WELCOME
to Alternative Motion Project Presents
ViewPoints '22: On Demand
November 2nd - 20th
Online Video Streaming of AMP's Fall Show
to Alternative Motion Project Presents
ViewPoints '22: On Demand
November 2nd - 20th
Online Video Streaming of AMP's Fall Show
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Artistic + Executive Director
Joanna Lees New Works by Nieya Amezquita Rachel Sadie Lieberman Body Watani / Noelle + Leila Awadallah Alexandra Bodnarchuk Original Works Jandeltha Rae, Spoken Word Brandon Anderson Musser Company Movers Kendall Edstrom | Stephanie Flanagan | Laura K Johnson Zoë Koenig | Joanna Lees | Julia Moser-Hardy | Brenna Mosser Anna Pinault | Jesse Schmitz-Boyd | Addie Smith | Joey Wurm |
Lighting Designer Tony Stoeri Production Stage Manager Julie Marie Muskat Special Thanks to AMP's current roster of artists, crew + personnel, Bill + Connie Cameron, Jandeltha Rae, Brandon Anderson Musser, Katy Ross + Joe Lees, Steve Miller, Kathy + Gary LeLoup, Eleve Performing Arts Center, AMP's Board of Directors, + all the collaborators, artists, + personnel who have worked with AMP over these past 10+ years. |
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board,
thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
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Welcome to Alternative Motion Project presents ViewPoints '22: On Demand!
On behalf of AMP, we are thrilled to get to share with you this dynamic and captivating evening of new works by our phenomenal guest choreographers: Nieya Amezquita, Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Rachel Lieberman, and Body Watani /Noelle + Leila Awadallah. We are also excited to welcome Spoken Word Artist Jandeltha Rae and Sound Artist Brandon Anderson Musser. We know that everyone has a choice of how to spend their time and resources, and we are grateful for your presence here today with us.
One thing I love about contemporary dance is that it can be so many things. It consists of a large umbrella that encompasses so many different ideas, styles, and identities. This show truly encapsulates that spirit. Each Choreographer's point of view is distinct and unique - and that is something we are celebrating and highlighting. Check out our rehearsal vlog to see each each choreographer talk about motivations and ideas behind their work.
Another goal of this show is to bring dance audiences together. Whether you follow one of these choreographers, AMP, or are new to contemporary dance, we are delighted and touched to share this time and space with you in community and connection. We hope this show sparks new interests, encourages you to feel deeply, or is a catalyst for action within yourself and the communities you belong to.
Being able to offer competitive professional opportunities like this performance takes resources! If you are in a place to do so, please consider making a 100% tax deductible donation to AMP. Our goal is to raise $10,000 as part of Give to the Max Day. Contribute between November 1st-17th and your donation WILL BE MATCHED dollar for dollar, doubling your impact on our community of artists and audiences. Any amount helps us continue to empower artists and connect communities through dance.
Curating this show has been my distinct pleasure and I hope you enjoy the performance!
With Gratitude,
Joanna Lees
Artistic + Executive Director
On behalf of AMP, we are thrilled to get to share with you this dynamic and captivating evening of new works by our phenomenal guest choreographers: Nieya Amezquita, Alexandra Bodnarchuk, Rachel Lieberman, and Body Watani /Noelle + Leila Awadallah. We are also excited to welcome Spoken Word Artist Jandeltha Rae and Sound Artist Brandon Anderson Musser. We know that everyone has a choice of how to spend their time and resources, and we are grateful for your presence here today with us.
One thing I love about contemporary dance is that it can be so many things. It consists of a large umbrella that encompasses so many different ideas, styles, and identities. This show truly encapsulates that spirit. Each Choreographer's point of view is distinct and unique - and that is something we are celebrating and highlighting. Check out our rehearsal vlog to see each each choreographer talk about motivations and ideas behind their work.
Another goal of this show is to bring dance audiences together. Whether you follow one of these choreographers, AMP, or are new to contemporary dance, we are delighted and touched to share this time and space with you in community and connection. We hope this show sparks new interests, encourages you to feel deeply, or is a catalyst for action within yourself and the communities you belong to.
Being able to offer competitive professional opportunities like this performance takes resources! If you are in a place to do so, please consider making a 100% tax deductible donation to AMP. Our goal is to raise $10,000 as part of Give to the Max Day. Contribute between November 1st-17th and your donation WILL BE MATCHED dollar for dollar, doubling your impact on our community of artists and audiences. Any amount helps us continue to empower artists and connect communities through dance.
