COLLABORATORS

Toni Melaas (Performer) is currently finishing up her 8th year as a member of Alexandra Beller/Dances, with whom she will kick off a European tour this summer,and working on projects with Netta Yerushalmy/Dancing People and Gerald Casel Dance Company, with whom she recently finished a three month stint in Europe. Among others, she has had the pleasure of performing nationally and internationally with Shen Wei Dance Arts (including the State Theater), Faye Driscoll, Melissa Briggs Dance, David Dorfman Dance (BAM), Risa Jaroslow and Dancers, and Sara Pearson and Patrik Widrig, with the Aquila Theater Company with Olympia Dukakis, and in the films 'Across the Universe' (Julie Taymor) and 'The Hottest State' (Ethan Hawk). Toni shares her company Hatch NYC (www.hatchnewyork.com) with partner Lily Baldwin, bringing customized yoga and pilates to individual clients and corporations in NYC and throughout the U.S, and on retreats worldwide. Many thanks to the generosity of these beautiful performers and to Alexandra's wisdom and love.

Milvia Pacheco Salvatierra (Performer) after working as guest with Rastro Dance Company in New York (2000) and Venezuela (2001), moved to New York to work with the company in 2004. Born in Caracas-Venezuela, Milvia trained in Taller de Danza de Caracas; Instituto Superior de Danza; and Danzahoy Escuela. For three years she worked as a member of Taller de Danza de Caracas (90-93). For more than 12 years she has danced with Danzahoy’s seasons as well as toured to renowned festivals in Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Puerto Rico, USA, Canada, Finland and France, including Danzahoy’s most recent “Exodo” season at the Joyce Theatre in NYC. Milvia’s own choreographies, “KM 0” (2004) and “ATAJO” (2007) has been presented by Rastro at London’s ICA and the Avant-garde Festival of Merida, as well as NYC and Caracas. Her acting experience includes Grupo Actoral 80,Taller Experimental de Teatro, and Altofs in Buenos Aires Argentina. She is one of the founders of Posarte, a company that strives to actively explore movement and scenic design towards inspiring and integrating other artists- painters, sculptors, composers and poets.

Edward Rice (Performer & Company Manager), originally from the suburbs of Chicago, started dancing as a child and received his early training from The School for Saltcreek Ballet, Lyons Township High School, and Jo’s Footwork Studio. He holds a B.S. in Performance from Illinois State University and a M.F.A. in Dance Performance from the University of Iowa where he was a recipient of the Iowa Arts Fellowship. His choreography has received honors at American College Dance Festival Association Conferences and has been performed through out the Mid-West. In New York, his work has been presented at Dixon Place and as part of Synethesia by Electric Pear Productions. He has performed with Jennifer Kayle + Company, The Brian Brooks Moving Company, Stone Depot Dance Lab, Jody Oberfelder Dance Projects, Amber Sloan, and Elizabeth Dishman. He currently dances with Alexandra Beller/Dances, Laura Peterson Choreography and Benn Rasmussen and Dancers. He has taught Technique and Improvisation throughout the Mid-West, as well as Dance New Amsterdam (NYC), the New School, The International Dance Festival in Bytom, Poland and The Open Look Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. In his administrative life he is the Programs Manager at Dance New Amsterdam, a Producer with RoofTop Dance (www.rooftopdance.com) and is the Company Manager for Alexandra Beller Dances.

Jenna Riegel (Performer) grew up in Fairfield, Iowa and holds an M.F.A. in Dance Performance from the University of Iowa. Jenna has performed in works by Tatiana Baganova, Carolyn Dorfman, Michel Kouakou, Gabriel Masson, Donald McKayle, Jennifer Nugent & Paul Matteson and Bill Young. In addition to Alexandra Beller/Dances, Jenna currently dances for David Dorfman Dance, johannes weiland and Tania Isaac Dance. Jenna is thrilled be performing with Alexandra Beller/Dances and is grateful to her family and friends for their unconditional love and support.

