Je Suis Gremlin
President Street between 3rd ave and 4th ave
May 22 + 23 at 5pm
Presented by:
ChristinaNoel & The Creature
welcome
Letter from the Artistic Director:
We did it! Here we are.
AND WE LOVE YOU.
Thank you for being a part of our community and journeying with us. We kept it all going, found joy during dark times, expressed ourselves and healed through our art, and managed to pull off a show despite incredible odds. Heck yeah and high fives!
Love,
Christina, Phoebe, the Creatures, and Ephyras
About the Creature and Ephyras:
We are the pairing of choreographer ChristinaNoel Reaves and a team of highly invested, skilled collaborators (The Creature). Together, we venture into realms of dance and sound, exploring emotional and physical extremes in an effort to illuminate that gray area of human idiosyncrasy in the middle. With this hybrid performance medium, thick with visual and aural textures, we offer a unique mode of expression and a rich experience for our audience members.
The Creature's children's company, The Ephyras, features dancers ranging in age from 3 to 14. The Ephyras train in the ways of The Creature: they learn precise technique, including physical and technical modern dance moves, and apply those lessons in dances of their own composition. The Ephyras’ training also emphasizes music, vocalization, and harmony, integrating these aspects into their work in a style akin to The Creature. They are partners and collaborators, working together to expand their ideas of what dance and theatre are and can be. The Ephyras' different backgrounds and previous training combine to build a company that reflects their individuality and collective energy. The Ephyras are an integral part of The Creature and we are so proud of them!
program
Je Suis Gremlin
For their eighth full-length performance, ChristinaNoel & The Creature presents Je Suis Gremlin. This dance theatre piece by ChristinaNoel Reaves and the Creature cast is a remarkable product of the time we are living in: created with many stops and starts, new normals, and rehearsals taking place over Zoom, on rooftops, in parks, and in tumultuous weather. The result is The Creature’s latest blend of dance and voice performance that straddles dance theatre and dance opera, sewn together by our new perspectives on space, boundaries, and the resilience of community.
Each performance will open with The Ephyras, followed by The Creature’s Je Suis Gremlin.
This city block performance is made possible by the Open Culture permit program, a program available through the Mayor’s Street Activity Permit Office allowing for ticketed socially distanced performances on city blocks.
Choreography: ChristinaNoel Reaves in collaboration with the performers
Performers: Julia Antinozzi, Dot Armstrong, Alexandra Doyle, Therese Ronco, Lea Torelli
Musicians: Cameron Mizell and Andreas Brade
Costume Designer: Natalie Deryn Johnson
The Ephyras
Adrienne Kay
Adeline Barrett
Alice Arkin-Gallagher
Amara Turgel-Levy
Anavi Srinivasan
Anita Hessam
Carolina Powers
Cassian Knutharth
Charlie Van Heuvelen
Clara DiLeo
Cora Maeve Levitin
Dahlia Asad
Ella Harrison
Ella Zurim
Eloise DiLeo
Emeliana "Eme" Cecutti
Georgia Klonari
Hart Duerson
Hanna Joulaee
Isla Miksis
Janani Linsenman
Jane Lawton
Josephine Clay
Kavin Linsenman
Léa Roumain Portelette
Lettie Galea
Lola Schiffer-Kehou
Luli Marino
Lulu Galea
Maggie Stekson
Mika Zurim
Nisha Fagin
Olive Gemignani
Penny Paryzer
Ruby Lade
Ruby Kolundzija
Sabine Pasnik McClure
Steve Trivedi
Theo Turgel-Levy
Thea Farr
Yalei Ravin
Yana Bartenschlager
The Creature
ChristinaNoel Reaves (Artistic Director): ChristinaNoel Reaves is a multidisciplinary performing artist, choreographer, and educator. She has received a BA in Music: Voice Performance from Georgia State University and an MFA in Dance at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. While at NYU Reaves began developing a unique blend of dance and voice performance, combining her technical proficiencies with creative and organic improvisations reflecting the world around her.
