PM OPTIONAL OPEN SPACE REHEARSAL
3:30 – 5:30 PM Rehearsal
5:30 – 6:00 PM Notes / Reset for top of show
6:00 – 6:30 PM BREAK
6:30 – 7:00 PM Doors Open / Public Open / Reception
7:00 – 8:00 PM FINAL SHOWING + RECEPTION

2025 MAP Live Teaching Artists

Movement Artist | Alejandro Perez
Alejandro Perez is a first-generation Mexican-American from Los Angeles, California, wherein he has been a tangible presence in the dance community and beyond, first seen performing internationally in a street dancing crew. He has been a dancer and a collaborator with Sidra Bell NYC, ISHIDA Dance, Dawsondancesf, Heidi Duckler Dance, Mike Tyus & Co, in addition to other companies throughout the United States. In recent years Alejandro has focused primarily on teaching opportunities. He has created and set works on California School for the Arts, LINES Ballet Training/Summer Program, for Youth America Grand Prix, and Joffrey Ballet Academy Training Program/Studio Company for winning Works 2025.

Voice Artist | Joanna Lynn-Jacobs
Joanna Lynn-Jacobs is a Los Angeles-based, classically trained vocalist, mover, and performer whose strong foundation in opera blends with folk, jazz, pop, and musical theater. She has performed in groundbreaking works such as The Comet/Poppea (as Poppea) at The Geffen Contemporary at MOCA, Rhiannon Giddens and Michael Abels’ Omar at San Francisco Opera, and the U.S. premiere and tour of …(Iphigenia) by Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding. Joanna also starred in the LA Philharmonic’s production of Meredith Monk’s ATLAS, and later toured the U.S. and Europe with Monk’s Cellular Songs.
Joanna is drawn to socially and environmentally conscious work, collaborating with Los Angeles-based groups like Street Symphony and Heidi Duckler Dance. Her performance practice is deeply informed by her lifelong love of movement, rooted in years of social partner dance including swing, salsa, and Argentine tango. She thrives in boundary-pushing productions that fuse music, movement, and multidisciplinary storytelling

Architecture | Jeff Morrical
Jeff Morrical is a Los Angeles based installation artist specializing in paper sculptures. With a background in architecture, and a masters from SCI-Arc, finding form, structure and pattern in everyday materials has always been a driving force in Jeff’s work. He uses drafting software to design 2-dimensional patterns and graphics on large custom sheets of paper that correspond with the 3-dimensional forms created through the folding process.

Heidi Duckler | Executive Director
Heidi Duckler is the Founder and Artistic Director of Heidi Duckler Dance in Los Angeles, California and Heidi Duckler Dance/Northwest in Portland, Oregon. Titled the “reigning queen of site-specific performance” by the LA Times, Duckler is a pioneer of site-specific place based contemporary practice. Through the use of expanded techniques and a methodology that encourages us to understand how dance, born from our experience, can be a tool for awareness, Duckler has contributed to redefining the field and has created more than 400 dance pieces all over the world.
Duckler was the recipient of the 2021 Oregon Arts Commission Fellowship and most recently, her film “Where We’re Going” has been selected for first prize by the Cinedanza Festival jury amongst 28 films from around the world. “Where We’re Going” was also selected for the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) Digital Media Wall in their new building in downtown Sacramento, scheduled to premiere in 2022. Currently, Duckler is on faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the Film and Media Studies Department.
Duckler earned a BS in Dance from the University of Oregon and an MA in Choreography from UCLA, and served as a Board Member of the University of Oregon’s School of Music and Dance Advancement Council. Awards include the Distinguished Dance Alumna award from the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance, the Dance/USA and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s Engaging Dance Audiences award, and the National Endowment of the Arts American Masterpiece award. Duckler was a recipient of the 2019 Oregon Dance Film Commission and her work received the award for Best Choreography for the Lens at Verve Dance Film Festival

Raymond Ejiofor | Artistic Director
Raymond Ejiofor is a Gates Millennium Fellow and earned a Master of Public Health Policy from USC and his B.S. in Decision Science from Carnegie Mellon University. Raymond began his training under Judith Rhodes Calgaro in Arlington, VA, and at the Dance Theater of Harlem. Under the direction of Greer Reed, Ejiofor was a founding member of the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble (AWCDE), which was named “25 to Watch” in 2012 by Dance Magazine. Ejiofor has danced and created works with Daniel Ezralow, Ryan Heffington, Chole Arnold, Aszure Barton, Lula Washington, Bryan Arias, Danielle Agami, Sidra Bell, Kyle Abraham, and Robert Battle. Ejiofor currently collaborates with various companies, including Ezralow Dance, LA Opera, Post: Ballet, and David Roussève/REALITY. Some of his credits include the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, MTV VMAs, American Music Awards, Audi, Hermès, Samsung, Apple, Beijing Dance Festival, and Lincoln Center: David H. Koch Theater. He has performed with artists such as P!NK, Sia, Katy Perry, Pharrell, Dua Lipa, The Weekend, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Daft Punk. He has worked on various major motion pictures, including Spirited, Bad Hair, and 80 For Brady, as well as TV shows like the Late Late Show with/ James Corden, Physical, and the Emmy-winning episode of Love Death + Robots.
Choreography commissions include Heidi Ducker Dance, August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble, Berkeley Ballet Theater, and the Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center at Vista Del Mar. His choreography can be seen in film and music videos for artists such as Little Boots, Robot Koch, GirlvBoy, and Oddnesse. Ejiofor also served as a choreography consultant for the Paper Doll Militia, touring aerial production “Warped”. Ejiofor was the 2023 Artist in Residence with Heidi Duckler Dance serving as a choreographer, curator, and collaborating creative producer for the organization. Currently, Ejiofor is the Artistic Director of Heidi Duckler Dance.

R&R: Ray On the Roof Workshop Series
2025-11-25 18:00 - 19:30 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join us on November 25, 2025, for a little R&R—Ray on the Roof!
R&R is a monthly dance workshop series curated by HDD Artistic Director Raymond Ejiofor, taking place on the last Tuesday of each month from May through November Set against the skyline atop the Bendix Building, this invigorating class blends movement, mindfulness, and music in an open-air environment.
Select classes will feature guest HDD dancers, bringing their artistry and energy to the rooftop. Dancers of all levels are welcome to come recharge, reconnect, and move with intention under the LA sky.

Raymond Ejiofor | HDD Artistic Director

Raymond Ejiofor is a Gates Millennium Fellow and earned a Master of Public Health Policy from USC and his B.S. in Decision Science from Carnegie Mellon University. Raymond began his training under Judith Rhodes Calgaro in Arlington, VA, and at the Dance Theater of Harlem. Under the direction of Greer Reed, Ejiofor was a founding member of the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble (AWCDE), which was named “25 to Watch” in 2012 by Dance Magazine. Ejiofor has danced and created works with Daniel Ezralow, Ryan Heffington, Chole Arnold, Aszure Barton, Lula Washington, Bryan Arias, Danielle Agami, Sidra Bell, Kyle Abraham, and Robert Battle. Ejiofor currently collaborates with various companies, including Ezralow Dance, LA Opera, Post: Ballet, and David Roussève/REALITY. Some of his credits include the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, MTV VMAs, American Music Awards, Audi, Hermès, Samsung, Apple, Beijing Dance Festival, and Lincoln Center: David H. Koch Theater. He has performed with artists such as P!NK, Sia, Katy Perry, Pharrell, Dua Lipa, The Weekend, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Daft Punk. He has worked on various major motion pictures, including Spirited, Bad Hair, and 80 For Brady, as well as TV shows like the Late Late Show with/ James Corden, Physical, and the Emmy-winning episode of Love Death + Robots. Choreography commissions include Heidi Ducker Dance, August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble, Berkeley Ballet Theater, and the Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center at Vista Del Mar. His choreography can be seen in film and music videos for artists such as Little Boots, Robot Koch, GirlvBoy, and Oddnesse. Ejiofor also served as a choreography consultant for the Paper Doll Militia, touring aerial production “Warped”. Ejiofor was the 2023 Artist in Residence with Heidi Duckler Dance serving as a choreographer, curator, and collaborating creative producer for the organization. Currently, Ejiofor is the Artistic Director of Heidi Duckler Dance.

¡Ordena!
2025-10-18 11:00 - 15:00 | Culver City Art Walk & Roll Festival, 8533 Washington Blvd., Culver City, CA, 90232, United States
Heidi Duckler Dance invites the community to pull up a chair and place an order at ¡Ordena!, a performance food cart offering a playful menu of dancing dishes at the Culver City Art Walk & Roll Festival on Saturday, October 18, 2025.
Stay tuned for more details!

Entrechat: 40 Years Off The Stage
2025-10-04 17:00 - 21:00 | The California Club, 538 Flower St, Los Angeles, CA, 90071, United States
Join us for Heidi Duckler Dance’s 40th Anniversary Celebration, Entrechat: 40 Years Off the Stage—a spectacular fundraiser event at the historic California Club on Saturday, October 4, 2025, at 5 PM. This milestone evening will honor four decades of innovative site-specific dance and support the future of HDD’s visionary work.
The California Club
As the renaissance of Downtown Los Angeles continues, The California Club remains the city’s premier social club – a prestigious position held by The Club for well over a century. Combined with a sense of tradition, distinct decorum and mutual respect, The California Club serves as a home-away-from-home for Club Members and their Guests. OR Mail a check made out to “Heidi Duckler Dance” to 1206 Maple Ave. Suite 1100B, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Questions: Please email Heidi Duckler, Executive Director, at heidi@heididuckler.org or call 213-373-0366
Heidi Duckler Dance is a non-profit organization with a 501(c)(3) classification from the Internal Revenue Service. The portion of the contribution that exceeds the fair market value of $50 per individual ticket is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Heidi Duckler Dance – Tax Identification Number:
Honorees

Sponsorship Levels
Individual Ticket: $400

One seat
1 HDD Legacy book

Anniversary Sponsor: $1,400

4 seats at a shared table
1 HDD Legacy book
Company logo or name listed on all media materials, websites, newsletters, and e-blasts

Anniversary Angel: $4,000

10 seats at your own table
10 HDD Legacy books
Company logo or name listed on all media materials, websites, newsletters, and e-blasts.
Ticket holders receive a special curated gift bag 2026.

Legacy Sponsor: $8,000

Two tables and tickets for 20
20 HDD Legacy books
Company logo or name listed on all media materials, websites, newsletters, and e-blasts
Ticket holders receive a special curated gift bag 2026.
One-on-One immersive experience before the dinner

Fairy Godmother: $14,000

Two tables and tickets for 20
20 HDD Legacy books
Company logo or name listed on all media materials, websites, newsletters, and e-blasts
Ticket holders receive a special curated gift bag 2026.
One-on-One immersive experience before the dinner
A private rooftop cocktail reception at The Bendix in 2026

Event Sponsors

Heidi Duckler & Dan Rosenfeld
Nancy Griffin & Steve Ehrlich
Anonymous
Del Amo Construction
Snap Foundation
Abby Sher & John May

R&R: Ray On the Roof Workshop Series
2025-08-26 18:00 - 19:30 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join us on AUGUST 26, 2025, for a little R&R—Ray on the Roof!
R&R is a monthly dance workshop series curated by HDD Artistic Director Raymond Ejiofor, taking place on the last Tuesday of each month from May through August. Set against the skyline atop the Bendix Building, this invigorating class blends movement, mindfulness, and music in an open-air environment.
Select classes will feature guest HDD dancers, bringing their artistry and energy to the rooftop. Dancers of all levels are welcome to come recharge, reconnect, and move with intention under the LA sky.

