Biographies

HEIDI LATSKY DANCE is a sponsored project of the New York Foundation for the Arts, a 501(c)(3), tax-exempt organization. Click here for more information.

HEIDI LATSKY (Director/Choreographer/Performer) has been in the dance world for many years, as a choreographer for stage, theater and film. Latsky initially received recognition as a celebrated principal dancer for Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance (1987-1993). Her work and company have toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe, performing at preeminent venues and festivals like Central Park Summerstage, Dance Theater Workshop and Judson Church in NYC, the Kennedy Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music and Festivals in Canada, Croatia and Slovenia. Latsky has received many distinguished choreographic commissions including Cannes International Dance Festival, American Dance Festival, the Joyce Theater, Danspace Project, Teatro Libero (Palermo), The Whitney Museum of American Art and the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Project. Recent commissions have included Li Chaio Ping Dance, Point Park College, Hofstra University, Infinity Dance Theater and the AIDS Service Center of New York City. She has also created work for solo artists including Gus Solomons Jr, Maxine Sherman, Janet Lilly, and Michael Thomas. She has received two nominations from the New York Innovative Theatre Awards for her work with Director Mary Fulham and is a faculty member at Hofstra University.

Latsky has a BA in Psychology with Honors from Carleton University (1979). There, she received the Senate Medal for Outstanding Academic Achievement and The Ottawa Ladies College Scholarship. Her company with Lawrence Goldhuber, Goldhuber & Latsky, received the Scripps/ADF Primus-Tamaris Fellowship for Choreography.  She was a recipient of the McGinnis Lectureship Award from Point Park College and was chosen to represent Canada at the Suzanne Dellal International Dance Competition in Tel Aviv and at Danse a Lille, France.

In NYC, she headed the Movement Department at The School for Film and Television from 1998-2005 where she developed The Latsky Method, her teaching practice. She has taught this method as well as set many choreographic works at institutions around the world. She has served on the Artist Advisory Board of Danspace Project since 2000 and is a Society for Arts in Healthcare member. She has served on panels like the Pew Charitable Trust and the Omega: Women and Power Conference.

Latsky continues her work with Theater Director  Mary Fulham  (for whom she has received two Innovative Theater Award nominations for her choreography) and her new LUXXURY SUITE (her collaboration with the San Francisco based band) has been presented at The Chen Dance Center and at Mansion, NYC.

JEFFREY FREEZE (Associate Director), began his career as a muppet, touring with Sesame Street Live. Since moving to New York in 1996, Freeze has worked with Michael Mao Dance, Phi Dance Theater, Sense Dance and Bruce Webber's No Chance Ensemble. He served as both choreographer and principal dancer for Infinity Dance Theater and played Snow Boy and Big Deal in Robert La Fosse's West Side Story tour. His Broadway debut was with Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake and his film debut was in Dirty Dancing.

JEREMY ALLIGER/ALLIGER ARTS (Producer), the Executive Producer of Alliger Arts, was the founder and Artistic and Executive Director of Dance Umbrella for 20 years, one of the most active producers of contemporary dance in the United States. He is currently producing Heidi Latsky Dance's GIMP and the award winning one-man musical theater production Coming up for Air: An AutoJAZZography. Jeremy is the Producer/Creator of Cool Heat Urban Beat, an international Jazz Tap/Hip Hop percussive touring show that had it's International Premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival . He has produced more than 15 unique festival gatherings and touring productions, including the first-ever Aerial Dance Festival, Jazz Tap and Hip Hop festivals, the unprecedented International Festival of Wheelchair Dance, and the world premiere of Baryshnikov's White Oak Dance Project. He received the prestigious State of Massachusetts "Commonwealth Award," the National Disability Rights "Eagle" award and Emerson College's "Alumni Achievement" Award. He was a featured speaker at the Kennedy Center's National Forum on Careers in the Arts for People with Disabilities. He has served as a Panel Chair at the National Endowment for the Arts, the Boston Cultural Council, and a panelist and artistic advisor for a long list of organizations, including the MacArthur and Guggenheim Foundations. alligerarts@gmail.com; www.alligerarts.org

