IX 305IIF25 \ MIA \ APRIL 4 - 5
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This class presents the participants with questions and inquiries about the practice of improvising. Starting with simple exercises, the class incorporates a variety of approaches to moving with awareness of our individual movement choices; of sensing and responding to our impulses and the space; and the efficiency in the use of energy when we move. These approaches will include the use of images (anatomical and from the surrounding space) hands-on work, words and situations that trigger impulses to create movement. The class encourages the participants to be curious, to take risks, and to look into the relationship between thinking, processing, moving, making and performing.
Luis A. Lara Malvacías is a choreographer, mover, dance teacher, and multidisciplinary artist. He has performed in the work of Jeremy Nelson, David Zambrano, Mark Tompkins, Yoshiko Chuma and in his own work. Performing with the John Jasperse Company at the Rencontres Chorégraphiques Internationales de Bagnolet in Paris in 1996, he won the Group Performance Award. He has presented his work at several venues in New York, and taught, created and presented work in colleges and institutions in the USA. He was a 1998/1999 and 2002/2003 Movement Research Artist-in Residence and a 2006 DNA Artist in Residence. He has also being in creative residences at Le Pacific in Grenoble, France, and at Labor Gras and Lake Studios in Berlin, and was a 1998/1999 and 2002/2003 Movement Research’s AIR. He is the recipient of a 2006 NYFA Fellowship for choreography, and has received grants, commissions and funding from many arts foundations and institutions for the creation of his work including, among others, the MAP Rockefeller Funds and The Jerome Foundation. He was a tenured professor at UC Riverside until 2023; currently he is a lecturer at the Dance Department of the New York
University’s Tisch School of the Arts, teaching in the Fall semester. Internationally, he regularly teaches movement classes and workshops, and presents work in many countries in Europe, South America, North America and Asia. He has studied and practiced several somatic practices for more than 25 years and hold a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in New Media. |
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Marcia Beatriz Granero will share her creative processes and artistic journey as a Brazilian artist, exploring performance, improvisation, and cinematic language in her work. For over 15 years, she has performed and starred in her productions through her artistic identity, Jaque Jolene, developing a unique research focus on character construction within the field of video art.
She will also discuss the history of video art in Latin America, highlighting how women were pioneers in this artistic language, using it as a tool for expression and resistance. By employing the body as an instrument of autonomy, creation, and protest, these artists reclaimed the power of female representation, improvising and challenging dictatorial and patriarchal systems. Marcia Beatriz Granero is a Brazilian artist who explores experimental and performative narratives in her work, moving between visual arts and film. Performing as her artistic identity, Jaque Jolene, the central figure in her audiovisual research, she has delved into the history of female artists in Brazilian video art, analyzing the power of the female body’s representation in artistic production.
She directed and hosted the VideoArtePapo MIS program at the Museu da Imagem e Som de São Paulo (MIS - Museum of Image and Sound, Brazil), recording interviews with more than 45 Brazilian video artists. Her work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, as well as in prestigious festivals and showcases worldwide. She has participated in artist residencies in Spain, Portugal, and England and exhibited at institutions including Instituto Tomie Ohtake (Brazil), Galeria Santa Clara (Portugal), Palácio de Pronillo (Spain), Centro Cultural São Paulo (Brazil), MOMus - State Museum of Contemporary Art (Greece), Paço das Artes (Brazil), Darling’s Attic (UK), Galería Theredoom (Spain), Sharjah Art Foundation (United Arab Emirates), and Pinacoteca de Botucatu (Brazil). Her video works have been showcased in over 100 festivals, including Videograma (Colombia), FIVA (Argentina), 100x100=900 (International Tour), Festival Internacional Kinoforum (Brazil), Festival Video nodoCCS (Venezuela), 305 International Improv Fest (Miami & Havana), Videomedeja (Serbia), Ibrida Festival delle arti intermediali (Italy), CosmiX Screening Night (Vietnam), Proyector (Spain), CHANNEL (France), Fest Miden (Greece), OSLO (Norway), REGION 0 (USA), Simultan (Romania), and Miami New Media Festival. More information: marciabeatrizgranero |
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LA PELOTA
Directed by Paz León \ Costa Rica
Commissioned Artist Costa Rica \ 2025, XR, Film & Improv Lab Tutor / O Cinema Program
La Pelota is a short film about a boy who discovers he has a ball inside his body. At first, this discovery terrifies him, as the ball threatens him—it could kill him. However, what initially seems frightening begins to transform into an invitation to approach life differently, through play.
La Pelota, a symbol of imminent danger, also evokes something playful and shifts from being a threat to becoming a form of liberation. Paz León is a Costa Rican director and screenwriter with over a decade of experience in the audiovisual world. Her work spans from directing fiction feature films to creating commercials for web and television. She is passionate about telling stories that blend comedy and drama, often centered around female characters.
