Modals
A MILLION VOICES (excerpt)
CHOREOGRAPHY: Matthew Neenan
MUSIC: Performed by Peggy Lee; composed by Robert Sour & Una Mae Carlisle, Johnny Mercer & Harold Arlen
PERFORMERS: Katie Garcia, Pedro Garcia, Alana Jones, Tiare Keeno, Ty Morrison, Joan Rodriguez, Guzmán Rosado, Jordyn Santiago
A Million Voices is inspired by the inimitable Peggy Lee, who was a pioneer in the art of "persona." Her legendary music, which was created in response to the political climate of her time, spurs us to embrace the passion of living even in the darkest of times.
This work was made possible in part by the Made in Wickenburg Residency Program at Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts with funding from the RH Johnson Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wellik Foundation, WESTAF, and Benner-Nawman.
BEAU SOIR
MUSIC: Claude Debussy
PERFORMER: Sophia Bacelar
Originally a vocal piece set to a poem by Paul Bouget, the French art song Beau Soir (Beautiful Evening) evokes the exquisiteness of the rose-colored sunset and landscape depicted in the lyrics. The melancholic lyrics and melody of this piece, both examples of the 19th-century French post-Romantic style, tell a story of transience and mortality that remind us that all beauty ultimately fades and disintegrates.
THE SWAN
MUSIC: Camille Saint-Saëns
PERFORMER: Sophia Bacelar
Camille Saint-Saëns The Swan has become one of the most recognizable works in both the cello and dance repertoire. One of fourteen movements from The Carnival of the Animals, the work for solo cello and orchestra portrays the legend of the “dying swan,” a popular Ancient Greek and Roman belief where the swan, the most beautiful of all animals, remained silent until its final moments of life when it would sing the most beautiful of all songs.
THREE PRELUDES (excerpt)
CHOREOGRAPHY: Richard Siegal
MUSIC: George Gershwin
CELLO: Sophia Bacelar
PERFORMERS: Katie Garcia and Joan Rodriguez
This nostalgic work captures the essence of Gershwin’s sophistication and BODYTRAFFIC’s vivaciousness.
This work was commissioned by MUSE/IQUE.
This work was made possible in part by a grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles.
Additional support is provided by WORD, a program of American Jewish University’s Institute for Jewish Creativity, a program supported through a generous Cutting Edge Grant from the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles. WORD’s Artist Grants, Bruce Geller Memorial Prizes, are made possible by the late Jeanette Geller in memory of her husband, Bruce.
MOON RIVER
MUSIC: Henry Mancini (Arr. Sophia Bacelar)
PERFORMER: Sophia Bacelar
The metaphoric lyrics of Moon River speak of a yearning for the unpredictable eddies of an adventurous life and to be swept along by its currents to somewhere new. Written by Henry Mancini as the iconic ballad sung by Audrey Hepburn’s character in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the song has been arranged and covered by countless artists across various musical genres.
MEDITATION FROM THAIS
MUSIC: Jules Massenet
PERFORMER: Sophia Bacelar
Meditation from Jules Massenet’s opera Thaïs tells the story of a beautiful and hedonistic courtesan, Thaïs, who is a devotée of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and sexuality. In this scene, she is confronted by Athanaël, a Cenobite monk who urges her to leave her life of luxury and pleasure to find salvation through God. The piece conjures images and feelings of passion and inner turmoil and concludes with Thaïs agreeing to follow Athanaël into the desert and find her redemption.
PACOPEPEPLUTO
CHOREOGRAPHY: Alejandro Cerrudo
MUSIC: Memories Are Made of This by Joe Scalisi, In The Chapel In The Moonlight by Dean Martin,
That’s Amore by Dean Martin
PERFORMERS: First solo: Joan Rodriguez, Second solo: Pedro Garcia, Third solo: Guzmán Rosado
Three solos for male dancers set to songs popularized by “the king of cool,” Dean Martin. PACOPEPEPLUTO shows Alejandro Cerrudo’s skill at balancing aesthetic austerity and sharp wit. This work dares viewers to nakedly and joyfully embrace their true self-expression.
