ACT I
Opening remarks with the Evolve leadership team: Lisa Giancola, Katie Logan, Ava Louise Majumder & Nicole Zizzi
crazy blonde.
Score by: Ava Louise Majumder
Music: Odessa by Caribou
Dancers: Avi Binder, Madison Florence, Katie Logan, Ava Louise Majumder & Nicole Zizzi
Collaborators: Sophia Sabaten
Resistance (a dance film)
Score by: Katie Logan
Music: Performed and arranged by IRIS
Dancers: Lisa Giancola, Katie Logan, Ava Louise Majumder & Nicole Zizzi
Film: Model Peril Sounds with Jeff Wang
Chance
Score by: Katie Logan
Dancers: Avi Binder, Madison Florence, Katie Logan, Ava Louise Majumder, Caitlin Peeler & Nicole Zizzi
Speaker: Lisa Giancola
Music: (Options to be chosen by chance by an audience member)
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About Today by The National
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Watching the Storm by U137
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marjorie by Taylor Swift
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Kids by MGMT
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This Rush of Beauty and This Sense of Order by Ben Cosgrove
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Africa Calling by The Human Experience
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Coffee by Sylvan Esso
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Body Move by DizzyFae
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22 (OVER S∞∞N) by Bon Iver
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Forces of Attraction by Jóhann Jóhannsson
Remarks with Lisa Giancola
INTERMISSION 1
Our Mission
As artists, we seek to confront the challenges of a millennial 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 with audiences in all spaces, of all types.
ACT II
INTERMISSION 2
imposter
Score by: Nicole Zizzi
Music: interpolation of sevens by Nicole Zizzi
Dancers: Avi Binder, Madison Florence, Katie Logan, Caitlin Peeler & Nicole Zizzi
Imposter was developed and made possible by Modern Connections. It was the recipient of the DIP Showcase Award with Modern Connections.
lucidity evolved (a dance film)
Score by: Nicole Zizzi and Ava Louise Majumder
Music:
Film Edits by: Nicole Zizzi
Poem written by: Ava Louise Majumder
Poem recorded by: Travis Swain and Nicole Zizzi
Music: Irenko by Aljeandro Magana (AM)
Performers: Scilla Bennett, Cassandre Charles, Lisa Giancola, Micah Huang, Ava Louise Majumder, Ellen Oliver, Jessie Hogestyn, karen Krolak & Kwaq7aj', Harlow Pizzurro, Zeke Starling, Travis Swain, Nicole Zizzi, & others who wished to stay anonymous
This film was made possible by The Dance Complex’s 2020 aMaSSiT Residency.
Rise with Me
Choreographed & Performed by: Katie Logan & Nicole Zizzi
Music Composed & Performed by: Emma Gies, in collaboration with Micah Huang
Remarks with Ava Louise Majumder.
ACT III
ReAct
Score by: Nicole Zizzi
Music: Talisman by Nils Frahm (x2)
Dancers: Madison Florence, Katie Logan, Lisa Giancola, Ava Louise Majumder, Caitlin Peeler & Nicole Zizzi
Collaborators: Sophia Sabaten
Audience Members are welcome to interact with this movement installation
Rainbow of Emotion
Score by: Katie Logan
Music: Rainy Lago Maggiore by Pure Sleeping Vibes
Dancers: Avi Binder, Madison Florence, Lisa Giancola, Katie Logan, Ava Louise Majumder & Nicole Zizzi
Overlapped (a dance film)
This video may contain scenes that could induce dizziness or nausea in some viewers.
Choreographers: Lisa Giancola & Nicole Zizzi
Music: Lay On the Couch All Day by Le Gang
Videography: Ava Desautels
Film Editing: Lisa Giancola
Dancers: Scilla Bennet, Deanna Filsinger, Hayley Forrest, Lisa Giancola, Kaylee Mahan, Ava Louise Majumder & Nicole Zizzi
Created at the “Floating Between Two Worlds” installation by Esther Solondz at the Fruitlands Museum
mobilize
Music: Wading in Waist High Waters by Fleet Foxes
Dancers: Lisa Giancola, Katie Logan, Ava Louise Majumder & Nicole Zizzi
side game
Score by: Lisa Giancola & Nicole Zizzi
Music: Life Story by Olafur Arnalds
Dancers: Avi Binder, Madison Florence, Lisa Giancola, Katie Logan, Ava Louise Majumder, Caitlin Peeler & Nicole Zizzi
Closing remarks with Katie Logan
SPECIAL THANKS:
We couldn’t have put on this show without the help of our community partners. The Dance Complex, Boston Dance Alliance, Monkeyhouse, Scilla Bennett, Emma Gies & Travis Swain
THANK YOU!
This program has been made possible in part through the fiscal sponsorship of the Boston Dance Alliance.
Improv Dynamicz Dancers
Lisa Giancola
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!
