CREATE

Dancers took a mix of contemporary and compositional classes with Moving Forward director, Madison Hicks, and guest artists Chanel DeSilva and Kayla Farrish.
The workshop also included a panel discussion with special guest, Risa Steinberg.

FACULTY:

Madison Hicks (She/Her) holds a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School and an MFA in Choreography from California Institute of the Arts. Madison is a freelance creator, performer, and educator. In 2022, she received the Orsolina28 “Call for Creation” residency for her project, “Corrupt(ed)”. Madison was one of eight choreographers chosen for The Jacobs Pillow Ann and Weston Hicks Choreographic Fellowship in 2021. In 2022 and 2023, Madison was commissioned by The Fordham Ailey BFA program, Peabody University, Vitacca Ballet, and Wayne State University, along with being chosen as a choreographer for DanceLabNY and a choreographer in residence at Chez Bushwick. She was a guest choreographer at The Juilliard School’s Summer Intensive and will be a choreographer for UNCSA Professional Studies and MoveNYC in 2023. She is the choreographer for “The Elixir of Love” Opera at Curtis Institute of Music. Madison is a company artist with Sidra Bell Dance New York. She is the Director and Founder of Moving Forward, an innovative Non-Profit Organization for young artists and founded The Moving Forward Collective in 2022, a group of collaborators that present original work across the country. She is the Resident Choreographer for New York Dance Project and has been commissioned by companies such as Ballet Arkansas, Avant Chamber Ballet, Mash-Up Contemporary Dance company, Ballet Project OC, and Water Street Dance Milwaukee. She has presented work at Arts on Site, Boston Dance Festival, LA Dance Festival, Palm Desert Choreography Festival, and others. She premiered her solo work “Sparkle with a K” at The Navel Theater in Downtown Los Angeles in 2020. She has been a guest choreographer for Orange County School of the Performing Arts, Lindenwood University, Booker T. Washington HSPVA Rep II Ensemble, The University of Texas at Austin, Center of Creative Arts, Houston MET Too, San Diego Civic Center, and The Windward School along with rigorously teaching artists of all ages. Madison is a faculty member at Steps on Broadway and Peridance Center. She joined the 24Seven Break The Floor faculty in 2022.

She was full-time company member with LA Dance Project under the direction of Benjamin Millepied for the 2018/2019 season. Since then, Madison has been a lead dancer in both Noosa Yoghurt and Lexus Commercials along with choreographing music videos for Eleanor Kingston and the Handsome Ghost. She was a 2013 YoungArts winner for modern dance, 2014 US Presidential Scholar in the Arts Nominee and a guest artist in the 2014 YoungArts Presidential Scholar Gala under the direction of Bill T. Jones. In January of 2017, she performed as a distinguished guest alumnus in the YoungArts annual Backyard Ball under the direction of Tony Yazbeck. She received a choreography award from YAGP in 2014 and had three choreographic works chosen to perform in The Choreographic Honors show at The Juilliard School. Madison was awarded the Gene Kelly Legacy Scholarship for her choreography and jazz technique in 2016. She has performed works by Nacho Duato, Jiri Kylian, Emily Molnar, Kyle Abraham, Ohad Naharin, Peter Chu, Merce Cunningham, Martha Graham, Aszure Barton, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Benjamin Millepied, and Pam Tanowitz.

www.madisonhicks.com

GUEST ARTISTS:

CHANEL DaSILVA, a native of Brooklyn, NY, is a multifaceted artist whose work reflects her deep connection to the transformative power of the arts. She began her training at Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center and Creative Outlet Dance Theater of Brooklyn, followed by LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts and The Juilliard School. Her additional training includes The Ailey School and Springboard Danse Montreal. Chanel was a member of the highly celebrated Trey McIntyre Project based in Boise, Idaho where she was a muse for the creation of many of Mr. McIntyre’s works. In 2011 Chanel graced the cover of Dance Magazine and as a part of Brooklyn Academy of Music's "Dance Motion USA," Chanel toured throughout Asia with TMP as a cultural ambassador to the United States of America. 

As a choreographer Chanel has been commissioned to create works for Dallas Black Dance Theater, The Juilliard School, The Joffrey Ballet, Gibney Company, Ballet Memphis, Parsons Dance Company, Festival Ballet Providence, Barnard College, American Repertory Theater, and LaGuardia High School among others. She is a widely sought after teacher, educator, and mentor having taught master workshops and seminars across the nation for institutions such as The Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, Harvard University, NYU, LaGuardia High School, Ballet Hispanico, and New Orleans Ballet Association among others.

