6 dancers face away from the camera in a straight line spread across the upstage in front of a black curtain.  Their arms swing back behind them.

Artists + Collaborators

Artists

photo by alexa treviño

Edgar Aguirre

Artist

Fall 2023 Creative Residency,Table for One by Iker Karrera and Dancing in Snow by Roderick George

Edgar Aguirre is originally from Guatemala City, Guatemala and was raised in Redwood City, California. He graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 2019 with a BFA in Dance Performance. Edgar is most proud of having danced in Donald McKayle's Étude Ensemble and having been awarded the Donald McKayle Scholarship. Upon graduation, Edgar danced with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble in Denver, Colorado. He toured nationally and internationally, choreographed original works and was a restaging assistant for Donald McKayle’s repertory. 

Edgar is now based in Los Angeles, California and is a company member and teaching Artivist with CONTRA-TIEMPO Activist Dance Theater, and has worked as a freelance dance artist and choreographer between San Francisco and Los Angeles. He has danced as a Guest Artist with Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Robert Moses’ Kin, Bernard Brown BBMoves, David Herrera Performance Company and Heidi Duckler Dance. Edgar has performed works by Donald McKayle, Katherine Dunham, Lar Lubovich, Michaela Taylor, Ray Mercer, Stephanie Martinez, Roderick George and more. Edgar has performed in New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Irvine CA, Denver CO, Raleigh NC, Mexico, Italy, Scotland and China. 

Edgar has taught online dance classes for Maui Academy of Performing Arts in Maui, Hawaii and the Non-Profit Organization, Tiempo de Juego in Bogotá, Colombia. Edgar has also traveled to Panama with the Non-Profit Organization, Movement Exchange to teach dance classes and foster an environment of creativity for youth at Hogar San José de Malambo and Aldeas Infantiles SOS Panamá. Edgar has also given lecture demonstrations and has taught Donald McKayle repertory at La Universidad de Panamá in Panama City, Panama. 

Edgar choreographs contemporary dance work that is reflective of his personal experience as a Guatemalan-born Latin American, examining his cultural heritage, ancestry and his connection to the Indigenous traditions and folklore of Guatemala. Edgar feels a cultural responsibility and desire to create work that highlights the voices and experiences of the Latine community; furthermore, uplift the voices of the BIPOC community. Edgar has presented his choreography in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Irvine CA, Denver CO, Orlando Fl and Italy. Currently, Edgar has been commissioned as a Guest Teaching Artist and Choreographer at the California State University, Fullerton for the Fall Semester of 2023. In conjunction with his dance career, Edgar has also embarked on the field of body work. Edgar is passionate about fitness and wellness and is certified to provide one-on-one assisted stretching and is also a certified Pilates instructor. He enjoys working with his clients and providing them with the support that they need in order to improve their bodies and achieve their goals.

photo by anthony hou

Colleen Loverde

Artist

Fall 2023 Creative Residency

Colleen Loverde is a dance artist, creator, teacher, explorer and questioner. She was born and raised in Lake Zurich, IL and received her B.F.A. in Modern & Jazz Dance at Point Park University where she was awarded Outstanding Senior Dance Artist in 2017.

Colleen’s work is informed by the recognition that everything is connected and there is infinite wisdom to be uncovered within these connections. The intention of building awareness and cultivating balance between the interplay of the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energies is inherent in her process. She is committed to expansion on all fronts through curiosity in partnership with a long-term, sustainable mindset.

Colleen has performed with LED Boise, Heidi Duckler, Open Space, Post:Ballet, Northwest Dance Project, and on a variety of multidisciplinary projects. In addition to dancing with LED Boise, she is also acting rehearsal director under the artistic directorship of Lauren Edson.

She has had the opportunity to perform works by choreographers Ihsan Rustem, Wen Wei Wang, Felix Landerer, Patrick Delcroix, Lauren Edson, Heidi Duckler, Luca Veggetti, Franco Nieto, Noelle Kayser, Johannes Wieland, Michaela Taylor, Shannon Gillen, Ryan Mason, Alice Klock, Luke Murphy, Gregory Dolbashion, MADBOOTS, Garfield Lemonius, Alexandra Damiani, Patrick O’Brien and herself.

