Auditorium Theatre 2018-19 Issue 1 Deeply Rooted

4 | DEEPLY ROOTED DANCE THEATER/VISCERAL DANCE CHICAGO/ATE9 DANCE COMPANY | NOVEMBER 16, 2018 DEEPLY ROOTED DANCE THEATER DEEPLY ROOTED DANCE THEATER DANCERS Dominique Atwood is from Dayton, OH, where she trained at the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company. Later, she studied dance at Stivers School for the Performing Arts and Howard University, under the direction of DeShonna Pepper-Robertson. While at Howard, she co-founded the first contemporary dance company on Howard University’s campus, I.AM.WE, and she currently serves as Artistic Director of Dayo N Dance Contemporary Performance Company. Atwood has danced with Dissonance Dance Theater, Black Pearl Dance Theater, The Princess Mhoon Dance Project, and Maverick Lemons Dance Project. She has choreographed and directed concert, theatre, and commercial productions including the Miss Intercontinental United States pageant, Georgetown University’s annual dance spring concert, and Outcry The Play (mid-Atlantic regional premiere). Pierre Clark was born and raised in Chicago. He began his dance training at the age of 19 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, where he studied ballet, jazz, modern, and tap. Clark has danced with companies including Milwaukee Dance Connection, Forces of Nature, and Kashe Dance Company. He has performed in productions such as Disney World’s Beauty and the Beast , Elton John and Tim Rice’s production of Aida (Bailiwick Chicago), and Black Ensemble Theater’s Black Nativity , for which he also served as rehearsal director. He is now a proud first company member with Deeply Rooted Dance Theater and hopes to continuously inspire others through dance. Joshua L. Ishmon was born and raised in Gary, IN. He is a 2007 graduate of Emerson School for the Visual and Performing Arts, and he also studied with Ballet Chicago and M.A.D.D. Rhythms. After graduating, Ishmon joined Deeply Rooted Dance Theater 2, and in 2009, he matriculated into the first company. He is now a co-rehearsal director for DRDT and a co-founder and the artistic/producing director of Deeply Rooted’s Emerging Choreographers Showcase, in addition to continuing to dance with the company. Ishmon is also a member of Winifred R. Harris’ Between Lines (Denver, CO) and Seamless Dance Theater (Kansas City, MO). He is a guest artist with Ballet Chicago as well as Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, and has shared the stage with Bobby McFerrin. Rebekah Kuczma was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA, where she received the majority of her dance education and training. She was introduced to modern dance while attending the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts School, where she met her teacher and mentor, Greer Reed. Kuczma continued her dance training at Point Park University, performing works by Toru Shimazaki, Kevin Iega Jeff, Kiesha Lalama, and more while simultaneously working professionally with the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble and the improvisation-based company the Pillow Project. Some highlights of her career include two European tours with the Pillow Project, performing in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, performing at Jacob’s Pillow with REED Dance (formerly the August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble), and working in Steamboat Springs, CO, with Antonio Brown Dance in residency at Perry-Mansfield. She is currently working with Winifred Haun & Dancers. Marlayna Locklear hails from Milwaukee, WI. She is recently completed her eighth season with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC ) and is now a freelance artist. She began her training at the age of 12 at City Ballet Theatre and went on to graduate from Milwaukee High School of the Arts and University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, with a BFA in ballet and jazz. Locklear was one of the founding members of The Milwaukee Dance Connection and has gone on to dance with Eleone Dance Theatre, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble, Dallas Black Dance Theatre II, and DCDC. She has performed works by Christopher Huggins, Dwight Rhoden, Ron Brown, Donald Byrd, Diane McIntyre, and Ray Mercer, among others. She also has worked with members of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, MOMIX, Martha Graham Dance Company, Dance Theatre of Harlem, and more. Nyemah Stuart was born and raised in New York City, and began her dance training at the age of 5. Stuart attended Professional Performing Arts High School in Manhattan, where she studied ballet, jazz, and West African dance, along with Lester Horton and Martha Graham techniques with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. After graduating, she studied ballet at the Dance Theatre of Harlem as a scholarship student.  Nina-Rose Wardanian is originally from Chicago, IL. She began her formal training at the Chicago Academy for the Arts, under the direction of Randy Duncan, Guillermo Leyva, Deborah Goodman, and the late Anna Paskevska. While in high school, she worked with choreographers such as Eduardo Vilaro, Nick Pupillo, and Eddie Ocampo. She also attended Chicago Multicultural Dance Center, where she studied under Homer Bryant, and where she later went on to teach classes. Upon graduating, she attended the University of Missouri, Kansas City (UKMC), where she studied with DeeAnna Hiett, Sabrina Madison-Cannon, Rodni Williams, Mary Pat Henry, and Paula Weber. Wardanian has performed nationally, representing UMKC at the American College Dance Association’s annual festivals. She has also performed with Vegas Contemporary Dance Theater, appearing in numerous works by Artistic Director Bernard Gaddis, as well as Vespers by Ulysses Dove. Wardanian was a founding cast member and dance captain for the Lawrence Arts Center’s Midnight Visit to the Grave of Poe . Wardanian’s path led her to Deeply Rooted in 2012. Deeply Rooted Dance Theater apprentices: Shanna Cruzat, Ricky Davis, and Ahmad Hill