Chanel has received recognition from numerous institutions including the 2020 Joffrey Ballet Winning Works Choreographic Competition, the 2019 Martha Hill Dance Fund Mid-Career Award, a 2011 Princess Grace Award, and the 2008 Martha Hill Prize awarded by The Juilliard School. She is a 2004 National YoungArts Winner, was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and was featured on the 2004 PBS Documentary “American Talent”. In 2019 Chanel received a IRNE nomination for Best Choreography for "The Black Clown" which premiered at American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA.

Chanel believes deeply in creating more pathways for access and opportunities for artists who have been historically underrepresented and overlooked, primarily women of color. In 2015, alongside her long-time friend and business partner, Nigel Campbell, Chanel co-founded MOVE |NYC|, a multi-pillared arts and social justice organization with the mission of creating greater equity and diversity in the dance field and beyond. www.movenyc.nyc

Kayla Farrish/Decent Structures Arts is an emerging company combining filmmaking, storytelling, dance theater performance, and sound score. The company has been commissioned by Gibney Dance (2020-2021), Louis Armstrong House Museum (2020),  Danspace Project Inc (2019), Pepatian and BAAD! (2018), and beyond. Farrish has been supported by creative residencies including Gallim Women + Residency (2021),  Gibney Spotlight: New Voices, Barysnikov Arts Center, Arts On Site (2020), Keshet Makers Space Experience, BAX Space Grant (2019), Pepatian Dance Your Future (2018), and Chez Bushwick (2017). Pieces sprouted outwards including "Black Bodies Sonata", "The New Frontier (my dear America)” evening length and film, "With grit From, Grace", "Spectacle” Film and Live Production evening length work, and anticipated "Martyr's Fiction" (2021) that continued to push boundaries of form, voice, scene, narrative in an array of cinematic mediums. In 2020-2021, she has been commissioned for choreographing and directing a range of films and live performance hybrids.  Her work has been performed at venues like Judson Church, Danspace, Jacob's Pillow,  New York Live Arts,  Joe’s Pub,  BAAD!, film festivals, and beyond.  In 2021  she created site-specific immersive,  “Broken Record” duet commission, with Brandon Coleman for Little Island Festival, “Rinsing” short dance film, co-directed Melanie Charles “Y’ll D’nt Care Abt Black Women” Film,  Saul Williams’ “People Above the Moon” Solo for The Motherboard Suites at NYLA, “Roster” Outdoor Concert Performance collaboration Four/Four Open Air Series with Melanie Charles, and Martyr’s Fiction Feature Film. In 2022, she will be releasing her feature film “Martyr’s Fiction”, creating new solo works with Belinda McGuire and herself, collaborating with Kenyon Adams/Fusebox Festival, Blacklight Summit at the Clarice, Symphony Space, and creating commissions for companies. In Fall 2022, she shared her work at Lincoln Center with Kyle Abraham/AIM Reunions Concert, choreographed for Little Amal at Lincoln Center with Director Tea Alagic, and produced and choreographed numerous new works in progress at her Triskelion Performance Series.

She’s received grants and support including Sundance Uprise Grant for Emerging BIPOC Directors, Dance Films Association Production Grant, Film Residency and community support from Little Falls, NY, and Brooklyn Filmmaker Collective Mentorship Fellowship. She was awarded a Bessie Performance Award for her solo “People Above the Moon” in NYLA’s “Motherboard Suite”. NY Times named “Roster” Top 2021 Dance Performances, and titled Farrish a “Break Out Star of 2021”. She was listed on Dance Magazine “Top 9 Screen Dance Makers to  Watch” as well. She received the Harkness Promise Award for 2022 and won a Bessie for Outstanding Performer for her work, “December 8th” at Gibney.

In addition, Farrish has freelanced with companies including Sleep No More NYC, Kyle Abraham/AIM, Marjani Forte/7NMS,  Kate Weare Company, Helen Simoneau Danse, Company SBB, Dendy/Donovan Projects, Arthur Aviles,  Rashuan Mitchell/Silas Reiner, Nicole Von Arx, Danielle Russo, and others. She has also been an instructor, rehearsal director, performance coach, and mentor both through dance companies and independently. She has been adjunct faculty for NYU Tisch Dance and SUNY Purchase College. She has taught and rehearsal directed at Juilliard, University of the Arts, NYU, Marymount College, University of NC School of the Arts, Alonzo King Lines Training Program, New Dialect, and others. She was a rehearsal director at Sleep No More NYC for 2022 Contract.