Curating this show has been my distinct pleasure and I hope you enjoy the performance!
With Gratitude,
Joanna Lees
Artistic + Executive Director
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS + LINKS
We acknowledge that we are performing on stolen land of the Dakota Indigenous peoples, Mni Sota Makoce, Land Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds. Acknowledging this history and violence, that has often gone unrecognized, is a first step we are taking in understanding how we can better honor the land on which we create and perform. We are committed to continue expanding and deepening this work as Indigenous communities and traditions are still active and alive today and are not simply relics of the past.
As part of an ongoing, long-term call to action, we encourage AMP audience members to join us in our long term support of the Black-led organization, Juxtaposition Arts, with their permission. Juxtaposition Arts is a black led arts organization serving the Northside of Minneapolis and “is a teen-staffed art and design center, gallery, retail shop, and artists’ studio space in North Minneapolis. Juxtaposition Arts develops community by engaging and employing young urban artists in hands-on education initiatives that create pathways to self-sufficiency while actualizing creative power."
"JXTA welcomes people to commit to long-term support which is essential to address the long-term funding inequalities that black led organizations face in Minnesota and the nation. JXTA values are centered on self-determination and youth empowerment encased within a social enterprise business model. We have worked with, educated, and trained emerging artists of color for 26 years through this lens."
- Allison Wagstrom, JXTA, statement from June 8th, 2021
This is one avenue of AMP's ongoing work recognizing and dismantling systemic racism and white supremacy. We encourage you to check out the valuable work JXTA is doing and join us in monetarily supporting their mission, if you are able. JXTA has an Amplifiers Campaign where you can also make a recurring donation.
DONATE TO JXTA: https://juxtapositionarts.org/donate/
As part of an ongoing, long-term call to action, we encourage AMP audience members to join us in our long term support of the Black-led organization, Juxtaposition Arts, with their permission. Juxtaposition Arts is a black led arts organization serving the Northside of Minneapolis and “is a teen-staffed art and design center, gallery, retail shop, and artists’ studio space in North Minneapolis. Juxtaposition Arts develops community by engaging and employing young urban artists in hands-on education initiatives that create pathways to self-sufficiency while actualizing creative power."
"JXTA welcomes people to commit to long-term support which is essential to address the long-term funding inequalities that black led organizations face in Minnesota and the nation. JXTA values are centered on self-determination and youth empowerment encased within a social enterprise business model. We have worked with, educated, and trained emerging artists of color for 26 years through this lens."
- Allison Wagstrom, JXTA, statement from June 8th, 2021
This is one avenue of AMP's ongoing work recognizing and dismantling systemic racism and white supremacy. We encourage you to check out the valuable work JXTA is doing and join us in monetarily supporting their mission, if you are able. JXTA has an Amplifiers Campaign where you can also make a recurring donation.
DONATE TO JXTA: https://juxtapositionarts.org/donate/
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PROGRAM
But My Soul Will Remember
World Premiere
Nieya Amezquita
World Premiere
Nieya Amezquita
Choreography
Nieya Amezquita in collaboration with the dancers
Movers
Kendall Edstrom, Laura K Johnson , Zoë Koenig, Brenna Mosser, + Addie Smith
Music
Armand Amar
Spoken Word Composition + Performance
Jandeltha Rae
Nieya Amezquita in collaboration with the dancers
Movers
Kendall Edstrom, Laura K Johnson , Zoë Koenig, Brenna Mosser, + Addie Smith
Music
Armand Amar
Spoken Word Composition + Performance
Jandeltha Rae
Flight
World Premiere
Rachel Sadie Lieberman
World Premiere
Rachel Sadie Lieberman
Choreography
Rachel Sadie Lieberman
Music
Unstructure 03 by Melmann
Cuckoo by Cosmo Sheldrake
Time for Us by Nicolas Jaar
Nightingale 1 by Cosmo Sheldrake
Movers
Kendall Edstrom, Stephanie Flanagan, Julia Moser-Hardy,
Brenna Mosser, Anna Pinault, + Jesse Schmitz-Boyd
Contributing Mover - Joey Wurm
Program Notes
If the home-land is not a some-where or some-point but a blur of lines across the map.
Traced not in coordinates but in stories, ritual, chromosomes, and patterns of flight.
Of leavings, returnings, and leavings again.
All at once to mourn a place, to keep it alive, to hate it, and to re-create it.