NOCTURNE IN C# MINOR
MUSIC: Frédéric Chopin (Arr. Pedro Osuna)
PERFORMER: Sophia Bacelar
A modern reimagination of Chopin’s most famous Nocturne. Chopin’s posthumous work was most famously featured in The Pianist, Roman Polanski’s film about the Polish pianist and Holocaust survivor Wladyslaw Szpilman, who performs it for a Nazi army officer while living in hiding. This arrangement features solo cello and electronics, creating a cinematic soundscape surrounding the original melodic line.
OBLIVION
MUSIC: Astor Piazzolla (Arr. Natalie Tenenbaum)
PERFORMER: Sophia Bacelar
Originally written for Marco Bellocchio’s 1984 Italian film ‘Enrico IV’ (‘Henry IV’), Astor Piazzolla’s Oblivion has been described as “haunting” and “atmospheric” and is considered to be one of Piazzolla’s most popular tangos. Inspired by the music of James Blake, this arrangement featuring sound design, synths, and piano by Israeli pianist and composer Natalie Tenenbaum pays homage to the work in a contemporary adaptation.
BLOCKADE (excerpt)
CHOREOGRAPHY: Joan Rodriguez
MUSIC: Pedro Osuna
CELLO: Sophia Bacelar
PERFORMERS: Katie Garcia, Pedro Garcia, Alana Jones, Tiare Keeno, Ty Morrison, Joan Rodriguez, Guzmán Rosado, Jordyn Santiago
Illuminated by the storied history of Cuba, the choreographer’s own narrative as a Cuban refugee, and the duality of the immigrant experience, this work is a love story framed by the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis that demonstrates the necessity of community and camaraderie in times of insecurity in the fight for human rights.
SOPHIA BACELAR
As a performer, producer, communicator, creator, speaker, and educator, Cuban-Chinese musician and interdisciplinary artist Sophia Bacelar (b.1996) combines her background as a classically trained cellist with a passion for technology, innovation, storytelling, and change to create works and experiences for the contemporary culture. Through music, art, and film, she activates spaces, brands, and ideas in the physical and digital world.
BODYTRAFFIC
BODYTRAFFIC (BT) creates relevant dance works that invite artists and audiences into highly thematic worlds and narratives. Using the creative spirit of its Los Angeles home as a backdrop, BT curates performances and education programs that encourage audiences to explore what it means to be human through movement. Its goal is simple: get the world moving.
Since its founding in 2007, the company has grown to attract skilled dancers from throughout the world, commission works from the stellar contemporary choreographers of today, and educate all generations of dancers and dance lovers around the globe. Through over 15 years of performing around the world and providing vibrant community programming, the company has elicited numerous critical accolades, including one from the Los Angeles Times, which described BODYTRAFFIC as “one of the most talked about companies—not just in LA, but nationwide.”
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Tina Finkelman Berkett
ASSOCIATE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Guzmán Rosado
COMPANY MEMBERS
Katie Garcia, Pedro Garcia, Alana Jones, Tiare Keeno, Ty Morrison, Joan Rodriguez, Jordyn Santiago
GENERAL MANAGER
Callen Gosselin
PRODUCTION & TOUR MANAGER
Dora Quintanilla
EDUCATION & OUTREACH MANAGER
Julie Opiel
DANCE CAPTAIN
Tiare Keeno
REPRESENTATION
Margaret Selby, Selby/Artists Management
BOARD of DIRECTORS
Gillian Wynn (President), Sophia Bacelar, Kate Beyda, Ward Bukofsky, Talia Friedman, Gwen Bethel Riley, Julia Strickland, Rachel Webber, Lesley Wolman
TINA FINKELMAN BERKETT, Artistic Director and a Founder of BODYTRAFFIC, is an influential dance leader and community builder, producing original, compelling repertoire and sharing a new vision of dance across the U.S. and around the world. Tina grew up in New York City, attending Stuyvesant High School of Math and Science and graduating summa cum laude from Barnard College, Columbia University, with a double major in Mathematics and Economics. Her love of dance was ignited by her teacher and mentor, Michele Cuccaro Cain.
Tina’s professional dance career began at Aszure Barton & Artists, a distinguished contemporary dance company, where she quickly became a featured dancer and then Barton’s assistant, teaching both in the U.S. and abroad. A true highlight of Tina's career was being a founding member of Mikhail Baryshnikov's Hell's Kitchen Dance and touring internationally alongside Mr. Baryshnikov himself. Tina began her interest in arts administration when she served as the company's dancer liaison.
