ONSTAGEC E N T E R F O R T H E P E R F O R M I N G A R T S AT P E N N S TAT E

DIAVOLOJacques Heim, artistic director

Center for the Performing Arts At Penn stAtepresents

For the safety of the artists and the comfort of the audience, cameras and other recording devices are not permitted in the theatre during the performance.

This project is made possible, in part, by a grant from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Creative Campus Innovations Grant Program, funded by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 19, 2012Eisenhower AuditoriumThe performance includes one intermission.

The 2011–2012 season of the Center for the Performing Arts is supported, in part, by grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the National Endowment for the Arts,

a federal agency.

Artistic DirectorJacques Heim

sponsorLynn Sidehamer Brown

Executive DirectorMatt Wells

Associate Artistic DirectorJones Welsh

Production Manager/Technical Director

Renee Larsen Engmyr

The CompanyBrandon Grimm

Jennifer HuffmanCason MacBrideShauna Martinez

Ashley NilsonOmar OlivasCrystal Runk

Anibal SandovalBen Sayles

Jones WelshJohannes WilliamsChisa Yamaguchi

Lighting Director/Stage ManagerJohn E. D. Bass

Business ManagerIlona Piotrowska

Set Engineering and ConstructionMike McCluskey and Tina Trefethen

McCluskey LTD

Costume ManagerOmar Olivas

Rehearsal DirectorShauna Martinez

Education DirectorChisa Yamaguchi

Assistant Technical DirectorAnibal Sandoval

Video ArchivistCrystal Runk

Transportation/Technical AssistantMatt Christensen

PROGRAMFearful Symmetries (2010)

Fearful Symmetries features a cube that evokes the beginning of time with answers to lingering questions. Where do I come from? Where am I going?

The performers act as abstract factory workers in the mechanical world as they deconstruct, reconstruct, and reorganize the cube. Ultimately, the group concludes all the answers lie within themselves. Set to John Adams’ score, Fearful Symmetries is the second part of a trilogy of commissions

from the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Original Collaborators: Briana Bowie, Philip Flickinger, Trevor Harrison, Shauna Martinez, Ashley Nilson, Omar Olivas, Melinda Ritchie,

Anibal Sandoval, Garrett Wolf, and Chisa Yamaguchi

Performers: The companyOriginal Concept: Jacques Heim

Music: John AdamsMusic Director/Dramaturge: Bruno Louchouarn

Set Design: Adam DavisSet Engineering: Mike McCluskey, McCluskey LTD, and Tina Trefethen

Lighting Design: John E. D. BassCostumer: Laura Brody

Acting Coach: Salome JensScenic Artist: Ramiro Fauve

Additional Choreographers: Ali Hollowell, Dana Perri, Ken Arata, Nilder Santos, Jones Welsh, and Rosanna Gamson

Music by John Adams. Commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association and co-commissioned by the University of Notre Dame’s

DeBartolo Performing Arts Center and Krannert Center at the University of Illinois.

[ INTERMISSION ]

Transit SpaceWorld premiere

Transit Space explores themes of feeling lost, finding a sense of purpose, and coming together. Influenced by the documentary Dogtown and Z-Boys,

Transit Space uses skateboard ramps as set pieces to represent an urban environment with ever-shifting physical and emotional spaces.

Performers: The companyOriginal Concept: Jacques Heim

Writer: Steve ConnellOriginal Music: Paul James Prendergast

Set Design: Sibyl WickersheimerSet Concept, Engineering, and Construction: Mike McCluskey,

McCluskey LTD, and Tina TrefethenLighting Design: John E. D. Bass

Physical Interactive Designers: David Beaudry and Valeria BeaudryVoice Artists: Alix Angelis, Sekou Andrews, Vincent Cardinale,

Jennifer Christopher, Steve Connell, Mayda del Valle, Lauren Dragan, Justin Huen, and Adam Jennings

Skateboarding Consultants: Jesse Martinez and Nathan Pratt of Dogtown and Z-Boys

Skateboarding Advisers: Angel Aparicio, Seth Milner, and Garrett SurjueProduction Coordinator: Elizabeth Van Vleck

A very special thank you to Peter Aeschbacher, Mark Baker, Elisha Clark Halpin, Corey Madden, Khanjan Mehta, Marcus Shaffer,

Timothy W. Simpson, and Amy Dupain Vashaw.