Rachel Sadie Lieberman
Music
Unstructure 03 by Melmann
Cuckoo by Cosmo Sheldrake
Time for Us by Nicolas Jaar
Nightingale 1 by Cosmo Sheldrake
Movers
Kendall Edstrom, Stephanie Flanagan, Julia Moser-Hardy,
Brenna Mosser, Anna Pinault, + Jesse Schmitz-Boyd
Contributing Mover - Joey Wurm
Program Notes
If the home-land is not a some-where or some-point but a blur of lines across the map.
Traced not in coordinates but in stories, ritual, chromosomes, and patterns of flight.
Of leavings, returnings, and leavings again.
All at once to mourn a place, to keep it alive, to hate it, and to re-create it.
split
Repertory Work (2022)
Joanna Lees
Repertory Work (2022)
Joanna Lees
Choreography
Joanna Lees
in collaboration with the performers
Movers
Zoë Koenig
Addie Smith
Music Composition
Michael Wall
Sound Design
Joanna Lees
Costumes
Joanna Lees
Special Thanks to
Zoë + Addie for their presence, curiosity, commitment, + playfulness throughout the creation process.
Thank you to my therapist for holding space for all my paradoxes.
Joanna Lees
in collaboration with the performers
Movers
Zoë Koenig
Addie Smith
Music Composition
Michael Wall
Sound Design
Joanna Lees
Costumes
Joanna Lees
Special Thanks to
Zoë + Addie for their presence, curiosity, commitment, + playfulness throughout the creation process.
Thank you to my therapist for holding space for all my paradoxes.
The Land Swallowed Them Whole
World Premiere
Body Watani / Noelle + Leila Awadallah
World Premiere
Body Watani / Noelle + Leila Awadallah
Choreography
Body Watani / Noelle + Leila Awadallah
with collaborative input from the dancers
Movers
Kendall Edstrom, Stephanie Flanagan, Laura K Johnson,
Zoë Koenig, Joanna Lees, + Brenna Mosser
Music
Dream Behind the Dune by Constantinople and Kiya Tabassian
Un-Drum #3 by Tarek Atoui
The People Went Crazy by The Great Departed
The End by The Doors
Program Notes
When the Israeli government illegalized Black goats in Palestine due to ‘environmental reasons’, the indigenous bedouins lost a major part of their livelihoods. Decades later, as wildfires were becoming more common, it was realized the Black goats and their grazing balanced the ecosystem*, one of the many elements creating harmony across the land. This is one of many stories of what happens when a colonizing force attempts to alter the indigenous flow of life that we witness both there and on Turtle Island. Our work looks at the out of control spiral - when settler colonial takeovers, greed, and absurdities disrupt what was before. Imagining a future when the spirit of the land itself decides no more.
We dedicate this work to the LandBack movement. (landback.org)
* Source: Palestine In-Between Podcast
Body Watani / Noelle + Leila Awadallah
with collaborative input from the dancers
Movers
Kendall Edstrom, Stephanie Flanagan, Laura K Johnson,
Zoë Koenig, Joanna Lees, + Brenna Mosser
Music
Dream Behind the Dune by Constantinople and Kiya Tabassian
Un-Drum #3 by Tarek Atoui
The People Went Crazy by The Great Departed
The End by The Doors
Program Notes
When the Israeli government illegalized Black goats in Palestine due to ‘environmental reasons’, the indigenous bedouins lost a major part of their livelihoods. Decades later, as wildfires were becoming more common, it was realized the Black goats and their grazing balanced the ecosystem*, one of the many elements creating harmony across the land. This is one of many stories of what happens when a colonizing force attempts to alter the indigenous flow of life that we witness both there and on Turtle Island. Our work looks at the out of control spiral - when settler colonial takeovers, greed, and absurdities disrupt what was before. Imagining a future when the spirit of the land itself decides no more.
We dedicate this work to the LandBack movement. (landback.org)
* Source: Palestine In-Between Podcast
капустянка : CABBAGE EATER
World Premiere
Alexandra Bodnarchuk
World Premiere
Alexandra Bodnarchuk
Choreography
Alexandra Bodnarchuk
Sound Design + Music
Brandon Anderson Musser
Movers
Kendall Edstrom, Laura K Johnson, Zoë Koenig,
Joanna Lees, Brenna Mosser, Anna Pinault,
Jesse Schmitz-Boyd, Addie Smith
Contributing Mover - Joey Wurm
Program Notes
In Pittsburgh, PA, there are nods at Eastern European culture everywhere. From the pirohy race at the baseball game, to church festivals, to slang such as “where you at?”. Growing up dancing in Slavjane, a Carpatho-Rusyn children’s folk ensemble, I absorbed the cultural tidbits tossed my way in between 8 counts that echoed across a cold gym, the smell of cabbage wafting in from the kitchen. As a kid I didn’t have the lived experience or cultural wherewithal to fully comprehend what I was learning. These were stories of the past, until February 24, 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine in a full scaled military operation. On that day, they became stories repeating in the present. This Russian aggression is nothing new, it is a a cycle of violence familiar to Eastern Europeans, and to Carpatho-Rusyns in particular.