REGISTER HERE

Raymond Ejiofor | HDD Artistic Director

Raymond Ejiofor is a Gates Millennium Fellow and earned a Master of Public Health Policy from USC and his B.S. in Decision Science from Carnegie Mellon University. Raymond began his training under Judith Rhodes Calgaro in Arlington, VA, and at the Dance Theater of Harlem. Under the direction of Greer Reed, Ejiofor was a founding member of the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble (AWCDE), which was named “25 to Watch” in 2012 by Dance Magazine. Ejiofor has danced and created works with Daniel Ezralow, Ryan Heffington, Chole Arnold, Aszure Barton, Lula Washington, Bryan Arias, Danielle Agami, Sidra Bell, Kyle Abraham, and Robert Battle. Ejiofor currently collaborates with various companies, including Ezralow Dance, LA Opera, Post: Ballet, and David Roussève/REALITY. Some of his credits include the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, MTV VMAs, American Music Awards, Audi, Hermès, Samsung, Apple, Beijing Dance Festival, and Lincoln Center: David H. Koch Theater. He has performed with artists such as P!NK, Sia, Katy Perry, Pharrell, Dua Lipa, The Weekend, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Daft Punk. He has worked on various major motion pictures, including Spirited, Bad Hair, and 80 For Brady, as well as TV shows like the Late Late Show with/ James Corden, Physical, and the Emmy-winning episode of Love Death + Robots. Choreography commissions include Heidi Ducker Dance, August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble, Berkeley Ballet Theater, and the Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center at Vista Del Mar. His choreography can be seen in film and music videos for artists such as Little Boots, Robot Koch, GirlvBoy, and Oddnesse. Ejiofor also served as a choreography consultant for the Paper Doll Militia, touring aerial production “Warped”. Ejiofor was the 2023 Artist in Residence with Heidi Duckler Dance serving as a choreographer, curator, and collaborating creative producer for the organization. Currently, Ejiofor is the Artistic Director of Heidi Duckler Dance.

Welcome Home - Artistic Director and Leadership Circle Event
2025-08-16 17:00 - 19:00 | CA
Please join us on Saturday August 16th for a very special opportunity to enjoy innovative architecture, dance and music all linked in surprising and connected ways.
Schedule:
5:00 pm – Reception
5:30 pm – Conversation with Clive and Thomas
+ Thomas Small, founder of The Small Group, has led a thriving Edmond-based architectural firm since 2000, specializing in historic preservation, healthcare, education, museums, and civic projects.
+ Clive Wilkinson, founder of the globally recognized Clive Wilkinson Architects, is a South African-born, UK-educated architect and designer known for pioneering workplace and educational community design, with an award-winning portfolio for clients including Google, Microsoft, and Disney.
6:00 pm – Dance performance with live music
6:30 pm – Q and A with Raymond Ejiofor and Heidi Duckler
7:00 pm – Close
RSVP

R&R: Ray On the Roof Workshop Series
2025-07-29 18:00 - 19:30 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join us on JULY 29, 2025, for a little R&R—Ray on the Roof!
R&R is a monthly dance workshop series curated by HDD Artistic Director Raymond Ejiofor, taking place on the last Tuesday of each month from May through July. Set against the skyline atop the Bendix Building, this invigorating class blends movement, mindfulness, and music in an open-air environment.
Select classes will feature guest HDD dancers, bringing their artistry and energy to the rooftop. Dancers of all levels are welcome to come recharge, reconnect, and move with intention under the LA sky.
Raymond Ejiofor | HDD Artistic Director
Raymond Ejiofor is a Gates Millennium Fellow and earned a Master of Public Health Policy from USC and his B.S. in Decision Science from Carnegie Mellon University. Raymond began his training under Judith Rhodes Calgaro in Arlington, VA, and at the Dance Theater of Harlem. Under the direction of Greer Reed, Ejiofor was a founding member of the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble (AWCDE), which was named “25 to Watch” in 2012 by Dance Magazine. Ejiofor has danced and created works with Daniel Ezralow, Ryan Heffington, Chole Arnold, Aszure Barton, Lula Washington, Bryan Arias, Danielle Agami, Sidra Bell, Kyle Abraham, and Robert Battle. Ejiofor currently collaborates with various companies, including Ezralow Dance, LA Opera, Post: Ballet, and David Roussève/REALITY. Some of his credits include the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, MTV VMAs, American Music Awards, Audi, Hermès, Samsung, Apple, Beijing Dance Festival, and Lincoln Center: David H. Koch Theater. He has performed with artists such as P!NK, Sia, Katy Perry, Pharrell, Dua Lipa, The Weekend, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Daft Punk. He has worked on various major motion pictures, including Spirited, Bad Hair, and 80 For Brady, as well as TV shows like the Late Late Show with/ James Corden, Physical, and the Emmy-winning episode of Love Death + Robots.
Choreography commissions include Heidi Ducker Dance, August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble, Berkeley Ballet Theater, and the Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center at Vista Del Mar. His choreography can be seen in film and music videos for artists such as Little Boots, Robot Koch, GirlvBoy, and Oddnesse. Ejiofor also served as a choreography consultant for the Paper Doll Militia, touring aerial production “Warped”. Ejiofor was the 2023 Artist in Residence with Heidi Duckler Dance serving as a choreographer, curator, and collaborating creative producer for the organization. Currently, Ejiofor is the Artistic Director of Heidi Duckler Dance.

Heidi Duckler Dance Presents Architecture Through the Body: A Living Legacy - Closing Event
2025-07-25 19:00 - 21:00 | SCI-Arc, 350 Merrick Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90013, United States
Heidi Duckler Dance Presents Architecture Through the Body: A Living Legacy
An Exhibition Showcasing 40 Years of Movement & Architecture
Join us for A Living Legacy, an exhibition by Heidi Duckler Dance at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, honoring four decades of site specific performance, a powerful dialogue between dance and the built environment.
Closing Event + Live Performance
Friday, July 25, 2025 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
(Performance begins at 8:00 PM)
The exhibition concludes with a special site-specific performance, bringing HDD’s rich history to life in motion. The evening will feature dancers Colleen Loverde and Alejandro Perez in a new work choreographed by Artistic Director Raymond Ejiofor, with live music by Pauline Lay. This live performance will bring HDD’s archival journey to life, offering audiences a powerful embodiment of the company’s legacy and ongoing evolution.
RSVP Link
Location: 350 Merrick Street, between Traction Avenue and 4th Street.
Early bird tickets are $10 for general admission and $25 for admission with refreshments through July 10. Starting July 11, all tickets will include refreshments and be $25.
Celebrate HDD’s legacy and vision for a future where dance and architecture continue to push boundaries and create new ways of seeing.

Raymond Ejiofor:
Raymond Ejiofor is a Gates Millennium Fellow and earned a Master of Public Health Policy from USC and his B.S. in Decision Science from Carnegie Mellon University. Raymond began his training under Judith Rhodes Calgaro in Arlington, VA, and at the Dance Theater of Harlem. Under the direction of Greer Reed, Ejiofor was a founding member of the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble (AWCDE), which was named “25 to Watch” in 2012 by Dance Magazine. Ejiofor has danced and created works with Daniel Ezralow, Ryan Heffington, Chole Arnold, Aszure Barton, Lula Washington, Bryan Arias, Danielle Agami, Sidra Bell, Kyle Abraham, and Robert Battle. Ejiofor currently collaborates with various companies, including Ezralow Dance, LA Opera, Post: Ballet, and David Roussève/REALITY. Some of his credits include the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, MTV VMAs, American Music Awards, Audi, Hermès, Samsung, Apple, Beijing Dance Festival, and Lincoln Center: David H. Koch Theater. He has performed with artists such as P!NK, Sia, Katy Perry, Pharrell, Dua Lipa, The Weekend, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Daft Punk. He has worked on various major motion pictures, including Spirited, Bad Hair, and 80 For Brady, as well as TV shows like the Late Late Show with/ James Corden, Physical, and the Emmy-winning episode of Love Death + Robots. Choreography commissions include Heidi Ducker Dance, August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble, Berkeley Ballet Theater, and the Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center at Vista Del Mar. His choreography can be seen in film and music videos for artists such as Little Boots, Robot Koch, GirlvBoy, and Oddnesse. Ejiofor also served as a choreography consultant for the Paper Doll Militia, touring aerial production “Warped”. Ejiofor was the 2023 Artist in Residence with Heidi Duckler Dance serving as a choreographer, curator, and collaborating creative producer for the organization. Currently, Ejiofor is the Artistic Director of Heidi Duckler Dance.
Colleen Loverde:
Colleen Loverde is a dance artist, creator, teacher, explorer and questioner. She was born and raised in Lake Zurich, IL, and received her B.F.A. in Modern & Jazz Dance at Point Park University where she was awarded Outstanding Senior Dance Artist in 2017. Colleen’s work is informed by the recognition that everything is connected and there is infinite wisdom to be uncovered within these connections. The intention of building awareness and cultivating balance between the interplay of the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energies is inherent in her process.Colleen has performed with LED Boise, Heidi Duckler, Open Space, Post: Ballet, Northwest Dance Project, and on a variety of multidisciplinary projects. She has had the opportunity to perform works by choreographers Ihsan Rustem, Wen Wei Wang, Felix Landerer, Patrick Delcroix, Lauren Edson, Heidi Duckler, Luca Veggetti, Franco Nieto, Noelle Kayser, Johannes Wieland, Michaela Taylor, Shannon Gillen, Ryan Mason, Alice Klock, Luke Murphy, Gregory Dolbashion, MADBOOTS, Garfield Lemonius, Alexandra Damiani, Patrick O’Brien and herself.

Alejandro Perez:
Alejandro Perez is a first-generation Mexican-American from Los Angeles, California, wherein he has been a tangible presence in the dance community and beyond, first seen performing internationally in a street dancing crew. He has been a dancer and a collaborator with Sidra Bell NYC, ISHIDA Dance, Dawsondancesf, Heidi Duckler Dance, Mike Tyus & Co, in addition to other companies throughout the United States. In recent years Alejandro has focused primarily on teaching opportunities. He has created and set works on California School for the Arts, LINES Ballet Training/Summer Program, for Youth America Grand Prix, and Joffrey Ballet Academy Training Program/Studio Company for winning Works 2025.

Pauline Lay:

Pauline is a violinist, solo artist, improviser and a long-standing music events curator/organizer based out of Los Angeles. She performs solo improvised pieces with acoustic and electronic instruments. Her latest recording “Alloy / Pulp” was released by Japanese tape label Heavy Mess. She also frequently collaborates with fellow LA musicians in a multitude of contexts, from duets to her piece “5×5,” a composition for 25 synthesizers.