Transit Space was commissioned by the Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State and co-commissioned by Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the

Music Center, Los Angeles.

All choreography is by the company, under the direction of Diavolo Artistic Director Jacques Heim.

diAvOlO dAnce theAteRiavolo Dance Theater is an in-ternationally renowned dance company that reinvents

dance, reimagines theatre, and rede-fines thrills. Diavolo takes movement, athletics, and daring to the extreme, creating abstract narratives about the human experience through surreal tableaux.

Jacques Heim founded Diavolo Dance Theater in 1992. The company has performed for thousands of con-certgoers worldwide, as well as millions more on television. The 2011–2012 sea-son marks Diavolo’s thirteenth United States tour, with more than fourteen weeks on the road in nineteen cities. In addition, Diavolo has toured exten-sively throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Diavolo has also created unique performance events for corpo-rate clients such as Wells Fargo; Honda; Sebastian, Inc.; and General Motors.

Diavolo’s newest piece is Transit Space, inspired by skateboard culture. Tonight’s world premiere of Transit Space at the Center for the Performing

Arts is the culminating event in Dia-volo’s collaboration on The Secret Life of Public Spaces, a Creative Campus project. Transit Space is the first dance work created in residency at Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center, Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic com-missioned Diavolo to create a trilogy of dance pieces to premiere with the orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl—Foreign Bodies (2007), Fearful Symme-tries (2010), and Fluid Infinities (2013).

Education and outreach are crucial to the Diavolo mission. Thousands of students each year attend the com-pany’s student matinees, in-school assembly shows, and award-winning master classes. Diavolo regularly con-ducts workshops at schools, hospitals, and juvenile detention centers. With the University of Georgia, Diavolo received funding for education activi-ties through an American Masterpieces grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. www.diavolo.org

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JACQUES HEIM (artistic director) has been one of America’s most transfor-mative choreographers for more than twenty years. He founded Diavolo Dance Theater in 1992 and has directed the company’s work ever since. Heim has also worked extensively for other companies in dance, theatre, television, and special events worldwide.

Heim was born and raised in Paris. His earliest experiences with perfor-mance came from street perform-ing. He attended Middlebury College (bachelor of fine arts degree in theatre, dance, and film), the University of Sur-rey in England (certificate for analysis and criticism of dance), and the Califor-nia Institute for the Arts (master of fine arts degree in choreography).

Diavolo rapidly established its inter-national reputation. The company has performed for thousands of patrons on four continents and is performing several programs on tour. Diavolo has been the recipient of numerous awards and was officially designated as a cul-tural treasure of Los Angeles.

Heim choreographed KA, the permanent Cirque du Soleil show at the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. He was also invited to be a creative director for the opening ceremony of the sixteenth annual Asian Games in Guangzhou, China. He was artistic director for the 2005 Taurus Stunt Awards and returned in 2007 to stage a movement/stunt piece called The Car. With Center Theater Group, Heim created chore-ography for the play The Stones. On television, his work has appeared on BBC America’s Dancing with the Stars and Bravo’s Step Up and Dance.

Heim taught movement and dance at Ballet Pacifica, California State University at Los Angeles, and the

University of California at Los Angeles. In addition to three USA Fellowship nominations and four Alpert Award nominations, he received the Martha Hill Choreography Award of the Ameri-can Dance Festival, the Special Prize of the jury at the sixth annual Saitama International Dance Festival, a Brody Arts Fund fellowship, and a James Irvine Foundation Fellowship.

BRANDON GRIMM (performer) was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. He enrolled in gymnastics classes at American Dream Gymnastics and attended Dance FX in Sunrise, Florida, where he received his dance training and continued building his tumbling skills. Grimm competed at na-tional levels, winning numerous awards and scholarships. He also assisted top choreographers for Tremaine Dance Conventions and performed with the company in its faculty show. After graduating from high school, Grimm moved to New York City, where he earned a bachelor of fine arts degree

in fashion design with an intimate apparel specialization. He discovered the world of circus arts while in college and trained in aerial silks, net, lyra/hoop, hammock, straps, contortion, hand balancing, and partner acrobatics. After obtaining his degree, he landed his first job as an assistant designer at Victoria’s Secret. During his time there, Grimm also worked and performed as a freelance artist in dance and circus arts. Since leaving his position at Victoria’s Secret, Grimm has been working as a commercial dancer. His credits include work for Rachel Roy, Taylor Dayne, Martha Wash, Equinox, and choreogra-pher Jermaine Browne, among others. He is excited for what lies ahead and hopes his training and experiences guide him to a lucrative career in the world of dance and acrobatics.

