About Evolve Dynamicz
Evolve Dynamicz is a Boston-based contemporary dance collective dedicated to creating moments of connection through movement. Our artistic work is grounded in collaborative composition and fluid, expansive choreography. As a mixed ability collective, we foster an appreciation for physical and mental diversity both within the studio and on the stage. This October marks our 10 year anniversary of sharing our passion for dance throughout the Boston Area.
“Choreography that took its time to breath and be present.”
- The Dance Informa
Mission Statement
As artists, we seek to confront the challenges of life with a sense of openness and vulnerability. Our work embraces these challenges with curiosity, intimacy, playfulness, and a deep- seated passion for movement. Our interests in improvisational composition, site specific choreography, and collaboration with our dancers are brought forth in our choreographic processes. With this, we aspire to continually experiment with new vocabularies, ideas, collaborators, and mediums of expression— we are committed to sharing our passion of dance for audiences accessible in all spaces, of all types.
Evolve Dynamicz Dual Approach
Evolve Dynamicz is composed of two sub-companies - Evolve Repertoire and Improv Dynamicz - that contribute to the artistic depth and reach of the overall organization.
Evolve Repertoire
Evolve Repertoire is our concert dance company that creates dynamic choreographic works with an emphasis on authenticity and connection. Our choreography addresses a range of themes based on our lived experiences - from the grief of losing a loved one, to the daily frustrations of commuting - and is characterized by our spacious, athletic movement aesthetic. Evolve Repertoire employs a collaborative approach to composition and cultivates a strong sense of community amongst performers and audience members alike.
Evolve Repertoire Company Members:
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Are Contemporary Dance Artists drawn to technical choreography
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Perform in concert theatres and local dance festivals
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Rehearse on a weekly basis in the Boston Area
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Participate in weekly Evolve company class
Improv Dynamicz
Improv Dynamicz is our innovative dance company that uses improvisational choreography and performance to foster a greater sense of community. Our works are raw, playful and honest - celebrating the complexities of being present with one self and with others. Our unique compositional approach draws from authentic listening, site-specific installations and somatic awareness. Whether it be dancing to a live sound or the lines in a painting, we view improvisation as a vessel to respond to our world with sensitivity, truthfulness, and care.
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Improv Dynamicz Company Members:
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Are Contemporary Dance Artists drawn to improvisational composition
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Perform in a variety of arts settings - ranging from outdoor sites to concert theatres
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Rehearse on a monthly basis in the Boston Area
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Welcome to Evolve company class, but not required
Evolve Dynamicz dancers may be in one or both of the sub-companies.
Leadership Team
Lisa Giancola, Co-founder & Artistic Director
Lisa hails from small town, Boylston, MA and began dancing at the age of 3 at Karen Jean White School of Dance. She continued her love and passion for dance at Dean College, where she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts in Dance in 2014. She has had the pleasure to work and perform with New England companies, Ballet Art’s Worcester, Boylston’s Calliope, Stylized Movement, Kinetic Synergy Dance Company, the Ipswich Moving Company, United Tek’Nekz and OnStage Dance Company. Lisa is the Director of Early Childhood Programs at Joanne Langione Dance Center and is also Co-Artistic Director of Boston Based dance company, Evolve Dynamicz. Founded in 2015, Evolve has had the privilege to present works all over New England, including NACHMO NYC and Boston, Southern Vermont Dance Festival, Boston Dance Theater’s trainee showcase of BTDx, and the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival. Evolve has produced three full length shows, SPACES: an Evolve Dynamicz Production (2017), circumnavigation (2018), and LUCIDITY (2019). Lisa hopes to carry her love of dancing, teaching and choreographing onto her JLDC students and company dancers each and every day!​​
Nicole Zizzi, Co-founder & Artistic Director
Nicole was born and raised in Buffalo, New York where she started dancing at the age of 2 at Eugenia’s Dance Studio. She trained in ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, lyrical, and Polish Heritage dancing. At the age of 18, Nicole started school at the University of Rochester where she studied Physics and Dance. In Rochester, she worked for the URMC Center for Brian Imaging Lab doing computational image analysis and trained in contemporary dance with mentor Missy Pfohl Smith—artistic director of BIODANCE and director of Program of Dance and Movement at the University of Rochester. After graduating college, Nicole moved to the Boston area where she quickly found herself immersed in the rich and vibrant Boston dance community. In October 2015 Nicole and her dance partner, Lisa Giancola, founded their own company; Evolve Dynamicz. Nicole teaches various movement workshops and classes around the Boston area for both adults and primary school-aged children. Her pedagogy focuses on building confidence and agency in movers through tools such as strength training and improvisation techniques. Her most recent project with Evolve Dynamicz explores how dance can be used as an educational tool when learning abstract mathematical concepts at the collegiate level. Nicole has recently completed her Master's of Architecture at Northeastern University where she is teaching in the Graduate Expereince Design program and continuing her reseach, investigating how dance may be used as a tool for creating data curiosity as a step towards data literacy.