Heidi Duckler Dance Presents Architecture Through the Body: A Living Legacy - Opening Event
2025-07-18 19:00 - 21:00 | SCI-Arc, 350 Merrick Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90013, United States
Heidi Duckler Dance Presents Architecture Through the Body: A Living Legacy
An Exhibition Showcasing 40 Years of Movement & Architecture
Join us for A Living Legacy, an exhibition by Heidi Duckler Dance at the Southern California Institute of Architecture, honoring four decades of site specific performance, a powerful dialogue between dance and the built environment.
Opening Event + Panel Discussion
Friday, July 18, 2025 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
(Panel begins at 8:00 PM)
Experience the launch of the exhibition with an evening of immersive archives, including stunning photography, video installations, original costumes, and choreography. The evening will feature a thought-provoking panel discussion by choreographers and architects on the intersection of movement and space.
Closing Event + Live Performance
Friday, July 25, 2025 | 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
(Performance begins at 8:00 PM)
The exhibition concludes with a special site-specific performance, bringing HDD’s rich history to life in motion.
RSVP Link
Meet the Panelists:

Location: 350 Merrick Street, between Traction Avenue and 4th Street.
Early bird tickets are $10 for general admission and $25 for admission with refreshments through July 10. Starting July 11, all tickets will include refreshments and be $25.
Celebrate HDD’s legacy and vision for a future where dance and architecture continue to push boundaries and create new ways of seeing.

Ebb & Flow: Vista Hermosa Natural Park
2025-06-14 14:00 - 16:00 | vista hermosa natural park, 1234 Colton St, Los Angeles, CA, 90026, United States
Join us at Ebb & Flow: Vista Hermosa Natural Park!
Heidi Duckler Dance proudly presents the 7th annual Ebb & Flow community arts festival at Vista Hermosa Natural Park on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
Ebb & Flow is a free, family-friendly festival that brings the community together to explore themes of climate change, nature, health, and humanity through an immersive blend of dance, visual art, music, and technology.
For this year’s celebration, HDD Artistic Director Raymond Ejiofor has curated and commissioned works by multidisciplinary artists, inviting audiences to experience powerful performances and interactive installations that reflect our shared environmental and social landscapes. Heidi Duckler Dance is thrilled to be featuring works by local artists.
Guests will also have the chance to celebrate the Earth through a hands-on, eco-friendly art activity at our pot painting station before the performances begin. Personalize a biodegradable pot and plant a seedling inside—an artistic keepsake that grows with you!
Mark your calendars for a vibrant afternoon of creativity, connection, and community—set against the stunning backdrop of one of LA’s most beloved urban parks.
Program Schedule

Check-in + pot painting art activity | 2 pm
Performances | 3 pm
Event concludes | 4 pm

Know Before You Go

Please wear comfortable clothing and shoes suitable for walking and extended standing. Performances happen at multiple locations and require walking between sites, including areas with uneven terrain. Guests are encouraged to bring a portable chair for seating.

Featured Artists

Stephanie Kim | Choreographer + Director
Stephanie Kim is a Los Angeles-based professional dancer and freelance artist. Stephanie has had the opportunity to perform for audiences at the Grammys®, the Academy Awards®, the Met Gala, LA Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, at Lincoln Center, The Joyce, with the LA Philharmonic and Jacob’s Pillow. She has worked with choreographers such as Kitty McNamee, Nina McNeely, Denna Thompson, Melissa Barak, Daniel Ezralow, Rob Ashford, and Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. She has toured internationally with Andrea Bocelli and has worked with artists including Katy Perry, The Weeknd, AFI, John Legend, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and Lil’ Nas X.
Stephanie has choreographed for Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora, and U2; been featured in campaigns for Banana Republic Dom Pérignon, and Vitamin Water. She has also performed on screen for movies and television such as Petals in the Wind, Ted 2, Don’t Worry Darling, Lucifer, Gilmore Girls, The Masked Singer, Dave and Happy Endings. Moving through life with integrity and passion, Stephanie Kim has created the life she imagined and re-imagines daily.
Zach Gold | Photographer + Filmmaker
Zach Gold is a photographer and filmmaker living in Los Angeles. His photographs and short films have been shown at the Moca Museum Los Angeles, Pompidou Center, Rotterdam Film Festival, and he is included in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute and the Brooklyn Museum. Zach joined forces with curator Lisa Small to create the ‘Killer Heels’ exhibition for the Brooklyn Museum. The New York Times called it “the most gorgeous and meticulously organized show mounted by the Brooklyn Museum in years”.
Zach has been recognized in many ways over the years but is most proud of winning the International Center of Photography’s Young Photographer of the Year. Zach has collaborated with and created campaigns for: Iris Van Herpen, Drake, Taylor Swift, Vogue Brasil, Issey Miyake, David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Ermenegildo Zegna, Coke and Nike among others.
Jeff Morrical | Installation Artist
Jeff Morrical is a Los Angeles based installation artist specializing in paper sculptures. With a background in architecture, and a masters from SCI-Arc, finding form, structure and pattern in everyday materials has always been a driving force in Jeff’s work. He uses drafting software to design 2-dimensional patterns and graphics on large custom sheets of paper that correspond with the 3-dimensional forms created through the folding process.
Joe Davis | Dancer

Joe was born and raised in the beautiful hills of upstate New York, and can easily be identified by his cacophonous laughter. He began his training in Rochester, New York, and continued his studies at The Juilliard School on scholarships from The NYCDA Foundation and Cornell University. During his training he performed principal roles in the works of Symphony of Psalms by Jirí Kylián, and Baker’s Dozen by Twyla Tharp. He also performed works by notable choreographers such as Nacho Duato, Kyle Abraham, Martha Graham, Camille A. Brown and Brian Brooks.
From 2016- 2022 he was a dancer with LA based contemporary company BODYTRAFFIC, where he traveled twice to Algeria as a cultural ambassador for the arts representing The U.S. in the International Modern Dance Festival. As a company member he toured internationally to Russia, Holland, Poland, Indonesia, Serbia and Mexico, and choreographed internationally in the cities of Jakarta and Hong Kong. Professionally, he has performed pieces by renowned choreographers such as Hofesh Shechter, Alejandro Cerudo, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Micaela Taylor, Barak Marshall, Arthur Pita, Victor Quijada, Matthew Neenan, Sidra Bell and Richard Seigal. He has been a guest artist with Long Beach Opera, LA Chamber Orchestra, Heidi Duckler Dance Company and Clairobscur Dance.
In 2019 he co-founded HD Theatre with partner Haley Heckethorn, a contemporary dance company that performs and commissions work by upcoming and established choreographers, while also providing educational spaces for youth dance programs. On film, Joe can be seen in Calvin Klein’s Spring ’22 campaign, music video Man’s World, written by MARINA and directed by Alexandra Gavillet, as well as Requim for Air and Normalcy by Laurie Sefton. In addition to performing and choreographing he has taught master classes at institutions such as Steps on Broadway, Loyola Marymount University, Chapman University, Santa Monica College, UCLA and numerous dance studios across the country, and is currently on faculty at CalArts in Valencia, CA. Joe is a lead Dance Church® teacher, an all-inclusive and community driven outlet to dancing.

Tomoko Ozawa | Pianist, Singer + Composer
Pianist and composer Tomoko Ozawa is a fresh voice from Japan, raised in international settings. A graduate of Berklee College of Music and Longy School of Music, her music crosses genre borders, combining lyricism with European contemporary classical music and rhythmic elements of Jazz.
Tomoko began studying classical piano in Tokyo at the age of six, and spent three years in England during her teens, where she studied with Belinda Mikhail and Vanessa Latarche, the Head of Keyboard at the Royal College of Music.
Upon returning to Japan, she studied religions of Japan, philosophy and ethnomusicology alongside majoring in international law at the International Christian University in Tokyo. She picked up piano again during her senior year, this time improvising and composing through Jazz. She then relocated to Boston to further her studies in jazz composition, graduating from Berklee College of Music in 2014, and completing her master’s degree in Modern American Music from Longy School of Music in 2017.
Si Nos Pagan Boys | Artist Collective +
Durden and Ray | Curators

Pelota de Playa (Beach Ball), a 11.5 foot, diameter, inflatable sculpture, created by humor based Colombian artist collective Si Nos Pagan Boys. Pelota de Playa is presented as a collaboration with Durden and Ray, Los Angeles, from the exhibition Smiling in Chaos, and as a performance by Heidi Duckler Dance incorporating a deflating Pelota de Playa. Members of Si Nos Pagan Boys include Gonzalo García Gaitán, Boris Pérez, and Javier Vanegas.
Si Nos Pagan Boys is a Colombian artistic collective founded in 2011. They invite artists from different generations and backgrounds, with an intergenerational, inclusive, and often humorous approach. The collective operates like a team, blending serious work with a playful spirit. They work toward maintaining a collaborative essence and commitment to fresh, participatory, artistic proposals. Past projects include *Elegía a Jaime Molina* (2011), and *MANIMAL* (2012), MAMBO and Arte Cámara (2013), and the QiPO Fair, Mexico City, (2023 and 2024).
Smiling in Chaos, co-curated by Gonzalo García Gaitán, Ismael de Anda III, and Carlos Beltrán Aréchiga, recently presented at Durden and Ray, is an exhibition that revolves around the theme of humor and the ability of Colombian and L.A. artists to intertwine in their works, various forms of humor as a means to provoke laughter and fun in the face of the challenges of current times with the contribution of affirmative absurdity and laughter.
Founded in 2009, Durden and Ray is comprised of artist/curators who work together to create exhibition opportunities at their downtown Los Angeles gallery as well as together with artist groups and gallery spaces around the world. Smiling in Chaos, will be presented in Bogotá, Colombia; September, 2025.
Carlos Beltrán Aréchiga, Snežana Saraswati Petrović, and Ismael de Anda III make up the partnering, coordinating team, for the presentation of Pelota de Playa by Si Nos Pagan Boys, at Hermosa Park in Los Angeles, for the 7th Annual Ebb & Flow Festival.
This program is supported, in part, by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

4D Film Festival - Independent Films Screening
2025-04-04 19:00 - 22:00 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Heidi Duckler Dance is thrilled to launch the 4D Film Festival, a groundbreaking initiative dedicated to the intersection of dance and cinema. As part of HDD’s dedication to supporting artists, the 4D Film Festival creates a dynamic space where dance, film, and community come together for an unforgettable cinematic experience.
Experience the magic of cinema under the stars! Join us for an enchanting outdoor screening on the iconic Bendix rooftop, where the city skyline meets the silver screen. Cozy up, soak in the night air, and let the art of dance and film transport you as we screen inspiring dance films by eight visionary independent filmmakers. Enjoy Quack Games, a fun pre-show trivia challenge, along with popcorn, snacks, and refreshing beverages provided by Grown Folks, and a special panel discussion with dance artists and filmmakers who bring a wealth of experience in dance and film collaboration. And your vote counts! Attendees will also have the chance to participate by casting their vote for the Audience Choice Award and help crown the night’s most captivating film.✨🎥🌙
Event Timeline

Doors Open/Sunset Reception | 7 pm
“Quack Games” Pre-Show Trivia Challenge | 7:30 pm
Panel Discussion | 7:40 pm
Film Screening | 8 pm
Audience Choice Award Announcement | 9:45 pm
Evening Concludes | 10 pm

Panelists

Angelina Sol | Moderator | Author, Public Speaker
Angelina Sol is a professional trainer, coach, and consultant with over 15 years of experience transforming companies and empowering individuals worldwide. She is the creator of Welcome to Your Greatness, a life-changing course that equips participants with the tools and techniques to turn their dreams into reality.
Her expertise has helped employees and clients boost their confidence, expand their potential, and achieve remarkable growth in both their personal and professional lives.