In addition to her dance career, she loves to write, read, learn, explore and PLAY. She is currently working on a series of personal essays, dabbling in live storytelling, revisiting her love of singing, collaborating with a dear friend on an upcoming music video series and exploring the ways in which comedy and storytelling may fuse with dance.

@colleenloverde

  • *Photo by Anthony Hou
photo by sam lehto

Lily Massie

Artist

Fall 2023 Creative Residency

Lily Massie has been dancing her entire life, beginning her formal training at the age of six. She participated on a competitive dance team, while pursuing advanced classical ballet training in addition to training in jazz, contemporary, hip hop, and tap. Over the next eight years she was selected to perform solo and group ensemble works choreographed by Missy Lay Zimmer and Andrew Hubbard, Chris Jacobsen, Caroline Lewis-Jones, Dee Caspary, and Brooke Pierotti. Working with these amazing choreographers and artists inspired Lily to pursue her ambition to become a professional dancer.

In 2017, Lily was accepted into the Contemporary Dance program at Boston Conservatory at Berklee on merit scholarship. Her time at the conservatory consisted of rigorous training from esteemed faculty and performances choreographed by Maleek Washington, Ruka White, Lindsey Farber, Kate Weare, Adia Holist, Jarek Cemerek, and Robert Moses. Through the years, Lily has had many distinguished performances in large and small venues, as well as teaching experience and a true love for collaboration and choreography. She was named the 2021-2022 Lizbeth Krupp Dance Scholar at Boston Conservatory and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2022.

After graduation, Lily moved to Los Angeles where she continues to pursue her dream. She is currently a member of LA Contemporary Dance Company and Geometry Dance Company. In addition to dance, Lily is represented by State Management for modeling and HRI Talent for acting. She is currently training with acting coaches Zak Barnett and Brad Heller.

Lily’s experience during the pandemic required added creativity to keep dancing and performing every day. Utilizing videography and focusing on site-specific work sparked a new love for dance on film, which has added diversity to her repertoire. Most recently, Lily’s film “Coconut-Island” premiered in the New Media Film Festival in Los Angeles. She will continue to be curious and push the boundaries of dance while using multi media to capture the ever flowing emotion of ones self experience. Lily believes there to be endless possibilities and extreme exploration within the current world. She is highly optimistic, which gives her strength to trust the process and hold space for all that presents itself.

Kelle Meschede | Photo by Tomas Protivinsky

Kelle Meschede

Artist

Fall 2023 Creative Residency

Kelle, a multifaceted artist, embarked on her professional dance training in 2012 as an Edge Performing Arts Center scholarship recipient in Los Angeles. Her training continued as she joined Jaci Royal's Royal Flux and Cat Cogliandro's CATASTROPHE! She has since worked with some of the commercial industry's leading choreographers, including Mandy Moore, Ryan Heffington, Nappytabs, Jillian Meyers, and Dominique Kelley. Kelle is represented by Go 2 Talent Agency, and her credits include Sia, M83, Louis The Child, Disney Fairytale Weddings, and The Ellen Show.

With experience in various creative endeavors, Kelle's artistry extends beyond the dance world. She continues to explore visual arts through set design, prop making, site-specific installations, and arts education. Kelle is currently pursuing a B.S. in Human Services and is enjoying her quest to combine dance with visual arts to be utilized as a form of healing.

Iyana Monet | Photo by Rhea Wolpoe

Iyana Monet

Artist

Fall 2023 Creative Residency

Born and raised in Montana, Iyana took the only opportunity to expand beyond small town life by the path of artistry. After moving to Los Angeles she achieved her BFA in Commercial Dance. This is where she found her purpose in dance cinematography. She has extensive experience both in front of and behind the lens ranging from experimental music videos to the commercial world. Iyana amplifies an ever-shifting artistic voice through studies in fine art, contemporary, and street styles.

