KYLE ABRAHAM

Kyle Abraham is a 2013 MacArthur Fellow who began his dance training at the Civic Light Opera Academy and the Creative and Performing Arts High School in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He continued his dance studies in New York, receiving a BFA from SUNY Purchase and an MFA from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, an honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts from Washington Jefferson College, and is currently serving as a visiting professor in residence at UCLA. In November 2012, Abraham was named the newly appointed New York Live Arts Resident Commissioned Artist for 2012–2014. Just one month later, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater premiered Abraham’s newest work, Another Night, at New York’s City Center to rave reviews. That same year, Abraham was named the 2012 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award recipient and 2012 USA Ford Fellow, before serving as a choreographic contributor for Beyoncé’s 2013 British Vogue cover shoot. Abraham received a prestigious Bessie Award for Outstanding Performance in Dance for his work in The Radio Show, and a Princess Grace Award for Choreography in 2010. The previous year, he was selected as one of Dance Magazine’s 25 To Watch for 2009, and received a Jerome Travel and Study Grant in 2008. His choreography has been presented throughout the United States and abroad, most recently at Fall for Dance Festival at New York’s City Center, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Joyce Theater, The Los Angeles Music Center, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Théâtre de la Ville, Maison de la Danse, Tanz Im August, On The Boards, Danspace Project, Dance Theater Workshop, Bates Dance Festival, Harlem Stage, Montreal, Italy, Germany, Sweden, France, Jordan, Ecuador, Dublin’s Project Arts Center, The Okinawa Prefectural Museum & Art Museum located in Okinawa Japan, The Andy Warhol Museum, The Byham and The Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in his hometown of Pittsburgh, PA. In addition to performing and developing new works for his company, A.I.M, Abraham recently premiered Untitled America, a 3-part commissioned work for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and finished touring The Serpent and The Smoke, a new pas de deux for himself and acclaimed Bessie Award-winning and former New York City Ballet Principal Dancer Wendy Whelan as part of Restless Creature and choreographed for the feature-length film, The Book of Henry with acclaimed director, Colin Trevorrow. Abraham recently premiered a solo work for American Ballet Theater principle, Misty Copeland in October 2019.

ASZURE BARTON

Canadian-American Aszure Barton is a choreographer, director, and innovator who has been creating dances since her days as a student at Canada’s National Ballet School. Since then, her works have been performed on countless stages throughout the world, including the Palais Garnier, Mariinsky Theater, The Kennedy Center, The Alicia Alonso Grand Theater, Studio 54, Lincoln Center, and Sadler’s Wells, as well as in museums and exhibits. She has choreographed for theater, film, and opera, including Broadway.

In the early 2000s, she founded Aszure Barton & Artists in order to create an autonomous, interdisciplinary, and collaborative platform for process-centered creation, resulting in choreography that the US National Endowment for the Arts has equated to “watching the physical unfurling of the human psyche." Last summer, this vision was elevated when she made her latest work for the company, this time in collaboration with her new creative partner, acclaimed composer and trumpeter Ambrose Akinmusire. The two premiered their first new work titled A a | a B : B E N D at Kampnagel’s International Summer Festival in 2023.

Over 30+ years of making dances, Aszure Barton has worked with celebrated dance artists and companies including Mikhail Baryshnikov, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Bayerisches Staatsballett, English National Ballet, Teatro alla Scala, Nederlands Dans Theater, Sydney Dance Company, National Ballet of Canada, Martha Graham Dance Company, Ballett am Rhein, Staatstheater Hannover, Limon Dance Company, among many others. In January 2024, she premiered a new work (Mere Mortals) at San Francisco Ballet in collaboration with British electronic music producer/DJ Floating Points and mixed media artists Hamill Industries — the first evening-length work created by a female choreographer in SFB’s history, curated by Artistic Director Tamara Rojo. About to complete her first of three years, she is delighted to be the current Resident Artist at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago.