Raymond Ejiofor | Curator
Raymond Ejiofor is a Gates Millennium Fellow and earned a Masters of Public Health Policy from USC and his B.S. in Decision Science from Carnegie Mellon University. Raymond began his training under Judith Rhodes Calgaro in Arlington, VA and the Dance Theater of Harlem. Under the direction of Greer Reed, Ejiofor was a founding member of August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble (AWCDE), which was named “25 to Watch” in 2012 by Dance Magazine.
Karus Nelson | Emmy Nominated Television Producer
Karus Nelson is an Emmy Nominated producer who has produced some of the most popular television content over the past few years. His credits include shows such as Red Table Talk, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Oprah: Where Are They Now, and The Queen Latifah Show just to name a few. His producing experience spans multiple formats of television including commercials, docu-series, talk shows, reality shows, and various LIVE events, news specials, and award shows including the Academy Awards. On the business side, his expertise in entertainment lent itself to consulting and advising major movie studios such as Sony, Fox, and Universal on effective tent-pole releases and home entertainment business success.

Sara Silkin | Dance Artist + Filmmaker
A multi-disciplinary dance artist and filmmaker, Sara is blind in her left eye and explores the things she can’t see– her memories. By going back and capturing the smallest gestures to the largest leaps of faith, she creates work that moves you viscerally through her unique approach to storytelling through movement and film.

Heidi Duckler Dance’s 4D Film Festival – Independent Films Screenings is sponsored in part by Grown Folks and Los Angeles Dance Film Festival

4D Film Festival - Student Screening
2025-03-15 19:00 - 21:30 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Heidi Duckler Dance is thrilled to launch the 4D Film Festival, a groundbreaking initiative dedicated to the intersection of dance and cinema. Experience the magic of cinema under the stars! Join us for an enchanting outdoor screening on the iconic Bendix rooftop, where the city skyline meets the silver screen. Cozy up, soak in the night air, and let the art of dance and film transport you. Enjoy Quack Games, a fun pre-show trivia challenge, along with snacks and refreshments! ✨🎥🌙
This special evening will spotlight dance films by emerging student filmmakers, showcasing fresh perspectives and bold storytelling through movement and film. As part of HDD’s commitment to nurturing the next generation of artists, the 4D Film Festival provides a space where dance, film, and community converge in an unforgettable cinematic experience.
Event Timeline

Doors Open | 7 pm
“Quack Games” Pre-Show Trivia Challenge | 7:30 pm
Film Screening | 8 pm
Evening Concludes | 9:30 pm

Guest Speaker

Peter J. Bloom | Film and Media Studies Professor, UC Santa Barbara
Peter J. Bloom is Professor of Film and Media Studies at University of California, Santa Barbara, and served as Department chair from 2020-23. He has published widely on British, French, and Belgian colonial media including French Colonial Documentary, Frenchness and the African Diaspora (co-editor), and Modernization as Spectacle in Africa (co-editor), among other publications. He recently completed a co-edited volume with Dominique Jullien, entitled Screens and Illusionism: Alternative Teleologies of Mediation (Edinburgh University Press, 2024). With a geographical focus on West Africa and Southeast Asia, he is preparing a monograph entitled, Radio-Cinema Modernity: The Catoptrics of Empire. In addition, he is working on several other projects focused on media technologies of performance, the adaptation of nkisi nail sculpture idioms by contemporary African artists, and global film and media studio production sites as a study of locality and delocalization. He teaches and works with a wide array of graduate and undergraduate students.

Truth or Consequences: Close to the Ground
2025-02-15 17:00 - 20:00 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join premier Los Angeles-based company Heidi Duckler Dance for an engaging salon series featuring renowned choreographer and dancer Jasmine Albuquerque.
As we enter the Year of the Wood Snake—a symbol of renewal and transformation—this salon invites us to reflect on our ability to adapt. From the rise of robotics and AI to the challenges of climate change and wildfires, how do we embrace change, shed old patterns, and reconnect with our innate ability to heal, much like the graceful and resilient snake?
The night begins with compelling dance performances by B Gosse, and Maija Knapp and then featured work by Jasmine Albuquerque. Adding to the night’s artistic depth, Nandi Zulu will share her evocative poetry. The evening will conclude with a special screening of an experimental film.
Don’t miss this dynamic evening of artistry, dialogue, and reflection.
Tickets:

$40 Presale (available until 5 PM on February 15, 2025)
$50 at the Door

Evening Schedule
Reception at 5 PM
Performance at 6 PM

Featured Artist | Jasmine Albuquerque
Jasmine Albuquerque is a choreographer, dancer, storyteller and instructor based in Los Angeles. She is fascinated by the body and how it moves, ages and rearranges in space. Dance is the language she prefers to speak as she continues to swallow her art practice. Jasmine is a co-founder of WIFE and has performed with companies such as Hysterica, Blue13 Bollywood, Collage Dance Theater, Ryan Heffington’s Fingered and done movement direction for Beyonce, Rihanna and Jennifer Lopez. Other performances include Soft Sex, Istanbul Light Festival, TEDx SoCal, KTCHN, We Are The World, Frequency Festival, Jane’s Addiction and Hecuba at venues including the Hammer Museum, Zebulon, the El Rey, the Wiltern, MOCA, The Ford, The Orpheum, and LACMA. Jasmine has choreographed for Katy Perry, Ivy Park, Puma x Balmain, St. Vincent, Devendra Banhart, Ry X, Sylvan Esso, Cameron Avery, Monica Dogra, Carlie Hanson and danced in videos for Beck, Laura Marling, The Weekend, Miguel, Rodrigo Amarante, Lawrence Rothman, Verve Records, Fitz & The Tantrums, MIKA, Jessica Tonder and Morcheeba. She has a degree in History from UCLA and trained in contemporary dance at The Edge Performing Arts Center and in Budapest, Hungary. She has been teaching dance for the past twenty years in and around Los Angeles, Copenhagen and Mexico.
Guest Artists

Maija Knapp | Dancer

B Gosse | Dancer

Nandi Zulu | Poet

This program is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture.

Truth or Consequences: Life Cycle of a Fever Dream
2024-11-16 16:00 - 18:00 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Heidi Duckler Dance, Los Angeles’ leading site-specific dance company, proudly presents Life Cycle of a Fever Dream, our first salon of the 2024 Fall/Winter season in the company’s signature series Truth or Consequences. Hosted at the historic Bendix Building in Downtown LA, this transdisciplinary salon series is produced by HDD, bringing cutting-edge artistry into dynamic conversation with architecture and space.
In this edition, HDD showcases the work of experimental sound artist Julia Edith Rigby, whose exploratory opera invites audiences into a richly immersive soundscape. Life Cycle of a Fever Dream draws from the natural world, combining human and animal sounds—whale sharks, golden-headed lion tamarins, silk moths—with the elements of climate, terrain, and sensory experience. Rigby will perform live on viola and piano in conversation with twenty-one other musicians, sound artists, and vocalists.
This immersive, interactive experience will explore collaboration and interdependence with soniferous animals and environments, imagining futurities that muddle our understanding of sensory worlds and sense of place, loss, and possibility.
Featured Artist | Julia Edith Rigby
Julia Edith Rigby is an experimental sound artist, composer, and sculptor who thinks about entanglements among humans and more-than-humans, phenomena and sound. Her projects explore collaboration, cohabitation and interdependence with soniferous animals and environments, imagining futurities which complexify our understandings of sensory worlds and sense of place, loss and possibility.
Julia Edith Rigby has performed at / composed for LEAF Festival in Lafayette, Colorado (2024), LOW End in Omaha, Nebraska (2023), the Toulouse Theater in New Orleans (2023), SAPPYFEST in New Brunswick (2024) and the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna, Florida (2023). She is a recipient of artist grants from Arts New Brunswick, the Center for Cultural Innovation and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Rigby was the Sound Art + Experimental Music Fellow at the Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, Nebraska in fall 2023.
She has been an artist in residence at GlougauAIR Artist Residency in Berlin, PLAYA Summer Lake, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Kala Art Institute, and others. Rigby has exhibited work in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and Berlin. Rigby received her MFA in Studio Art at the University of California, Davis (2020).
Guest Artists

Liminal Voices & Orchestra
In the summer of 2024, Dr. Fabián Rodríguez Castro (they/he) launched their non-profit, Liminal Voices & Orchestra, a choral-orchestral ensemble for experienced musicians that identify within the LGBTQ+/Gender Expansive/BBIA (Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian) communities.
They had their debut performance in August 2024 with their program “Tales from Resilience.” The program consisted of historically marginalized composers and concluded with the California premiere of Afro-Brazilian composer José Maurício Nunes Garcia’s Requiem in d.

8TPS Music
8TPS is a vocal collective of trans, nonbinary, and gender-expansive musicians working at the intersection of professional, identity-driven, and community-building choral ensembles.
A company of genre-fluid performers, adaptable arts educators, and energized community partners, 8TPS embodies the diversity of trans experience and excellence.
Andrew Fong | French Horn

Ben Kinsley | Geophone

Chris Mckelway | Piano

Leora Malka | Vocalist ~ Alto

Mason Moy | Tuba

Grace Dashnaw | Cello

Nicki Chen | Viola

Rogelio Resendiz | Vocalist ~ Countertenor

Simone Maura | Violin

Grant Laren | Horn

Victor Gonzalez | Saxophone

Spencer Bowie |Saxophone

Yenju Chen | Violin

Adrian Narro | Cello

This program is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture.

Special thanks to CultureHub LA for their partnership and support.

What Remains Un/Seen
2024-11-02 16:00 - 20:00 | Wende Museum, 10808 Culver Blvd, Culver City, CA, 90230, United States
Join us for a new performance, What Remains Un/Seen. This unique event is set for Saturday, November 2nd, 2024 at the Wende Museum and its garden.
Choreographed and directed by HDD Founder and Artistic Director, Heidi Duckler, “What Remains Un/Seen” delves into the deep waters of surveillance and societal control, inspired by the themes of the Wende Museum’s exhibition “Counter/Surveillance.”
This compelling work invites audiences into the inner garden, where Mexican-American Scenic Designer, Efren Delgadillo Jr. will transform it into an enigmatic space. Here, movement and mystery converge in interactive vignettes where HDD dancers animate the silent dialogues of observation. These performances subtly reveal the tensions between visibility and the unseen, offering a nuanced examination of the dance between the observer and the observed.
Accompanying the choreography, the atmosphere is infused with haunting live music and intricate soundscapes that echo through the garden, crafted from a blend of live performances and electronically altered sounds that underscore the theme of surveillance. The experience is further enriched by transient set designs where ephemeral structures and vivid multimedia projections warp the boundaries of space and secrecy, creating an environment that invites audience interaction and contemplation. “What Remains Un/Seen” combines live music and dance, inviting an audience to engage in a world full of fictional truth.
Admission is free with a suggested donation of $20.
Event Schedule

4 pm | Self-guided Counter/Surveillance gallery tour
5 pm | First performance
6 pm | Second performance
7 pm | Self-guided Counter/Surveillance gallery tour for second group
8pm | Museum closes

Featured Artists

Alejandro Perez

Sasha Rivero

Joseph Stevens

Kayla Gabrielle

Musicians

Cosmic Vibrations Musical Group

This program is supported, in part, by the Wende Museum, the City of Culver City, California, and its Cultural Affairs Commission, with additional support from Sony Pictures Entertainment.

