Opening remarks with the Evolve leadership team: Lisa Giancola, Ava Majumder & Nicole Zizzi
​​Neptide [2017]
Choreographed by: Lisa Giancola and Nicole Zizzi
Music: Oceano by Roberto Cacciapaglia
Costumes: LisaGiancolors (Lisa Giancola)
Evolve Repertoire Dancers: Rhiannon Carpenter, Jessie Hogestyn, Kaylee Mahan, Ava Louise Majumder, Redacted Maxwell
(5 min)
​
------Interlude & parent/child transition time
Special feature solo
Evolve Alum: Caitlin Peeler
Music: Sigur 3 (Untitled) by Sigur Ros
(4 min)​​
​
Your Light [2018]
Score by: Lisa Giancola
Music: Your Light by GRiZ
Improv Dynamicz Dancers: Avi Binder, Lila Klaus, Ava Louise Majumder, Kaylee Mahan, Andrea West
(4 min)​​
​
------Interlude & parent/child transition time
Special feature solo
Evolve Alum: Haylee Denham (Saturday)
Evolve Director: Nicole Zizzi (Sunday)
Music: Sigur 3 (Untitled) by Sigur Ros
(4 min)​
​
Wandering [2025]
Choreographed by: Ava Louise Majumder
Music: Eclipsing by Akal Dub
Evolve Repertoire Dancers: Jessie Hogestyn, Kaylee Mahan, Ava Louise Majumder
(5 min)​
​
Echoing Space [2025]
Score by: Avi Binder
Music: Clade (Frameworks Remix) by Edamame & Frameworks
Improv Dynamicz Dancers: Allison Rebecca Penn (Sat), Crys Tang, Andrea West, Nicole Zizzi
(4 min)
​
​​What Time Do I Have To Leave? [2022]
Choreographed by: Lisa Giancola
Music: 68 State by The Gorillaz
Evolve Repertoire Dancers: Rhiannon Carpenter, Jessie Hogestyn, Kaylee Mahan, Redacted Maxwell
(5 min)
​​
------Interlude & parent/child transition time
Special feature solo
Evolve Director: Lisa Giancola
Music: Sigur 3 (Untitled) by Sigur Ros
(4 min)
​​
Curving [2025]
Score by: Ava Louise Majumder
Music: Une Meeles by Maarja Nuut & Ruum
Improv Dynamicz Dancers: Avi Binder, Lila Klaus, Kaylee Mahan, Allison Rebecca Penn (Sat), Crys Tang, Andrea West
(3 min)
​
Inter/Intra (an excerpt) [2018]
Choreographed by: Nicole Zizzi
Music: Innerbloom by Rufus Du Sol
Evolve Repertoire Dancers: Rhiannon Carpenter, Lisa Giancola, Jessie Hogestyn, Ava Louise Majumder, Redacted Maxwell, Nicole Zizzi
Featuring Guest Artist: Scilla Bennett
(6 min)
INTERMISSION
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
​​​​ReAct [2024]
Score by: Nicole Zizzi
Music: Talisman by Nils Frahm
Improv Dynamicz Dancers: Lisa Giancola, Lila Klaus, Ava Louise Majumder, Andrea West & Nicole Zizzi
Featuring Guest Artist: Caitlin Peeler
(8 min)
Audience Members are welcome to interact with this movement installation
​​
-home - without- home [2025]
Choreographed by: Ava Louise Majumder
Music: The Architect by Kerry Muzzey
Evolve Repertoire Dancers: Rhiannon Carpenter, Jessie Hogestyn, Kaylee Mahan, Redacted Maxwell
(5 min)
​​
KALEIDOSCOPE [2025]
Score by: Nicole Zizzi
Music: Unicorn by Four Tet
Improv Dynamicz Dancers: Scilla Bennett, Avi Binder, Lila Klaus, Ava Louise Majumder, Allison Rebecca Penn (Sat), Crys Tang, Andrea West, Nicole Zizzi
Featuring Guest Artist: Caitlin Peeler
(3 min)
​​
------Interlude & parent/child transition time
Special feature solo
Evolve Director: Ava Louise Majumder
Music: Sigur 3 (Untitled) by Sigur Ros
(4 min)
​​
mobilize [2015]
Duet by: Lisa Giancola & Nicole Zizzi
Music: Wading in Waist High Waters by Fleet Foxes & March 4, 1831 by Balmhorea
(3 min)
​
Side Game [2021]
Score by: Lisa Giancola & Nicole Zizzi
Music: Life Story by Olafur Arnalds
Evolve Repertoire & Improv Dynamicz Dancers: , Avi Binder, Rhiannon Carpenter, Lisa Giancola, Jessie Hogestyn, Lila Klaus, Kaylee Mahan, Ava Louise Majumder, Redacted Maxwell, Allison Rebecca Penn (Sat), Crys Tang, Andrea West, Nicole Zizzi
Featuring Guest Artists/ Evolve Alumni: Scilla Bennett, Nicole Bushey (Sun), Haylee Denham (Sat), Caitlin Peeler
(6 min)
​
Bows
Music: Thanks For Fun by Appelscal
Dancers: Full Cast!​​​​​​​
​
SPECIAL THANKS:
We couldn’t have put on this show without the help of our community partners. The Dance Complex, Boston Dance Alliance, Karen Krolak, SomArt Spaces, our tech, lights and stage managers, Erin K Scarry, Olivia Moon Photography, all the dancers of Evolve's past and present and our families.