Her debut feature film, Aquí y Ahora, premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and was screened in theaters in Chile, Spain, and Costa Rica. The film received the Work in Progress award at the Viña del Mar Film Festival, the post-production fund from Women in Film, and was part of the Independent Film Project in New York. Paz has collaborated with director and comedian Hernán Jiménez, most recently directing his comedy special Gato por Libre. She has also contributed to his four feature films: Abril (Casting Director), Entonces Nosotros (On-set Co-Director), El Regreso (Assistant Director), and A Ojos Cerrados (Art Director). She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Directing from the American Film Institute, where she wrote and directed five short films, and a Master’s degree in Film Studies and Modern Literature from the Louis Lumière University in Lyon, France. She is currently developing her second feature film. |
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CABALLOThey opened the horse's chest, took out his heart, and his warm heart beat in one hand; between two hands. The horse carries his wound in his chest.
Directors: Ixchel Casado y Thais Doimeadios
Production Company: Hamariyo Original concept: Thais Doimeadios Producer: Manuel Alejandro Fong Executive Producer: Andrés Monte Lead Cast: Thais Doimeadios/ Lianne Vega/ Tiffany Hernández Director of Photography: Alejandro Calero Production Designer: Mario. J Varela Editor and Colorist: Gerard Martínez Sound Design: Franceli Cabrera Costume Designer: Nilda Capote Music Composer: Pepe Gavilondo Póster: Carmen Barruecos First Assistant Director: Lia Tamame Second Asistant Director: Anelí Prieto First Assistant Photographer: Raúl Torrens Second Assistant Photographer: Guillermo Vaillant Crane Operator: Elvis Urra and Alberto Matamoros Grip and Electric Company: Los negrones de Raidel: Alexis Peña/ Ernesto/Gabriel Guerra/ Leonel Roddriguez Transportation: Oscar Lam Chirino Thais Doimeadios Huerta. Teacher and prima ballerina of contemporary dance, Thais Doimeadios Huerta graduated from the National School of Dance and earned a degree in Dance Arts with a specialization in Contemporary Dance from the University of the Arts. She has participated in tours and festivals both in Cuba and abroad, bringing her artistic work to countries such as the United States (Joyce Theater, 2019), Germany (International Dance Colors Festival, Stuttgart, 2017), Canada (2018), and the 6th International Dance Biennial Cali (2023). As a dancer, she has been part of renowned dance companies, including Los Hijos del Director (led by choreographer George Céspedes) and the dance-theater company Persona. She has extensive teaching experience in Contemporary Repertoire, Improvisation Workshop, Choreographic Creation, Modern Cuban Technique, and Contemporary Techniques, having taught at elementary, middle, and higher education levels at institutions such as the Provincial School of Dance, National School of Dance, School of the Lyric Theater of Havana, Acosta Danza Teaching Unit, and the University of the Arts.
She is the founder of Galería Ensayo, an arts project where she has collaborated with the Colombian contemporary dance company Incolballet on directing Imprivise (a contact improvisation workshop) and premiering the work Magnesium. Through Galería Ensayo, she has also premiered Todo en otra parte (2022) and Tres veces dos (2023). With the stage collective Pasionaria, she premiered Mather/Limbus/Mortis, written and directed by Colombian playwright Diego Montoya (Teatro Municipal Enrique Buenaventura, 2023). Ixchel Marina Casado Pérez graduated in theoretical music studies from the Amadeo Roldán Conservatory in 2015. She studied musicology at the Instituto Superior de Arte de La Habana and participated in several 5.1 Mixing workshops at the International Film and Television School of San Antonio de los Baños (EICTV). In 2023, she earned a degree in Sound from the Instituto Superior de Arte de La Habana. She was the winner of the Europe Caribbean CoCreation Hub (2023) with the project La Casa de las Fieras and received the first Film Residency for Women in Latin America and the Caribbean, held in Cuba (La Burbuja Lab), with the same project. She also won the Fondo de Arte Joven for El Parqueo, a social project dedicated to reviving the tradition of open-air cinema in Cuba, which was later selected for the Collaborative Encounter of Cinemas (ECC) (Chile-Mexico). As the creator and programmer of El Observatorio, a space for the socialization and discussion of contemporary Cuban documentary cinema, she continues to contribute to the field. She was selected for the D.I.P 2025 laboratory, directed by filmmaker Manuel Abramovich.
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“Vessels”3’ 55” \ 2025 \ US
Directed by Hayley Rigby
Three life forms begin performing sequences of movement in a blank space where only time, matter, and gravity persist.