39th Anniversary Celebration
2024-09-21 17:00 - 22:00 | loyola law school, 919 Albany St, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Heidi Duckler Dance will celebrate its 39th Anniversary Celebration, Dance in the Light of the Harvest Moon, at the iconic Frank Gehry-designed campus of Loyola Law School on Saturday, September 21, 2024 at 5 pm.
The redesign of Loyola’s campus in 1978 marked a pivotal moment in Gehry’s career, showcasing his radical use of unconventional materials and his visionary approach to architecture. This project helped catapult Gehry to national and international acclaim, as he transformed Loyola’s downtown Los Angeles site into a neo-traditional campus that redefined the boundaries of architectural design.
Both Duckler and Gehry are pioneers in their respective fields, pushing the boundaries of how we experience art, architecture, and movement. Their work challenges us to reimagine our surroundings and our connections within them.
This evening will offer a glimpse into the future of our vibrant Los Angeles community of artists, designers, community advocates, and academics. The event will feature a cocktail reception, performances, and an awards ceremony while blending artistry and community spirit.
Enhancing the evening’s allure, new works will be showcased, choreographed and directed by Madison Olandt, and Alejandro Perez. These performances promise to engage the audience with their distinct artistic voices and creative approaches to movement. Additionally, guests will be treated to a dynamic original piece titled School of Fish, created by transdisciplinary choreographer Shoji Yamasaki, known for his innovative approach to storytelling through dance.
Dress code ~ Festive Fall colors!
OR Mail a check made out to “Heidi Duckler Dance” to 1206 Maple Ave. Suite 1100B, Los Angeles, CA 90015
Questions: Please email Raphaelle Ziemba, Managing Director, at raphaelle@heididuckler.org or call 213-373-0366
Heidi Duckler Dance is a non-profit organization with a 501(c)(3) classification from the Internal Revenue Service. The portion of the contribution that exceeds the fair market value of $50 per individual ticket is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Heidi Duckler Dance – Tax Identification Number: 95-4152270
Event Timeline
5:00 PM | Reception
6:00 PM | Award Ceremony in the Esplanade
7:00 PM | Performances on Frank Gehry’s staircases throughout the campus
8:00 PM | Dinner and Dancing on the Rooftop overlooking the City

Meet the Honorees
Marla Bleavins is a proud native of Los Angeles, having grown up in the greater Crenshaw area where she still resides. She was raised by two dedicated public servants –a retired educator and a retired Lieutenant with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department. She attended local schools, graduating from St. Bernard High School and from there she went on to earn her degree in Public Policy at Stanford University. Upon returning to Los Angeles after graduation, she soon continued her family’s proud legacy of public service by starting her 25-year career with the City of Los Angeles. She also earned a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School.
Marla takes great pride in having “grown up in the City” professionally, having started her career as a management assistant in the Office of the City Administrative Officer and eventually taking on key roles in other departments such as Debt & Treasury Manager at LAX, Assistant General Manager at the Los Angeles Convention Center and most recently Deputy Executive Director & Chief Financial Officer at the Port of Los Angeles. She also served as Executive Officer, serving the second in command at the nation’s busiest container port.
In May, Marla returned to Los Angeles World Airports, the City agency that runs LAX, to serve as Chief Airports Administrative Officer where she will lead human resources, procurement, supplier diversity, risk management, and commercial development. Alex M. Johnson is Vice President of Public Affairs at The California Wellness Foundation where he brings nearly twenty years of successful cross-sector experience working with policymakers, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and the philanthropic sector to solve problems and advance change. Johnson returned to Cal Wellness in January 2024 after serving as vice president at Bryson Gillette, a strategic communications and public affairs firm where he led efforts to support clients working to create change across multiple sectors, including education, government, philanthropy, and nonprofits. Before his time at Bryson Gillette, Johnson served as a senior leader at Cal Wellness for nearly five years in various grantmaking roles, including as Chief of Staff and Program Director. Alex led efforts to address gun violence as a preventable public health issue, reimagine the youth justice system, and address issues ranging from health equity, environmental justice, and immigration.
Alex serves on the boards of Southern California Grantmakers, Urban Peace Institute, Trust for Public Land, Wiley Center for Speech and Language Therapy, and the UCLA Luskin School Board of Advisors. He previously served two terms on the Los Angeles County Board of Education, including time as President, working to effectively shape policies and programs in the best interests of students and families. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Alex is a graduate of Morehouse College and American University, Washington College of Law. His writing has appeared in the Huffington Post, The Guardian, Los Angeles Daily News, San Jose Mercury News, Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, California Health Report, and the Sacramento Bee. Therese H. Maynard is the Leonard Cohen Chair for Law and Business at LMU Loyola Law School, Los Angeles, where she teaches Business Associations and Mergers & Acquisitions, as well as advanced courses focusing on venture capital financing and the role of in-house lawyers. Maynard is a nationally recognized business law scholar having written numerous law review articles and is also the author of two widely-adopted casebooks: Mergers & Acquisitions: Cases, Materials and Problems (now in its 5th Edition); and Business Planning: Financing the Start-Up and Venture Capital Financing (now in its 4th Edition with her co-author Shannon Trevino). Both casebooks are well known for providing a thoughtful approach to educating law students so that they are well-prepared to practice corporate law. In addition, as Founder of Loyola’s Transactional Lawyering Institute, Maynard has developed a new and innovative curriculum for educating Loyola’s students so that they are ready “to hit the ground running” when they graduate and start practicing business law in a transactional setting.
Professor Maynard received her J.D. from UCLA School of Law, where she was Order of the Coif, and her B.A., Summa Cum Laude, from the University of California, Irvine. After graduating law school, Maynard practiced with the law firm of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher.
Sponsorship Levels
Individual Entry: $300
Tickets for Two: $500
Artist Sponsor : $1,000
– Shared table and tickets for 4
– Company logo or name listed on all media materials, newsletters and e-blasts
Event Sponsor: $2,500
– Table and tickets for 10
– Company logo or name listed on all media materials, newsletters and e-blasts
Season Sponsor: $5,000
– Two tables and tickets for 20
– Wine Bottle Service
– Company logo or name listed on all media materials, newsletters and e-blasts
Organizational Sponsor: $10,000
– Two tables and tickets for 20
– Wine Bottle Service
– Company logo or name listed on all media materials, newsletters, and e-blasts
– Private rooftop cocktail reception at The Bendix in 2025.
**Heidi Duckler Dance Leadership Circle members receive special accommodations and invitations. To learn how you can join the Leadership Circle, visit here and email raphaelle@heididuckler.org.
Artists Sponsors

Del Amo Construction
Joyce and Aubrey Chernick
Abby Sher
Polsinelli Law Firm

Event Sponsors

Heidi Duckler & Dan Rosenfeld
EHRLICH YANAI RHEE CHANEY Architects
Los Angeles World Airports
GRoW @ Annenberg
California Wellness Foundation

Ebb & Flow: Exposition Park
2024-06-29 10:00 - 12:30 | expostion park, 144 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA, 90037, United States
Join Us for Ebb & Flow at Exposition Park!
Looking for things to do in LA? Join us at Exposition Park for Heidi Duckler Dance’s beloved Ebb & Flow community arts festival on Saturday, June 29, 2024! This free, family-friendly event offers a unique blend of dance, visual arts, music, and technology, exploring themes of climate change, nature, humanity, and health. It’s one of the best Los Angeles attractions this summer, providing a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Exposition Park is a place of exploration, excitement, and excellence, featuring a collection of world-class museums, educational and sports facilities, and entertainment venues. While you’re here, enjoy the fun of science, math, and technology at the California Science Center, learn about diverse cultural experiences at the California African American Museum, explore natural and cultural worlds at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, or relax in the splendor of the City of Los Angeles Rose Garden.
Whether you’re looking for something to do today or planning activities in the coming weeks, Ebb & Flow at Exposition Park promises a memorable experience for everyone. Don’t miss out on this exciting free arts festival in the heart of Los Angeles!
To ensure future Ebb & Flow festivals can continue to be free and accessible to all, please consider donating at checkout. Your contribution will support the artists and staff who make this event possible!

Before performances begin, we invite you to participate in a fun, community art installation project with HDD Education Director, Belize!
HDD Education Community Art Installation
Join HDD Education Director Belize Wilheim, for upcycled art making! Inspired by Ashton Phillips and Dylan Ricard’s installation “Nest,” we invite you to explore “play, care, and duty” within this community installation. Using discarded materials and your imagination, you can create new life. Will you contribute to building the nest or take shelter as a creature of the nest yourself?
This program is supported, in part, by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs.

Program Schedule
Check-in at 10 am
Upcycled Community Art Installation project at 10:00 am
Performances begin promptly at 11:00 am

Featured Artists

Heidi Duckler

Joey Navarrete-Medina

Cody Perkins

Gurmukhi Bevli & Bernice Wang

Ashton Phillips

Zhihan Yang

A message from our Community Partner
The South LA Eco-Lab is transforming South Los Angeles into a healthy, thriving neighborhood — one with lush green spaces, clean air, renewable energy infrastructure, and dynamic mobility options for pedestrians, bikers, and public transit.
This historic revitalization project is funded by a $35 million grant from the California Strategic Growth Council (SGC)’s Transformative Climate Communities Program (TCC). The South LA Eco Lab received the highest score of all submitted TCC proposals and the highest grant amount awarded. The project leverages an additional $24 million in funding to implement economic development through climate action in a 3.9-mile area in the heart of South Los Angeles. The South LA Eco-Lab builds off the work from the South LA Climate Commons, funded under the Round 2 Transformative Climate Communities Planning Grant. To learn more about the 11 sustainability projects being implemented in South LA, visit our website.
SLATE-Z, a federally designated Promise Zone, is proud to serve as the strategic advisor for the South LA Eco-Lab and formed part of the lead applicant team with Community Partners and the City of Los Angeles. SLATE-Z is a collective impact effort focusing on issues of environmental sustainability and economic revitalization in South Los Angeles, working with around 100 cross-sector partners.