In 2007, Tina relocated to Los Angeles and launched BODYTRAFFIC with Lillian Barbeito. Now serving as the company's sole Artistic Director, Tina is focusing on re-envisioning and revitalizing BODYTRAFFIC. With her deep commitment to taking the company to new heights, she is curating and discovering exciting choreographers and programming challenging programs that audiences enjoy, seeing incredible dancers doing their best work. "BODYTRAFFIC is a home for dancers, choreographers, and dance lovers of all ages. We’re excited about the future and touring again!”
GUZMÁN ROSADO (Associate Artistic Director) started dancing at age 15 at Scaena, the International School of Dance of Carmen Roche in Madrid, on a scholarship sponsored by the Ministerio de Cultura de Madrid. After two years in school and graduating from the Royal Conservatory of Dance of Madrid, Guzmán joined Ballet Joven de Carmen Roche, where he performed a wide variety of classical and contemporary roles for two years. In 1998 he was offered a scholarship to attend the School of American Ballet in New York. After his time at SAB, Edward Villella invited him to dance with Miami City Ballet. From 2002 to 2007, Guzmán danced with Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporâneo and Companhia Nacional de Bailado in Lisbon. In 2007, with André Mesquita and Teresa Alves da Silva, Guzmán co-founded Tok’Art, a cultural platform creating dance and film works. He has performed extensively as a guest dancer and collaborated on film projects throughout Europe.
Guzmán stayed committed to developing and honing his skills as a filmmaker and editor, leading him to create a film production company in Spain in 2021. Since then, he has produced, filmed, and edited several feature films and shorts that have gained attention and won several awards around the world.
Guzmán joined BODYTRAFFIC in 2012 as a dancer and became Associate Artistic Director in 2020. As BODYTRAFFIC’s resident filmmaker, Guzmán has been able to merge his passion for dance and film, creating and collaborating with vibrant communities of artists from all over the globe. Making films that share the influential force of dance with the world is one of his greatest honors.
ALEJANDRO CERRUDO is a Chicago-based choreographer born in Madrid, Spain. His professional career includes work with Victor Ullate Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Nederlands Dans Theater 2, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (HSDC). Cerrudo became HSDCʼs first-ever Resident Choreographer in 2008 and held that position until 2018. Cerrudo’s body of work has been performed by over 20 professional dance companies around the world. Honors include an award from the Boomerang Fund for Artists (2011) and the Prince Prize for Commissioning Original Work from the Prince Charitable Trusts (2012) for his acclaimed first evening-length work, One Thousand Pieces. In 2014, he was awarded the USA Donnelley Fellowship by United States Artists. Also, Cerrudo was one of four choreographers invited by New York City Ballet’s Wendy Whelan to create and perform original duets for Restless Creatures. In 2017, Cerrudo was invited by Daniil Simkin to choreograph a site-specific performance for the Guggenheim Rotunda, a Works & Process Rotunda Project commission featuring Daniil Simkin and original costumes by Dior. Cerrudo’s Sleeping Beauty, created with Ballet Theater Basel in 2016, was nominated as “Production of the Year” in Switzerland in the “Tanz, Jahrbuch 2016” by the Neue Zürcher Zeitung. In 2020, Cerrudo was appointed Pacific Northwest Ballet’s resident choreographer; with that, he became the first artist in the company’s history to have the honor of holding that title. Independently, he directed and choreographed his show, “It Starts Now,” which premiered in 2020 at The Joyce Theater in New York. In 2022, Cerrudo was appointed artistic director of Charlotte Ballet.
