Janis Brenner

JANIS BRENNER is an award-winning dancer/choreographer/singer/teacher and is Artistic Director of Janis Brenner & Dancers in NYC. Known for her “meticulous artistry” (Deborah Jowitt, The Village Voice). The company is known for the caliber of its dancers, its wide-ranging national and international guest residencies as well as its “emotionally authentic” and musically diverse work. Ms. Brenner has been on faculty at The Juilliard School since 2009.

Shay Bares

Shay Bares, received his early dance training in his home town of Tyler Texas. In his youth, Shay attended multiple workshops,intensives, and conventions, getting a diverse exposure to movement and techniques at an early age. Shay has danced with various companies in his career both nationally and internationally. In the spring of 2014 Shay founded Twiin Sister, a contemporary performance company.

Manuel Vignoulle

Manuel Vignoulle, French choreographer based in New York, studied at The Conservatoire National Supérieur de Danse de Paris and went on to work with different french contemporary companies including Claude Brumachon, Corinne Lanselle and Bernardo Montet. He was a dance artist with both Ballet du Grand Théâtre de Genève (Switzerland), and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet (New York) where he collaborated with inspiring choreographers such as Hofesh Shechter, Benjamin Millepied and Ohad Naharin,etc.

Youn Puluem | Guest Artist

Puluem Youn's works pursue the aesthetic consciousness of beauty, while embracing space and human relationship through artistically honest movements.

Nathalie Matychack

Born and raised in New York, Nathalie Matychak is a graduate of LaGuardia Arts High School ('07) and holds a BFA in Dance Performance & Choreography from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts ('10). She has performed in original works created by Sidra Bell, Adam Barruch, Kyle Abraham, Nathan Trice, Stacy Spence and Milton Myers and has been mentored as a choreographer by Stephen Petronio and Doug Varone.

Sarah Friedland

Sarah Friedland is a filmmaker and choreographer who uses dance to register the affects of film, and film to process the meaning of movement. She received her BA in Modern Culture in Media in 2014 from Brown University where she focused on the relationship between moving images and moving bodies, and graduated with their prestigious Weston Award for her body of creative work.

Daniel Holt | Guest Artist

Daniel “the grouch” Holt hails from Central Valley California. He received his BFA in Dance from The Ohio State University, Spring 2011. Daniel now resides in Brooklyn, New York where he teaches dance, and heads his dance collective, Dirt. He has performed at Joyce SOHO, Jacob's Pillow's Inside/Out stage, The New York International Fringe Festival, in Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and Brazil. In addition, Daniel was selected as one of NYLA's Fresh Tracks' Artist in Residence.

Samsam Yung

Samsam Yung studied dance mostly at Dance New Amsterdam, a.k.a., Dance Space. Her past mentors include Diane McCarthy, Oliver Steele, Guido Tuveri and Jennifer Nugent. Since returning to training in 2012, she has performed for Stephanie Landouer , DanceAction, Nimbus Dance Works, Pavel Zustiak, Jacklyn Buglisi and Pascal Lambert. While actively learning from other artists, Samsam has also been creating her own work.

Keith Johnson

Keith Johnson is from Tempe, Arizona and currently lives in Long Beach, California. He is the Artistic Director of Keith Johnson/Dancers which was had its premiere in 1998. Keith has danced with Ririe/woodbury Dance Company, Creach/Koester, Bill T. Jones Arnie Zane Dance Company, and Doug Varone and Dancers. In addition, he has worked with colleen Thomas, Nancy Bannon, and Victoria marks. Keith is the Co-Director of FistBomb Films with Gregoryy R. R. Crosby.

My Lindblad | Guest Artist

My Lindblad is a dancer and choreographer born in Sweden, but living in Copenhagen, Denmark since 1999. My is educated from The Danish National School of Performing Arts. Since her graduation in 2003, My has been working as a freelance artist in Scandinavia and Europe. During the last 10 years, My has created her own work and her pieces has been presented in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Greenland.

Tina Croll

Tina Croll, founding member of Dance Theater Workshop, studied with Merce Cunningham, Erick Hawkins, Nina Fonoroff and performed in the companies of Jeff Duncan, Jack Moore, Jamie Cunningham, and Judith Dunn. Established Tina Croll + Company performing in various venues in New York City and around the US.

Beatrice Capote

Beatrice Capote (dancer/teaching artist/choreographer): is a native of West New York, NJ where she began her dance training at Amaryllis Dance Academy. Ms. Capote graduated from the University Of North Carolina School of the Arts and just recently graduated from Montclair State University with a degree in Dance Education. Currently, she is faculty at the Alvin Ailey School, Adjunct Professor at Montclair State University, and performing with Camille A. Brown and Dancers.

Sameena Miita

Sameena Mitta is a graduate of the professional ballet training programme of The School of Dance in Ottawa, where in 1998 she was honoured as the recipient of the Celia Franca Scholarship. In 1999 she was awarded with distinction, the Associate Diploma of the Cecchetti Society. She is influenced by the teachings of Risa Steinberg, Janet Panetta and her mentor Christine Wright. Sameena has spent over 15 years teaching and working as a freelance modern dancer performing for numerous choreographers

Claire Porter | Guest Artist

Claire Porter of Claire Porter / PORTABLES is a writer, dancer and choreographer whose work has been performed in Scotland, Germany, Holland, Latvia, Korea and India and in the US at The Joyce Theater, Town Hall, American Dance Festival, Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, Bates Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Florida Dance Festival and The Kennedy Center with the American College Dance Festival.