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​Olivia Moon Photography
​Olivia Moon Photography
Ava Louise Majumder, Rehearsal Director
Ava Louise Majumder is a Boston-based Dance Artist and Educator. She has performed across the city’s most beloved sites - including The Shubert Theater, Museum of Science, Harvard Art Museums, New England Conservatory, and the Dance Complex. For the past three years, Ava was featured as Clarice’s Mother in Tony William’s The Urban Nutcracker, described by The Boston Globe as “celebratory, playful and Boston-centric.” She additionally performs with contemporary dance groups, including Nozama Dance Collective and Luminarium Dance Company. For the past seven years, Ava has been the Artistic Coordinator for On Display Harvard, a movement installation under the direction of Heidi Latsky that honors the UN Day of Disabilities. Ava currently teaches Dance and Yoga at Somerville High School and is the Artistic Director of the SHS Dance Company. She provided pre-professional training for youths through The Boston Arts Academy Summer Intensive, Tony Williams Dance Center and JLDC. Ava holds an Ed.M in Arts in Education from Harvard University and a BA from Pitzer College, where she was awarded for Outstanding Performance in Dance. Ava has danced with Evolve Dynamicz Dance Collective since 2019 and is so excited for the Improv Dynamicz premiere!
Website Designer
Scilla Bennett
Scilla began dancing in Long Beach, CA after a running injury forced her to try a new activity. She fell in love during her very first class, and never ran again. She has trained in a variety of styles including ballet, contemporary, jazz, belly dance, and modern. After moving to Boston, she continued to take classes and has performed with Boston Bollywood, Jenny Oliver, Molly Wheat, and OnStage Dance Company. A lover of all the arts, Scilla also enjoys painting, drawing, crafting, and writing. Her classic Virgo nature means that she’s always working hard to improve, and she especially enjoys the process of creation.
Current Dancers
Photos by Olivia Moon Photography courtesy of Novum Dance Collective.
Allison Rebecca Penn (she/her), 2025 Improv Dynamicz Dancer
Allison Rebecca Penn is a Boston-based writer, creative, movement artist, and new Evolve Dynamicz improv company member. As a dancer, she specializes in contemporary, improvisation, and dance-theater work. Her movement has been described as spellbinding, intense, and powerful, with commitment and technical command. In addition to performing with Evolve, she has performed with a range of other independent Boston-based movement companies and independent artists, and is also a dancer with Novum Dance Collective. Previously, she has held the role of Ailey Ambassador for the Celebrity Series’ 2025 season, as well as served as the company manager, a workshop facilitator, and a dancer with ParadiseMoves, a former Boston-based movement company. Allison currently works as a copywriter and spends her spare time reading, thrifting, biking around the city, seeing dance shows, and taking dance class.