JOAN RODRIGUEZ was born in La Habana, Cuba, where he graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Arte with the “Best Graduate of the Year” award. His professional career began with DanzAbierta, and he went on to join Malpaso Dance Company. He became a political refugee in 2017 and relocated to Arizona, where he focused on creating, teaching, and producing multimedia projects. He has also served as a Guest Artist in Residency for universities and arts centers throughout the U.S. and has received awards in several dance competitions. In 2019, Joan joined Parsons Dance and choreographed an original work for the company as part of the 2019 GenerationNow fellowship program. Joan has also showcased his own collaborative works at the Blacktinx Dance Festival, the Solo/Duo Dance Festival, and at NYC art galleries as part of mixed media performances. He has taught guest classes at The Juilliard School, NYU, Gibney Dance, Yale, Hunter College, Akron University, and RWU. He was recently commissioned as a choreographer by Connecticut Ballet for their “Ballet Under the Stars” 2021 summer program. Joan is currently on his second season with BODYTRAFFIC in Los Angeles. He continues pursuing his creative ambitions in community spaces and with students, and developing his craft, choreographing in a variety of environments for professional dance companies, live theater productions, and television and film.
RICHARD SIEGAL is the founder and artistic director of The Bakery Paris–Berlin (2005). Recognized by a New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award, The German National Theater Faust Award, S.A.C.D. Prize, a Beaumarchais, and The Mouson Award, Richard Siegal has generated international attention for a body of work that includes performances, new media projects, workshops, and publications. Richard Siegal has been Artist / Choreographer-in- Residence at ZKM/Karlsruhe, Bennington College, and The Baryshnikov Arts Center. As a faculty member of the American Dance Festival, he curated the annual Forsythe Festival. Siegal is a MacDowell fellow and honorary member of The Bolshoi Ballet's Benoit de la Danse.
PEDRO OSUNA is a composer, conductor, and producer whose music can be heard in films and concert halls around the world. A native of Granada, Spain, Osuna trained in Classical music before pursuing his studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he graduated with the highest honors and received the most prestigious awards in film scoring and fugue writing. He continued his studies under the guidance of Leonard Bernstein’s disciple and GRAMMY-winning composer Richard Danielpour and Nadia Boulanger’s student Isaiah Jackson. He has since composed commissioned works for renowned orchestras, ensembles, dancers, and artists worldwide, including GRAMMY-winning Hila Plitmann, Sophia Bacelar, Francisco Fullana, Pablo Sainz Villegas, the Firdaus Orchestra, the Diotima Quartet, and GRAMMY-winning Los Angeles Children’s Chorus. Osuna has also collaborated on some of the most influential projects of our time, such as No Time To Die, the World Expo, Klaus, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Lightyear. The latter two were scored by Oscar-winning composer/director Michael Giacchino, who recommended Osuna to score Santiago Mitre’s Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated film Argentina, 1985, which earned him a Platino Award nomination for best score. He resides in Los Angeles and continues to create music that transcends genres and boundaries.
KATIE GARCIA is originally from Miami, Florida, and graduated from The Juilliard School in 2017. She also trained at New World School of the Arts, Dance Town Studios Miami, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Springboard Danse Montréal. After graduation from Juilliard, she was a member of Parsons Dance for two and a half years and performed in her own collaborative works. Katie has taught master classes at such institutions as Yale University, New York University, Akron University, Florida State University, and Hunter College. In pursuing her passion for community outreach, she participated in GLUCK and TAP for Life, programs allowing her to perform in NYC and Miami hospitals and wellness centers. In 2016, she orchestrated a project in Botswana, where she taught dance and special education movement therapy classes for children. She has also presented her co-produced dance films with Joan Rodriguez at the Blacktinx Dance Festival, Solo Due Dance Festival, Dumbo Dance Festival, and at an NYC art gallery with mixed media artist Anna Khachatryan.
PEDRO GARCIA began his studies at the National Conservatory of Lisbon, working with teachers including Mikahall Zavialova, Irina Zavialova, Catarina Moreira, and José Luís Vieira, among others. In 2014, he won the 3° prize at Tanzolymp Competition in Berlin. He received his diploma in 2015 and continued on to earn a degree from School Superieure de Danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower. Pedro joined the junior ballet Rosella Hightower DNSP3 for one year and then went on to join the Ballet Nacional de Marseille, where he worked with Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten until 2018. In 2019, he joined Companhia Portuguesa de Bailado Contemporaneo, under the direction of Vasco Wellenkamp. Most recently, Pedro has worked with choreographers Nelia Pinheiro and André Mesquita, and joined Quórum Ballet for one season where he worked with Daniel Cardoso and Lior Tavori.