This work explores this aggression, and the breadth of resistance. It also gives space for tenderness and indulgence.
Thank you to Joanna for facilitating a process that supports exploration and newness.
Thank you to my cast for their willingness to hold space for me to try new and scary things, and for performing it with gusto.
Read independent journalism from Ukraine: https://kyivindependent.com/
Support the evacuation of women and children from Ukraine: Operation White Stork
Slava Ukraini
Alexandra Bodnarchuk
Sound Design + Music
Brandon Anderson Musser
Movers
Kendall Edstrom, Laura K Johnson, Zoë Koenig,
Joanna Lees, Brenna Mosser, Anna Pinault,
Jesse Schmitz-Boyd, Addie Smith
Contributing Mover - Joey Wurm
Program Notes
In Pittsburgh, PA, there are nods at Eastern European culture everywhere. From the pirohy race at the baseball game, to church festivals, to slang such as “where you at?”. Growing up dancing in Slavjane, a Carpatho-Rusyn children’s folk ensemble, I absorbed the cultural tidbits tossed my way in between 8 counts that echoed across a cold gym, the smell of cabbage wafting in from the kitchen. As a kid I didn’t have the lived experience or cultural wherewithal to fully comprehend what I was learning. These were stories of the past, until February 24, 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine in a full scaled military operation. On that day, they became stories repeating in the present. This Russian aggression is nothing new, it is a a cycle of violence familiar to Eastern Europeans, and to Carpatho-Rusyns in particular.
This work explores this aggression, and the breadth of resistance. It also gives space for tenderness and indulgence.
Thank you to Joanna for facilitating a process that supports exploration and newness.
Thank you to my cast for their willingness to hold space for me to try new and scary things, and for performing it with gusto.
Read independent journalism from Ukraine: https://kyivindependent.com/
Support the evacuation of women and children from Ukraine: Operation White Stork
Slava Ukraini
Did you enjoy the show?
Please consider supporting this work and these talented artists with a contribution for Give to the Max Day.
November 1st - 17th: Help us reach our goal of $10,000. Every donation will be MATCHED!*
Want more information on the works you saw?
Get an in depth look at the behind the scenes processes on AMP's Rehearsal Video Blog.
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Thank you for attending ViewPoints '22: On Demand!
MEET THE PEOPLE...
Joanna Lees (Co-Founder, Artistic + Executive Director, she/her) is a choreographer based in Minneapolis, MN. Originally from the Washington, D.C. area, Joanna graduated cum laude with distinction in 2007 with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Business from The Ohio State University (Columbus, OH). At OSU, she was an Arts Scholar and the recipient of the Denman Undergraduate Research Forum Scholarship. Joanna studied with various artists including Bebe Miller, Susan Hadley, Karen Eliot, Abigail Yager and Ming-Lung Yang. She performed Doug Varone’s Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) in collaboration with BalletMet Columbus.
Since moving to the Twin Cities in 2008, Joanna has performed in works with and by several local dance artists including Penelope Freeh, Blake Nellis, Taja Will, Darrius Strong, Heather Klopchin, Jennifer Glaws, Erin Drummond, Laura Holway, Jennifer Mack, Erinn Liebhard, Kelly Radermacher, and Kristin Howe. Joanna also showcased her own choreography independently before co-founding the Minneapolis dance company, Alternative Motion Project alongside Kristin Howe in 2011. She has served as Co-Artistic Director and Executive Director since AMP’s inception, creating performing opportunities for Minneapolis artists, educational outreach programs for public school students and audience engagement initiatives.
Joanna’s work has been presented by the College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn, IL), The Moving Collective (Louisville, KY) and at the Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival (Kalamazoo, MI). Joanna enjoys the collaborative process including with COD professor/composer Lee Kesselman and Chicago visual artist René Romero Schuler. She also premiered her first multi-media dance work entitled #binge (2016) in Minneapolis.
