WestFest Team
Founder/Artistic Director/Curator
CAROL NOLTE/DANCE COLLECTIVE (Artistic Director) founded WestFest 11 years ago as a response to the financial strain of the recession, offering choreographers free or low-cost performance opportunities at the Westbeth Artisits’ Residence, her home for the last 30 years. She has also created over 50 dances for her award-winning company Dance Collective. Recently, her work has been seen at Merce Cunningham Studio, The Kitchen, Joyce SoHo, The 92nd Street Y Fridays at Noon. She has also co-founded and produced three dance festivals, DanceBLITZ, Taos Dance 2000, and, currently, WestFest.
She graduated from Brown University with honors in American Civilization and took an advanced degree in dance at The New School.
CAROL NOLTE
Founder
GEORGE COMINSKIE has been the executive producer of WestFest and the Pen Literary Quest since its inception in 2010. George currently serves on the Westbeth Board of Directors. Mr. Cominskie served on the Westbeth Artists Residents Council for 21 years, 17 of them as President of WARC. He also serves on an advisory committee of The Whitney Museum of American Art and Pier 55. He has been a Wednesday morning volunteer at God’s Love We Deliver for the past 22 years. He lives at Westbeth with his husband John Turner.
www.westbeth.org
GEORGE COMINSKIE
Producer/Curator
RACHAEL LIEBLEIN-JURBALA (she/her) is a New York City-based dancer and choreographer. She serves as Program Manager for the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) at the 92nd Street Y, NY, and sits on the board of the Sasamani Foundation - an organization dedicated to increasing access to education and employment opportunities for women and girls in Bagamoyo, Tanzania.
In her capacity as choreographer, Rachael's work investigates sociological questions and aims to provoke conversation, in hopes that she, the performer, and the viewer may all find deeper self-awareness and subsequent potential for radical empathy.
Rachael holds a bachelor's degree in Dance and Sociology with a certificate in Community Action and Public Policy from Connecticut College.
RACHAEL LIEBLEIN-JURBALA
Producer/Curator
DYLAN BAKER is a New York City based dancer, choreographer, and teaching artist, Dylan is originally from the boondocks of Wisconsin where he acquired a BFA in Dance at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Along with works by BOiNK! Dance & Film, Dylan can be found dancing with David Parker & The Bang Group and Matthew Westerby Company. Behind the scenes for once, he is proud to be a producer for the annually held WestFest dance festival at Westbeth Artist Housing and Center for the Arts.
When Mr. Baker is not performing or producing, he wears his teaching hat at The Steffi Nossen School of Dance in White Plains, NY and Rivertown Dance Academy in Tarrytown, NY.
DYLAN BAKER
Producer/Westbeth Performing Arts Chairman
ERIN QUINN PURCELL has worked as an actor/director/writer in New York City for over 25 years. She serves as Performing Arts Chair on the Westbeth Artist Residents Council. She is currently working with Jay Reiss (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) on a new musical, Iceboy! (music and lyrics by Mark Hollmann) at the Pasadena Playhouse starring Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, Adam Devine and Laura Bell Bundy. You can watch 4 numbers from the musical on their website:
www.playbill.com/article/watch-megan-mullally-and-nick-offerman-in-the-upcoming-musical-iceboy