BETH NAVON (Board President) has been an administrator in the non-profit sector for over twenty-five years.  Recognized for her expertise in the mental health field she has traveled all over the country to be on panels, lead workshops and moderate national conferences. In her most recent capacity as Executive Director of an organization focusing on juvenile justice, she created a nationally recognized service delivery model for youth re-entering the community after incarceration and has published several articles and a book chapter describing how to replicate the model. One of the strongest elements of the programming model was to incorporate yoga, dance, and the creative arts

A life long passion for the arts, particularly modern dance, led Ms. Navon in 1994 to establish her own dance company with the assistance of Heidi Latsky. The company, named "3/45" was for women forty-five years old and up.

Ms. Navon graduated from Simmons College School of Social Work with a Masters degree in Social Work in 1973.  In 2003 Ms. Navon was certified in Executive Management from Columbia University's School of Business.

LEZLIE FRYE is an activist, performance artist, poet and scholar. She is a member of SINS Invalid, a San Francisco–based artists collective exploring intersections of sexuality and dis/ability and of GIMP, a interdisciplinary dance project of Heidi Latsky Dance, based in New York. Frye aims to address intersecting forms of oppression and to locate critical resistance in the foxy bodies of cripples everywhere. She is currently a doctoral student in the American Studies Program, Department of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University. Frye's academic work explores intersections of dis/ability, race, gender, sexuality and nation, with particular interest in art and aesthetics, citizenship and the politics of life and death. For info on performances, workshops, lectures and artist residencies, e-mail lezliefrye@gmail.com; or visit gimpsgotgame.com

LAWRENCE CARTER-LONG has performed with Heidi Latsky Dance in GIMP since 2007. He works as the Executive Director for the Disabilities Network of NYC and is the founder and curator of the groundbreaking disTHIS! Film Series: disability through a whole new lens, which has been featured in The New York Times Sunday Style section. As a commentator, Lawrence has appeared on the BBC, CNN, NBC's Today Show and NPR, among other regional, national and international outlets.  He is also a producer on WBAI's Largest Minority radio show. A popular public speaker on a wide array of topics ranging from disability issues to animal advocacy to media literacy, Lawrence regularly facilitates workshops at colleges and conferences across the nation.  Lawrence was honored to receive the Frieda Zames Advocacy Award from NYC Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on August 12, 2009. In March 2010, he will be presented with the Paul G. Hearne Award, an annual honor presented by the American Association of People with Disabilities to recognize emerging leaders within the national cross-disability civil rights movement.

CATHERINE LONG is a Performance Artist. Central to her work is the individual and collective body, the subjective and objective experience with a focus on observation and perception. Her work explores and addresses issues of objectification, absence and presence, restriction and freedom, control, embodiment and symmetry. A key aim of her work is for people to gain insight into how perceptions of ourselves are shaped by our perceptions of others. Recent performances include Tate Modern, London (2007), Chisenhale Dance Space, London (2006), NottDance (2004), Community/Performance Conference in Rhode Island (2004), and Jerwood Space (2004). Catherine has been working with Heidi Latsky Dance in GIMP since April 2008. She has a BA (Hons) in Arts Therapies.

CHRISTINA BRIGGS has been dancing with Heidi Latsky since 2000, performing lead roles in Flat Line and Club Riot. She was born in Virginia, where she danced with the Richmond Ballet and earned a BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University.  Since moving to New York in 1996, she has danced for many choreographers, including Carrie Ahern, Pat Cremins, and Susan Osberg.  Christina performs for children nationwide with the Hudson Vagabond Puppets, where she is also the Rehearsal Director. Christina is the Co-Director and Choreographer of Incidents Physical Theater, a company producing collaborative dance theater pieces.  She has staged her choreography at the University of Florida, Gainesville and the College of Lake County and taught master classes at many universities, including Colorado State University, Frostburg State University, Montclair State University, Penn State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder.  Christina is also a Pilates instructor, teaching privately and at Groundfloor Exercise since 1999.  This year she will join the faculty of Hofstra University.