In 2020, Joanna earned her Masters of Fine Arts degree in Dance at The University of Utah (Salt Lake City). Whilst there, she served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Dance and received the L. Scott Marsh Mentorship Award & a University Teaching Assistantship. She performed works by Charles O. Anderson, Stephen Koester, Sara Pickett, Christine McMillan. She performed in work by Doug Varone in collaboration with Doug Varone and Dancers and was selected as a choreographer for Varone’s DEVICES mentorship program, showcasing her work, Spiral Into Control, in New York City in 2018. An excerpt of her MFA thesis, B E C O M I N G, was selected to represent University of Utah in performance for the American College Dance Association Northwest Regional Conference at Gonzaga University. Joanna is a current adjunct faculty member at Winona State University.
Joanna is immensely grateful for the community of artists, personnel, audiences, + supporters who have contributed to AMP, especially Kristin + Bobby.
Since moving to the Twin Cities in 2008, Joanna has performed in works with and by several local dance artists including Penelope Freeh, Blake Nellis, Taja Will, Darrius Strong, Heather Klopchin, Jennifer Glaws, Erin Drummond, Laura Holway, Jennifer Mack, Erinn Liebhard, Kelly Radermacher, and Kristin Howe. Joanna also showcased her own choreography independently before co-founding the Minneapolis dance company, Alternative Motion Project alongside Kristin Howe in 2011. She has served as Co-Artistic Director and Executive Director since AMP’s inception, creating performing opportunities for Minneapolis artists, educational outreach programs for public school students and audience engagement initiatives.
Joanna’s work has been presented by the College of DuPage (Glen Ellyn, IL), The Moving Collective (Louisville, KY) and at the Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival (Kalamazoo, MI). Joanna enjoys the collaborative process including with COD professor/composer Lee Kesselman and Chicago visual artist René Romero Schuler. She also premiered her first multi-media dance work entitled #binge (2016) in Minneapolis.
In 2020, Joanna earned her Masters of Fine Arts degree in Dance at The University of Utah (Salt Lake City). Whilst there, she served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the School of Dance and received the L. Scott Marsh Mentorship Award & a University Teaching Assistantship. She performed works by Charles O. Anderson, Stephen Koester, Sara Pickett, Christine McMillan. She performed in work by Doug Varone in collaboration with Doug Varone and Dancers and was selected as a choreographer for Varone’s DEVICES mentorship program, showcasing her work, Spiral Into Control, in New York City in 2018. An excerpt of her MFA thesis, B E C O M I N G, was selected to represent University of Utah in performance for the American College Dance Association Northwest Regional Conference at Gonzaga University. Joanna is a current adjunct faculty member at Winona State University.
Joanna is immensely grateful for the community of artists, personnel, audiences, + supporters who have contributed to AMP, especially Kristin + Bobby.
Nieya Amezquita (Guest Choreographer, she/her) is a professional dancer and choreographer based in Minneapolis where she currently dances with Threads Dance Project and Rhythmically Speaking. She earned a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Georgia where she practiced ballet, contemporary, different branches of African movements and debuted as a contemporary choreographer. She also had the opportunity to perform nationally and internationally with founding company CADE:NCE before studying in Portugal with the Addo Platform. Most recently, Nieya was a featured artist in the Blackness Is Arts festival produced by the Guthrie Theater and a selected choreographer for Threads Dance Project's Tapestries production in which she premiered her new work "The Way Forward is Back."
Rachel Sadie Lieberman (Guest Choreographer, she/her) has been dancing and choreographing since first convincing her many younger siblings and cousins to comply with rehearsals for holiday routines in the living room. Growing up in and around Chicago, she trained and performed primarily with Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, and then choreographed and performed on scholarship with Kibbutz Dance Company's Dance Journey program in Ga'aton. After graduating from Macalester College in 2018, she's performed in works by Melissa Clark, Sarah Abdel-Jelil, Contempo Physical, Leila Awadallah, A Cripple’s Dance, Off-Leash Area, Peace Madimutsa, The Walker’s Paradox of Stillness, and is currently dancing with Analog Dance Works and Black Label Movement. In addition to her performance work, Rachel is a Program Director at Cow Tipping Press - teaching and publishing creative writing by adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities.