ALANA JONES is a Houston native. She is a founding member of Vitacca Dance Project under the direction of Kelly Ann Vitacca and trained under Ballet Master Phillip Broomhead while attending the High School of Performing and Visual Arts. In 2014, Alana was accepted on scholarship and trained with American Ballet Theatre and Dance Theatre of Harlem. Thereafter, Alana was accepted on scholarship to SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, where she received her BFA. While at Purchase, she was invited into the ballet concentration where she performed and studied works by George Balanchine, Norbert De la Cruz, Michelle Ulerich, and Colby Damon. She has also trained with Ballet X, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance, and Arts Umbrella. Alana earned her BFA and began her professional career with Visceral Dance Chicago.
TIARE KEENO received her BFA from The Juilliard School in 2016. While at Juilliard, she worked with choreographers Camille A. Brown, Kyle Abraham, Kate Weare, and Brian Brooks. She also performed repertoire by Jíri Kylián and Twyla Tharp, as well as lead roles in Martha Graham’s Dark Meadow and José Limón’s Missa Brevis. After graduation, Tiare was a company member of Nevada Ballet Theatre and worked in collaboration with Cirque du Soleil. She attended Springboard Danse Montreal, where she performed works by Aszure Barton, Spenser Theberge, RUBBERBAND Dance Group, and Kidd Pivot. She has been a faculty member of FRESH Dance Intensive in Canada and is currently a member of Share the Movement, an organization aiming to increase diversity in the professional dance community through educational and financial support to young BIPOC artists. In 2017, Tiare moved to Macau, China to appear in a cirque show with MGM’s ScenoPlus Productions. Upon returning to the US, she performed in Al Blackstone’s Freddie Falls in Love at The Joyce Theater. Tiare joined BODYTRAFFIC in 2019.
TY MORRISON is from the greater Boston area and has dedicated 13 years of his life to versatile dance training at The Gold School Dance Art under the direction of Rennie Gold. Ty received a BFA in Contemporary Dance from The Boston Conservatory at Berklee on full scholarship. During his time at The Boston Conservatory, he worked with and performed works by such acclaimed choreographers as Darrell Moultrie, Catherine Coury, Bradley Shelver, Adrianne Hawkins, and Martha Nichols. Immediately after graduation, he was featured in on-site dance film productions with choreographers Roderick George, Ashley Lindsay, and Antonio Brown. He has had the honor of being a guest artist with The Limón Dance Company and an active artist with a little house dance company.
JOAN RODRIGUEZ was born in La Habana, Cuba, where he graduated from the Escuela Nacional de Arte with the “Best Graduate of the Year” award. His professional career began with DanzAbierta, and he went on to join Malpaso Dance Company. He became a political refugee in 2017 and relocated to Arizona, where he focused on creating, teaching, and producing multimedia projects. He has also served as a Guest Artist in Residency for universities and arts centers throughout the U.S. and has received awards in several dance competitions. In 2019, he joined Parsons Dance and choreographed an original work for the company as part of the 2019 GenerationNow fellowship program. Throughout 2020 and 2021, Joan has focused on freelancing in dance, teaching, and videography. Joan is currently on his second season with BODYTRAFFIC in Los Angeles. He continues pursuing his creative ambitions in community spaces and with students, and developing his craft, choreographing in a variety of environments for professional dance companies, live theater productions, and television and film.
JORDYN SANTIAGO is from North Carolina and is a Los Angeles-based dancer and choreographer who studied at The Dance Theatre of Jacksonville before continuing to train throughout the US and in Israel and Europe. She has danced for Ate9, Freemove Dance, tedted Performance Group and Mg+artists. In 2021, Jordyn performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in a production of the opera Prism, under the direction of Beth Morrison Projects. She has toured as a backup dancer with the Los Angeles band Half Alive in a piece choreographed by The JA Collective and has created new works with Bryan Arias for the Arias Company. Along with choreographers Dana Wilson, Ebony Williams, and Christopher Scott, she appeared in the recent film production of In The Heights. Jordyn has taught at highly respected institutions and collectives like Peridance Capezio Center, Brickhouse, and The University of the Arts. Most recently, she was a guest artist with Ate9 in its premiere of Joy at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts.