Brinda Guha identifies as a non-disabled, caste-privileged, cisgender and queer South-Asian American, and is a Bessie-nominated artist based in New York City with roots in the Jersey shore and Kolkata. Her base of training is in Kathak (Malabika Guha; Ashimbandhu Bhattacharya), Manipuri (Kalavati Devi; Bimbavati Devi), Flamenco (Carmen de las Cuevas; Dionisia Garcia) and hybrid contemporary vocabularies (various). In 2010, she co-founded Kalamandir Dance Company, a contemporary Indian dance ensemble.  She's choreographed for several national stages and self-produced original feature-length dance productions which earned her artist residencies at Dixon Place (2018) and Dancewave (2019) to continue to develop work. Brinda is represented by CESD Talent Agency, directs Kalamandir of NJ dance school, is on faculty at the Ailey Extension, is a co-founder and lead artist in multicultural percussive trio, Soles of Duende, and is pursuing freelance artistic direction, performance and arts education. She continues to train in Kathak, Manipuri and contemporary dance. As a producer and curator, her vision to allow art and activism to collide was realized when she created Wise Fruit NYC in 2017, a seasonal live arts installment dedicated to the feminine divine and honoring select women-led organizations. She is also the lead researcher and curator of NCCAkron’s How People Move People Podcast, Season 4, works at ADC Consulting as a consultant for production & marketing, and works as the Senior Producing Coordinator for Dance/NYC, a dance service organization rooted in values of JEI and serving the NYC metropolitan arts worker constituency.

www.brindaguha.com

Originally from Memphis, TN, now based in Harlem, Hastings discovered her love of dance at the age of three. As a dancer, she has trained and performed in a variety of disciplines—a highlight being performing in the 2012 London Olympics Closing Ceremony.

In college, she shifted her focus to arts administration and has since worked with a number of companies and organizations including Broadway Dance Center, New Ballet Ensemble & School, Scarabeus Aerial Theatre, Summer Stages Dance at Concord Academy, found movement group, and The PULSE on Tour.

Prior to joining Dance/NYC, she served as the Communications & Membership Manager of St. George's Society of New York where she oversaw communications, fundraising and development strategies for the 252-year-old nonprofit.

Hastings holds a M.A. in Cultural and Creative Industries from King's College London and a B.A. in Human Development in the Arts from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN. Outside of work, she enjoys travel, food, DIY-ing and a newfound love of anime.

hhill@dance.nyc

Madalyn Rupprecht (she/they) is a movement-based artist and arts administrator born in Baltimore and now based in Brooklyn. They identify as a white, nondisabled, queer, gender-nonconforming person.

As a performer, Madalyn has performed works by Abby Zbikowski, Alwin Nikolais, Fredrick Earl Mosley, Kathleen Kelley, and Martha Graham, among others. She has performed at the 92nd Street Y; Jacob's Pillow; and The Joyce Theater, and has been selected to present their work at NYU Tisch School of the Arts; Montclair State University; Bridge for Dance's Uptown Rising Performance Series; the Post/Future Performance Festival; and Bailar al Sol International Dance Festival in Puerto Rico. Most recently she was in residence at MOtiVE Brooklyn.

As a dance administrator & marketer, Madalyn has worked with Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Michelle Tabnick PR, Proteo Media + Performance, Eryc Taylor Dance, and Sarah Rose Nordgren. In addition to her work with Dance/NYC, she is currently the Company Manager of Kyle Marshall Choreography. Madalyn graduated magna cum laude from Montclair State University with a BFA in Dance and a BA in Journalism.

mrupprecht@dance.nyc

Melinda Wang comes to Dance/NYC with a wide array of experiences in social justice facilitation, social change-driven research, and advocacy and organizing. Through this work, Melinda saw the power of the arts to bring people together, move communities to action, and envision better worlds. As the Research and Advocacy Manager at Dance/NYC, Melinda is excited to build for dance workers so that dance workers can build for New York.

Outside of Dance/NYC, Melinda works with the MinKwon Center for Community Action to conduct equitable research, political education, and community outreach for New York's largest AAPI civic engagement coalition. Prior to these experiences, Melinda served as the Data and Training Coordinator at the New York Civic Engagement Role. There, Melinda bolstered the work of organizers across the state through civic engagement training, data analysis, and coalition building.

Melinda holds a B.A. in Ethnicity, Race, and Migration from Yale University. Melinda is from Southern California and enjoys good food, reading, and public parks.
 