Across her solo efforts as a performer, Iyana has debuted her movement in both film and stage working with musicians such as Zeinapur and About You. Directing, styling, and starring in her own production is the focus of the artist with her most valued project SUTURE being a screening selection at the Dare 2 Dance in Public Film Festival.

Working as a choreographer and dance teacher, Iyana has taught extensively in the west spanning from Millennium SLC Boom Crew, Olympia High School Performing Arts Program in Utah, Battery Acid at AMDA to her current slot at Eighty Eight Studios. She assists closely alongside Zoe Rappaport on projects for commercial, music videos as well as site specific pieces.

Through poise and vulnerability, she exposes her innermost feelings, offering full transparency for cast members and audiences alike. She explores ideas of deep cut, interpersonal connections for an observer to find themselves portrayed. In her work, she exaggerates the spectrum of movement quality and embraces every part that is odd, ugly, and delicate.

  • Representation: Clear Talent Group
  • @iyana.monet
  • *Headshot by Rhea Wolpoe
Melody Morrow | Photo by Melody Morrow

Melody Morrow

Artist

Fall 2023 Creative Residency

Melody began her formal dance training at the Academy of Dance and Fine Arts in North Carolina. She attended Visual Performing Arts Center, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude while earning her Associate Degree in Science. To refine her technique and further her studies, Melody attended Boston Conservatory at Berklee under the direction of Cathy Young and Tommy Neblett. She supplemented her training by attending summer workshops, including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Bates Dance Festival, Bodytraffic, Countertechnique’s One Body One Career in Amsterdam, and Springboard Danse Montréal.

In December 2019, Melody completed her BFA at Boston Conservatory at Berklee while dancing with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Professional Program (2019-2020). Melody also received her Royal Academy of Dance Teacher Certification in 2020. In her recent years of work, Melody has had the opportunity to study and perform works by William Forsythe, Doug Varone, Kyle Abraham, José Limón, Fernando Melo, Adam Barruch, Rena Butler, Brian Arias, and Ryan Mason. In 2020, Melody joined Aszure Barton & Artists, performing Where The Form (WTF) and the opera Tannhauser at LA Opera. Melody is incredibly excited and grateful to join Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company.

Dawson Walker | Photo by Megan Guise

Dawson Walker

Artist

Fall 2023 Creative Residency

Dawson Walker, is a dedicated professional with a passion for contemporary movement, creation, and theater performance. With 17 years of training, he has honed his expertise in contemporary, ballet, jazz, and modern. After completing his education at Orange County School of the Arts he studied abroad at Nuova Officina de la Danza in Italy. Since being overseas, Dawson has been teaching, choreographing, and performing all over Southern California. Beyond being a dance artist, Dawson also pursues acting, photography, guitar, and bouldering.

Collaborators

Jamila Glass | Photo by Zack Whitford

Jamila Glass

Artistic Director

  • Founding Company Member in 2005
  • Artistic Director in 2021

Filmmaker and Choreographer Jamila Glass is known for creating cinematic journeys of movement, shaping characters, and building worlds that reflect what make us human. In addition to creating work as the Artistic Director of L.A. Contemporary Dance Company (where she joined in 2005 as a founding member), she has choreographed extensively in film and television. Her choreography work includes projects on Netflix, HBO, Hulu, BET, and PRADA and garnered mentions in NY Times, L.A. Times, Essence Magazine, Ebony Magazine, and Mashable.  She recently choreographed and co-directed two commercials for Splice, the music industry's highest quality, royalty-free sample library.

Glass began her formal training as a nine-year-old scholarship student at The Discovery Dance Group in Houston, Texas. She continued dancing in her spare time as a vocal music major at the multi-Grammy award-winning High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Jamila graduated from the University of Southern California with a B.A. in Cinema-Television (Film & Video Production) and a Minor in Advertising.