Reaves has presented original work at the Flamboyán Theater at The Clemente, Peridance Capezio Center, The Irondale Center, Judson Memorial Church, Teatro LaTEA, Gowanus Loft, Triskelion Arts, The Mark O’Donnell Theater at the Actors Fund Arts Center, Dance Theatre of Ireland, Shawbrook School Ireland, the Bessie Workshop, the DanceNOW Dancemopolitan Festival Joe’s PUB, LaMama, The Tank, Legros Women in Dance Studio Series, Fete de L’Hurricaine Festival, DanceNOW Raw Festival, Dixon Placeʼs Crossing Boundaries Festivals, and The Hoover Dam Collective Performances. She originated “Rapture Of The Heroine (guurrrl)” on Zoetic Dance Ensemble of Atlanta in 2012 & 2013.
As a performer Reaves has worked with Danielle Russo Dance Co, Patricia Noworol Dance, Collectivodoszeta, Jody Oberfelder Dance Projects, Doug Elkins, Ellis Wood, David Dorfman, Ivy Baldwin, Nathan Trice/Rituals, Monstah Black, Zoetic Dance Ensemble, expanDANCE, and the Collective Opera Co.
Reaves has been a teacher and choreographer for Dancewave of Brooklyn, MUSE Academy, Open House Nursery, and The Dalton School. She has led master classes and workshops for Irelandʼs Shawbrook School, Scotlandʼs Aberdeen International Youth Festival and Zoetic Dance Ensemble of Atlanta. Reaves is the Resident Movement Instructor for The Harrower Professional Opera Workshop held annually in Atlanta.
While describing her motivations, the essence of her work is summed up with a simple desire: "I want to help make people feel."
Phoebe Rose Sandford (Company Manager/Producer): Phoebe Rose Sandford is a modern dancer, choreographer, singer, arts administrator, and teaching artist, and she has a BFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Phoebe was a founding member of RedCurrant Collective, and in addition to co-managing, dancing, and choreographing for the collective, she has performed with Anne Zuerner, mishiDance, Sarah Foster/MoveWorks, Alice Gosti, Jonathan Matthews, The Charles Weidman Foundation, and AMS Project. Phoebe has presented her own work at La MaMa, Dixon Place, Westbeth, Triskelion Arts, Green Space, Gibney Dance Center, and Cameo Gallery. She was the choreographer of Rebel Playhouse’s Loudmouth at The Tank, choreographer for Extinction Rebellion’s Jurassic Farce, and was the choreographer and co-director of A Presentation by the People of Lake Victory for Our Leader at The Gym at Judson. She is the director of dance theatre company Copy That Dance, and she is also a certified yoga teacher, dance teacher, guest performer with singing group Avon Faire, amateur bread maker, and fantasy/sci-fi reader. www.copythatdance.com
Julia Antinozzi (Performer) is a dance artist, Gemini, and optimist. She choreographs multidimensional projects for stage and film, working through dance to manifest ideas. Her work has been presented at the Jack Crystal Theater, Triskelion Arts, Spoke the Hub (Director’s Choice), New Dance Alliance (Performance Mix 34), nationally at CHOP SHOP: Bodies of Work in Seattle and Queer Spectra Arts in Salt Lake City, and internationally at GAME Streetmekka in Copenhagen DK. Her work was featured in online publications Apricity Press and Synkroniciti Magazine. Julia is a 2021 Artist in Residence at the Floor on Atlantic. In addition to working with ChristinaNoel & The Creature, Julia has recently performed with Phoebe Berglund Dance Troupe on the beach. Julia earned her BA in Dance and Astronomy from Smith College. @juliadance__
Dot Armstrong (Performer) is a Minnesota-born mover/writer/researcher/creature. They are a founding member of Futile Gestures, a performance collective/nonsense repository. Dot’s choreographic work has appeared at SMUSH Gallery, The Dance Collective, Artefix NYC, Green Space, and HATCH Performance Series. They have danced with/for the Environmental Performance Agency, Marlaina Garcia Riegelsberger, Thea Little, Spacejunk Dance, Bryce Dance, Alice Liddell and Dancers, and Allison Cook Beatty. During the pandemic, Dot developed material for the Environmental Performance Agency’s “Summer Moss Camp,” a set of scores for interactions with urban mosses. Dot is currently in the international research cohort for BodyCartography Project's upcoming multimedia installation, “Fluid Spaces.” Dot’s writing has appeared in Culturebot, Tiny Seed, Isele Magazine, The Dance Enthusiast, and The Daily Iowan. They received a BFA in Dance Performance and a BA in English from the University of Iowa.
