Choreographer–Director

Silvana Cardell is an award-winning choreographer living and working in Philadelphia, since 2002, after leaving Argentina, her home country.  She directs both Cardell Dance Theater and is the director of the dance program at Georgian Court University. Prior to joining GCU, she served on the faculty at the School of Dance at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

She began her career as a dancer with the Adriana Coll Dance Company (1983–1986) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Cardell served as the director of Armar Danza Teatro (1992–1996) in Buenos Aires. For the next several years she directed her own dance company S. Cardell Danza and EDA Escuela de Danza del Abasto, sponsored by Secretaria de Cultura de la Nacion . Cardell received the most prestigious choreography award in Latin America from Fundacion Antorchas. She was a founding member of CoCoA-Datei, a nonprofit organization devoted to developing dance in Argentina, while she also directed her own dance company and dance school. She and her husband, architect Pablo Meninato, created the Sala Ana Itelman, a performance space that showcased mainstream and avant-grade national and international artists, sponsored by Instituto Nacional del Teatro and Secretaria de Cultura de la Nacion.

She began Cardell Dance Theater in 2002 in Philadelphia. She later became a dancer, choreographer, and artistic co-director at Group Motion Dance Company (2005–2007) in Philadelphia. Ms. Cardell has been invited to teach at major dance and theater festivals throughout Latin America, and her choreography has been awarded, sponsored, and commissioned internationally by several organizations, including: Antorchas Foundation, Instituto Nacional de Teatro, Secretaria de Cultura de la Ciudad, Red Latinoamericana de Productores de Danza y Teatro, Teatro Gral San Martin, Presidente Alvear, and Teatro de las Provincias. In the United States, her work has been presented by Group Motion, the American Dance College Festival, University of the Arts, Swarthmore College, Harold Prince Theater at the Annenberg Center of the Performing Arts, Georgian Court University, Mt Vernon Dance Space, Falls Bridge, New Festival’s Dance House, New Festival, and Christ Church Neighborhood House. Ms. Cardell holds a B.F.A. in Dance from University of the Arts and an M.F.A. in Choreography from Temple University, both in Philadelphia.

Dancers

Bethany Formica graduated with a BFA from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in 1994. Currently she is a master lecturer at The University of the Arts and performer with Cardell Dance Theater and Curt Haworth; Bethany has worked with The Kevin Wynn Collection, Sean Curran, Pearson/Widrig DanceTheatre, Martha Bowers, Michael Foley, the Sanza Nemo Collective,  JoAnna Mendl Shaw, BoanDanz Action, Nichole Canuso, Megan Mazarick, Melanie Stewart Dance Theater, Myra Bazell, Lee Etzold, Kate Watson-Wallace, White Box Theatre, Group Motion, and Merge Dance, Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre (Poland), Melina Martin (Argentina), among others. She received an Independence Foundation Fellowship in the Arts (2012), Dances in Public Spaces Grant/Stipend (2011), Rocky Award (2009), Fellowship for Choreography from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (2008), and several Professional Development Awards supported by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage through Dance Advance. Her work has been presented in New York City, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Bulgaria, Poland, England, and Italy. She was the co-director of REACTIONARIES from 2005 to 2006. Photo: Jennifer Baker.

Leanne Grieger, originally from Long Island, New York, she trained at the Ailey School and at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance until her move to Philadelphia in 2006. She attended The University of the Arts, where she graduated with a BFA in Modern Dance Performance, and was awarded 2010 Outstanding Overall Performance in Modern Dance. She has worked with IdiosynCrazy productions, The Naked Stark, Group Motion, Brian Sanders’ Junk, Melina Martin (Argentina), Wally Cardona (New York), Raphael Xavier, John Luna, Vince Johnson, Gabrielle Revlock, and Nicole Bindler. Her choreography has been shown at Philly PARD’s Mixed Grille, Hybridge Arts Collective Last Mondays, Group Motion’s Spiel Uhr, the Bookspace, and Round Table Theater Company’s 24Hours: A Festival of New Work. She is currently a performer with Curt Haworth Movement and Performance and Choreosplat Dance Works, and is currently the managing director of Philly PARD. Photo: Jennifer Baker.

William Robinson holds a B.F.A. in Modern Dance Performance from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and was awarded the school’s prestigious President’s Award, along with the 2008 Outstanding Achievement in Modern Dance award. Mr. Robinson has also taught modern dance technique based on the work of Doris Humphrey at Temple University in Philadelphia, and is currently a member of Cardell Dance Theatre and Brian Sanders’ JUNK, both based in Philadelphia. He has also worked with the Martha Graham Dance Company, Momix, Group Motion, Curt Haworth, Wally Cardona, Rennie Harris, David Crosby, and Raven Symone, the Local Dance History Project as part of the Philadelphia Dance Projects.

Adrian Plascencia is a native of California’s Bay Area. Adrian made the move to the east coast to pursue an education in dance. He attended The University of the Arts and received a degree in Modern Dance Performance. While in school, Adrian received stellar training from his faculty and was awarded a scholarship to attend the Martha Graham School for Contemporary Dance. Adrian has had the opportunity to perform Philadelphia talent Brian Sanders, Curt Haworth, Zane Booker, Anna Rubio, Vince Johnson, Jaamil Kosoko, and Manfred Fischbeck, among others. He is currently a member of Choreosplat Dance Works and Band of Artists. Photo: Jennifer Baker.