JENNIFER HUFFMAN (performer), nicknamed Huffy, is from Festus, Mis-souri. When she was 5, she discovered a bunion on her right foot that enabled her to jump higher than other girls. She spent most of her time upside down, dancing, and flying through the air as she traveled and competed in dance and sports acrobatics across the country. She attended Webster Univer-sity in St. Louis, where she received a bachelor of fine arts degree in dance and was awarded the Edward Chase Garvey Memorial Scholarship for three consecutive years. As a professional, she has performed with Webster Uni-versity Dance Theatre, David Dorfman’s Dance Out of Seasons, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal’s The Nutcracker, The Slaughter Project, Paul Taylor 2 in Esplanade, Move, Inaside Chicago Dance, Neglia Ballet’s Nut-cracker, and MusicalFare’s original The American Rhapsody. For the last three years, Huffman has lived in Buffalo, New York, where she was a founding company member of LehrerDance.

She has also used her eleven years of teaching experience to travel across the country teaching master classes and setting works of LehrerDance, as well as becoming a modern dance instructor for Canisius College. She still spends most of her time upside down and is excited to share her energy and passion for performing with Diavolo.

CASON MacBRIDE (performer) was born in Sacramento and began per-forming at an early age through Boy Scouts, skits, and hosting campfires. At 12, he joined the Explorer Post 354: Grass and Feather Dance Team, where he trained in First Nations powwow dancing. He has competed at pow-wows across the United States and Canada since age 15. He has studied and worked with Eddie Madril, Troy Emry Twigg, and Byron Chief-Moon. MacBride attended the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he studied modern/contemporary dance, contact improv, acting, and clown/mask, and earned a bachelor of arts degree in performing arts and a gradu-ate certificate in theatre studies. After graduating, he lived in Toronto, where he performed with the Arabesque Dance Company and studied Middle Eastern dance under Yasmina Ramsy. He toured with The Power of One, a traveling children’s show that educated elementary school students about bul-lying. The show traveled around Can-ada and the United States and landed MacBride in San Francisco, where he began acrobatic dance work with Scott Wells and Dancers, burlesque clown-ing with Fou Fou Ha!, and classical ballet training with Peninsula Ballet Theatre under the artistic direction of Bruce Steivel. Besides performing on the stage, MacBride hopes to bring his talents into more stunt and motion capture work while in Los Angeles.

SHAUNA MARTINEZ (performer and rehearsal director) is from Derby, Kan-sas. Her drive to dance started at age 3. She soon became a competetive all-around gymnast and later an all-Amer-ican collegiate cheerleader. She spent her summers as a collegiate instructor for the National Cheerleaders Associa-tion, earning awards as a top instructor. Martinez received her bachelor of fine arts degree from Wichita State Univer-sity in 2007 under the direction of Nick Johnson. While attending the uni-versity, she choreographed a student piece for the American College Dance Festival Association. She is accom-plished in ballet, modern dance, jazz, mime, and hip-hop. She has performed with dre.dance, Joe Torry, and Sinbad. She is ecstatic to be in her third season with Diavolo.

ASHLEY NILSON (performer) is from Holladay, Utah, and graduated from Utah Valley University with a bachelor of fine arts degree in modern dance performance. Prior to her dance experi-ence, Nilson was a track and field ath-lete and an elite competitive gymnast. She continues to coach gymnastics and has been invited several times to serve as a guest choreographer for the University of Utah’s women’s gymnastics team. She is experienced in hip-hop and b-boying and recently choreographed a work in that style for Brigham Young University’s Dancers Company. A former member of Utah Valley University’s contemporary dance ensemble, Nilson performed with the company in Madrid and Cordoba, Spain, in 2009. She is passionate about dance as a powerful art form and tool for change, as well as its practical application through Laban movement analysis, Bartenieff fundamentals, movement therapy, and other somatic practices. Aside from dance, Nilson also enjoys training for body building/figure

competitions, rock climbing, painting, and spending time with her family. She is thrilled to have joined Diavolo in May 2010.