Body Watani / Noelle + Leila Awadallah (Guest Choreographers, she/her + she/her)
Noelle Awadallah نوال is a Palestinian American improviser, performer, maker, and teacher who resides in Mni Sota Makoce. She joined Ananya Dance Theatre as a company member in 2019 and is a partner in leilawa’s Body Watani. Her work circles themes of transcendence of time, ancestor imaginings, listening, falling into stereotypes, and storytelling. Improvisational practices guide her movement generating as an honest way to dig and share stories recollected and reimagined from her body rooted in radical imagination of the senses. She dabbles in experimental short films as another form of storytelling. She holds a BFA from Columbia College Chicago (2018).
Leila Awadallah | leilawa is a dancer, choreographer, and film wanderer based between Minneapolis, Mni Sota and Beirut, Lebanon. She is Palestinian, Arab-American, and Sicilian mixed Mediterranean diasporic being born on indigenous lands of the Lakota and Dakota peoples (SD). She is the founder of the Body Watani dance project in collaboration with Noelle Awadallah. Leila is a McKnight Dancer Fellow (2022), a Jerome Hill Fellow (2021-2023), and received Springboard 20/20 (2018-2019) and Daring Dances (2019) fellowships. Mentored by Ananya Chatterjea, she trained, taught and performed with Ananya Dance Theatre (2013-2019). She has a BFA in Dance and a minor in Arabic Literature from the University of Minnesota (2016).
Photo: Erica Ticknor
Noelle Awadallah نوال is a Palestinian American improviser, performer, maker, and teacher who resides in Mni Sota Makoce. She joined Ananya Dance Theatre as a company member in 2019 and is a partner in leilawa’s Body Watani. Her work circles themes of transcendence of time, ancestor imaginings, listening, falling into stereotypes, and storytelling. Improvisational practices guide her movement generating as an honest way to dig and share stories recollected and reimagined from her body rooted in radical imagination of the senses. She dabbles in experimental short films as another form of storytelling. She holds a BFA from Columbia College Chicago (2018).
Leila Awadallah | leilawa is a dancer, choreographer, and film wanderer based between Minneapolis, Mni Sota and Beirut, Lebanon. She is Palestinian, Arab-American, and Sicilian mixed Mediterranean diasporic being born on indigenous lands of the Lakota and Dakota peoples (SD). She is the founder of the Body Watani dance project in collaboration with Noelle Awadallah. Leila is a McKnight Dancer Fellow (2022), a Jerome Hill Fellow (2021-2023), and received Springboard 20/20 (2018-2019) and Daring Dances (2019) fellowships. Mentored by Ananya Chatterjea, she trained, taught and performed with Ananya Dance Theatre (2013-2019). She has a BFA in Dance and a minor in Arabic Literature from the University of Minnesota (2016).
Photo: Erica Ticknor
Alexandra Bodnarchuk (Guest Choreographer, she/her) is a Carpatho-Rusyn American choreographer based in Minneapolis, MN. She creates original works ranging from solos to evening length group works for the stage and screen. She is a 2021 Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellow at Jacob’s Pillow and a 2020 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow Finalist. Her most recent work, dance film Heritage Sites, premiered in 2020 and has been screened at the 48th annual Athens International Film and Video Festival (OH), Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema (CO), DanceBARN Screendance Festival (MN), Astoria Film Festival (NY), and Movies By Movers at The American Dance Festival (NC). She hails from Pittsburgh, PA where she graduated from Bodiography Contemporary Ballet’s College Preparatory Program, and studied Eastern European folk dance. She earned a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography and a BA in French from Ohio University. Since relocating to Minneapolis she has been commissioned by Threads Dance Project and the Performing Institute of Minnesota. She has also presented work at The Cowles Center, Candy Box Dance Festival/Arena Dances, Zenon Dance Zone, Future Interstates, and 9x22 dance lab at the Bryant Lake Bowl. Her next work, Rock, Paper, Scissors will premiere at The Southern Theater in March 2023.
Brandon Anderson Musser (Sound Artist, he/him) son of a truck driver and a union nurse, born 1989 near present day Pittsburgh, PA. He is primarily working with music and sound, he prioritizes projects that poses self awareness, tenderness, humanity, and that strive for reformation.
Current credits reflect service as artistic associate to Alexandra Bodnarchuk Dance Projects, and to the Taja Will Ensemble as company composer and sound designer. He is currently (Fall ’22) exploring a new creative relationship with Pedra Pepa.