NATE CRAWFORD (Co-choreographer for Aerial Piece/Performer) was originally groomed as a gymnast. He competed for the University of Illinois at Chicago graduating with a Bachelors of Business Administration. After four years of working in a traditional management role, he decided to try performing for just one year. That was over ten years ago and Nate is still performing all around the world. Highlights have included a solo for the King of Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur, TODAY Show performance with Anti-Gravity, opening cast of Mystic Rhythms at Tokyo Disney Sea, and hundreds of other wonderful moments. With over a decade of experience, Nate is most excited about performing with Jennifer. Her passion and determination is enough to invigorate even the most experienced veteran.

JENNIFER BRICKER (Co-choreographer for Aerial Piece/Performer), despite being born without legs always had a passion for tumbling and gymnastics.  Throughout her life she competed in power tumbling for four years, volleyball for two years, and softball for three years, none of which were handicap sports.  After graduating high school Jennifer decided to move to Orlando, Florida to work for Walt Disney World.  After being in Florida almost a year Jen met Nate Crawford, little did she know he would be introducing her to a whole new life as an acrobat.  Ever since Jen and Nate met they have been training and working on new acts to inspire and motivate.

CHRISTOPHER ASH (Lighting Design) has been a designer for lighting, scenery, and projections since 1997. In 2008 his career went international with the design of "Troia" for Anadolu Atesi in Istanbul, Turkey. He received an after dark award for lighting design in 2006 for "The Sweet Smell of Success", and was recently Jeff nominated for his design for "Wedding Play".  His dance designs have been trumpeted by Hedy Weiss of the Chicago Sun Times stating "(Ahimsa)... a powerfully enigmatic ensemble work (with) moments of intense silence, all dramatically heightened by (Christopher Ash's) brilliant lighting."  His set for "Frozen" was considered one of the best sets of the 2007 in Chicago by Robert Loerzel of the pioneer press. You can see more of his work at www.ChristopherAsh.com

CARLOS ARIAS (Costume Design) Born in Barcelona, Spain, Carlos Arias moved to the U.S.A. in 1975. After a long and successful career in fashion design, he took up photography. Arias has exhibited his work throughout the U.S.A. and internationally, and his work is in numerous private collections. While still designing costumes for dancers and special fashion collections, he is a technical consultant for important fashion companies. He lives and works in New York City.

CHRIS SCHWARTZ and CHRISTINA FRIK (Costume Design for 2008 Premiere) - Dynamic Duo Beach wear designers for labels: Dotti and Beach Star. Their designs are in Macy's and Nordstoms in the Swim Dept. Both enjoy being creative and get inspired by music and the arts.

CHRIS BRIERLEY (Composer) is a graduate of the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester and was a founder-member of the Kreisler String Orchestra. The orchestra won first prize in the International Jeunesses Musicales String Orchestra Competition in Belgrade and collaborated with Brian Eno, John Cale, Youssou N'Dour and Michael Nyman For the past ten years Chris has worked in Soho, London as a composer for film and commercials. His most recent score is for 'The Age of Stupid', the new film from Director Franny Armstrong, starring oscar-nominated Pete Postlethwaite, due for theatrical release in February 2009. Other credits include the feature-length documentaries 'Drowned Out' and 'Mclibel', which was broadcast nationally in the USA in 2006. Chris has a long-standing association as writer and performer with the Band of Holy Joy and is a visiting artist at Heart;N'Soul, a ground-breaking arts organisation based in London run by artists with learning disabilities.