Lea Fulton (Performer) is obsessed with stories and the re-telling of them through visual and physical media. She finds NYC a stellar place to collect these stories, as well as other things, like too many old dresses and dusty books. Some of her storytelling adventures have included a collaboration with Ryan Ross that culminated in a piece of movable theater, performed at the Philly Fringe Festival 2008, and a dancefilm collaboration with dancer Stephanie Miracle and filmmaker Greg King that was honored in the Dance on Camera Film Festival 2010. Being consistently drawn to the medium of film, Lea has choreographed music videos for electronic music artist, Nadia Ali and indie-rock group, Apollo Run in addition to performing in Animal Collective's video for "Summertime Clothes". Lea has had the good fortune of creating dance with Heather McArdle, Faye Driscoll, Christine Suarez, Kate Watson-Wallace and Laura Peterson. In addition to being thrilled to work on her first project with Alexandra Beller, she's currently working on projects with Janessa Clark and Elisabeth Motley. She holds a B.A in Interdisciplinary Studies from Wheaton College. She is interested in the healing properties of movement in general and to this end, after being certified to teach yoga in 2009 and studying Thai Massage with master teacher Pichest Boonthume in Thailand, began to use these platforms to bring the possibility of healing to people that aren't usually exposed to such modalities. She currently teaches yoga for the non-profit organization, Restore NYC and also to Muy Thai fighters at the boxing gym, Chok Sabai in Manhattan.

Megan Madorin (Performer) has completed both a BFA from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and a Postgraduate Certificate from the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. While abroad, she was a member of the Bodhi Project, an Austrian based dance company, where she had the privilege of performing with Diego Gil and Jeremy Nelson, touring to several cities in Germany, Austria, and Poland. In addition to dancing with Alexandra, Megan is a current member of Ephemerui Dance Company and has performed with Gerald Casel, Tara O’Con, Mark Morris, Christopher Williams, Ori Flomin, and Patricia Noworol. On screen, Megan can be seen in the 2010 dance film, Finite and Infinite Games by Kate Fisher and RJ Muna, and singer-songwriter Kelli Scarr’s music video, Driftwood.

Justin Donham (Performer) is a performer and stage manager whose credits include Broadway: Dance of Death with Ian McKellen and Helen Mirren. Off Broadway: Aunt Dan and Lemon, Mike Leigh's Smelling a Rat, What the Butler Saw (all with the New Group), Uncle Jack, Small Craft Warnings, Whoa-Jack! ( with Worth Street), Young Playwright's Festival (Cherry Lane). Other NY credits include: P.S. 122, HERE, 59E59, Joyce Soho, and Aaron Davis Hall. Regional: Vineyard Playhouse and Princeton Rep. Tours: extensive touring with SITI Co. including Dublin International Festival (Ireland), MC93 Bobigny (France), Bonn Biennale (Germany), Court Theater, Walker Art Center, American Repertory Theater, and the Brooklyn Academy of Music. He also toured all over the US with experimental jazz composer Fred Ho and recently to Eastern Europe with Alexandra Beller/Dances.

Drew Smith (Performer) was privileged as a young dancer to appear in feature films and music videos under the direction of Paul Thomas Anderson, Jerry Mitchell, Marguerite Derricks, and Michael Rooney, among others. Over the years he has worked as a guest artist for Shirley Winters Ballet (Fresno), Sacramento Ballet, Commonality Dance (Los Angeles), and premiered "Traveling Light" with Joe Goode Performance Group (San Francisco) at the historic Old Mint. During his education at NYU-Tisch Dance he performed, with the Second Avenue Dance Company, "Of the Earth Far Below" by Doug Varone (NYC). He has premiered work with Christopher Williams (NYC), including "The Voyage of Garbhglas" at the Irish Hunger Memorial.

Robert Poss (Sound Design) has performed and recorded with Rhys Chatham, Nicolas Collins, Ben Neill, Phill Niblock, David Dramm, Susan Stenger and Bruce Gilbert. In 1986, he formed the wall-of-guitars group Band of Susans, which Rolling Stone Magazine described as "adamantly arty, brainy, visceral and bracing." BOS released two EPs and five full-length CDs (all produced by Poss) before disbanding in 1995. In 2002 Poss released two companion solo CDs, "Distortion Is Truth" and "Crossing Casco Bay" on Trace Elements Records. Of his recent solo work, Tape Op Magazine writes “Guitar genius, drone meister … Robert Poss is the master of treated and manipulated guitars.” He continues to perform his guitar and electronics pieces in the U.S., the U.K. and Europe.