As a performer, she has worked with Ryan Heffington, Galen Hooks, Nina McNeely, Kathryn Burns, David Dorfman, Adam Parson, and Mecca Vazie Andrews.  Other credits include Netflix Original film Mascots from Christopher Guest, American Horror Story, Paul McCartney, Colbie Caillat, Foster the People tour, Mastercard, American Apparel, Samsung, & the NY Times Best Selling photography book Dancers Among Us.

Beyond the stage, Jamila, a director/screenwriter, is currently producing films through her production company The Cutting Room where she has directed 20 critically-acclaimed short dance films, a television pilot, and 2 music videos that have garnered international praise, including film screenings in London, Paris and Lebanon. Her previous work as a freelance editor includes documentary shorts, national radio commercials, and an award-winning independent television network. Her directorial work for LACDC includes and then life was beautiful, INSECTOS: arte y vida (commissioned by the Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain), and SUMMON (featuring the music by Emmy award-winning and Grammy and Oscar-nominated Kris Bowers).  She previously served LACDC's Media Director and Summer/Winter Intensive Director, elevating the company's visibility across continents.

She has taught at Schools: Pace University, UCLA, Cal State Long Beach, Cal State Fullerton, Texas Christian University, Hussian College Los Angeles and has created work for LACDC, Texas Christian University, Cal State Fullerton, University of Illinois Edwardsville, and Co/Motion Creation Intensive (Boston).  

Recent News: Texas Christian University’s (TCU) dance students had such a wonderful experience with Jamila Glass during her Spring 2023 residency that their School of Classical & Contemporary Dance invited her to return in the Fall of 2023 to do another teaching & choreographic residency. She is honored to share the bill for their Fall Concert with world-renowned choreographer Sidra Bell.

Jamila is represented by Movement Talent Agency and is a member of the Television Academy, the Choreographers Guild and SAG-AFTRA.

Watch her teaching reel and check out her class schedule.

*Headshot by Zack Whitford

AO by keenan reed

Ayesha Orange

Collaborator

  • Rehearsal Director | 2024
  • Rehearsal Director | 2023 Creative Residency
  • Assistant Director: Insectos: arte y vida (film), Finding Meemoo (film)

Ayesha Orange is originally from San Pedro, California and has been working professionally for 27 years. She has performed in various award shows such as The Teen Choice Awards, Academy Awards, American Music Awards, iHeart radio, MTV Awards, Grammy Awards, Image Awards, and the Vibe Awards. Television shows like Welcome to Chippendale’s, Key & Peele, the OA, My Crazy Ex Girlfriend, Oprah, Dancing with the Stars, Glee, Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen, Lucifer, and Monk. She has also worked with artists including Katy Perry, Jennifer Hudson, Pink, Christine Aguilera, Bette Midler, Mariah Carey, Usher, Ne-Yo, Will-I-Am, and the legendary Earth Wind and Fire. Furthermore she has danced in movies. All three Austin Powers movies, Behind the Candelabra, Muppets, Idlewild, Batman and Robin, Miss Congeniality 2, She's All That, Spider-Man 3, and Charlie's Angels to name a few.

She recently worked as an Associate Choreographer on productions such as Billboard Awards with Kesha, as well as Travis Scott, Dawn FM on Amazon for The Weeknd, Euphoria, SNL, VMA’s, Jimmy Kimmel, the fourth season of Dear White People, and music videos for Kali Uchis, Sia, Rihanna, Fergie, KC Musgrave and so many more.

Throughout her career, Ayesha has been fortunate enough to work with world renowned choreographers, some of the most talented dancers, travel the world, and do what she loves for a living.

photo by claudia herran

Mario Glez

Collaborator

Choreographer | 2023 Creative Residency

Mario González is a performer and choreographer from Badajoz, who grew up in the city of Seville and is currently based in Madrid. He began his dance studies in 2008, traveling around Spain to discover and learn about the urban dance scene.

Subsequently, he decided to continue his studies at the Centro Andaluz De Danza, delving into the world of contemporary dance, which allowed him to explore and identify with new forms of movement while still building upon his previous studies.