EVA MANTELL'S (Visual Artist) artwork has been seen at The Whitney Museum, The Brooklyn Museum, P.S.1, The Jersey City Museum, and internationally at The Istanbul Biennale; Foto Antwerpen, Belgium; Art and Idea Gallery, Mexico City; Solar Art Center, Bolivia. She has created visuals for dance and theater productions including "Balletto Stilletto" and "Trophy Wife" at LaMama, E.T.C., and "Blood Cherries" at Dance Theater Workshop. Please visit www.evamantell.com

SXIP SHIREY (Composer), just finished composing music and sound design for "Marsupial Girl" by playwright Lisa D'Amour, which was developed through collaboration between The Minneapolis Children's Theater and New Dramatists.  As a member of The Daredevil Opera Company, Sxip has performed at The Sydney Opera House and The Adelaide Festival in Australia, The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C, The Edinburgh Festival in Scotland and at The New Victory Theater on Broadway with Anti-Gravity's Crash Test Dummies.  Shirey and co-composer Rima Fand toured New England Universities with Erin Orr's puppet theater piece "Savage Nursery", which was developed with a grant from the Henson Foundation and developed at HERE. Fand, Orr and Shirey are currently developing a short piece to be performed at Saint Anne's Warehouse puppetry lab. Shirey's solo work is performed regularly at Joe's Pub at The Public Theater in NYC. Shirey toured as support act and host for The Dresden Dolls Fall 2006 tour. He has also performed at The Adelaide Fringe in Australia and at numerous underground parties in Brooklyn.  Shirey's favorite piece in the last year was working with gay, lesbian and trans-gendered teens for a piece directed by Michelle Matlock through YES and Dance Theater Workshop.

MARTY BELLER (Composer) has composed and performed with international dance companies including Jennifer Muller/The Works, Sean Curran, Chet Walker/8 and ah one, Kathy Wildberger, Heidi Latsky, RhythMEK and  Julio Bocca/Ballet Argentina. He is the drummer for Grammy award-winner They Might Be Giants.

FRANK PONZIO (Music Director/Composer) has performed as soloist and band leader at venues such as the legendary Birdland, Town Hall, and Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and has performed with a variety of artists, including Ben Vereen on Live with Regis and Kathie Lee, David Amram, Phil Donahue, Joe Beck, Nancy LaMott, and Baby Jane Dexter.  He was music director at National Dance Institute, for three years and since 1997 has been involved in a program for wheelchair-bound students at PS 199 in New York.  He was a vocal coach at the New School's Actors Studio (1994-97). Frank has written music for TV commercials as well as for plays and film, including the score to the movie The Silver Swing and the recently released feature film A Level Field. Recent recordings include  Reflections of American Song on the CAP record label, Quando Swing, with vocalist Rosemary Loar, and A Song About Forever, the music of Kurt Weill.

STAN STRICKLAND (Singer, saxophonist, flutist, actor) has performed throughout the United States, Europe, Scandinavia, the Caribbean, New Zealand and the former Soviet Union. In addition to numerous radio and television appearances, Stan has performed in many clubs and concert halls, including Jordan and Symphony Halls in Boston, Carnegie Recital Hall and Town Hall in New York, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. His work has been featured on recordings by Bob Moses, Marty Erlich, Webster Lewis and Brute Force. Stan has performed with jazz greats Yusef Lateef, Pharoah Sanders, Herbie Mann, Danilo Perez, Shirley Scott and Marlena Shaw. Love & Beauty, Stan's new jazz vocal CD, featuring new arrangements of great jazz classics as well as original material, was released by Hawkline Records in 2005. Stan has opened for Jazz greats Miles Davis and Sonny Rollins, and for Barenaked Ladies. He toured South Africa with The Village People, and was a featured soloist with Take Six and the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall.

His acting experience includes the leading roles in the Boston Art Group's production of Harlem Renaissance, Notheastern University's production of Crossing John, and Dr. Sax in a production of Jon Lipsky's play about Jack Kerouac, Maggie's Riff, produced by the Vineyard Playhouse. Stan has performed and collaborated with over a dozen choreographers including Alvin Ailey, Jose Limon, and Bill T. Jones. Stan is profiled/featured, (along with Blair Underwood and Lamar Burton), in a new film documentary that was filmed this past spring, entitled Black Man Up. He has performed at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival for the premiere of Academy Award winning documentary Born into Brothels and at three exclusive fashion/fragrance events for fashion icon Donna Karan.

Stan has a M.A. degree from Lesley College in Expressive Arts Therapy where he is an adjunct professor. Stan is Co-Executive Director of Express Yourself, a multidisciplinary team of professional artists, working in partnership with adolescents in public mental health residential facilities to produce multimedia performances that also teaches at Berklee College celebrate the restorative powers of serious art making.

RANDALL WOOLF studied composition privately with David Del Tredici and Joseph Maneri, and at Harvard, where he earned a Ph.D. He is a member of the Common Sense Composers Collective. He is composer-in-residence for the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and with the String Orchestra   Of New York City. In 1997 he composed a new ballet of "Where the Wild Things Are", in collaboration with Maurice Sendak and Septime Webre.  In  2003, he composed  "Women At An Exhibition" for the Akron Art Museum and Symphony, with a video by Mary Harron (director of "American Psycho") and John C. Walsh. He composed an arrangement of Thelonious Monk's "Round Midnight" for the Kronos Quartet, who are playing it on tour. He works with John Cale (cofounder of the Velvet Underground) as an arranger, notably score for the cult classic "American Psycho. On October 11, 2008, Woolf's string quartet version of songs of Nico will on a festival curated by Cale at Royal Festival Hall in London.  His works have been performed by Kathleen Supové, Jennifer Choi, Timothy Fain, Mary Rowell, Todd Reynolds, Ethel, Kronos Quartet, conductor and flutist Ransom Wilson, Present Music, Fulcrum Point, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Seattle Symphony, Paul Dresher Ensemble, Bang On A Can/SPIT Orchestra, California EAR Unit, and others.  Current commissions include a concerto for beatboxing flutist Greg Pattillo, and a piece for Classical Jam.

ORLANDO WELLS (viola/violin), a native of Orange, NJ, Orlando Wells began studying the violin at the age of 9. While attending LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, he picked up the viola. Mostly self-taught in High School, he graduated winning the Behrens Foundation and B'nai Brith scholarships. Mr. Wells attended S.U.N.Y. Purchase, and Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers.  His primary teachers have included Yuval Waldman and Michael Tree. Equally proficient on both the violin and the viola, he has held the principal viola chair with the Antara Chamber Orchestra, and the concertmaster chair with the Soulful Symphony in Baltimore, the Orchestra of the Bronx, and the Bronx Opera.  He has appeared as a soloist with Antara, the Manhattan Virtuosi and the St. Peter by the Sea Orchestra. Mr. Wells also performs with The Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic, SONYC Chamber Orchestra, The Ritz Chamber Players, Allentown Symphony, Sweet Plantain String Quartet, The Emerald Trio, and the Radio City Christmas Show Orchestra.  Performing frequently on Broadway, he has played regularly with Phantom of the Opera, The Producers, Spamalot, Wicked, and was the violist on the first national tour of the Broadway show, Little Women.  Most recently, he was the violinist/violist on the new Broadway show Crybaby. He has collaborated with musicians of many different genres and styles.  Some of the artists he has worked with are, John Legend, Mariah Carrey, Rihanna, Kanye West, Marvin Hamlish, the Akua Dixon Swing Quartet, and Sojourner Strings.  Mr. Wells has recorded with artists Joss Stone, Joe, and Alicia Keyes among others.

For Booking and more information please call or email Jeremy Alliger / Alliger Arts Producer alligerarts@gmail.com t: 617-669-4422