Amanda K. Ringger (Lighting Designer) has lived in New York for the past 13 years designing locally, nationally and internationally with artists such as Alexandra Beller, Faye Driscoll, Julian Barnett, Deborah Lohse, Laura Peterson, Cynthia Oliver, Katie Workum, Doorknob Company, Shannon Gillen, Darrah Carr, Kota Yamazaki, and Mark Jarecke, among others. She received a BA from Goucher College in Baltimore, MD and an MFA in lighting design from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU. She is the recipient of a 2009 Bessie award for her collaboration on Faye Driscoll's 837 Venice Boulevard at HERE Arts Center.

Tara Lee Burns (Online Marketing Designer) has worked in NYC as a dancer, choreographer, live projection designer, graphic and web designer, DVD editor and company manager. In addition to Alexandra Beller/Dances, Tara has recently designed projections for Adele Myers and Dancers. She currently dances with with Adele Myers and Dancers (among others) and has recently began her own dance company working with film, animation and projections. www.taraleeburns.com

Karen Young (Costume Design) has designed costumes for numerous dance, theater, and video art projects in New York. Dance credits include recent projects with: Elisa Monte Dance, Andrea Haenggi/AMDaT, Kimberly Bartosik, Keely Garfield, Dusan Tynek, Noemie Lafrance's “Agora”, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Ice Theater of New York, and a long-standing association as costumer of the Martha Graham Dance Company. Theater credits include: "The Trojan Women" and "Alcestis" with Allegra Kent, Maria Tucci, and Daniel Mendelsohn at Toni Morrison's Princeton Atelier and "El Retablo Embrujado" at Teatro Jimenez Rueda in Mexico City. Costume design for video art include: Eve Sussman & the Rufus Corporation’s "89 Seconds at Alcazar", recently on view at MoMA, and "The Rape of the Sabine Women" recently presented by Creative Time, Toni Dove's "Spectropia", Matthew Barney's "Cremaster 5" and "Cremaster 1", and David Michalek’s upcoming “Slow Dancing” for Lincoln Center Festival. She was recently invited to be a visiting researcher at London College of Fashion and is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Martijn Hart (Film and Videography) has been a filmmaker, cameraman and TV director for the past 20 years. He has worked throughout the United States, South and Central America, Canada, Australia, Asia, and Europe. He was first cameraman, and later the director for, “Stads TV Rotterdam” for 6 years. Then he pursued a free-lance career and relocated from Holland to New York City in 1996. He was the co-creator and director of “Nova New York,” a weekly series from New York City for Dutch television, which followed the 2004 American elections. His documentary credits include “The Brooklyn Connection,” which investigated the American connection to arms traffic in Albania (co-produced with Klaartje Quirijns and Stacey Sullivan), and “Saxman,” which chronicled the life of legendary saxophone player Piet le Blanc. His work has been shown at The Rotterdam Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, VPRO Dutch TV, PBS, CBS, and stations across Europe. He has worked as a cameraman on numerous programs, including, “Panorama” (BBC), “Focus” (RTL), “60 Minutes” (CBS), and “Liebe An Der Macht” (ARD). He has been a cameraman for the US Open, Australian Open, and other major sports events as well as breaking news globally. He has also filmed numerous live performances, particularly modern dance, in New York City and collaborates artistically on film components for theatrical events.

Rebecca Cardwell (Development Associate) was born and raised in London, England. In 2008, she received her BA with Honors in Dance and Liberal Arts from the New School in New York City, where she performed in the works of Martha Graham and Jose Limon, among others. She is a development and fundraising professional for dance and theater, and received her MFA in Performing Arts Management from Brooklyn College/ CUNY in 2011. In addition to her work as development associate for Alexandra Beller/Dances, she works at David Bury & Associates, a management and fundraising consultancy firm for arts and cultural organizations, and is a freelance consultant for A.O. Pro(+ductions), based in Brooklyn, New York.