Unfurling: The Old L.A. Zoo
2024-06-08 19:00 - 20:00 | Griffith park, 4801 Griffith Park Dr,, Los, CA, 90027, United States
Experience the enchantment of a Heidi Duckler Dance performance during golden hour, as we transform into luminous pollen poufs and embark on a captivating journey through the historic ruins of the Old L.A. Zoo.
A one-night-only, site-specific collaboration between Heidi Duckler Dance and muralist Kim West. West’s installation includes sculptural fabric flows, a mural assembled from 2,000 handmade ceramic pieces, and an illustration of nebulous flora forms, that form a performance about the joyful imagery of flowers, color, and wonder.
As the soft glow of light bathes the scene and the sun sets behind Bee Rock, Heidi Duckler Dance’s choreography guides phosphoric luminescent performers amidst the ruins, leading the audience on a mesmerizing journey of discovery and imagination.
Featured Artists

Heidi Duckler | Choreographer
Heidi Duckler Dance transforms spaces through the power of contemporary movement.
By migrating off the stage and into surrounding environments, Heidi Duckler Dance invites audiences to see their communities in a new light.
Heidi Duckler Dance was founded in 1985 on the belief that the arts can change our vision of the world – and of ourselves. The company’s contemporary dance approach values freedom, community, and inclusivity. Through performances, Heidi Duckler Dance reveals avenues in which Los Angeles can become a more inclusive and equitable city.
To date, Heidi Duckler Dance has produced over 500 original site-specific works.
Kim West | Visual Artist & Muralist
Kim West is a Los Angeles painter whose visual arts practice incorporates studio painting, mural making, ceramic building, and installation projects.
West’s work engages with memories, reflections, washy landscapes, and color-forward, often technicolor bright botanical motifs.
Mural imagery may be familiar from work including Only One Way Through, a 5-story mural commissioned by Hauser Wirth on their Downtown L.A. gallery and described as “dreamlike”, in the New York Times, or, by passing Kaleidoscope (How’d Ya Get to be Happiness?) on the PCH in Huntington Beach. The latter, at over 122,000 square feet, is a meandering imagined landscape that clocks in as the largest mural in California.
Performers

Marissa Brown | Dancer

Colleen Loverde | Dancer

Joseph Stevens | Dancer

Musicians

Marta Tiesenga | Musician

Isaac Takeuchi | Musician

Pauline Lay | Musician

Herald In, Examine Throughout
2024-05-18 18:00 - 21:00 | The Proper Hotel-DTLA, 1100 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, CA, 90015
We are delighted to announce our biggest performance of the year, taking place against the stunning backdrop of the Herald Examiner Building and inside the Downtown LA Proper Hotel on Saturday, May 18, 2024.
“Herald In, Examine Throughout,” will unfold along Broadway Street between 11th and 12th downtown, closed to the public, but open with 20 artists and musicians, including a grand piano for one night only! Collaborating with Keith Thompson of Arizona State University’s School of Music, Dance, and Theatre, this project seeks to illuminate the socioeconomic disparities in Downtown Los Angeles while chronicling the city’s ongoing evolution.
From witnessing elegant roller-skating dancers adorned in exquisite ball gowns, and intricate cut-out installations by the talented visual artist, Jazmín Urrea, to experiencing live music featuring indigenous instruments, unique drum beats, and old-school boomboxes, the audience will travel on a clockwise journey throughout the breathtaking multimedia performances.
The Herald Examiner Building, a historic landmark erected in 1913, serves as a poignant symbol of Downtown Los Angeles’ rich history, encompassing its rise, fall, and ongoing redevelopment. Drawing inspiration from this storied past, “Herald In, Examine Throughout” aims to spark civic engagement across generations by reinvigorating tales of Downtown Los Angeles in captivating and thought-provoking ways, while also celebrating the city’s thriving artistic community.
Event Schedule
Doors open at 6 pm
Performance begins promptly at 7 pm

Featured artists include
Heidi Duckler | Artistic Director Jessie Cox | Composer Keith Thompson | Choreographer Jobel Medina | Choreographer Jazmín Urrea | Visual Artist Sophie Akoury | Designer Tomoko Ozawa | Pianist Kelsey Guy | Roller Skater William Roper | Musician Joanna Lynn-Jacobs | Singer Linnea Powell | Violinist Adrianne Pope | Violinist Marta Tiesenga | Musician/Saxophonist Marissa Brown | Dancer Stephanie Kim | Dancer Sasha Rivero | Dancer Santiago Villarreal | Dancer Joseph Stevens | Dancer Rebecca Lee | Dancer Colleen Loverde | Dancer Joey Navarrete-Medina | Dancer Augustine Perez | Dancer Mike Hall | Percussionist
Sponsorship Opportunity
Become a Herald In, Examine Throughout sponsor!
Event Sponsors will receive:

Company logo or name recognition in HDD email blasts (audience of 6,000+), in a HDD social media thank you post, and on HDD’s website.
Four tickets to the Herald In, Examine Throughout performances starting at 7 pm.
Four tickets to the 6 pm pre-event reception at Caldo Verde.

Guests will enjoy beer, wine, and hors d’oeuvres at the reception.
Reception speakers include Keith Thompson (Assistant Director & Associate Professor, ASU School of Music, Dance and Theatre), Jessie Cox (Percussionist and Composer), Nella McOsker (Central City Association President), and Seleta Reynolds (LA Metro Chief Innovation Officer)

Event Sponsors
Orange Barrel Media, Abby Sher, Vera Campbell, Heidi Duckler & Dan Rosenfeld
This project is supported in part by

Special thanks to Heather’s Angels Bnb

Rooftop Residency March 2024
2024-03-24 10:15 - 12:15 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join Heidi Duckler Dance’s Artist in Residence, Jobel Medina, for another installation of our outdoor movement workshop on the iconic Bendix building rooftop.
Explore the fundamentals of site-specific dance on Sunday, March 24, 2024 at 10:15 AM-12:15 PM.
This class is open to all levels.
Contact jessica@heididuckler.org for more information and financial assistance inquiries.

MAP Live! Final Performance
2024-03-17 16:00 - 18:00 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join the MAP Live participants as they debut their final performances, using techniques learned during our immersive, three-day workshop.

MAP Live! Workshop
2024-03-15 - 2024-03-17 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join us for this year’s MAP Live workshop (formerly known as Architecture Through the Body), taking place on March 15th, 2024-March 17th, 2024 at the historical, Bendix building.
Heidi Duckler Dance’s annual workshop is rooted in combining movement, art, and performance. Across three days, participants learn from professionals in various fields to explore the ways we define space.
The workshop is taught by professionals in the fields of dance, storytelling, and architecture. Participants are then able to create original art with the information they’ve been taught. Teaching artists provide feedback on the work as it progresses, and the workshop concludes with a public final performance.
Contact Jamie Gallo at jamie@heididuckler.org for information about our work–study program. Eligible participants will receive a 50% discount on the registration fee.
Class Descriptions
Movement
In this portion of the workshop participants will focus on creating phrases by using the space around us, props and sound. Class will begin with a warm up to help become grounded and open to movement and creation. Dance is in everything and is not bound to one place and has the ability to transform spaces and objects. We will explore those themes and challenge ourselves to think outside the box within the realm of movement and choreography.
Architecture
In this portion of the workshop, participants’ focus will revolve around mapping, with a particular emphasis on capturing movement within space. The history of Information graphics and the various methods used to chart data and map space will be covered first. This will prompt participants to imagine the act of mapping differently and perceive it as a creative artistic tool beyond just a visual aid. Next, participants will learn about mapping in 2D and 3D by covering both surfaces and multidimensional space using different techniques and materials, from conventional tape and strings to innovative tools that challenge traditional boundaries.
By tracing movements and stories within the spaces we inhabit, workshop attendees will reimagine maps as avenues for artistic expression through which we explore the interplay between space, form, and movement.
Production
In this lecture-based class, students will learn the basic structures of storytelling in a site-specific, immersive experience context and how that can translate into their own choreographic work. Students will also create a zine to implement those structures that they can use as tools to further expand for their final performance.
Immersion
The audience journey workshop will consider how space can be disassembled and reassembled, contracted and expanded as the audience becomes a part of the content and the flow. We will explore how what is inside you, all of the associations and references can become the structure, the physical container and how we can foreground our intentions to include the experience of the audience.
Workshop Schedule
DAY ONE – Friday, March 15th, 2024 | 3:00 PM – 9:45 PM
Schedule

3:00 – 5:00 pm – Storytelling #1 (LEAD ARTIST: Shoji Yamasaki)
5:00 – 5:15 pm – Break
5:15 – 7:15 pm – Movement Workshop (LEAD ARTIST: Sasha )
7:15 – 7:45 pm – DINNER BREAK
7:45 – 9:45 pm – Architecture Workshop (LEAD ARTIST: Sophie )
10:00pm OUT

DAY TWO – Saturday, March 16, 2024 | 9:00 AM – 5:15 PM
Schedule

9:00 – 11:00 am – Creation / Prep – Planning Session with (LEAD ARTISTS: Shoji, Sasha & Sophie)
11:00 – 11:10 am Transition/ Break
11:10 – 12:00 pm – Creation / Prep
12:00 – 1:00 pm – Lunch
1:00 – 3:00 pm Audience Flow in an Immersive Experience Workshop (LEAD ARTIST: Heidi)
3:00 – 3:15 pm Break
3:15 – 4:45 pm – WORK IN PROGRESS SHOWING / FEEDBACK WITH LEAD ARTISTS
5:00 pm OUT

DAY THREE – Sunday March 17, 2024 | 10:00 AM – 6:30 PM
Schedule

10:00 – 10:50 am – Movement Warm Up – (LEAD ARTIST: Sasha Rivero)
10:50 – 11:00 am Transition/Break
11:00 – 1:00 pm – Creation / Prep
1:00 – 1:30 pm – LUNCH
1:30 – 3:00 pm – Creation / Prep
3:00 – 3:30 pm Transition / Break
3:30 – 4:00 pm – Doors Open / Public Open / Reception
4:00 – 6:00 pm – FINAL SHOWING + RECEPTION

2024 MAP Live Teaching Artists

Immersion | Heidi Duckler
Heidi Duckler is the Founder and Artistic Director of Heidi Duckler Dance in Los Angeles, California and Heidi Duckler Dance/Northwest in Portland, Oregon. Titled the “reigning queen of site-specific performance” by the LA Times, Duckler is a pioneer of site-specific place based contemporary practice. Through the use of expanded techniques and a methodology that encourages us to understand how dance, born from our experience, can be a tool for awareness, Duckler has contributed to redefining the field and has created more than 400 dance pieces all over the world.
Duckler was the recipient of the 2021 Oregon Arts Commission Fellowship and most recently, her film “Where We’re Going” has been selected for first prize by the Cinedanza Festival jury amongst 28 films from around the world. “Where We’re Going” was also selected for the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) Digital Media Wall in their new building in downtown Sacramento, scheduled to premiere in 2022. Currently, Duckler is on faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the Film and Media Studies Department.
Duckler earned a BS in Dance from the University of Oregon and an MA in Choreography from UCLA, and served as a Board Member of the University of Oregon’s School of Music and Dance Advancement Council. Awards include the Distinguished Dance Alumna award from the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance, the Dance/USA and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s Engaging Dance Audiences award, and the National Endowment of the Arts American Masterpiece award. Duckler was a recipient of the 2019 Oregon Dance Film Commission and her work received the award for Best Choreography for the Lens at Verve Dance Film Festival

Movement | Sasha Rivero
Sasha Rivero is a first generation American performing artist multi-hyphenate – dancer, singer and model. She was raised by her Belizean mother and older siblings in Los Angeles, CA. She attended Alexander Hamilton Performance Arts high school where she trained under Debbie Allen’s academy director Karen McDonald in ballet, modern, hip-hop, and jazz.
Alongside her dance training, Sasha pursued her other passions and also trained in voice, acting and musical theater. She then continued her dance studies at UCLA in the Glorya Kaufman World Arts and Cultures department where she graduated with a B.A. in dance studies and a minor in English Literature. Sasha signed with Bloc Talent Agency in her last year at UCLA and has been pursuing her professional dance career ever since. She has performed the works of choreographers like Daniel Ezralow, Ryan Heffington, Denna Thomsen, Jillian Meyers, Tina Landon, and Fatima Robinson to name a few. Sasha has worked on films, music videos, commercials, and immersive and site specific works.
Her credits include Heidi Duckler Dance Company, The Weekend, L.A. Opera, San Francisco Symphony, Fat Joe, Maluma, Doechii, Hozier, Jhené Aiko, The Grammy’s, The Voice, Disney, HBO, and NBC. Her passion for creating art continues to lead her down a path of exploration, oftentimes weaving together singing and dancing.