Andreas Brade (Musician) from Stuttgart, Germany, moved to the US to attend Berklee College of Music, earning a degree in jazz performance. After graduating with a masters in Modern American Music from Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Andreas moved to Brooklyn. Andreas has performed at festivals and venues such as the Montreal Jazz Fest, The Kennedy Center, Boston Symphony Hall, The Blue Note, and NJPAC. Andreas has composed music for Cornfield Dance for over ten years and worked as accompanist for Martha Graham, Mark Morris, Paul Taylor, Alvin Ailey, and Joffery Ballet. He is on faculty at the Brooklyn Music School and runs his own teaching studio in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
Alexandra Doyle (Performer) is a mover, creator, and shaker originally from deep in the boot of Louisiana. She has appeared in work dancing with/for Emily Schoen, Doug Gillespie, B.S. Movement, Clare Cook of Basin Arts, and Schoen Movement Company. Her choreography has been presented through the Louisiana Arts Council in their annual Summer Arts Summit, and her most recent project, “I found somewhere safe, I think,” premiered in the Oregon Fringe Festival this year. Alexandra has trained around the globe at institutions such as The San Francisco Conservatory, Bates Dance Festival, Movement Research, amongst other schools with a diverse array of teachers including Debbie Allen, Doug Nielsen, Alex Ketley, Larry Kiegwin, and Victor Quijada. She holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Arizona where she was awarded the Gertrude Shurr award for excellence in modern dance performance. It is Alexandra’s first season with ChristinaNoel & the Creature.
Cameron Mizell (Musical Director/Graphic Designer): Cameron Mizell, Brooklyn-based guitarist and composer, has been part of the diverse New York City music scene for the past decade-plus, performing in a wide variety of genres from experimental improvisation to bluegrass musicals. He also works on the industry side, currently managing operations for Destiny Records. As an artist, Mizell has released eight albums ranging from jazz-funk to Americana to avant-garde experimentalism. His latest, a meditative album titled The Order of Things, is a cinematic trip through ambient and post-rock textures, melodies, and improvisations. “Quietly and efficiently, Mizell has put together a remarkably tuneful, eclectic, understatedly cinematic body of work. In a world overpopulated by guys who play a million notes where one would do, Mizell’s economical, purposeful style stands out even more.” (No Depression). To hear his music and learn more, visit http://cameronmizell.com.
Therese Ronco (Performer/Rehearsal Director) is a Brooklyn-based dance artist. She is very excited to be working with ChristinaNoel & The Creature. Therese dances with Kinesis Project dance theater, Kristi Cole & Guests, freelance projects, and her own work. She performs with MICCA, Jeff Shortt, and Effy Grey. Therese graduated with a BA in dance from Goucher College where she had the joy of performing works choreographed by renowned artists such as Andrea Miller, Doug Elkins, Pascal Rioult, Doris Humphrey, Jon Lehrer, and Gwen Welliver. She is originally from Massachusetts where she found her passion for the art form learning from Frances Kotelly and Richard Colton.
Lea Torelli is a New York–based dance artist, choreographer, and administrator. A graduate of Muhlenberg College, she has trained at the American Dance Festival, Accademia Dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy, and b12 in Berlin, Germany. Lea has performed with Shapiro & Smith Dance, Marianela Boan, Svea Schneider, Josh Pacheco Dance Theatre, Deirdre Towers, Beth Soll & Company, and Spaces of Fontana. She is currently collaborating with Kristi Cole & Guests and Thea Little. She is a co-founder of Futile Gestures and collaborates with them when not making solo work. When she is not dancing, Lea is an in-home Pilates instructor and freelance grant writer.
Behind the Scenes Creatures
Artistic Director: ChristinaNoel Reaves
Company Manager/Producer: Phoebe Rose Sandford
Visual Director (Film/Photo) and Composer: Aeric Meredith-Goujon
Administrative Consultant: Cameron Mizell
Rehearsal Director: Therese Ronco
Performance Photographer: Michelle Zassenhaus
Thank you:
Gus Solomons, Jr
Betsy Burmeister & Rich Reaves
Open House Nursery School
Michelle Zassenhaus
Emily Schiffer
Niko Krommydas and Finback Brewery
Natalie Deryn Johnson
Gotham Sound
Cameron Mizell
Yohannah Burmeister
Parents of the Ephyras
Past and present Creatures!
Past and present Ephyras!
ChristinaNoel & The Creature is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization. Contributions for the charitable purposes of ChristinaNoel & The Creature must be made payable to Fractured Atlas only and are tax-deductible the extent permitted by law.