As time passes, each dancer’s style becomes more distinctive and fleeting by the second, forming the essence of their identities through bodily expressions and gestures. The three forms continue to move freely, until they are out of time. Vessels is an introspection of the significance behind the philosophical concept of movement in reality. Using dancers and an hourglass in a studio, to directly symbolize matter and the passage of time, the film illustrates how movement is the driving phenomena of our living experiences, shaping our identities and revealing our potentials. As a non-narrative screendance, the film conveys its own language through the use of the subject’s dynamic gestures, complex scoring, and ethereal atmosphere. Director: Hayley Rigby
Director of Photography: Isaiah Suko Editor: Hayley Rigby Production Assistant: Hanna Sefidpour Sound Design/Score: Ryan Fuller Movement Direction/Choreography: Hayley Rigby Cast: Evelyn Tejeda Luyan “Lili” Li Hayley Rigby Special Thanks To: Tim Rigby, Alexis Jeanell, Julio Colon, Dallas Snow Hayley Rigby is a Director & Movement Artist from Los Angeles. Her unique early exposure to the film industry and experiences throughout different spheres in visual arts has aroused her curiosity to start filmmaking. Rigby finds the most inspiration for her creative process through observing human activity and immersing herself in new environments. “Vessels” is the beginning of her journey into filmmaking, as it is the first short she has directed. Rigby hopes to bring more substance to creative practices and to the world by capturing the fleeting, precious moments of the curious human spirit.
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The Yard – In and out of Place5’ 56” \ 2022 \ Finland
Directed by Juhani Haukka
When people move, cultural tradition moves and repositions itself, changing and transforming along the way. But sometimes yards also move. The courtyard of Antti’s house, relocated from Southwestern Finland, becomes the milieu for a dance that has been documented from Repola village, Karelia. The last part of the quadrille is maanitus (lure) - an invitation to dance, an open improvisation.
Director Juhani Haukka
Choreography Outi Markkula and Working group Producer Outi Markkula Performers / Dancers Outi Markkula, Kalle Pulkkinen, Jukka Tarvainen, Katriina Tavi, Emilia Lajunen Costume coordinator and consultation Hilppa Herd Production Väkevä Collective & Taideosuuskunta Suin Päin Juhani Haukka (director)
A film artist (MA) who has an emphasis towards documentary film and who works interdisciplinary in the field of arts. His recent works have been extensive Looking For a Job? - a multidisciplinary project (2019–2022) that explored society, work, time and community, and the Nordisk Panorama premiered film The Memory of Life (2022). He is continuing a documentary film project about the Finnish National Archives' research project about Finnish citizens in Russia. Outi Markkula (choreographer)
Outi Markkula is a dancer-choreographer (MA) based in Siilinjärvi, Eastern Finland. In her artistic work she explores the multiple and shifting meanings that dance and movement convey personally, culturally and historically. Markkula’s works often operate at the intersection of folk tradition and contemporary performance. She is interested in multidisciplinary collaborations, where different expressions, practices and working methods produce new thinking and language. |
“JAQUE IN PROGRESS”5' \ 2025 \ Brazil
Directed by Marcia Granero
305 IIF invites Jaque Jolene for a new improvisation experience.
Credits:
Marcia Beatriz Granero, Carla Forte, Yuri Amaral, Jayme Kaye Gershen and Joy Castañeda. Márcia Beatriz Granero is a Brazilian artist who explores experimental and performative narratives in her work, moving fluidly between visual arts and cinema. Performing as her artistic persona Jaque Jolene—the central figure in her audiovisual research—she has investigated the history of female artists in Brazilian video art, engaging with production methods and the power of female body representation. She directed and hosted the VideoArtePapo MIS program at the Museum of Image and Sound in São Paulo (Brazil), recording conversations with more than 45 Brazilian video artists. Her work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions, as well as in major festivals and showcases in Brazil and internationally. She has participated in artist residencies in Spain, Portugal, and England, and exhibited at institutions such as Instituto Tomie Ohtake (Brazil), Galeria Santa Clara (Portugal), Palácio de Pronillo (Spain), Centro Cultural São Paulo (Brazil), MOMus-State Museum of Contemporary Art (Greece), Paço das Artes (Brazil), Darling’s Attic (England), Theredoom Gallery (Spain), Sharjah Art Foundation (UAE), and Pinacoteca de Botucatu (Brazil), among others. Her videos have been screened at over 100 festivals, including Videograma (Colombia), FIVA (Argentina), 100x100=900 (international tour), Kinoforum International Festival (Brazil), Video nodoCCS (Venezuela), 305 International Improv Fest (Miami and Havana), Videomedeja (Serbia), Ibrida Festival delle arti intermediali (Italy), CosmiX Screening Night (Vietnam), Proyector (Spain), CHANNEL (France), Fest Miden (Greece), OSLO (Norway), REGION 0 (USA), Simultan (Romania), and the Miami New Media Festival.
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Sister3’ 7” \ 2024 \ France
Directed by Céline LORIENTE
One day Léo sees and hears things that only he can perceive. Since then, Zoé has been wondering about how to be with him as a sister.