Architect | Sophie Akoury
Sophie Akoury is a multidisciplinary designer working within set design, furniture, animation, and architecture.
Sophie received her Master’s in Architecture from the Southern Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc), where she was awarded the Gehry Prize in 2022 for her archival multimedia installation reimagining LA River’s history.
She holds a Bachelor’s from l’Académie Libanaise des Beaux-Arts in Beirut.
She has co-taught at SCI-Arc and has been invited as a visiting critic to Pratt, Syracuse University, and USC.
Sophie is currently a junior architect at Yoram LePair Architects and has previously worked at award-winning offices such as Youssef Tohme Architects and Associates (YTAA) in Paris and Bureau Spectacular in Los Angeles.

Production | Shoji Yamasaki
Shoji Yamasaki is a transdisciplinary choreographer, performer, director, writer, and filmmaker born and raised on the unceded ancestral land of Gabrielino-Tongva, recently known as Los Angeles. His work encompasses a multitude of topics that combine mimicry, translation, and storytelling that dismantles one-sided perception and challenges the viewer’s social norms. Combining his experiences, he creates site-specific and immersive experiences that allows the audience to become storytellers themselves.
He completed his B.A. Degree in World Arts and Cultures (Dance Concentration) and a minor in Spanish from UCLA in 2011 and his M.F.A. Degree in Choreography from California Institute of the Arts in 2023. Throughout his career, he has worked with choreographers such as Dimitri Chamblas, Heidi Duckler, Keith Glassman, Carol McDowell, Matthew Rushing, and Rebecca Pappas. His works have been presented at locations such as the Jerry Moss Plaza at the Music Center, REDCAT (Roy Edna Disney/CalArts Theater), Odyssey Theater, Gibney Dance (New York), and Conservatorio de Danza México (Mexico).

Rooftop Residency
2024-02-25 10:15 - 12:15 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join Heidi Duckler Dance’s Artist in Residence, Jobel Medina, for a two-part outdoor movement workshop exploring the fundamentals of site-specific dance on the iconic Bendix building rooftop in downtown Los Angeles!
This class is open to all levels.
Contact jessica@heididuckler.org for more information and financial assistance inquiries.
HDD Artist-in-Residence Jobel Medina

Jobel Medina (Filipino, b. 1990) is a Los Angeles-based creative and performer. Born and raised in the Philippines, Jobel migrated to the U.S. at the age of twelve. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance at California State University, Long Beach and Masters of Fine Arts at California Institute of the Arts.
He has been a member of Ate9 Dance Company since 2017, where he works closely with Danielle Agami and performed works by Shahar Binyamini and Tom Weinberger. Early in 2020, he performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall as an actor/dancer for Simon McBurney’s “Weimar Nightfall: The Seven Deadly Sins.” In 2018, Jobel was one of the six interpreters to perform Tino Sehgal’s “Selling Out, (2002)” at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, CA. As a freelancer, he’s worked with choreographers such as Christopher Bordenave of No1 Art House, Kate Wallich and The YC, Ania Catherine & Dehja Ti, Rebecca Lemme, Keith Johnson, Andrew Winghart, Whyteberg, and has appeared in multiple music videos and entertainment performances
Heidi Duckler Dance warmly welcomed Jobel Medina to the Artist-in-Residence program this year. Jobel has collaborated with HDD Founder, Heidi Duckler since 2022

Rooftop Residency
2024-02-18 10:00 - 12:00 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join Heidi Duckler Dance’s Artist in Residence, Jobel Medina, for a two-part outdoor movement workshop exploring the fundamentals of site-specific dance on the iconic Bendix building rooftop in downtown Los Angeles!
This class is open to all levels.
Contact jessica@heididuckler.org for more information and financial assistance inquiries.
HDD Artist-in-Residence Jobel Medina

Jobel Medina (Filipino, b. 1990) is a Los Angeles-based creative and performer. Born and raised in the Philippines, Jobel migrated to the U.S. at the age of twelve. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance at California State University, Long Beach and Masters of Fine Arts at California Institute of the Arts.
He has been a member of Ate9 Dance Company since 2017, where he works closely with Danielle Agami and performed works by Shahar Binyamini and Tom Weinberger. Early in 2020, he performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall as an actor/dancer for Simon McBurney’s “Weimar Nightfall: The Seven Deadly Sins.” In 2018, Jobel was one of the six interpreters to perform Tino Sehgal’s “Selling Out, (2002)” at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, CA. As a freelancer, he’s worked with choreographers such as Christopher Bordenave of No1 Art House, Kate Wallich and The YC, Ania Catherine & Dehja Ti, Rebecca Lemme, Keith Johnson, Andrew Winghart, Whyteberg, and has appeared in multiple music videos and entertainment performances
Heidi Duckler Dance warmly welcomed Jobel Medina to the Artist-in-Residence program this year. Jobel has collaborated with HDD Founder, Heidi Duckler since 2022.

Truth or Consequences: Unfolding the Untold
2024-02-04 17:00 - 20:00 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join us for an evening of performances, interactive installations, live music, complimentary wine and delicious food by Dulan’s Soul Food Kitchen.
Our first salon in 2024 is inspired by the different perspectives expressed by creatives whose voices we may not have heard. These different perspectives can stimulate our imagination and help us discover new ideas.
Meet the Artists

Jobel Medina
Jobel Medina (Filipino, b. 1990) is a Los Angeles based creative and performer. Born and raised in the Philippines, Jobel migrated to the U.S. at the age of twelve. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance at California State University, Long Beach and Masters of Fine Arts at California Institute of the Arts.
He has been a member of Ate9 Dance Company since 2017, where he works closely with Danielle Agami and performed works by Shahar Binyamini and Tom Weinberger. Early in 2020, he performed at the Walt Disney Concert Hall as an actor/dancer for Simon McBurney’s “Weimar Nightfall: The Seven Deadly Sins.” In 2018, Jobel was one of the six interpreters to perform Tino Sehgal’s “Selling Out, (2002)” at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, CA. As a freelancer, he’s worked with choreographers such as Christopher Bordenave of No1 Art House, Kate Wallich and The YC, Ania Catherine & Dehja Ti, Rebecca Lemme, Keith Johnson, Andrew Winghart, Whyteberg, and has appeared in multiple music videos and entertainment performances
Heidi Duckler Dance warmly welcomed Jobel Medina to the Artist-in-Residence program this year. Jobel has collaborated with HDD Founder, Heidi Duckler, since 2022.
Dorian Wood
Dorian Wood (she/her they/them) is a multidisciplinary artist based in Los Angeles. Her intent of “infecting” spaces and ideologies with her artistic practice is born from a desire to challenge traditions and systems that have contributed to the marginalization of people.
Wood has performed at institutions that include The Broad, Los Angeles, CA (2018), REDCAT, Los Angeles, CA (2019), Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions, CA (2010), Museo Nacional Del Prado, Madrid, Spain (2019), the City Hall of Madrid, Spain (2015), Teatro de la Ciudad Esperanza Iris, Mexico City, Mexico (2019), Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany (2017), Mousonturm, Frankfurt, Germany (2014), Kampnagel, Hamburg, Germany (2014) and Moods, Zurich, Switzerland (2019), and at festivals that include Pacific Standard Time, Los Angeles, CA (2011), OUTsider Fest, Austin, TX (2019), Festival Cruilla, Barcelona, Spain (2017), WorldPride Madrid, Spain (2017), Festivals Kometa, Riga, Latvia (2016), Moers Festival, Germany (2017), Cully Jazz Festival, Switzerland (2015) and Saint Ghetto Festival, Bern, Switzerland (2017).
From 2019 to 2020, Wood completed several successful international tours with their chamber orchestra tribute to Chavela Vargas, XAVELA LUX AETERNA. In 2022, Wood debuted their tribute to the singer Lhasa De Sela, entitled LHASA, at the Festival Internacional de Arte Sacro in Madrid, in collaboration with singer Carmina Escobar and composer Adrián Cortés. That same year, Wood presented Mares Ocultos, a multimedia chamber music project exploring the nature of male heterosexuality, at the Institute of Contemporary Art/Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. In 2023, Wood premiered the 12-hour composition/installation Canto de Todes at REDCAT in Los Angeles.
Jeonghyeon Joo
Jeonghyeon Joo is a haegeum performer/composer based in Los Angeles and Seoul. Her practice includes performance, composition, improvisation, artistic research, collaboration, writing, and teaching. She explores the physical, social, cultural, and political relationship between the performer and instrument, frequently collaborating with filmmakers, visual artists, composers, and performance artists.
She is a recipient of the Arts Council Korea’s Grant for Pioneering Artists of the Next Generation in Traditional Arts, the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture’s Grant for Emerging Artists in Performing Arts, the Presidential Award of Korea, and the First Prize at the KBS Korean Music Competition among others.
In addition to performing and composing, she has frequently given lectures and presented her works at institutions and conferences across North America and Asia, such as UCLA, UC Berkeley, CalArts, UC Riverside, San Francisco State University, San Diego State University, Seoul National University, International Computer Music Conference, New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, Composition in Asia International Symposium, Philosophical Research Center, and Korean Cultural Center Los Angeles. Her writings can be found in a journal, Korean Contemporary Composers and Compositions, and the program books of The Art of Bowing and EXERCISE, her large-scale performance projects.
She received a Doctor of Musical Arts from the California Institute of the Arts (CA, United States) and earned a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Music from Seoul National University (Seoul, South Korea). She is currently an Assistant Professor of Intercultural Arts at the Seoul Institute of the Arts and serves as a Program Director at CultureHub.
Ramya Harishankar
Ramya Harishankar is the artistic director of the Arpana Dance Company (ADC) and School, a premier school of Bharata Natyam in California and the United States.
Named a ‘legacy artist’ by the California Arts Council, Harishankar was awarded an Individual Artist Fellowship recently. She was named ‘Distinguished citizen’ by the city of Irvine and selected for the Wall of Recognition for her contribution to the cultural landscape. Earlier in 2022, she was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement award by the LA based Soorya Foundation.
M A Harms
M A Harms is a Los Angeles-based composer, performer, and instrument builder who explores the intersections between grief, gender, and sex through a combination of text and sound. Their practice centers performance art and interdisciplinarity, imagining and creating sound using sculptural installations, found objects, electronics, mannequins, and placing equal significance on the visual experience of their work. M navigates literal stories and personal life events via sound practice, obscuring them to the point that they begin to bridge the gap between individual and “universal” experiences.

