Featured Choreographers 

Madelyn Caviness 

Madelyn Caviness’ work explores the process of finding an internal safe place for processing, rejuvenation, and self-discovery. It highlights the chaos of life, and the contrasting experience of finding moments of peace among uncertainty. 

Grace Cooper  

Taking excerpts from Sophie Treadwell’s 1928 play Machinal, Grace Cooper’s choreography draws this historical play and its themes into the present, ultimately asking: what does it mean to be a woman in a mechanized world? Probing questions about autonomy, identity, and legacy resound in her work depicting a distorted and dystopian world that we recognize as our own.  

Kailee Davis 

Kailee Davis’ piece explores the concept of Othering. It dives into existential questions often asked: Who Others? How does it feel to be Othered – to be seen as different in a fundamental or meaningless way? What happens when we Other ourselves? Davis, in collaboration with the dancers, explores this concept through highly athletic movement with the goal of leaving the audience questioning. 

Thomas Grassia 

Thomas Grassia’s piece explores how we chase our dreams. How do we comfort ourselves and stay motivated? What holds us back? His solo contemplates how dance can be distilled to present partial views of choreography through silhouettes and shapes, as we present a partial image of ourselves to those around us. 

Sierra La Rue 

This work represents the dreams and challenges of pursuing a career in the entertainment industry. Sierra La Rue’s piece, in four sections, encapsulates her current experiences, as well as the life she aspires to achieve. Her choreography reveals the vulnerability and tenacity of performing artists.