Directing, producing and editing: Céline Loriente
Dancing: Anais Vallières Voice over: Julie Jung Loriente Coloring: Peirre Linguanotto Sound mixing: Bertrand Larrieu Céline Loriente director/ Choreographer : With a degree in Lettres Modernes and Social Sciences and a background in research and specialized journalism, Céline Loriente turned to documentary creation after training as a director at Ateliers Varan in 2022.
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M E S A2024 \ US
Directed by Enrique Villacreses
A Syncopate Collective Film
Performed and Choreographed by Rafael Ruiz-Del Vizo Music: "Missing Times" by Joseph Beg In association with DreamHive Media Filmed at the Lab Theater at the Dennis C Moss Cultural Arts Center SYNCOPATE COLLECTIVE is an experimental contemporary dance incubator in Miami, Florida. Founded to enrich the city’s professional dance landscape and expand opportunities for experimental work, Syncopate Collective serves as a hybrid community environment where artists are encouraged to discover, develop, and transform their creative voices. Through innovative collaborations, immersive workshops, and performances, this multidisciplinary ecosystem fosters artistic exploration and reimagines traditional structures in performing arts spaces, allowing true experimentation to thrive.
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Made in HeavenEnrique Villacreces (Miami, US)
IX 305IIF \ Commissioned Artist \ Miami, FL US
As time continues to accelerate, the universe hits a "vanishing point", and a new universe will be created, where everything will continue to repeat itself.
Enrique Villacreses is a Miami-based dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker. He is a recipient of the Dance Miami Choreographers’ (DMC) and Miami Individual Artist (MIA) Program. His works have been supported by Miami DanceMakers, Inter-American Choreographic Institute, Dance Canvas, Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami, Miami Light Project, and Pérez Art Museum Miami. His works have been presented at CreateART Dance Film Night: Surreal In Shadow, Cuban Classical Ballet of Miami’s Choreographers Showcase (21-24), ScreenDance Miami Festival (21-24), Men Who Dance (20-23), Frontiers Forum Live|Planet Prize Award Ceremony, 92NY Harkness Presents Future Dance Festival ’23, Daniel Lewis Dance Sampler (2022), Virtual Daniel Lewis Dance Sampler (21-23), 305 & Havana International Improv Fest (2022), Dance Canvas Presents 2022 Performance Series: Introducing the Next Generation, Miami Light Project’s Here & Now 2021, Mobile Dance Film Festival (2021), Pérez Art Museum Miami (2021), Dance Magazine (2020), Contact Quarterly (2020), The Kampong, and on the Dancemakers: New Works series at New World School of the Arts. He was panelist for Mobile Dance Film Festival (2022). He co-directed and edited a music video for Boston-based DJs, producers, and label owners named Soul Clap. He co-directed and co-edited Ballet Flamenco La Rosa’s Flamenco Granaíno: An original Flamenco Work created by Ilisa Rosal, in collaboration with Javier Martos. He co-directed and co-edited a short documentary film for Dimensions Dance Theater of Miami, Possible: Imagination is the Root of Change by Will A. Erwin Jr. He was the cinematographer for a music video for emerging music artist Dreya Starr. He co-filmed documentary film for Men Who Dance Documentary, Directed by Academy Award Winner Abbas Motlagh. He directed, filmed, and edited a short documentary film for Adele Myers and Dancers Presents: Miami DanceMakers Documentary.
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Cuerpos EmpotradosJuan Leiva Ramírez (Costa Rica)
Sebastián Sedó Abdala (Costa Rica)
IX 305IIF \ Commissioned Artists \ Costa Rica
“To be a child of honor, with a dry smile, broad back, and a burdened childhood.”
*Inspired by children recruited by criminal organizations. Juan Leiva Ramírez has been a dancer with the Compañía Nacional de Danza de Costa Rica since 2022. He graduated in 2017 from the Danza Abierta program, 3rd Generation, at the Universidad de Costa Rica's Danza Universitaria. His career includes both performance and choreographic creation, collaborating with independent projects such as "IMAGODANZA CR" and developing his own artistic proposal through the choreographic project "elBESO." His choreographic work explores the physicality of movement and its relationship with spatial aspects emerging from architectural notions, creating a dialogue between the body and the environment.
Sebastián Sedó Abdala is a contemporary dancer and performer with a strong background in various techniques, including ballet, Graham, and Limón. He began his career in 2008 as a member of Plan B Danza, where he developed his artistic trajectory for 16 years. He has worked with renowned companies such as Dance Equations (DEKO), Naow Company, and IMAGO Danza, where he continues to participate actively. In 2024, he joined the National Dance Company of Costa Rica (CND), further establishing his presence in the professional dance scene.