OMAR OLIVAS (performer and cos-tume manager) was born and raised in Santa Ana, California. He began his training at Saint Joseph Ballet under the artistic supervision of Beth Burns. Olivas graduated as a Haggerty and William Gillespie Scholar with a bachelor of fine arts degree in dance from the University of California at Irvine, where he was a dancer with Donald McKayle’s student reper-tory dance company, Etudes. He has danced in masterpieces such as George Balanchine’s Serenade; William For-sythe’s New Sleep; and McKayle’s The Mask of the Red Death, Songs of the Disinherited, Remember Journey, and Personal. He was a member of Jenny Backhaus’ dance company—Backhaus-Dance—for two years. He has attended the American Dance Festival, José Limón’s summer intensive, Idyllwild Summer School, and Impuls Tanz in Vienna, Austria. He has danced at the Conservatoire de Paris and in Tammy L. Wong’s About Last Night for the Esplanade’s da:ns festival in 2006. Olivas was a finalist in the Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival and was invited by La Salle College of the Arts in Singapore to set a piece for Esplanade’s da:ns festival in 2008. He teaches ballet and modern dance.

CRYSTAL RUNK (performer and video archivist) is from the Sunshine State, which parallels her sunny disposition. From age 3 it was apparent she would rather be upside down than right side up. In her small town of Satellite Beach, she grew up dancing in her local studio, where she began her journey as an artist. She holds a bachelor of fine arts degree in dance from the University

of Florida, where she gained invaluable training and a love for using the arts to push boundaries and challenge people. While in college, she was awarded the Howard Hughes Creativity of the Arts and Sciences Grant for her senior thesis work. She enjoys arts administration and interned at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in the education department. She is passionate about arts education and making it a priority in the United States. She has danced for Black Label Movement in Minneapolis and is a dancer and collaborator with HEMISPHERE Dance. She has been a guest teaching artist at Hamline Univer-sity and plans to continue to develop her teaching and choreographic style. She is looking forward to flying with Diavolo.

ANIBAL SANDOVAL (performer and assistant technical director) has been an active dancer for thirteen years under the guidance of Kathy Bingham, Shelby Curtis, Cindy Littlefield, and Rochelle Guardado. He was trained in gymnas-tics, modern dance, ballet, breakdance, Chinese pole, and martial arts. He is one of the newest additions to Lux Aeterna Acrobatic Dance Company and the AVC Circus Troupe, under the guidance of Master Zheng Yin Ping. Sandoval made his debut as a chorographer at Dance Dimensions 2007, presenting Disagree-ments Between You and I. Centering on acrobatic technique, he has pioneered breakdancing with exercise balls. Sandoval is also a member of Diavolo’s education company.

BEN SAYLES (performer), nicknamed Windu, is a character acrobat with train-ing across the dance and circus arts. His versatility has served him well in Los Angeles, both on stage and in the cor-porate/commercial world. Expect to see him perform a mix of breakdance, ballet, and playful acrobatics.

JONES WELSH (performer and associ-ate artistic director) is a performer, ad-ministrator, and arts activist. He received his degree in theatre and dance from the University of Washington in 2000, then founded the 501(c)3 performing arts organization Making Faces Produc-tions, which has now become Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble (www.NotManApart.com). As managing direc-tor and associate choreographer of Not Man Apart, Jones contributes to the company’s annual flagship productions (Pericles Redux, Titus Redux, and Hercu-les Furens) and co-produces the annual Los Angeles Improv Dance Festival and the Somatic Movement Arts Festival. Completing five years with Diavolo Dance Theater, he now collaborates with Diavolo as associate artistic director, teaching and performing with the group. Welsh works closely with other Los Angeles-based companies, including Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre (formerly Collage Dance Theatre), Invertigo Dance Theatre, Intention Dance Theatre, Keith Glassman and Dancers, String Theory, Leonix Movement Theatre Ensemble, Rosanna Gamson/World Wide, and oth-ers. In addition to teaching athletic mod-ern dance at universities and studios,

Welsh is also the adult program man-ager at Broadway Gymnastics School and teaches private contact improvisa-tion and dance workshops.