THANK YOU!
This program has been made possible in part through the fiscal sponsorship of the Boston Dance Alliance.
Evolve Dynamicz Dancers
The 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.
​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. ​
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
Rep & Improv Dynamicz Dancer
Nicole Zizzi
Nicole is co-founder and artistic director of Boston based dance company Evolve Dynamicz. She studied Physics and Dance as an undergraduate at University of Rochester, where she trained under her 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 co-founding partner, Lisa Giancola, started Evolve Dynamicz. Nicole completed her Master's of Architecture in 2021 at Northeastern University where she is currently working as the Graduate Program Manager within the School of Architecture. She is also a part-time lecturer in Northeastern's graduate Experience Design program where her research in embodiment and data somatics investigates how dance may be used as a tool for fostering data literacy. Her creative practice has become a means of processing her own lived-experience as a disabled dancer and through various performances, productions, workshops (and more) with Evolve Dynamicz. She uses dance as a means of de-stigmatizing conversations surrounding disability, mental health, and their inherent intersections.
(she/hers)
Co-founder/Co-Artistic Director
Rep & Improv Dynamicz Dancer
Ava Louise Majumder
(she/hers)
Rehearsal Director
Rep & Improv Dynamicz Dancer
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!
Scilla Bennett
(she/hers)
Evolve Alumni
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 looked back. She’s 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. She also currently dances with Rainbow Mafia, a contemporary dance group that incorporates poi and hoops. 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.
Avi Binder
(they/them)
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.
Rhiannon Carpenter
(she/her)
Evolve Rep 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.
Jessie Hogestyn
(she/her)
Evolve Rep 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.
Lila Klaus
(she/they)
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.
Kaylee Mahan
(she/her)
Rep & 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.
Redacted Maxwell
(they/them)
Evolve Rep 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.
Caitlin Peeler
(he/she/they)
Improv Dynamicz Dancer
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.
Allison Rebecca Penn
(she/her)
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.
Crys Tang
(she/her)
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.
Andrea West
(she/her)
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.
Nicole Bushey
(she/her)
Evolve Alumni
Nicole was born and raised in a small town, Lunenburg, MA. She began her journey dancing at Michelle Goodwin’s School of Dance at the age of three studying ballet, tap and jazz. She then continued her education in dance from the Dance Teacher’s Club of Boston’s Dance Education Training Course and graduated in 2008, where she studied with internationally known ballet and modern master, E. Laura Haussmann. After receiving her certification in teaching she taught ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop and lyrical technique for eight years at Michelle Goodwin’s. During that time, she received her associates degree in Liberal Arts at Mount Wachusett Community College and then continued following her heart by entering the Dean Dance Program. During her Dean experience, she has studied and found a devotion and passion in Horton and Contemporary movement. Nicole is graduating Dean College as a double major in Dance and Arts and Entertainment Management in August of 2017. Nicole has an open mind to her future and is willing to take the voyage for whatever the universe will offer. She began dancing with Evolve Dynamicz in January of 2017, and first performed with Evolve at the 5th Anniversary concert of Third Life Studio Choreographer Series in March of 2017.
Haylee Denham
(she/her)
Evolve Alumni
Haylee Denham teaches modern dance at Joanne Langione Dance Center, School for Excellence and is a recent dual-degree graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst Commonwealth Honors College. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a neuroscience concentration. Haylee also received 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 the Boltwood Project where she cultivated relationships and engaged in activities with individuals of various developmental and intellectual differences; this program emphasized 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. Haylee believes that dance can be used to create positive change in the world and promote overall wellness for all individuals. She lives by the motto that dance is for everyone.