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landbodyHeather Maloney (Miami, FL US)
Heather Maloney is a mother, choreographer, dancer, teacher, and artistic director of Inkub8. Known for her highly expressive and kinesthetic style, Maloney draws on improvisational structures to create state based choreographic places. Currently working with Bistoury. Her work has been presented at Bates Dance Festival, Florida Dance Festival, New World School of the Arts and in Fundanza Cumuna Venezula Performatica, Puebla Mexico, Fusebox, Austin TX. She has taught workshops at New World School of the Arts, Bates College as well as in Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela.
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MetanoiaGrei Quezac (Costa Rica)
Memories bottled up in a wandering mind. The worst demons live in the head.
Grei QuezAc is a Costa Rican choreographer, dancer, dance teacher, and producer with a distinguished career in the dance scene. A graduate of the El Barco Conservatory as a dancer-performer-creator and holder of a Master’s in Dance from the National University, he has developed an artistic approach grounded in the exploration of spatial urgency, energy, and cardiovascular work. His leadership in the field led him to serve as Director of the National Dance Company of Costa Rica (2023–2025). As an educator, he has taught his movement workshop “Eyectado” at renowned institutions across Latin America and the U.S., and he is also a professor in both the undergraduate and graduate Dance programs at the National University of Costa Rica. His choreographic work includes pieces such as Bolero de Ravel (2025) and Ensayo sobre la urgencia (2024), both created for the CND, as well as internationally acclaimed works like Undíacomohoy (2019) and Metanoia (2016). As a performer, he was awarded Best Performer at the National Theatre Choreographers Festival (2022) and has closely collaborated with maestro Jimmy Ortiz since 2011. His work blends physical theater and dance, establishing him as a key figure in contemporary dance in the region.
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"Ser y Estar"Concept: Niurca Marquez (Miami FL US)
Performers: Niurca Marquez and Carla Forte
In this durational piece of which audiences view the second half, Niurca Márquez and Carla Forte explore the caring for the other in a duet. What is it that transpires between two bodies that leads to their understanding of each other, their capacity to listen? How is this carried into the improvisational space? How is it then affected by entrance of an “audience”? In this second installment of Ser y Estar (a play on the two verbs available in Spanish for “to be”), dancers explore their individual mapped selves while attempting to arrive at new information that resides in the spaces in between. Spontaneity emerges as a carefully conditioned response to a subtle listening. In these spaces, residue present from what has transpired but is not seen, has much more social and political potential than the beautiful thing produced. The soundtrack for the piece is determined by a series of playlists organized by a third party and later chosen by an audience member.
Niurca Márquez is an artist/researcher and published author working in film, site-specific work, and staged performance. As a somatic educator she uses her body-centered work to service communities undergoing processes of healing and self-realization. As a queer Latina artist and activist on the margins advocating for silenced voices, she is particularly interested in notions of identity, cultural memory and ritual within a contemporary framework. Her most recent site-responsive work Urdimbre y Trama transits the space between ritual and performance to explore the mestiza body and the silencing of the liminal voices of mestizas through improvised text and movement. She is part of the Rising Leaders of Color Initiative of Theater Communications Group, Cohort #4 and a 2019 graduate of the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture Leadership Institute. She is a founding member of FARO, a collaborative whose vision it is to create a space for rigorous creative/research that gives voice to thinkers and doers independently of institutional representation and recognition; work that is of and for the margin, and that recognizes the margin as a source of understanding and shifting perspectives.
Carla Forte was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and currently resides and works in Miami, Florida. Initially trained as a contemporary dancer, Forte has seamlessly integrated dance, film, and performance into her practice, with a particular focus on the Latin-American community. In 2024, she was honored by the Dance Miami Choreographers' - DMC - Program (2024/2025) in Miami, Florida, and recognized as the Best Film Director by the Miami New Times in (2023). Her most recent feature Maniac Miki film has been acquired by Amazon Prime and Tubi. Her films and performances have been showcased at prestigious festivals and galleries, including: Miami Film Festival, Cucalorus Film Festival, The University Galleries of Florida Atlantic University; CICA Museum; POOL 24 - Movement Art film Festival, Santiago Festival Internacional de Cine Chile; Icaro Festival Internacional de Cine de Centroamerica; Rochester International Film Festival; Atlanta Film Festival; Athens Digital Art Festival; Cube Art Project; ScreenDance Miami; Les Instants Video, among others. Forte has received commissions from Miami-Dade County Auditorium (2024/2025), O Cinema (2024), Miami Light Project (2023) and Tigertail Productions (2017) as well as awards and artistic residencies from renowned dance and film programs, including The National Performance Network Documentation & Storytelling Fund award (2023); Dance Miami Choreographers (2023); PAM CUT’s Sustainability Labs (2022); Mention Estrella Gloriosa Festival Internacional de Cine de Guayaquil (2022); Artist Access award recipients (Spring 2021); South Florida Cultural Consortium, Miami - Florida (2021); South Florida Cultural Consortium Artist Acquisition Program Miami-Dade Art in Public Places (2020-2021); Knight Arts Challenge Miami - Florida (2019); En Residencia Koubek Center Miami - Florida (2019); FONLAD Residency Program Coimbra - Portugal (2018); Berlinale Talent Berlin-Germany (2017); Cucalorus Dance-makers Retreat Wilmington, North Carolina (2017); Artistic Residence, Dance-Tech AIR @ Lake Studios Berlin, Germany (2014); Here & Now Miami - Florida (2016).