JOHANNES WILLIAMS (performer), a Los Angeles native, started his dance training in 1996 at the Los Angeles Conservatory of Performing Arts. By 15 he was accepted into the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, where he studied ballet, jazz, salsa, modern dance, and hip-hop for five years. He has danced in a number of Allen stage productions at venues including the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. His talent took him to New York City for a summer internship with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Williams was one of the top twelve finalists on NBC’s FAME in 2004. Following the stint on FAME, he composed music and started his music production company, J Hook Productions. At 17, he was accepted as a member of the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers as one of the youngest music producers in its membership. In 2010, Williams was chosen to dance for Carnival Cruise Lines on the Carnival Imagination Ship from Miami to the Bahamas and Mexico. He was accepted into the Diavolo tour-ing company in 2011 and hopes to bring joy to people through the beauty of creative expression.

CHISA YAMAGUCHI (performer and education coordinator) was born and raised in Vallejo, California, and earned her double degree at the University of California at Los Angeles in world arts and cultures and Asian-American stud-ies. She began dancing during her third year and received her training in modern dance, gymnastics, capoeria, tango, Rhaq Sharqi, and Balinese dance. She has studied with Maria Gillespie, Shel Wagner, Tamra-Henna, Nyoman Cerita,

and Germaine Acony and her company Jant-Bi in Toubab Dialaow, Senegal. Ya-maguchi has traveled around the world working as an international volunteer in New Zealand, Fiji, Costa Rica, Guatema-la, and Egypt, and is writing a children’s book based on her experiences.

JOHN E. D. BASS (lighting designer and stage manager) has been lighting theatre, music, and dance for nearly two decades. Before joining Diavolo in 2007, Bass’ previous project with Jacques Heim was Territory. At the time Bass was studying at the University of California at Los Angeles’ School of Theater, Film, and Television. Previous national tour designs include The Great Tennessee Monkey Trial for L.A. Theater Works and Peter Pan and Camelot for McCoy Rigby Entertainment, where he served as Tom Ruzika’s associate. Past designs include The Soze Project at the The Apollo NYC and Azure, an underwater fantasy show at the Silverton Las Vegas. Architectural credits include working on the design team for the Eastern Colum-bia building in Los Angeles and Spring, a Claes Oldenburg sculpture in Seoul, Korea. In addition to lighting regional theatre around the United States, Bass lights numerous musical acts in Los Angeles.

RENEE LARSEN ENGMYR (production manager and technical director) is from the San Francisco Bay Area. She joined Diavolo Dance Theater as a performer in 2005. For three seasons she was the company’s rehearsal director and educa-tion coordinator and in 2010 moved behind the scenes as production man-ager and technical director. Her training includes jazz, ballet, tap, modern dance, gymnastics, and Tae Kwon Do. She studied dance and psychology, receiv-ing her bachelor of arts degree from the University of California at Irvine. From there she moved to San Diego and

became a founding member of Eveoke Dance Theatre. She spent four years performing with Eveoke and worked as the company’s rehearsal assistant. She teaches fitness and is a stunt performer at Universal Studios Hollywood in the Terminator 2: 3D live action show.

DAVID BEAUDRY (physical interactive designer) has found himself straddling the worlds of live performance, design, and technology for most of his life. He holds a doctorate in clarinet perfor-mance from the University of California at Los Angeles and as a professional clarinetist has performed with most of the top groups in Los Angeles, won some awards, and played a bit in the studios. As a sound designer, he has worked in more than forty theatrical productions and is a regular at the Ru-bicon Theatre in Ventura and the Falcon Theatre in Los Angeles. His multimedia installation work has led to major shows in the United States, Germany, and Italy, including the Venice Biennale, as well as artist residencies in Canada and Ar-gentina. He has been a member of the faculty at both the Art Center College of Design (industrial design) and UCLA (theatre), where he has developed and taught courses bridging design, perfor-mance, storytelling, and technology. In 2006, he founded Beaudry Interactive, a small innovative design company that quickly became known for its work in physical interaction design and middle-ware technology (the bridge between technology, design, and performance), as well as its passion and ability for creating experiences where everything is happening in the moment.

VALERIA BEAUDRY (physical interac-tive designer) blends art and science in her career and personal life, and that mix feeds and informs her pas-sion for all things that are elegantly designed—be it fine art, music, archi-

tectural structures, interactive systems, or theatrical events. Originally educated as a chemist, Beaudry has enjoyed an eclectic career since coming to the United States from Russia in 1993. She is sought after as a business consultant, having worked with a variety of compa-nies, including Ernst and Young, Mattel, WMG, and Disney. Soon after the com-pany’s founding, she became a partner at Beaudry Interactive, quickly applying her project management and problem-solving skills to technical design and creative principles. She is involved with Drisko Studios Architects, known for its expertise in historical preservation in Los Angeles and beyond.

