Hailed by the Boston Globe as "absorbing, steadfast and compelling", Frances Lorraine Samson (she/her) is a New York based artist originally from Toronto, Canada. She has been featured by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), TEDx and Harper's Bazaar, and has had the honor of working for institutions such as The Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase College and the Danish National Academy of Music. Frances was a principal dancer with the Limón Dance Company from 2017-2023 and is currently on faculty for the Limón Institute. She has had the pleasure of collaborating with artists such as Twyla Tharp, Baye & Asa, Raúl Tamez, Madeline Hollander, Jamar Roberts, Aszure Barton, Francesca Harper and Kate Weare. Frances is the 2023 recipient of the Clive Barnes Award for Dance and is an unarmed actor combatant certified by The Society of American Fight Directors.

Amanda Sachs (she/her) is a freelance artist based in Denver, CO. Originally from New Jersey, she moved to San Francisco for the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program. In 2014, Sachs joined The Francesca Harper Project in NYC where she performed in notable theaters such as The Joyce, Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Brooklyn Academy of Music. Amanda toured internationally with Metamorphosis Dance from 2013-2017. She was a company member of TU Dance from 2017-2020. During her time with the company she performed works including Alvin Ailey’s solo Witness and Night Creature, and Walking with Pearl: Africa Diaries by Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. She is an original member of Come Through, an evening-length collaboration with
GRAMMY-winning musician Bon Iver and TU Dance, which toured extensively. In 2021, she joined NW Dance Project in Portland. With NWDP, Amanda performed works by Ihsan Rustem, Yin Yue, Joseph Hernandez, Sarah Slipper, and Luca Veggetti. Amanda premiered in Ashwini Ramaswamy's Invisible Cities and Ben Frost’s Cold Air Rises as part of The Great Northern Festival in January 2023. Currently she is a guest artist with the Lyric Opera, Hélène Simoneau Danse, and PARA.MAR Dance Theatre. Amanda received an MSAB Creative Individuals grant in July 2024.

Juan Duarte (they/them) is a Brazilian Contemporary Ballet dancer based in Vancouver, Canada. After graduating from Bolshoi Ballet School and moving to Vancouver, they/he have trained with Lamondance Company and Arts Umbrella Dance Company, leading into working at Ballet BC, under the direction of Emily Molnar.

Since 2021 Juan started their journey as a freelancer where they/he have had the opportunity to work with Move The Company, Traverse City Dance Project, Corporeal Imago, Dance//Novella, Belle Spirale Dance Projects, Hélène Simoneau Danse and Aeriosa.

Juan continues to share their/his beauty and artistry with the world, and has been a powerful member of the queer scene in Vancouver. As an ambitious and dedicated performer Juan is looking forward to what the future has to offer, and is very excited to continue to explore the meaning of diversity in the dance industry.

Photo Credit: Rebecca Benoit

Melanie George (she/her) is an educator, choreographer, scholar, and certified movement analyst. As a curator and dramaturg specializing in rooted jazz dance and adjacent dance forms, and contemporary dance-theatre, she has worked on projects for Urban Bush Women, Raja Feather Kelly, Hélène Simoneau, Dormeshia, Susan Marshall, Alice Sheppard, Kimberly Bartosik, and SW!NG OUT, among others. She is the Associate Curator and Scholar in Residence at Jacob’s Pillow, Assistant Professor in dance at Rutgers University, and has guest lectured at Harvard University, Yale School of Drama, and The Juilliard School. Named one of Dance Magazine’s 30 over 30, she is the recipient of the Outstanding Leadership Award from the National Dance Education Organization. Melanie is currently touring as emcee/dramaturg/movement explorer with the Bessie-Award winning LaTasha Barnes Presents The Jazz Continuum.

Joe (he/him) was raised in upstate New York, receiving his training under the direction of Jamey Leverett. He obtained his BFA from The Juilliard School with scholarships from The NYCDA Foundation and Cornell University. From 2016-2022 he joined BODYTRAFFIC, where he travelled to Algeria, Jakarta, and Hong Kong as a cultural ambassador. He has performed works by Jiř í Kyliá n, Crystal Pite, Nacho Duato, Micaela Taylor, Kyle Abraham, Hofesh Shechter, Alejandro Cerudo, Barak Marshall, Camille A. Brown, Twyla Tharp, amongst others. In 2019 he co-founded HD Theatre with Haley Heckethorn, which has been presented at LA Dance Festival, Palm Springs Choreography Festival, Laguna Dance Festival, Carmel Dance Festival, and has been in residency at Korzo Theatre (Netherlands), Windward School (Los Angeles) and DPAC (San Diego). As an educator, he has taught classes at Steps on Broadway, Loyola Marymount University, University of Arizona, Chapman University, Santa Monica College, UCLA and New York City Dance Alliance. He is currently on faculty at CalArts, and is a registered Dance Church® teacher, an all-inclusive and community driven outlet to dancing. Joe aims to create safe spaces for people of all identities and backgrounds through open dialogue, playful research and cacophonous laughter.