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J k LLuis A. Lara Malvacías (NY, US)
J k L (short version of solo from duet originally danced with Jeremy Nelson) is part of a series of duets From A to Z using the letters of the Roman alphabet as titles (and conceptual springboards). Created in collaboration with choreographer Jeremy Nelson, these explores the many aspects of time and how the production of choreography is intertwined with process and instant performance.
Luis A. Lara Malvacías is a choreographer, mover, dance teacher, and multidisciplinary artist. He has performed in the work of Jeremy Nelson, David Zambrano, Mark Tompkins, Yoshiko Chuma and in his own work. Performing with the John Jasperse Company at the Rencontres Chorégraphiques Internationales de Bagnolet in Paris in 1996, he won the Group Performance Award. He has presented his work at several venues in New York, and taught, created and presented work in colleges and institutions in the USA. He was a 1998/1999 and 2002/2003 Movement Research Artist-in Residence and a 2006 DNA Artist in Residence. He has also being in creative residences at Le Pacific in Grenoble, France, and at Labor Gras and Lake Studios in Berlin, and was a 1998/1999 and 2002/2003 Movement Research’s AIR. He is the recipient of a 2006 NYFA Fellowship for choreography, and has received grants, commissions and funding from many arts foundations and institutions for the creation of his work including, among others, the MAP Rockefeller Funds and The Jerome Foundation. He was a tenured professor at UC Riverside until 2023; currently he is a lecturer at the Dance Department of the New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, teaching in the Fall semester. Internationally, he regularly teaches movement classes and workshops, and presents work in many countries in Europe, South America, North America and Asia. He has studied and practiced several somatic practices for more than 25 years and hold a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in New Media.
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WindCharmChoreography, direction, and performance by Osmani Tellez & Lisa Kusanagi (Miami, US)
A movement poetry exploring magnetic attraction and subconscious harmony.
Osmani Tellez. A graduate of Cuba's prestigious Escuela Nacional de Arte, Osmani Tellez began his professional dance career with Cuba's innovative dance company, Danza Abierta before joining Venezuelan dance companies Danza Hoy and Rajatabla Danza. At Neodanza de Caracas, he established himself as resident choreographer and teacher alongside Alexey Taran, touring throughout Venezuela, Colombia, Costa Rica, and the United States. Tellez's artistic trajectory shifted dramatically after working with acclaimed dance artist David Zambrano, who introduced him to improvisation. This pivotal encounter propelled Tellez toward independent work and collaborations with renowned artists including Tim Feldmann, Bo Madvig, Mia Lawrence, Jeremy Nelson, Jennifer Monson, Kirstie Simson, Chamecki-Lerner, Yvonne Meier, and Jennifer Miller's Circus Amok. During his twelve years in New York City, Tellez honed his choreographic vision and improvisational techniques while participating in numerous festivals. His dedication to dance has earned recognition including invitation to Movement Research Artist-in-Residence, Under the Radar Artist-in-Residence, and Danspace Project commission. The New York Times praised his performances for his "striking, enigmatic images," "purposeful chaos," and "captivating" quality. Tellez has relocated to Miami and recently presented "PINKY PROMISES," a new work in collaboration with Lisa Kusanagi, commissioned by Miami Light Project's Here & Now 2024.