STEVE CONNELL (writer) has appeared in numerous independent films as an actor, including Another Day in Paradise, The Beat, Blues, and ShangHai Kiss. Television work includes DirtySexyMon-ey and The List (both on ABC). Stage work includes Danny (Danny and the Deep Blue Sea), Joe (Robots vs. Fake Robots), Macbeth (Macbeth), and Bene-dict (Much Ado About Nothing). As a playwright and performer, he is garner-ing much acclaim for his solo work and the work he has created and co-written with Sekou Andrews. They were invited by HBO to perform their play, no easy choice, at the twelfth annual U.S. Com-edy Arts Festival in Aspen. His smash one-man show 40 Days was hailed as “breakneck, mind-boggling theatre,” earning multiple critics’ picks, and being named the Best Solo Performance of 2005 by Entertainment Today. His new-est solo work—Against Oblivion—just ran at South Coast Repertory as part of its new Studio Series. By fusing poetry, comedy, and acting into a transforma-tive and original experience, he has evolved into a powerful and compelling messenger for companies, organiza-tions, and non-profit groups looking to engage and elevate their audi-

ences with a customized presentation. Featured on ABC World News, Good Morning America, HBO Def Poetry, and others, he has created work for such prestigious organizations as Global Green, TEDMED, Xprize Foundation, Nike, Sony/Universal, Pioneer Electron-ics, American Cancer Society, Farm-ers Insurance, Banana Republic, and Amnesty International, among others. Highlights include performing at Oprah Winfrey’s celebration of Maya Angelou, the Quincy Jones Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Marion Anderson Gala (honoring Angelou and Norman Lear), as well as special events for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama. Along with Andrews, Connell has re-imagined the text for three beloved symphonies, including Peter and the Wolf, and performed them alongside Rachel Worby and the Angeli Orchestra. His first book of poems—Better Bound—was released to great acclaim while his highly regarded spoken word album Intimate Nature of Knife Fights remains in demand. He created Transit Space with choreog-rapher Jacques Heim, an incredible team of designers, and Diavolo Dance Theater. www.StevenConnell.com

McCLUSKEY LTD. (set fabrication) Mike McCluskey started restoring Shelby Cobras in 1969, while attending the University of California at Los Angeles for mechanical engineering, and never stopped. Best known for its diversity of fabricating services (design, construc-tion, welding, mechanics, finish, and paint), McCluskey Ltd. blends the art of hand-crafting with modern aerospace technology. Internationally known for restoration/repair of vintage Cobras, exotic concept and race cars, and his-torical aircraft and jets, McCluskey also builds props and sets for stage, movies, and television. McCluskey’s team of highly skilled craftsmen is based in Tor-

rance, California, serving architectural, automotive, industrial, and entertain-ment clients, including Getty, Disney, Shelby, Northrop, Honda, and Diavolo.

PAUL JAMES PRENDERGAST (compos-er) is a multidisciplinary theatre artist, composer, sound designer, and music producer who has performed and recorded internationally. His versatility expands across musical genres of jazz, world music, avant-garde, electronica, American roots, and rock and roll. He works extensively for professional theatre and dance companies. The-atre credits number well more than 100, with dozens of world premieres, and include productions at The Mark Taper Forum, Guthrie Theater, South Coast Rep, Seattle Rep, Hartford Stage, Geffen Playhouse, Alley Theater, Great Lakes Theater Festival, Long Wharf Theater, The Kennedy Center, Moscow Art Theater, Cal Shakes, Idaho Shakes, Edinburgh Festival, Actors’ Gang, Florida Stage, and Atlantic Theater Company. He is a former ensemble member of Cornerstone Theater Com-pany and has worked in residence at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival for the past six seasons. Dance companies he has worked with include Diavolo Dance Theater, MOMIX, Parsons Dance, Judith Jamison, Ballet Florida, De-metrius Klein, Teatro Du El, and Xing Peds. As a singer and songwriter, his work has been heard in films, on recordings, and performed at music venues nationwide, as well as on tours of England, Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, and Denmark. Theme park installations include Knott’s Berry Farm, Universal Studios, Treasure Island, MGM Grand, and Buffalo Bill’s. Museum installations include the J. Paul Getty Museum, Au-try Museum of Western Heritage, Gef-fen Contemporary, and the Peterson Automotive Museum. He has conduct-ed school residencies on songwriting,

community-based theatre, vaudeville, and American roots music in New York, Florida, Washington, and California. Awards include Ovation, Drama-Logue, Garland, Carbonell, Gregory, and a Grammy nomination. Outside of the performing arts, Prendergast has pursued a lifelong interest in carpentry and architecture and is knee-deep in the world of natural and alternative home building. He lives in Joshua Tree, California.