Paige Amicon (she/her) is a Los Angeles based dance artist and teacher. Her performance experience includes works by Ate9 Dance Company/Danielle Agami, Santa Barbara Dance Theater/Brandon Whited, Hélène Simoneau, Yuval Sharon/Cleveland Orchestra, Long Beach Opera, Mallory Fabian and the Merce Cunningham Trust. She graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts under Susan Jaffe with a BFA in Contemporary Dance.

Multi-instrumentalist, composer, sound designer, music director, and educator Darren Young is an exciting artist with a diverse palette. He has been a featured performer with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, New Music Edmonton, New Works Calgary, Kensington Sinfonia, Instrumental Society of Calgary, and Theatre Calgary. Darren is a core member of the experimental music collective Timepoint Ensemble and with them has given premieres of many new compositions. He also performs and records regularly as a member of the bands Diatessaron, Jung People, and Lucky Sonne. His compositions and sound designs have been heard in productions and installations in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and many places in between. Darren recently composed music for the dance film “Odeon”, choreographed by Meghann Michalsky, which played at the 2024 Calgary International Film Festival. He is the President of the Classical Guitar Society of Calgary and has been on faculty at the MRU Conservatory since 2019.

From Southern California, Liane (she/her) is a freelance artist residing in the NYC/NJ region. She has had the pleasure to collaborate, create and travel on tour with Flockworks Dance, Yin Yue Dance Company (YYDC), Alejandro Cerrudo, Seattle Dance Collective (SDC), Schoen Movement Company, Erica Essner Performance Co-Op, KT Neihoff, Entity Contemporary Dance Company, PARA.MAR Dance Theatre, Bryan Arias, NVA & Guests and Helene Simoneau Danse (HSD).

Before her freelancing career, Liane spent six seasons in Seattle, WA with Whim W’Him Contemporary Dance Company under the direction of Olivier Wevers. With Whim, Liane had the opportunity to perform and collaborate in original creations with Joseph Hernandez, Ihsan Rustem, Maurya Kerr, Yin Yue, Flockworks Dance, Miceala Taylor, Ethan Colangelo, Mark Caserta, Penny Saunders, Banning Bouldin, Annabelle Lopez-Ochoa, Danielle Agami, Larry Kegwin, Brendan Duggan, Zoe Scofield and Sidra Bell amongst others.

Liane received her education in Dance at the University of California, Irvine where she graduated with a Bachelors in Fine Arts Degree in Dance Performance and a Minor in Digital Arts. At UCI, she worked alongside the late Donald McKayle in his Etude Ensemble performing his legendary works. Liane has also participated in The San Francisco Conservatory Intensive and the Alvin Ailey Intensive to continue growth in her training. After UCI, Liane was honored to jump into her dance career with Backhausdance in Southern California where she spent five seasons with Backhausdance. There Liane performed original works & repertoire under the direction of Jenny Backhaus. 

Will Howie is an award-winning Music Producer, Sound Engineer, Educator, and Researcher based in Vancouver, Canada. His professional audio production experience covers myriad genres, including classical (large and small ensemble), jazz, fusion, acoustic, new music/avant-guard, rock and funk, as well as many live and in-studio broadcasts for CBC/Radio-Canada. An innovator in 3D audio research and production techniques, he has recorded and mixed content in the studio and live for many immersive music formats, including 22.2 Multichannel Sound, Dolby Atmos, Auro 3D, octophonic surround sound, and various binaural mediums. Will holds a PhD in Sound Recording from McGill University, and was a postdoctoral research fellow at Tokyo University of the Arts, teaching courses in music and audio production at both these institutions. He has had the pleasure to have worked with such artists as Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, James Ehnes, Steven Page, Toshiyuki Honda, Tafelmusik, Angela Hewitt, Chucho Valdés, Measha Brueggergosman, Angélique Kidjo, Tanya Tagaq, and Jane Coop. Will is currently sessional faculty within the University of British Columbia’s School of Music, and an active producer-engineer. 

Richard King is an Educator, Researcher, and a Grammy Award winning recording engineer. Richard has garnered Grammy Awards in many fields, including Best Engineered Album in both the Classical and Non-Classical categories. Richard is a Professor at McGill University in Montréal, Canada. A long-standing member and Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society, Richard is a regular convention presenter. His research interests include small environment acoustics, the process of music mixing, and immersive audio recording and reproduction. His book Recording Orchestra is part of the “AES presents” series, and the Second Edition was released in August of 2024.