Matthew Westerby

Matthew Westerby is originally from the UK and trained at Laban. In New York, he has worked with Nai-Ni Chen, Risa Jaroslow, Dusan Tynek, Peter Kyle, Bronwen MacArthur, Sue Hogan, Jessica Gaynor and Marla Hirokawa. He formed Matthew Westerby Company in 2009, and has since been presented around the tri-state area, most recently by Triskelion Arts in 2014, as well as self-producing two New York seasons at University Settlement (2011) and the Hudson Guild Theatre (2014).

Amos Pinhasi

Amos Pinhasi was born in Israel where he performed and choreographed for Tamar Jerusalem Dance Company. In new York he has presented his own work since 1985 and has been produced by DTW, DIA ,Joyce Soho, Dancenow,The 40Up Project and Danspace Project among others.He has toured his solo work in Switzerland, Austria, Germany.Sweden and Israel. He teaches dance improvisation and Yoga internationally. Photo by Mike Kentz.

Carol Nolte | Guest + Director

CAROL NOLTE/DANCE COLLECTIVE (Artistic Director) founded WestFest 5 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 26 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.

Carol Mendes | Guest + Producer

CAROL MENDES is the artistic director of Carol Mendes & Artists, an emerging NYC based dance company. Native from Brazil, she received her BFA in Dance and her Teaching Certificate from State University of Campinas (Brazil). She also holds a Master’s in Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from NYU, Tisch School of the Arts.

Tina Croll + Company

Carol Mendes & Artists

CM&A returns to WestFest 2015 showing an excerpt of their newest full length work VERSO. Check their photos and videos @carolmendesandartists

Samsam Yung

"In my movement exploration, I am interested in energy flow, echos and ripples, with emphasis of awareness and channeling of somatic sensations, while recognizing and honoring an infatuation with lines, shapes and composition both in space and time."

Sameena Miita / MeenMoves

Sameena is a passionate artist activist and educator. MeenMoves features unique performers from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds. MeenMoves uses dance-theatre to celebrate individuality, vulnerability, and strength while offering a space for all to be heard.

Manuel Vignoulle- M/motions

Manuel Vignoulle- M/motions constantly investigates various ways and forms to see how the body adapts itself in critical situations. “Dance, an art without borders, uses the human body as raw material moving through space, generates feelings that touch people's hearts and lead them to reconnect with their own humanity.”

Youn Puluem Project Group

Puluem Youn, founder of Youn Puluem Project group, has received numerous awards including the prestigious Grand Pix(Group) at Seoul International Choreography Festival 2011 and the top prize in Modern Dance Promotion of Korea 2012.

Daniel Holt / Dirt

"Trained in street and contemporary styles, my life and my work exists in a multi-tiered format: multiplicity and honesty. Each work begins with music - a massive playlist based on an ethos. Copious listening and dancing forms the final work."

Twiin Sister

Twiin Sister is a contemporary performance company founded by Shay Bares. It's aim is to create unique, otherworldly experiences for an audience through distinct movement, costumes and music made specifically for each new work through collaboration with innovative artists in their respective fields. With work that spans genres and disregards boundaries Twiin Sister creates and explores aesthetics not frequently visited in the dance world.

Sarah Friedland

Sarah Friedland is a choreographer and filmmaker who works in the intersection of moving images and moving bodies. She uses dance to register the affects of film, and film to process the meanings of movement; her choreography investigates how bodies move in the presence and memory of moving images."

Matthew Westerby Company

Matthew Westerby Company is a 7 member New York-based dance company, led by artistic director Matthew Westerby. MWC creates performance work and delivers educational programming to fulfill its mission of making dance accessible and open to all.

MATYCHAK

MATYCHAK is a project-based contemporary modern dance company founded in NYC by Nathalie Matychak in 2011. MATYCHAK aims to fuse the uptown and downtown dance worlds and is inspired to create by the unbearable lightness of being.

Beatrice Capote

“My work is based on the investigation of my life experiences through (my unique) improvisational process. I wasn't always interested in improvising or creating partly because I was focused on assimilating the ballet and modern dance techniques taught to me at a young age. Two years ago, I discovered that my movement quality has a fusion of African/ modern dance techniques with an abstract conceptualization. My inspirations stem from three things: the natural world, my cultural influences, and

Keith Johnson/Dancers

Keith Johnson/Dancers portrays on stage the places we go within ourselves and do not tell about: the desires we hold down, the struggles we hide subtly, in gusts of ups and tumbles.

My Lindblad - Guest Artist

Carol Nolte

“Carol Nolte is a wonderful choreographer who brings fresh vision to her interpretation of the dance. Her work is accessible, and examines the fragile landscape of the human heart.” (Howard Kaplan, Dance Biographer).

Janis Brenner / Dance

Brenner's work explores the passion, humor, depth, and emotional resonance of movement and human relationships. It is an ongoing exploration into the power of movement and music to inform our spiritual, psychological, and physical states of being and to search for a state of balance.