TINA TREFETHEN’s (set designer and engineer) mixed interests in art, extreme sports, design, and industry uniquely combine for Diavolo Dance Theater. An independent contractor, Trefethen keeps busy coordinating, designing, engineering, and fabricating on a variety of architectural, aviation, automotive, sculptural, and graphics projects. Her career as a Screen Actors Guild member includes dozens of tele-vision shows and commercials. Life as a world hang-gliding champion, profes-sional skateboarder, aircraft manufac-turer, and partner in a music business evolved into sculpting aluminum, steel, and composites handmade with loving care (assisted by high-tech family and friends) for clients including Lotus, Getty, Boeing, Disney, BMW, Honda, and five major works for Diavolo.

ELIZABETH VAN VLECK (production coordinator) danced professionally in New York City for more than fifteen years. She was a dancer, teacher, and rehearsal director for the Shapiro and Smith Dance Company, setting the company’s works on professional dance companies and academic dance programs across the United States. Van Vleck spent five years as a teaching artist for the New York City Ballet Edu-cation Department and the National Dance Institute. A personal trainer since 1987, Van Vleck has trained

celebrities, United States government officials, and European royalty while traveling throughout Europe, Morocco, and the Dominican Republic. In 2009, Van Vleck received a master of fine arts degree from Southern Utah Univer-sity’s Arts Administration Program. She recently left the California Institute of the Arts, where she was opera-tions and production manager for the Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance. Van Vleck is working with three Los Angeles-based dance companies—BO-DYTRAFFIC, Pasadena Dance Theatre, and Diavolo Dance Theater.

MATT WELLS (executive director) is an experienced arts management professional. He received a bachelor of science degree in theatre from Northwestern University and a master of arts degree in arts management from Claremont Graduate University. In 2006, he founded the Los Angeles theatre company needtheater, where he served as artistic director for four years, producing nine world premieres and five local premieres. The Los Ange-les Times wrote needtheater was “a rol-licking young company with stunning, superb work and powerful storytelling.” LA Weekly named needtheater as part of the best of Los Angeles theatre in the 2000s, writing the company is “at the tip of the spear, making the future of Los Angeles theatre.” Wells has been a guest lecturer at the California Insti-tute of the Arts and the University of California at Los Angeles, as well as a consultant for LA Stage Alliance. As an actor, he has worked with A. R. Gurney, Jim Simpson, Elizabeth Swados, and Josh Fox. He is a native Angelino and joined Diavolo Dance Theater in 2011.

ILONA PIOTROWSKA (business manager) comes with a long history of stage production experience. From performing at communist party func-

tions in her native Poland to attending dance academies in the United States, she made her way across the stage in a variety of media. Professionally, Piotrowska has a background in web production and editing. Her online credits include numerous American Public Media Group shows, including

American RadioWorks, Speaking of Faith, Marketplace, and A Prairie Home Companion. She also provided online production assistance to the LAByrinth Theater Company in New York City. For needtheater, she produced the stage play The Web, which was featured on the cover of American Theatre.

DIAVOLO BOARD OF DIRECTORSJennifer Cheng, Joan Herman, Yardenna Hurvitz, Jeffrey Shapiro, and Matt Wells

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Exclusive ManagementDavid Lieberman Artists Representatives

P. O. Box 10368Newport Beach, CA 92658

714-979-4700 info@dlartists.com

Diavolo is a proud member of DanceUSA, LA Stage Alliance, and the Dance Resource Center of Los Angeles.

Diavolo is supported by the Los Angeles County Arts Commission and the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Los Angeles.

This presentation is a component of the Center for the Performing Arts Creative Campus Project. With support from The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, and administered by the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, the project is a

collaboration among Penn State’s department of Dance, School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, College of Engineering, and Diavolo Dance Theater.

Megan Moore is the project coordinator.