Lisa Kusanagi is a multidisciplinary artist and the director of the Kusanagi Sisters and the MUNI Film Festival. Her work spans dance, film, performance art, and visual art, and has been presented in over 30 countries at venues such as Movement Research at the Judson Church (NYC), Film at Lincoln Center (NYC), Harlem Stage (NYC), Dance Mission Theater (SF), the Eye Filmmuseum (Amsterdam), Cineteca Nacional (Mexico City), Tictac Art Centre (Brussels), and the BAFTA-qualifying 10th Aesthetic Short Film Festival (York). Kusanagi is celebrated for her inventive, bold performances, emotional depth, and fearless engagement with humor, physicality, and political subversion. CriticalDance lauds her for her “wit, skill, and a mind lustrous and inexhaustible,” while The New York Times commends her provocative and comical approach to performativity. Kusanagi’s films, including "itsy bitsy," "kopitoto," and "Ripe" have earned critical acclaim, with the Los Angeles Times highlighting her technical mastery. Her work has garnered numerous awards and fellowships, including 2nd Place in Amsterdam Daily Newspaper Het Parool’s Best of 2021 in the Theaters (Netherlands), the 2022 Lawther/Graff No Violence Award at the Oscar-qualifying 60th Ann Arbor Film Festival (USA), and the 2023 & 2025 Pola Art Foundation Fellowship (Japan). As an educator, Kusanagi has held a tenure-track position as Assistant Professor of Dance at the Universidad de las Américas Puebla (2015-2017) in Puebla, Mexico, and as full-time faculty of Theater and Dance at J. F. Oberlin University in Tokyo, Japan (2020-2023). She holds a BA in Dance from Sonoma State University and an MFA in Dance from Hollins University in partnership with the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts (Germany), The Forsythe Company (Germany), and the American Dance Festival (USA). Throughout her career, Kusanagi has focused on investigating conceptual virtuosity through physical and multi-dimensional artistry, while her teaching and research emphasize choreography and the ethical responsibilities of body-based artists.
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"untitled"SYNCOPATE COLLECTIVE
An improvisational score
SYNCOPATE COLLECTIVE is an experimental contemporary dance incubator in Miami, Florida. Founded to enrich the city’s professional dance landscape and expand opportunities for experimental work, Syncopate Collective serves as a hybrid community environment where artists are encouraged to discover, develop, and transform their creative voices. Through innovative collaborations, immersive workshops, and performances, this multidisciplinary ecosystem fosters artistic exploration and reimagines traditional structures in performing arts spaces, allowing true experimentation to thrive.
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"Presentation of the outcome of the workshop "AWARENESS: thinking, moving, performing"Directed by Luis A. Lara Malvacías
Luis A. Lara Malvacías is a choreographer, mover, dance teacher, and multidisciplinary artist. He has performed in the work of Jeremy Nelson, David Zambrano, Mark Tompkins, Yoshiko Chuma and in his own work. Performing with the John Jasperse Company at the Rencontres Chorégraphiques Internationales de Bagnolet in Paris in 1996, he won the Group Performance Award. He has presented his work at several venues in New York, and taught, created and presented work in colleges and institutions in the USA. He was a 1998/1999 and 2002/2003 Movement Research Artist-in Residence and a 2006 DNA Artist in Residence. He has also being in creative residences at Le Pacific in Grenoble, France, and at Labor Gras and Lake Studios in Berlin, and was a 1998/1999 and 2002/2003 Movement Research’s AIR. He is the recipient of a 2006 NYFA Fellowship for choreography, and has received grants, commissions and funding from many arts foundations and institutions for the creation of his work including, among others, the MAP Rockefeller Funds and The Jerome Foundation. He was a tenured professor at UC Riverside until 2023; currently he is a lecturer at the Dance Department of the New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, teaching in the Fall semester. Internationally, he regularly teaches movement classes and workshops, and presents work in many countries in Europe, South America, North America and Asia. He has studied and practiced several somatic practices for more than 25 years and hold a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in New Media.
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Miami-Dade County Auditorium (MDCA) |
Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs |
Miami-Dade County Auditorium (MDCA) opened its doors in 1951 and has since built a distinguished legacy as one of South Florida’s premier performing arts venues. Known for its distinctive Art Deco Revival décor, this popular multipurpose theater offers three versatile presentation spaces. The main auditorium seats 2,372 and is ideal for large-scale dance, theater, and music performances. A more intimate Mid-Stage configuration accommodates up to 450 guests and is well-suited for smaller concerts and theatrical presentations, providing an excellent platform for mid-sized arts organizations. The On.Stage Black Box transforms the stage into a studio-style theater where performers and audiences share the same space, creating an intimate setting often used for experimental and cutting-edge work. In January 2012, MDCA’s operations were transferred to the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, an organization recognized for its innovation and dedication to artistic excellence.
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About the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs
The Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council foster cultural excellence, diversity, and engagement across the county. They strategically create and promote opportunities for artists, cultural organizations, residents, and visitors to participate in and experience the arts. The Department oversees the Art in Public Places program and the Art in Public Places Trust, commissioning, curating, maintaining, and promoting the County’s award-winning public art collection. Together with the Council and the Trust, the Department supports more than 1,000 nonprofit cultural organizations and thousands of individual artists through grants, technical assistance, public outreach, and community planning. Funding is provided by the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, The Children’s Trust, the National Endowment for the Arts, the State of Florida’s Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Additional support comes from TicketWeb (for the Culture Shock Miami program), the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, the South Florida Cultural Consortium, and the Tourist Development Council. |
O CINEMAO Cinema is an independent, community-based, mission-driven nonprofit arthouse and cinema featuring first-run films, engaging programs, mixed reality experiences, and interactive events. Our purpose and objectives are to provide intriguing, entertaining, and superior quality offerings that audiences will otherwise not see in South Florida. We work to ensure that we reflect our diverse community and that we are accessible to the broadest possible audience. We believe in the power of the arts to change communities and change lives. Through a robust platform of creative, innovative, and engaging programs, we strive to entertain, educate, and inspire.