His passion for learning led him to travel and work in countries such as Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Sweden and the United Kingdom, where he collaborated with artists from different backgrounds, helping him to broaden his horizons and discover new and emerging forms of expression.

Currently, Mario is living in the capital of Spain, although he travels throughout Europe focusing on developing his interest in teaching. He trains the new generation of dancers at the 180 dance school, in addition to teaching in a multitude of national and international workshops. His drive for creation has led him to generate dance pieces such as "Phase" (a solo piece created in 2018 and performed in several festivals such as SoloDos (Ourense, Spain) or ID Night (Hereford, UK), "Club" and "Si la cabeza hablase" (Creations for 180LAB), "Overthinking" and "Relation" (both Video-dance with trajectory in various international film festivals such as "Queer Mvmt Fest'', "DanzaTTack" or "Choreoscope" among others), "La Tarde'' (performed at the DanseEncore festival in Canada), as well as other creations for companies like DhhD Milano (Italy) or Padova Danza (Italy). He has also choreographed commercial events for well-known brands such as Oracle, L'Oréal or Coca-Cola, as well as music videos for artists like Orovega or Cepeda.

On the performing side, Mario has worked with Elias Aguirre Company (Spain) on pieces such as “Pez Esfinge", "FlowerHeads" and "Empusa Poem”, Hani Dance & Cía Z art Company (Germany & Luxembourg) on "Out of Range”. He has also danced for artists like Aitana (at the Los 40 Music Awards) and worked in TV shows like VSO (choreographed by Iker Karrera).

As an artist and creator, Mario thrives on living new experiences, collaborating with professionals in the art field and challenging himself, aiming to generate content that inspire and impact those who receive it as well as himself

Myles Lavallee | Photo by Judson Emery

Myles Lavallee

Collaborator

Choreographer | 2023 Creative Residency

Myles Lavallee was born and raised in Phoenix, AZ, where he trained at various dance studios. He grew up competing in dance competitions and won many awards including JUMP’s Teen National Title and NUVO’s Teen 1st Runner Up. In high school, he attended Arizona School for the Arts before moving away to NYC to study at the School of American Ballet. In 2011 Myles joined Ballet Arizona where he danced for four seasons. In 2014, he moved to Canada to join Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal and in 2016, Myles joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for two seasons. Some of the choreographers he had the pleasure of working with and performing their works include, Crystal Pite, Ohad Naharin, William Forsythe, Jiri Kylian, and George Balanchine. He was commissioned twice to choreograph for Ballet Arizona's Innovations program, and created pieces in both LGBC and HSDC choreographic workshops. Myles now lives in Los Angeles as a freelance artist and choreographer and travels frequently to teach and work with dancers around the country. He has recently been seen guesting with Para Mar Dance, Post Ballet, Ishida Dance, Heidi Duckler Dance, & BODYTRAFFIC, as well as in several music videos and on Netflix and YouTube. He is extremely passionate about teaching, choreographing and sharing his love for dance! Myles was recently awarded the outstanding choreography award at YAGP’s Semifinals Phoenix and Boston in '22 & '23.

Jillian Meyers | Photo by Kelly Masumiya

Jillian Meyers

Collaborator

Choreographer | 2023 Creative Residency

Jillian Meyers is an Emmy nominated Los Angeles based choreographer and dancer. She works at the nexus of commercial, stage, film, and site-specific performance. From choreographing Hozier's "Work Song", to dancing on multiple tours with Janet Jackson, Jillian was also an assistant choreographer for the award-winning film, "La La Land." She most recently wrapped the second season on the NBC show, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” as an episodic co-choreographer. She wears many hats and makes many faces—and both reconciles and indulges in all of these disciplines in her collaborative ongoing genre-bending project, "The Seaweed Sisters.”