Maria Urrutia. Cuban Born, Maria Urrutia is currently an assistant professor at West Chester University in the Theater and Dance Department. Her creative practice work expands into various disciplines including architecture, poetry, dance (including Cuban rumba and America contemporary dance forms), and food making as an art practice.  She also holds a M.F.A. Interdisciplinary Arts, Goddard College, an EdM, Dance Education Masters, from Temple University and a BFA in Modern Dance from The University of the Arts.  Her scholarly work, which focuses on Cuban rumba, has been presented in London, Toronto, Montreal, and Edinburgh. Additionally her teaching of Cuban rumba in Diaspora took her to Tokyo, Japan, and Santiago, Chile. As an artist she has worked with Cardell Dance Theater, SCRAP, and Myriam Herve-gil. Her recent work In Absence has been presented at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, a curated show Indiscipline in Vermont, and Trondheim, Norway. Photo: Jennifer Baker.

 

Mackenzie Morris recently graduated summa cum laude from Georgian Court University with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and honors in dance and choreography. While attending the University, she studied under the direction of Silvana Cardell and received a scholarship to study abroad for a short period in Argentina. Recently, she has performed in Philad
elphia showcases as part of local company, Open Category Dance Company, directed by former Parson’s dancer, Steve Vaughn.

 

 

Zachary Svoboda, a native of Kansas City, earned his BFA in Modern Dance Performance from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. Zachary has performed in Group Motion dance Company and in many venues, from Philadelphia’s City Hall to house parties, as well as internationally in Paris, France, Guatemala City, Guatemala, and Tokyo, Japan. During the month of August ’11, Zachary spent his time in the woods of Martha’s Vineyard dancing at The Yard. Zachary has danced with such artists as Oscar Araiz, Wally Cardona, Jaamil Kosoko, Myra Bazell, Megan Bridge, Silvana Cardell, Akiko Kitamura, Lisa Kraus, Kenshi Nomi, and Kate Watson-Wallace/Anonymous Bodies. At Georgian Court University he serves as the Technical Director/Production Manager to the dance department, he was the Production Manager for Anonymous Bodies creation, Mash Up Body, which premiered April 2013, and has done tech work for the LiveArts Festival, Annenberg Center for th Arts, and many other local performing artists.                                    

 

Guest Performance by Merián Soto,  choreographer and performance artist. Soto is best
known for her interdisciplinary solo, group and collaborative works that explore and reflect upon the legacy of colonialism and Latino heritage, history and culture. Soto earned a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from The Gallatin School Of Individualized Study at New York University and she received a Masters of Arts in Dance Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. Soto is the recipient of numerous fellowships and awards. In 2015 she received a fellowship from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage recognizing her 40-year career in dance performance, focusing on the body’s relationship to consciousness and creating “a dance of the future, a dance of healing, transformation, and transcendence.”

Hayley Stricker studied Dance at the University of the Arts where she was an Honors Scholar. During her college career she had the pleasure of performing choreography by Katie S
words-Thurman, Jesse Zaritt and Sidra Bell. She worked as an intern with Cardell Dance Theater through the University of the Arts’ Summer Fellowship program. She was also a stage manager for the Dance Apocalypse with Nicole Bindler and Gabrielle Revlock. In July of 2015 she received her 200 hour Vinyasa Yoga Certification from Dhyana Yoga. Hayley also works as an Artist on Call for BuildaBridge International.

 

 

Music

Nick Zammuto has produced music and videos for many projects and collaborations over the last 12 years, most notably for his sound collage project ‘The Books’ and more recently his four-piece band ‘Zammuto’. He has toured extensively worldwide, with a show combining live performance with tightly synched video projections consisting mostly of found footage from VHS tapes and photo collections. He has also been working on a series of interactive sound sculptures and visually oriented musical instruments. He built his studio from a ramshackle tractor garage on his family plot high in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Over the years he’s gathered a strange assortment of acoustic and electric instruments, synthesizers, drums, and vintage production equipment. His sound sculptures are focused on making sonic concepts visual through a synesthetic approach. Sound vibrations are translated to visual motion by various means, such as speakers blowing puffs of air into kitchen spoons, or lasers reflecting off of vibrating auto-parts.

Curator of Portraits of People on the Move Exhibition, Set and Costume Design

Painter and sculptor Jennifer Baker has lived in Philadelphia since 1978. She attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and Philadelphia College of Art (now University of the Arts) and the Art Students League in New York. Baker’s most recent (2017) shows of her paintings and monotypes have been at Art 101 in Brooklyn, the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, and the Crane Arts Building in Philadelphia. She has also exhibited at Pleiades Gallery in New York, and Projects Gallery, Nexus Gallery, F.A.N. Gallery, and The Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia. She was selected for a Challenge Exhibit at Fleisher Art Memorial in 1997. In 2014, Baker curated an exhibition about the history of Northern Liberties for the Philadelphia History Museum. In 2017 “Portraits” was presented at the Wilma Theater in conjunction with the play “Adapt!” Baker received a Leeway Foundation Art and Change Grant in 2010, a Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship for Works on Paper in 1993, and was a finalist for a Pew Fellowship in the Arts in 1997.

Technical Director 

Conrad Bender is a production designer with twenty years experience in event and facility management, theatrical and corporate production, and lighting, sound, and video installations. He is currently the technical director of FringeArts and is a production designer at MC3. He began his career with a degree from Swarthmore College.