Jandeltha Rae (Jan - DELL - The Ray, Spoken Word Artist, she/her) is an author, award-winning spoken word poet and painter from Minneapolis, MN. Since childhood, she has enjoyed the art of storytelling through pen, paintbrush, pencil and performance theater. Her work primarily focuses on culture, identity, black liberation, love and womanhood. When she is not performing herself, she works to create space for other spoken word artists throughout the city. Much of the passion behind her work is driven by the advancement of black & brown people but also, women’s rights. It is her desire to amplify ethnic experience and tell the stories of marginalized people with her gift. She has absolutely no desire to be famous, only to be heard by those who are willing to hear.
Kendall Edstrom (Mover, they/she) is a movement artist and educator from Minneapolis, Minnesota –Mni Sota Makoce. Kendall attended Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists and went on to attain a BFA from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities in 2019. After graduating, they lived in Brussels, Belgium and studied at Charleroi Danse and TicTac Arts Centre. Kendall currently works as a special education support professional and teaches dance classes at Midwest Youth Dance Theater and for Zenon Dance School. At the moment she is most interested in using her body to expand, wiggle, play, and tune in to the quiet details around her.
Stephanie Flanagan (Mover, she/her) grows nostalgic for her rural hometown in Junction City, Wisconsin. Upon graduating high school in Stevens Point Steph traveled to Minneapolis and received a B.A. from the University of Minnesota's dance program in 2008. Shortly thereafter she had the esteemed honor of performing in Trisha Brown's installation of Planes under Will Swanson at the Walker Art Center. Additionally Steph has performed in Choreographer's Evening with artists Emily Michaels King Wigs and Dresses and Jessica Briggs Long Vanishing Spirals or something of that Nature. This summer Steph had the joy of working with Jesse Schmitz-Boyd's performance group Rouge & Rabble. The company performed Traitor and received a Staff Pick Award in The Fringe Festival in Minneapolis. In 2013 Steph joined AMP and has had the privilege to continue working with them.
Outside of moving and shaking, Steph is a massage therapist and a Maker. A Maker; of children, laughs, gardens, clothes, food, etc. Stephanie Marie Shirek Flanagan is incredibly grateful for the support given by her family and friends - lookin' at you Pete. <3
Laura K Johnson (Mover, she/her) is a dancing artist based in Minneapolis/Saint Paul. She is originally from Rosemount, MN where she was introduced to modern dance in high school and hasn’t looked back since. Laura is a graduate from Gustavus Adolphus College, where she received the Distinguished Dance Student Award and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BA in Dance Honors. Laura is currently in her fifth season dancing with Alternative Motion Project and teaches modern technique at Ballet Royale Minnesota during the school year. Her goal is to move, perform and teach with authenticity, lightheartedness and presence. Laura is grateful to do what she does.
Zoë Koenig (Mover, she/her) is a dancer and choreographer from Madison, WI. She has performed recently at DUMBO Dance Festival (New York City), Queerly Contemporary Festival (New York City), World Dance Alliance Global Summit (St. John’s, Newfoundland), Going Dutch Festival (Elgin, IL), Detroit Dance City Festival (Detroit, MI), and RADfest (Kalamazoo, MI). Zoë was a member of the Kanopy Dance Company II in Madison, WI from 2011–2014 before attending Beloit College where she worked with numerous choreographers, including Kate Wallich and Katy Pyle, and was awarded the Chavey Family Endowed Award in Dance for outstanding performance. In addition to AMP, she is a member of Analog Dance Works, and has danced for Twin Cities artists Sarah Abdel Jelil, Erika Martin, and Gabriel Rodreick’s A Cripples Dance, among others. She has shown work in Minneapolis at the Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts, Squirrel Haus Arts, Praxis Gallery, and the Off-Leash Art Box and was a 2019 Generating Room Artist at the Cowles Center. Outside of dance, Zoë is an associate editor at the Minneapolis-based literary publisher Coffee House Press.
Julia Moser-Hardy (Mover, she/her) trained for thirteen years at Neta Barker School of Ballet in her hometown of Wayland, Massachusetts, and continued with Modern and Improvisation at St. Olaf College where she received her Bachelors degree in Dance and Psychology, two fields that she feels see people as whole beings. Julia has had the opportunity to perform choreography by Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater, Alexandra Beller/Dances, SEVEN DANCE and Concerto Dance by Jolene Konkel. Julia currently teaches at CREO Arts & Dance Conservatory and Prairie School of Dance and is excited to perform again with AMP this year!
