Dance department

  • GUEST ARTISTS

  • GUEST ARTIST


  • Monica Bill Barnes is a New York based choreographer and performer. She has created twelve evening-length dance works, numerous site-specific events and several cabaret numbers for her company, Monica Bill Barnes & Company. Since moving to New York from her native California in 1995, Barnes choreography has been produced in over twenty venues in New York City including Danspace Project, Symphony Space, Dance New Amsterdam, Dance Theater Workshop, Dixon Place, Dancenow/NYC/The Festival, Movement Research at the Judson Church and La Mama. Her work has been presented in 30 cities throughout the United States and abroad, including The International Fabbrica for Choreographers (Florence, Italy), The Fourth International Dance and Movement Festival on the Volga (Yaroslav, Russia), Tanz Festival (Karlsruhe, Germany), Sushi Performance and Visual Art (San Diego, CA), DancePlace (Washington, D.C.) and The Philadelphia Museum of Art. She has been the invited Guest Artist at the North Carolina School of The Arts, University of California at San Diego, Shenandoah University, University of California at Riverside, Vassar College, Virginia Commonwealth University, Florida State University, James Madison University, Steps on Broadway and Dance New Amsterdam's Modern Guest Artist Series (1999 to present). Barnes holds an MFA from New York University/Tisch School of the Arts and a BA in philosophy and theater from the University of California at San Diego.

  • Maria Bauman just finished her seventh season with acclaimed contemporary dance company Urban Bush Women. She has originated roles in "Walking with Pearl: Africa Diaries," "Walking with Pearl: Southern Diaries," and in guest choreographer Bridget Moore's "Sacred Vessel." Touring highlights include performances at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., the Joyce Theater in New York, Symphony Space in New York, and the Basel Arts Festival in Basel, Switzerland. Recently, Maria traveled to Senegal to participate in a collaboration between Urban Bush Women and contemporary African dance company, JANT-BI.
    She is also Urban Bush Women's Associate Artistic Director for Community Engagement, co-facilitating workshops on pairing arts and activism, organizing Community Engagement activities in various cities, and writing curriculum. Through UBW, Maria has taught dance as a catalyst towards positive self-imagery at the Brooklyn Children's Museum and at the Atlantic Terminal Housing Development in Brooklyn, as well as at various schools and community centers throughout the country. She continues her community engagement work outside of company life, with an active roster of freelance workshops and a summer program for young dancers, all listed on her website www.mbdance.org.
    In addition to her work with UBW, Maria travels throughout the United States as a freelance choreographer and teacher. She has created dances for Spelman College, Virginia Commonwealth University, Brooklyn Arts Exchange, and New Jersey Governor's School for the Arts, among others. In New York, her work has been showcased at the WOW Café Theater, New 42 nd Street Studios, BRICstudios and at the Kumble Theater. In 2007, she was a featured choreographer in the BAAD! ASS WOMEN FESTIVAL at the Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance. Maria is currently working on two duet projects—one with fellow UBW company member Samantha Speis, and another with Berkeley-based authentic movement artist Terre Parker.
    Maria has also danced with Adele Myers and Dancers, and apprenticed with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. Currently, she is working with Nia Love/Blacksmith's Daughter. She graduated cum laude with a B.F.A. in Dance and English from the Florida State University and is also trained in the art of capoeira, a Brazilian martial art which employs dance.

  • PAST ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE

    2008-09
    Alexandra Beller, Artistic Director Alexandra Beller /Dancers
    Rodger Belman, former member of Laura Dean Dancers & Musicians
    Adrian Clark, Dancer, Kate Weare Company
    Leslie Kraus, Dancer, Kate Weare Company
    Nathan Trice, Founder and Artistic Director, Nathan Trice/Rituals
    Kate Weare, Artistic Director, Kate Weare Company

  • 2007-08
    Camille A. Brown, Ronald K. Brown/Evidence
    Tina Fehlandt, Mark Morris Dance Group
    Keith Thompson, Artistic Director, danceTactics
    Kevin Wynn, Artistic Director, Kevin Wynn Collection

    2006-07
    Heidi Latsky, Founder and Artistic Director, Heidi Latsky Dance Co.; former member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
    Rosalynde LeBlanc, former member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company.
    Earl Mosley, Founder and Director of Diversity of Dance
    Colleen Thomas, Bill Young/Colleen Thomas & Dancers; Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company
    Astrid Von Ussar, Founder and Artistic Director, Von Ussar danceworks

    2005-06
    Andre Tyson, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
    Donna Uchizono, Founder and Artistic Director, Donna Uchizono Co.

    2004-05
    Clare Byrne, Clare Byrne Dance
    Nicholas Leichter, Artistic Director of Nicholas Leichter Dance Co.; former member of the Ralph Lemon Company.
    Nathan Trice, Founder and Artistic Director, Nathan Trice/Rituals

    2003-04
    Doug Elkins Dance Company
    Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Urban Bush Women
    Merle Holloman, Limon Institute
    Carlos Orta, Limon Institute
    Kwame Ross, Urban Bush Women

    2002-03
    Michael Thomas, Dayton Contemporary Dance Co., Jamison Project, Alvin Ailey
    Donna Uchizono, Donna Uchizono Company

    2001-02
    Michael Blake, Murray Louis, Jose Limon Dance Company, Donald Byrd the Group
    Andrea Del Conte, Danza Espana

    2000-01
    Sean Curran, Sean Curran Dance Company; Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company

    1999-2000
    Colin Connor, Connor Dance, Limon Dance Company