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Andrea West (she/her), 2025 Improv Dynamicz Dancer
Andrea's dance career spans many years and experiences. She was a college competition dancer spending 4 years on the Endicott College Dance Team. Post graduation, she transitioned into improvisational work with local companies Ensemble Inedit, ParadiseMoves and now Evolve Dynamicz! She works in operations for Signet Education, utilizing her love of people and learning to support students on their path to college.
Avi Binder (they/them), 2025 Improv Dynamicz Dancer
Avi (they/them) has been dancing since the age of three, cultivating a deep passion for movement and expression. They attended Mount Holyoke College, where they minored in Movement & Healing Studies, blending their love for dance with a focus on wellness. Avi has explored a variety of dance styles, including ballet, modern, and improvisation, allowing them to develop a versatile skill set. They joined Evolve Dynamicz in 2018, where they showcased their talent in the performance Revive and performed a solo at the Move for the Movement Showcase for the American Cancer Society. Additionally, they served as an understudy in Ability Dance Boston’s production of The Banned Ballet.
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Crys Tang (she/her), 2025 Improv Dynamicz Dancer
Crys Tang is originally from Houston, Texas and is now a Boston-based mover pursuing her education at MIT. She began her training in traditional Chinese dance at the age of 5 and started exploring contemporary styles and improvisation in high school. She is now on Fixation, MIT's contemporary team, and has been Co-Artistic Director since spring 2024. She also dances on Nomads, a Boston-based choreography team, and loves exploring various styles with them. Now, on Evolve, she is excited to explore group improvisation and broaden her concepts in contemporary movement.
Photo by Olivia Moon Photography at Evolve's REVIVE (2021)
Jessie Hogestyn (she/her), 2025 Evolve Repertoire Dancer
A native of Rochester, NY, Jessie began dancing at A Touch of Dance Performing Arts Studio at age four where she studied ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, modern, and hip hop. She went on to dance with Louvre Performance Ensemble while she earned her B.S. in Brain and Cognitive Sciences at the University of Rochester. Jessie continued her education at the U of R, obtaining a Ph.D. in Neuroscience in 2020. During her graduate training she revisited her love of hip hop, choreographing and competing for five years with Indulgence Dance Crew, a student-run group under the U of R Black Student’s Union. Jessie moved to the Boston area for a postdoctoral fellowship in biopharma research and joined Evolve Dynamicz in February 2020.
Kaylee Mahan (she/her), 2025 Evolve Repertoire & Improv Dynamicz Dancer
Kaylee Mahan is a graduate of Roger Williams University, receiving a Bachelor of Arts, in Dance. Kaylee has been fortunate to have spent a semester abroad in London for Dance, where she was immersed in a new world of dance and choreography. Training at the London Contemporary Dance School, The Place, she and her classmates worked closely with Choreographer Renaud Wiser as he set a piece for them to perform back in the States. During her time in London, she studied under educators and choreographers such as Stephen Pelton, Jorge Crecis, and Tory Trotter. At school, Kaylee was fortunate to work with a diverse group of artists such as Sean Curran, Tiffany Mills, Christina Robson, Jenny Rocha, and more. Kaylee has been a dancer and choreographer with Evolve Dynamicz, a Boston-based company since 2017.
Photos by Olivia Moon Photography courtesy of Alive Dance Collective.
Lila Klaus (she/they), 2025 Improv Dynamicz Dancer
Lila Ruth Klaus hails from Washington DC. While training and performing in DC, she was able to perform in venues such as The Kennedy Center, The White House, and The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery. She received a scholarship from the Trawick foundation in 2008, and was a member of the Joy of Motion Youth Dance Ensemble, which received the Metro DC Dance Award for Best Youth Performance in 2013. She has performed and presented her choreography at Bates Dance Festival in Lewiston, Maine; the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina; Sitka Fine Arts Camp in Sitka, Alaska; the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York; Hibernian Hall in Dorchester; Arts at the Armory in Somerville; The Foundry in Cambridge; and Salem Arts Festival in Salem, Massachusetts. She received her BA in Dance with a concentration in Theology from Bard College in 2018 where she performed in the works of Trisha Brown both at the Richard B. Fisher Center and in New York City, during the Bard College/Trisha Brown Dance Company partnership. In 2017, her solo The Weight of Our Bones was accepted into the American College Dance Festival Northeast Gala. Lila was a part of The Dance Complex's 2022 aMaSSiT cohort. She currently works as an educator at Temple Beth Shalom in Needham, and has served as the Dance Arts Mentor at the URJ 6 Points Creative Arts Academy for multiple summers.