Brenna Mosser (Choreographer + Mover, she/her) is a dance artist who seeks to illuminate the awe in her surroundings by sculpting falls, stumbles, and asymmetries gracefully. She spent two years in the Conservation Corps, where she faced the reality of climate change and has since dedicated her work to bringing awareness and justice to this crisis. She earned her bachelor’s in dance performance at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, UK. She supplemented her degree at le Centre national de la danse Contemporaine in Angers, France where she earned the US equivalent of a BA in dance performance and in arts management. Brenna founded Analog Dance Works in 2019, a dance company whose mission is to explore the intersection between dance and science through choreographic works and roundtable discussions. Alongside AMP, Brenna currently dances for Threads Dance Project and Bernadette Knaeble.
Anna Pinault (Mover, she/her) grew up in Minnesota and is thrilled to be returning to the Twin Cities as a continuation of her creative work. For the past decade, she has worked as a freelance artist in New York City where she has performed works by Ronald K. Brown, Chafin Seymour, Kora Radella, Olga Dobrowolska, Isaac Martin Lerner, and Gabe Katz, among others. Anna has also been a company member and collaborator with Rovaco Dance Company and Mobilized Voices for the past three years. Her creative work is heavily influenced by her background as a hip hop dancer and her love of physical theatre. When not dancing herself, she teaches many dance styles, with her greatest passions lying in the Horton Technique and her own curriculum of Movement Exploration (M.E.) classes. Anna has her BFA in Modern Dance from Marymount Manhattan College and is in the midst of her MS is Human Movement Science from Concordia University Chicago | annapinault.com
Jesse Schmitz-Boyd (Mover + Social Media Coordinator, he/him) is a Twin Cities based performer, choreographer and arts educator. This is Jesse's 9th year with Alternative Motion Project. Jesse also has performed locally with Off-Leash Area at the Cowles Center and throughout Minnesota as a part of the company’s Neighborhood Garage Tour. Additionally he has worked with RE|Dance & Erinn Liebhard.
Jesse’s choreography has been presented at The Minnesota Fringe Festival, Off-Leash Area ArtBox, Zenon Dance Zone, The Ritz Theatre, and Movement Arts Day (Eau Claire, WI). Jesse is the founder and Artistic Director of Rogue & Rabble Dance.
Currently Jesse is on faculty at Children’s Theater Company Theater Arts Training, and Ballare Teatro Performing Arts Center.
Addie Smith (Mover, they/them) A California native, Addie graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz with a BA in Theater Arts and Dance; collaborating, choreographing, and directing new works both professionally and within the university. Since moving to the Twin Cities in 2017, they have created and performed with various local companies and artists including Loom Lab, Crash Dance Productions, Analog Dance Works, Rogue & Rabble Dance, and Bobby Rethwish. Addie loves bringing humor and vulnerability into dance spaces; their style and work is often theatrical, absurd, and steeped in child-like curiosity. They are so grateful to be a part of this production and to work with such dynamic, passionate artists.
Joey Wurm (Contributing Mover, they/them) was born and raised in Waukesha Wisconsin. Before moving to Minnesota to study dance, they were a student of theater in Milwaukee Wisconsin, performing in many plays and musicals from A Midsummer Nights Dream to Beauty and the Beast. Now with a Bachelors degree in Dance and Sociology, Joey has performed, trained, and worked with artists from around the world such as Akram Khan, David Zambrano, and Rakesh Sukesh. Recently Joey has been involved with the Minnesota Opera, Clevername Theater, and Off-Leash Area. They are looking forward to spending the year working with AMP and hopefully many more years after!
Julie Marie Muskat (Production Stage Mananger, she/her) is a freelance dancer, choreographer, teacher, and stage manager currently based in the Twin Cities and originally from Texas. She has worked across the US, Israel, and Italy, dancing with companies such as Threads Dance Project, Vox Medusa, Revolution Dance Theatre, Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, and Compagnia AiEP. She is the founder of Deeper Water Arts & Mind/Body Center, which provides dance, cross training, and health and wellness opportunities for young people and adults. As a stage manager, she loves bringing shows to life from behind the scenes!
Tony Stoeri (Technical Director, he/him) is a free-lance lighting designer based in Minneapolis.He is a graduate of Carleton College, and recently graduated with an MFA in lighting design from Indiana University. His work has most recently been seen with Walking Shadow Theatre Company, Collide Theatrical Dance Company, Cardinal Stage (Bloomington, IN), and Mission Theatre Company.
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All AMP Photos by Bill Cameron.
All AMP Photos by Bill Cameron.