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Vivian MarthellVivian Marthell is an artist, activist, exhibitor, and producer with over 30 years of experience in the arts and nonprofit realms focused on strengthening the cultural landscape in South Florida and beyond. She is currently the Co-Founder and CEO/CCO at O Cinema, the hub for the next generation of storytelling in South Florida, which includes experimental and independent films, virtual reality, mixed reality, and immersive experiences, along with events and collaborations with renowned artists from around the world. Marthell has stayed true to her creative North Star, shedding light on Miami’s uniqueness and potential for creative reinvention. In 2015, she received the Knight Arts Champion award presented by the Knight Foundation in recognition of O Cinema’s contribution to the cultural vibrancy of Greater Miami. Her experience in the local arts and nonprofit scene has also included being Co-Director of Lab6, Project Manager for Tigertail Productions, and Arts Administrator for Working Classroom. Marthell has held solo and collaborative exhibitions and art residencies around the world, from New Mexico and Colorado to Western Australia. She is currently a fellow collaborator in the art collectives FatLip, META Miami (Miami Emerging Technology & Art), and the Dark Matter Group. She serves on the board of directors of Pioneer Winter Collective, Hanan Arts, South Florida Arts Counseling, and FilmGate Interactive.
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COMPAÑIA NACIONAL DE DANZA (CND) |
Karol Marenko |
![]() Costa Rica Partner: The National Dance Company of Costa Rica (CND), founded in 1979, is one of the country’s leading contemporary dance ensembles. It operates under the Ministry of Culture and Youth as an entity affiliated with the Teatro Popular Melico Salazar. Throughout its history, the company has developed a diverse repertoire, promoting Costa Rican identity through a contemporary stage language. In 2024, the CND celebrates its 45th anniversary, marking more than four decades of production, outreach, and dance education. Since early 2025, the company has been led by Karol Marenco, who continues to foster contemporary dance both nationally and internationally.
BISTOURY PHYSICAL THEATRE AND FILMThe mission of Bistoury Physical Theatre and Film is to research, develop, and explore the aesthetic and physical limits of performance, dismantling traditional boundaries between dance, theater, and film. Our work is grounded in a commitment to communicate ideas with clarity and honesty, always infused with a strong humanistic spirit. We challenge conventional notions of what dance, theater, and cinema can be—pushing the form, content, and experience of each medium.
Bistoury is driven by artistic curiosity and the relentless desire to create. Through innovative performances, independent films, auteur cinema, and training programs, we offer audiences and artists new, meaningful, and transformative experiences. |
![]() Karol Marenko. Master’s Degree in Performing Arts (Spain), Bachelor’s Degree in Dance (Costa Rica). Certified Pilates Instructor (Brazil), Bachelor’s Degree in Advertising (Costa Rica). Currently the Artistic Director of the National Dance Company of Costa Rica (CND). She previously served as General and Artistic Director of the National Dance Company of El Salvador (CND), Artistic Director of the Dance Company of Central America and the Caribbean (CODACA), and Dance Instructor at the National Dance School of the Dominican Republic (ENDANZA). She was also a dance teacher at the Charlot Acting School in Bogotá, Colombia. Director and Coordinator of the “Kilometros” Project / Central American Dance Company in Costa Rica. Director, Choreographer, and Dancer with the Xprexo Danza collective in the Dominican Republic and Colombia. General Coordinator and Instructor of the Youth Program at the School of Dance of the National University of Costa Rica. She was a dancer with several Costa Rican companies: Danza UNA Chamber Company, Danza Libre Chamber Company, and Fantasía Folklórica of the Melico Salazar Popular Theater. She has been invited as a judge, choreographer, or instructor by several companies: IC Dance Company (Dominican Republic), Companhia Brasiliense de Dança (Brazil), National Dance School of the Dominican Republic / ENDANZA JUVENIL (Dominican Republic), National Dance Company of El Salvador (El Salvador), Contemporary National Dance Company of the Dominican Republic / CNDC (Dominican Republic), Contemporary Chamber Dance Company of Nicaragua (Nicaragua), School of Dance of the National University of Costa Rica / UNA Danza Joven (Costa Rica), “A la Inversa” at the EDANCO Festival (Dominican Republic), “Corpo Gourmet” at the PRISMA Festival (Panama), Graciela Moreno Choreographers Festival, PRISMA Festival (Panama), ANSAR Festival (Panama), and the International Festival of Performing Arts of Panama (FAE). She is also co-founder, choreographer, and dancer at the International Contemporary Dance Festival of the Dominican Republic, EDANCO.
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