(she/hers)
Co-founder/Co-Artistic Director
Fall 2024 Improv Dynamicz Performer
Nicole Zizzi
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.
(she/hers)
Co-founder/Co-Artistic Director
Fall 2024 Improv Dynamicz Dancer & Performer
Katie Logan
(she/hers)
Associate Director
Fall 2024 Improv Dynamicz Dancer & Performer
Katie Logan is a Boston-based contemporary dance artist interested in exploring movement improvisation, somatic practices, and human anatomy. Katie originally encountered Evolve Dynamicz as a guest artist in their first self-produced show, SPACES. She then joined the company in 2022, and has evolved to become the Associate Director. As a performer, Katie danced with several contemporary companies in the Greater Boston area, including Nozama Dance Collective, Onstage Repertory, and Kelley Donovan and Dancers. She toured “Enough” with Paradise Moves and danced in “Alcina” with Opera Del West. She performed in numerous filmed works, most recently “Resistance”, which she produced with Model Peril Sounds and cello duo, Iris. Katie has extensive experience with choreography, setting pieces on Evolve Dynamicz, Nozama Dance Collective, BU's Dance Theatre Group, and the Onstage Residency Showcase. She has led professional classes for dancers at a variety of studios around Boston. Across her artistic work, Katie uses collaboration and improvisation to direct compelling pieces that exemplify performers and move audiences. Katie holds a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Dance Performance from Boston University.
Ava Louise Majumder
(she/hers)
Rehearsal Director
Fall 2024 Improv Dynamicz Dancer & Performer
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!
Avi Binder
(they/them)
Fall 2024 Improv Dynamicz Dancer & Performer
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.
Madison Florence
(she/hers)
Fall 2024 Improv Dynamicz Dancer & Performer
Madison Florence is a dancer and choreographer. When asked "what style of dance do you do?” the simplest answer is that she creates and performs contemporary dance. Raised in Connecticut, she competed in jazz and hip hop while also training in ballet and pointe. When she discovered modern, her style began a profound shift into more contemporary movement. Her current work draws on her history of sharp, precise, and athletic movement while highlighting the shapes, curves, and qualities of modern dance. One of her most impactful teachers was Lorelei Chang of dancEnlight. Her merger of traditional Chinese dance and modern opened a door for Madison to explore her own qualities and style. Madison danced throughout college developing a love for creating access to dance and the arts and curating her personal style. Today she is a dancer, choreographer, and marketing director with Nozama Dance Collective and joined Evolve Dynamicz improvisational company in 2024.
Sophia Sabaten
(she/hers)
Fall 2024 Improv Dynamicz Dancer
Sophia Sabaten is from East Haven, CT. She began her dance career with ballroom dance at the age of 11 at Fred Astaire Dance Studios in Hamden, CT. She continued her dance education at the Educational Center for the Arts in New Haven, CT, where she was introduced to modern dance. There, she became a member of ECA’s Repertory Dance Company under the direction of Nazorine Ulysse. She then attended Roger Williams University, earning a B.S. in Architecture and minors in Dance and Business and a Master’s degree in Architecture from Northeastern University. Sophia joined Evolve in January 2021 during her time at Northeastern and has continued her dance journey post graduation. Currently, she is working in architecture as a designer, while also taking lessons and competing at Pro-Am events at ballroom competitions across the country. She hopes to compete professionally in the future and one day be like her current coaches, attaining a vast collection of knowledge and technique to give back and teach students effectively to progress and sustain their love for dancing.
Caitlin Peeler
(he/she/they)
Improv Dynamicz Guest Artist
Caitlin Peeler started dancing in The Berkshires when they were 13 years old and hasn't stopped since. Training in styles such as ballet, modern, lyrical, and hip hop, they decided to continue her studies and went on to get her BA in Dance from Dean College. Expanding into more styles such as contemporary and improvisation and taking classes from pedagogy to dance composition helped them find their own movement and love for teaching. They are now based in Boston at the age of 29 and are dancing with groups such as N/A, Project Sway, Project CXC, and any opportunity that comes their way ! They want to continue sharing their love for movement by teaching, performing, and sessioning with the community. They currently teach weekly Movement Exploration classes at Xeno Dance Studios and works as a TA at Perkins School For The Blind during the day.
Emma Gies
Musician
Emma Gies is a versatile violinist, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist specializing in improvisation and cross-cultural music. With a foundation in classical violin, her unique style blends influences from Hindustani Gayaki-Ang, Roma/Gypsy, jazz, and American roots traditions, earning her acclaim such as "hauntingly gorgeous" by The Boston Globe. A passionate educator, Emma inspires students to explore music across genres, integrating improvisation and composition. She holds a Master’s in Contemporary Improvisation from New England Conservatory and has collaborated on impactful arts activism projects, including Blood on Gold Mountain and American Dreams/Asian Nightmares. Her career highlights include recording What Is Done in Love and performing internationally with her duo, The Flower Pistils.