Over the years, Aszure Barton has received accolades and honors, including a Bessie Award for her work BUSK. She was the first Martha Duffy Resident Artist at the Baryshnikov Arts Center in NYC and is a grateful recipient of the prestigious Canadian Arts & Letters Award, joining the ranks of Oscar Peterson, Karen Kain, and Margaret Atwood. She is also an official ambassador of contemporary dance in Canada. 

JOHAN INGER

The Swede Johan Inger (Stockholm, 1967) joined Nederlands Dans Theater 1 in 1990 and was a high-profile dancer of the company until 2002. His debut as choreographer (1995), also for Nederlands Dans Theater, quickly became promising with immediate recognition for his ballets Dream Play and Walking Mad. He received the Lucas Hoving Production Award in October 2001. Walking Mad was later also awarded the Danza & Danza Award 2005. Johan left Nederlands Dans Theater to take on the artistic leadership of Cullberg Ballet in Stockholm in 2003 where he created numerous works. Since 2008, Johan has worked as a freelance choreographer and creates for many companies around the globe such as Goteborgs Operan, Ballet Basel, Swedish National Ballet, Compania Nacional de Danza, Aterballetto, Lyon Opera Ballet, Les Ballets de Monte Carlo and of course Nederlands Dans Theater, holding the position as Associate Choreographer from 2009 to 2016. Between 2016 and 2022, Johan choreographed (i.a.) his own versions of the narrative pieces Petrushka and Sleeping Beauty (Aurora’s Nap), and full evenings such as Carmen, Peer Gynt and Don Juan. He was honoured in 2016 with the Benois de la Danse Prize for his Carmen (CNDMadrid), the piece One on One (NDT2), and with the Danza & Danza award for his piece Bliss, as well in 2020 for his Don Juan as best Italian production (Aterballetto). In 2022, Johan Inger also became artistic director of Take Off Dance, a training program for pre-professional dancers between the ages of 18 and 24 based in Sevilla.

MARIA TORRES

Maria Torres is a world-renowned Choreographer, Director, Producer, and Performer whose contributions have led Latinos in the arts. Credits include Bway & National Tour of Swing! (Tony/Drama Desk/Lucille Lortel/Theater World nominations); Seagrams DJ Live Show (Clio Award); Latin Billboard Awards (Telemundo). Off-Bway: Latin Heat, Four Guys Named Jose (Carbonelle nom), The Donkey Show Off B’way (A.R.T.), Mambo Kings, Celia: The Life & Times of Celia Cruz; Don Omar “King of Kings” (US Tour), Disney’s Golden Mickeys (International Tour). Regional: Man of La Mancha (5th Avenue Theater), Zoot Suit (Mark Taper Theatre). Film: Dance With Me (Alma nom), Disney’s Enchanted (Critics Choice), El Cantante (Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony), Fugly (John Leguizamo), Physical Attraction (Dir. Guy Guido). She is an active member of SDC and the League of Professional Theater Women. Current projects include Lovin’ Brooklyn (film), Pasion (theatre), and Havana Music Hall (development). She is also a philanthropist with a strong desire to encourage aspiring artists and create connections between supporting organizations that will essentially give back to youth and her own Latina roots. In establishing the Maria Torres Emerging Artists Foundation (MTEAF), she has created unique opportunities for both students in underprivileged communities and determined professional youth to experience the performing arts at the highest of levels. Many of her latest projects, including the dynamic new podcast “Hourglass: Time To Talk,” offer insight into the professional performing arts industry while focusing on personal connections to humanity and life. Torres is actively engaged in the community, focusing on building a reliable network that will uplift, inspire and “pay it forward.” After years of teaching, mentoring, and advocating, she founded the Maria Torres Emerging Artists Foundation (MTEAF), which also stands for Motivation, Teaching, Education, Action, and Fellowship. MTEAF is a rigorous, interdisciplinary educational and mentorship program in the performing arts empowering pre-teens and young adults from multiethnic and underserved communities to achieve their goals as professionals in the entertainment industry.