Redacted Maxwell (they/them), 2025 Evolve Repertoire Dancer
Redacted Maxwell is a dance and theater artist currently based in Somerville, MA. They began their dance training at Kanopy Dance Academy in Madison, WI, studying classical modern, ballet, and composition, and performed with Kanopy’s second company for five years. In 2023, they graduated from Carleton College with a B.A. in Religion and a minor in Theater Arts. At Carleton, they co-choreographed a production of the play Indecent by Paula Vogel, taught folk dance, and regularly performed in both theater and dance productions. After relocating to the Boston area, they participated in Kairos Dance Theater’s trainee program in the fall of 2024. They have additionally attended intensives through the Martha Graham School, Valerie Green/Dance Entropy, and Boston Dance Theater. They joined Evolve in 2025 and also currently dance with Zoe Dance Company.
Rhiannon Carpenter (she/her) , 2025 Evolve Repertoire Dancer
Rhiannon Carpenter is a Boston-based dancer, choreographer, educator, and traveler with a BA in Sociology and a minor in Dance from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Her work centers on building community through accessible and creative movement practices. She has taught and performed throughout Greater Boston, designing inclusive programs for diverse ages and abilities. Drawing from improvisation and collaboration, her choreography emphasizes authenticity and embodied expression. Rhiannon has trained internationally, traveling to expand her artistic perspective and deepen her practice. She has been dancing with Evolve Dynamics since April 2025.
Past Dancers (2016-2022)
Head shots by Jeremiah Washington / Joseph Thibodeau Photography
Haylee Denham
Haylee Denham is a dual-degree graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst
Commonwealth Honors College receiving a B.A. in Dance and a B.S. in Psychology with a
Neuroscience concentration. Haylee also earned two letters of specialization in Developmental Disabilities and Human Services (DDHS) as well as Civic Engagement and Public Service (CEPS). Throughout college, Haylee was an active member of service-learning projects where she fostered relationships and engaged in activities with adults with disabilities in the Amherst area emphasizing dance as a tool for interpersonal connection. She was also the co-president of UMass student dance groups including UMass Dance Company and Alive with Dance where she choreographed, held open classes, and took on administrative roles. The culmination of these experiences has led her to pursue a Master of Public Policy at Brandeis University where she hopes to contribute to necessary change in the realm of disability policy. Haylee believes that dance is a vessel for social change, and she embodies the motto that dance is for everyone.
Sarah Canny
Sarah grew up in Binghamton, New York. She began dancing at the age of three at Southern Tier Academy of Dance, where she trained in tap, ballet, jazz, contemporary, modern, and hip hop. As a member of the United State Dance Team for five years prior to college, she performed in Madison Square Garden, Times Square, Walt Disney World, and Universal Studios. Sarah then attended the University of Rochester, where she studied International Relations and Spanish. At the UR, Sarah joined Louvre Performance Ensemble, a student-run contemporary dance group, as a member and choreographer for four years. She served as Louvre's Production Manager for one year and President for two years. She also studied abroad in Granada, Spain, where she studied Flamenco dance technique and history. In 2015, Sarah began dancing with BIODANCE, a dance company based in Rochester, NY, which explores social, political, and environmental issues through its artistic works. She moved to Boston in July 2016 to begin a Masters in Public Policy at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. She graduated in 2018, and is now working as a policy advisor to Congressman Joe Kennedy III. Sarah began dancing with Evolve Dynamicz in the summer of 2016, and became an official member in October 2016.