Spenser Theberge | Photo by Jacob Jonas

Spenser Theberge

Collaborator

Choreographer | 2023 Creative Residency

Spenser Theberge is a multi-hyphenate performer and creator, working across the fields of choreography, dance, movement direction, text, costume design, pedagogy, and installation work. He is a graduate of The Juilliard School and a former company member with the Nederlands Dans Theater I & II and The Forsythe Company, as well as a guest artist with Kidd Pivot, the Goteborgs Operans Danskompani, the ARIAS Company, RGWW, and Dimitri Chamblas.

Spenser's creations are multi-disciplinary and genre-defying, continuously exploring identity, authenticity, and spectatorship. His work ranges from proscenium performance to museum installation to site-specific locations, and whether solo or ensemble creations, the conventional expectation of dance performance and audience relationship is always challenged. Spenser's independent work, as well as collaborations with partner Jermaine Spivey, have been commissioned and presented by LA Dance Project, The Broad Museum, the Philip Glass Days & Nights Festival, MOCA Geffen, REDCAT, The Korzo Theater, Springboard DanseMontreal, Place des Arts, The Juilliard School, the Queer Biennial III in LA, NAVEL, and Gothenburg Opera Danskompani with co-creator Arika Yamada. These projects have been additionally supported by Hollins University, PACT Zollverein, Nuova Officina della Danza, and the CalArts School of Dance.

As a movement director and performer, Spenser has worked with artists, brands, and organizations such as Taylor Swift, UGG, Rami Malek, Matthew Peacock, Ryan Pfluger, the Tune-yards, Seaworthy Jewelry, and the New York Times Magazine.  He has also designed costumes for Andrea Miller, the ARIAS Company, and performing artist Frances Chiaverini, and is the text writer behind Alexander Ekman's award winning "Cacti" and "Hubbub".

Spenser is on the dance faculty at California Institute of the Arts, and has been a guest teacher at The Juilliard School, USC's Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, Purchase College, Reed College, the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, and the Hochschule fur Musik und Darstellende Kunst. He also teaches at workshops and intensives across North America, Europe, and Asia. Spenser is a YoungArts award winner, a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and a Princess Grace Award winner.

Maxwell Transue Headshot by Gahyae Ryu

Maxwell Transue

Collaborator

Composer | Fall 2024 Premiere

Maxwell Transue is a composer and sound designer specializing in making immersive, thematic music and sound by weaving together layers of organic and synthetic elements, complex rhythms, and atmospheric textures.  His work is featured internationally in films, live theater, dance works, marketing content, and music artist recordings.  His music and sound is currently being used in works by dance companies BeMoving and Kaufman School of Dance, and by choreographers and filmmakers Bret Easterling, Jermaine Spivey, Spenser Theberge, Robert Bruce Hope, and The Kusanagi Sisters. As an independent artist Maxwell has performed alongside major artists such as Slow Magic, Low Leaf, Goodnight Cody, and Monster Rally. Maxwell DJ's, and produces house and electronic dance music under the artist moniker, Jurassic Spine.

Anna Tse_photo by Anna Tse

Anna Tse

Collaborator

Anna Tse is a self taught videographer and photographer, based in Los Angeles, CA.

Having had worked with a number of dance companies in LA, Tse is now the director of media for Jacob Jonas The Company, videographer/photographer for The TL Collective, LACDC, Mike Tyus, BigKid Dance, Volta, and a co-founder of the dance film company HEAVY BOOTS. More recently, Tse was the Director of Photography for Micaela Taylor’s short film “Misfit” commissioned by American Dance Festival (ADF). Tse directed and shot for a multitude of music videos including RYX’s “Thousand Knives,” Jackii Kenedy’s “Mine,” WIMP’s “Fragrant” and more. Tse has had the pleasure of capturing video/photo BTS for artists like Sia, Sofia Reyes, MUNA, Awgust, ZAUR and has filmed live studio work for ‘Wild Up’. She is an incredibly versatile cinematographer with an acute passion for the relationship dance can have with the camera, but nonetheless she’s excited to collaborate with artists across the board ranging from fashion designers to musicians and visual artists. Her print work can be seen in the LA Times and Dance Magazine.