As a percussionist and interdisciplinary performance artist, M has worked with artists including Eric Lennartson, Daniel Newman-Lessler, and Jeonghyeon Joo. They received their MFA from California Institute of the Arts, where they studied with Tim Feeney and Nicholas Deyoe.
David Eskenazi
David Eskenazi (he/him) leads d.esk, a practice based in Los Angeles, with current projects in California and Mexico. Alongside the practice, David writes and teaches, with publications in journals including Log, Project, Offramp, and Pidgin. He’s been awarded the League Prize from the Architectural League of New York, the Oberdick Fellowship at the University of Michigan, the LeFevre Fellowship at the Ohio State University, and was a MacDowell Fellow.
Santiago Villarreal
Santiago Villarreal, found his passion for dance at age 16. In May 2019 he graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance from Chapman University. During his time at Chapman University, Santiago has worked with choreographers such as; Ido Tadmor, Dwight Rhoden, Wilson Mendieta, Julianne O’Brien, to name a few. Additionally, he has attended workshops from companies including BODYTRAFFIC, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Backhausdance. In 2017 Santiago joined Backhausdance as an apprentice. With Backhaus, Santiago performed works by Walter Matteini, Mauro Astolfi, Dwight Rhoden, Yony Soutchy and Jennifer Backhaus. Santiago is now a Backhausdance company member and freelance dancer and choreographer based in Los Angeles, California, where he has had the opportunity to work with LA-based companies such as Jacob Jonas The Company, Hedi Duckler, and Ate9.
Joey Navarrete-Medina
Meet Joey Navarrete-Medina, a first-generation queer, Mexican American dance artist based in Los Angeles. Joey (He/they) is all about mixing his diverse background into contemporary dance.
Joey holds a BFA in Dance from CSULB, plus certifications in Pilates from BASI, a teaching certification from LMU’s Yoga and The Healing Sciences program, and an MFA in Dance from UCI. He’s performed at several places in California and Mexico, with collaborator Rosa Rodriguez Frazier, sharing their cultural blend through dance.
Interested in teaching diverse populations, too; Joey has balanced work at UCI, AB Miller High School, and the Club Pilates studio chain, focusing on getting everyone to move and groove, especially students who might not often get the chance. Joey seamlessly integrates Pilates principles into dance instruction through his teaching, emphasizing body awareness, strength, and alignment to enhance students’ dance technique and overall well-being.
As a freelancer, Joey jumps into physical theater, concert dance, and commercial work, and is all about shaking up contemporary dance, making it more welcoming, and making every move count.
Cody Perkins
Cody Perkins (also known as Algorythm.Code) is an interdisciplinary artist born and raised in Sylmar, California. He attended the Alexander Hamilton Music Academy as a Performance and Electronic Music major and continued his studies with a focus on photography and audio engineering at Cal State Dominguez Hills. His work has been shown in institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art, The Institute of Contemporary Art Los Angeles, The Hammer, And the Los Angeles Archive. He has scored numerous films and installations for brands and artists, is the founder of the musical collective The Algorythms and has produced music for many independent genre-bending musicians locally and internationally.

Truth or Consequences: Belonging in the World
2023-12-10 17:00 - 20:00 | Bendix Building, 1206 Maple Ave. Ste. 1100B, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
Join us at the historic Bendix building for the newest installment in our renowned salon series, Truth or Consequences: Belonging in the World.
Experience the essence of true belonging with us, throughout an evening of performance, an animated interactive installation, complimentary spirits, burritos, and live music!
Cocktail hour starts at 5 pm. Performances begin at 6 pm.
Truth or Consequences: Belonging in the World explores finding a profound connection and acceptance within the intricate tapestry of human existence, where one’s unique identity harmoniously integrates with the diverse threads of shared humanity.
This salon celebrates the way we seek connection as people with multiple perspectives. How do we accept ourselves, how do we extend ourselves to others? Through music, movement, culture, composition, and the sharing of our table, we invest in each other and devise new arrangements to foster human bonds.
“Discover a world where individuality seamlessly intertwines with the rich fabric of shared humanity—Experience the essence of true belonging with us.” Heidi Duckler | Founder and Artistic Director
Heidi Duckler is the Founder and Artistic Director of Heidi Duckler Dance in Los Angeles, California, and Heidi Duckler Dance/Northwest in Portland, Oregon. Titled the “reigning queen of site-specific performance” by the LA Times, Duckler is a pioneer of site-specific place-based contemporary practice. Through the use of expanded techniques and a methodology that encourages us to understand how dance, born from our experience, can be a tool for awareness, Duckler has contributed to redefining the field and has created more than 400 dance pieces all over the world.
Duckler was the recipient of the 2021 Oregon Arts Commission Fellowship and most recently, her film “Where We’re Going” has been selected for first prize by the Cinedanza Festival jury amongst 28 films from around the world. “Where We’re Going” was also selected for the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) Digital Media Wall in their new building in downtown Sacramento, scheduled to premiere in 2022. Currently, Duckler is on faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara in the Film and Media Studies Department.
Duckler earned a BS in Dance from the University of Oregon and an MA in Choreography from UCLA, and served as a Board Member of the University of Oregon’s School of Music and Dance Advancement Council. Awards include the Distinguished Dance Alumna award from the University of Oregon School of Music and Dance, the Dance/USA and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s Engaging Dance Audiences award, and the National Endowment of the Arts American Masterpiece award. Duckler was a recipient of the 2019 Oregon Dance Film Commission and her work received the award for Best Choreography for the Lens at Verve Dance Film Festival.

Raymond Ejiofor | Associate Artistic Director
Raymond Ejiofor began his dance training under Judith Rhodes Calgaro in Arlington, VA and the Dance Theater of Harlem. He has since danced for artists such as Katy Perry, Sia, Pharrell Williams, Dua Lipa, and Daft Punk.
Under the direction of Greer Reed, Ejiofor was a founding member of the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble. Ejiofor also collaborates with various companies in Los Angeles. In 2023, he was named the Associate Artistic Director of Heidi Duckler Dance after finishing his time as an artist in residence with the company.

As a teaching artist, Ejiofor has been a faculty member/master class instructor at a number of studios and universities in Los Angeles and the Greater Pittsburgh region, including AMDA Los Angeles, the University of Southern California, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Pittsburgh. A dynamic supporter of the arts, Ejiofor served on the Board of Directors for HDAT in Pittsburgh, PA.
Ejiofor holds a master’s of public health policy from the University of Southern California and is a recipient of the Gates Millennium Fellowship. He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a BS in Decision Science and a double minor in engineering studies and technology and policy.

Jiryis Murkus Ballan | Musician
Palestinian composer, Buzuq player, performer, and musical director, Jiryis, grew up in Nazareth in the Galilee region.
Ballan completed his M.A. studies in the music composition program at SUNY Buffalo as a Fulbright Scholar where he studied with composers Jonathan Golove and Cort Lippe AND focused on concert music, and music for modern dance. Jiryis co-directs The Caravan Orchestra and Choir project, an intercultural orchestra of young Palestinian, Jewish and, and German musicians based in Germany. Before joining the Department of Music at UCI, he worked as a research assistant at the Music Department of the University of Haifa, researching The Urban Arab Palestinian Wedding Music in the Galilee region and the maqam-based music. His research was on the inclusion of the synthesizer in traditional Arab Palestinian music wedding ensembles. Currently, Jiryis is a Ph.D. student in the program of Composition, Improvisation, and Technology at The University of California, Irvine. His research focuses on the creation of a virtual Buzuq while using hidden sounds that he discovered with the instrument’s body and soundboard.

Tong Guan | Filmmaker & Architect
Tong Guan is a trained Architect, who has worked in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. In 2017 she worked for Jean Paul Gaultier’s fashion studio, designing interiors and fashion stage design in Paris.
In 2022 Tong moved to Los Angeles, to study for a postgraduate Fiction and Entertainment degree at Sci-Arc. For her thesis, she created a surrealistic 3D animated film titled, “Paper Dream: The Surreal Shores of Belonging”, which tells the story of a young girl’s search for adventure and belonging.
In the future, Tong wants to combine digital visual design and spatial design to create special immersive experiences as she continues her interest in intertwining the themes of adventure, belonging, identity, and destiny. In all her works, as an architect, artist, and digital designer, Tong strives to develop her own unique aesthetics in finding poetic solutions that soothe our souls while giving us the courage to continue exploration.

Adrian Hoffman | Artist
Adrian Hoffman was born and raised in Cambridge, MA, where they began their training as a martial artist at Davis Sq. Martial Arts. After receiving their Black Belt, they transitioned to dance in high school at the Cambridge School of Weston. They went on to graduate from The Ailey School/Fordham University with a BFA in Dance and a double minor in Philosophy and Math while also pioneering a study abroad exchange with Israel’s Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company.
Adrian is the Artistic Facilitator and founder of Cantankerous Creatures, a Boston-based dance project seeking to strengthen the dance community with kindness and active audience engagement. They currently live in Los Angeles working as a dancer and choreographer. Previously they have been a company member of Whim W’Him, a guest dancer with Alvin Ailey and BODYTRAFFIC, danced in music videos for Blink-182 and Justin Beiber among others, freelanced on stage, TV, and film, and appeared as a featured dancer in Greta Gerwig’s recent remake of Little Women.

Mawusi Nenonene | Artist
MawusiSarah is a dance artist based in Los Angeles. Her work is driven by the timeless relationship between movement, human nature, and the living earth.
She recently completed her MFA in Choreography at the University of Ghana, after receiving her BA in Dance Medicine & Management from Baldwin Wallace University. Throughout her career, she has performed with Cleveland Inner City Ballet, North Pointe Ballet, and Zbu Entertainment. She has also presented her work at the Cleveland Dance Festival, American Dance Festival’s Student Showcase, and Ballet Inc. The Series: IV Showcase, and The Ghana Dance Festival. She is extremely thankful for this opportunity and excited to participate in this collaborative experience.

Alejandro Perez | Artist
Alejandro Perez is a first-generation Mexican-American from Los Angeles. Alejandro received a full scholarship to be a part of the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training program in 2016. After his first year at Lines, he was announced the full scholarship recipient for the 85th Gala Anniversary at the Jacobs Pillow 2017 Ballet Summer Program. In recent years Alejandro has performed for several companies as well as freelancing in concert and commercial work getting to work with and meet other talented artists.

Zhihan Yang | Artist
Los Angeles-based choreographer, dancer and educator Zhihan Yang received her MFA from California Institute of the Arts and BFA from Beijing Dance Academy. She is dedicated to researching the relationship between movement, installation, and multimedia. Yang also explores the different forms of the body on camera and the reflection of identity between communities in different contexts.
Yang has been active in theater, media, film, and education in recent years, working with companies such as the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Museum of Art, the Yaya Dance Academy, and the San Musae Cultural Center. Her recent works include the orchestral trio choreography “THEA MUSGRAVE: Pierrot” (2023), the dance theater “Am I Susan” (2022), the physical theater “XXX” (2022), the quintet “Gladiola” (2021), and the dance films “Question” (2022), “Rush” (2021), “Refresh” (2021) and “Retrospect” (2021).