Monica (she/they) is a Brooklyn based dancer, choreographer, educator, and community activist. They identify as a non-disabled, queer, white, femme. Having graduated Summa Cum Laude from Skidmore College in 2019, with a Bachelor of Science in Dance, Monica has spent the past five years as a freelance dancer and performance artist, sharing their craft internationally from Hungary to Ghana. As an educator, they've had the privilege of leading workshops across the tri-state area at institutions such as Gibney Dance Center and Mignolo Arts Center.

In 2020 Monica founded Wet Hairy Women to bring together a group of artists seeking to uncover and redefine raw truths of womanhood through movement and art. Since then, Monica has worked with over 200 women and allies who have participated in her annual art activist project, No Shave Wovember. Collectively, Monica has created and produced over 13 bodies of work, including their first evening length immersive dance theater production, UNTAMED.

Amidst the challenges of the global pandemic, Monica took on a role leading the largest vaccination effort and COVID-19 relief program in the NYC Metropolitan area under the T2 Program of New York Health and Hospitals. Their commitment extends beyond the stage, working to create avenues and platforms for artists to explore the nuances of bodily autonomy and gender fluidity through inclusive radical feminism and dance-making.

Nadia Khayrallah is a Lebanese-American dance artist, educator, writer, administrator, and (dis)content creator rooted equally in history and fantasy, form and groove, esoterica and common sense. 

Nadia graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in Dance and Psychology. Since then, they have presented choreographic work through Arab American National Museum, Time & Space Limited, Little Island NYC, Dixon Place, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, Queens College Arts Festival, Screendance Miami, YallaPunk, New York Arab Festival, and Queens Pride, among other venues. Nadia completed artist residencies at Chez Bushwick and Leimay Foundation, co-directed music videos for the artists Zahed Sultan and Alethea, and movement-directed three New York Fashion Week presentations for the designer Tara Babylon. They have performed as a company member with Gotham Dance Theater, Jonah Bokaer Choreography, and Artists by Any Other Name. Nadia is a teaching artist with Dancewave and Dancing Classrooms, working with K-12 students throughout the city. They have published writing with thINKingDANCE, Dance Enthusiast, the Huffington Post, Sukoon Magazine, and Reductress. 

Nadia spent three years on Dance/NYC’s Junior Committee, during which they co-organized the “Labor of Love?” Town Hall and the “Words We Use to Talk About Race” discussion at both the Dance/NYC Symposium and the Arts Administrators of Color Convening in DC. They look forward to reconnecting with Dance/NYC’s work as Programs Assistant.

Rithika Ashok (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist and arts administrator originally from Northern Virginia and currently residing in NYC. She has been trained in the Indian classical art form of Bharatanatyam for over 20 years, and is well-versed in a multitude of Western styles. In addition to her formal training in these art forms, Rithika is self-trained and teaches several Indian folk forms, including Bhangra, Garba and Chau. 

Her art exists at a crossroads between a multitude of styles and her multidisciplinary work gives way to many creative and original movements that blend the myriad of dance forms she has practiced. Rithika is pursuing her professional artistic career within NYC, with performances at Dixon Place and other venues that showcase her Indian classical and folk training alongside many Western styles. 

Within arts administration, Rithika is passionate about creating equitable and accessible arts spaces that present diverse forms of movement-based work, with a focus on South Asian dance forms. Prior to joining Dance/NYC, Rithika worked at The Juilliard School and other Indian dance companies. 

She holds a B.S. and Minor in Dance from the College of William and Mary and is currently pursuing her M.A. in Arts Administration at Columbia University.

Sara Roer (she/her/hers) hails from Waccamaw land colonially known as Wilmington, North Carolina and transplanted to Lenapehoking aka NYC in 2005 after asking to be left there on visits to grandparents for at least a decade. She currently identifies as an extroverted, non-disabled, cisgender, white queer femme. 

Her "slash life" mosaic of activity has been driven by curiosity and a sense of adventure, with dance performance and arts administration as deeply rooted constants. In both the dance and administrative realms, Sara insists on collaboration for building sustainable, impactful, long term work. In this vein, she has stayed the course with Emily Berry/b3w Performance Group for over 20 years and Keith A Thompson/danceTactics Performance Group for over 16 years (earning a New York Times mention, "eloquent," in her inaugural season).  She co-founded This Body collective with longtime friend and co-conspirator Diane Tomasi over 6 years ago. She has been training in and practicing traditional Thai Bodywork for over 16 years, starting with mentor Al Turner II. She was at artistic and administrative home BAX|Brooklyn Arts Exchange in various roles for over 14 years before stepping into this Director role with DanceNYC and looks forward to cultivating roots here for years to come. 
 

sroer@dance.nyc

Carrie Blake is a management consultant, researcher, project manager and administrator dedicated to the cultural sector. Since 2006, she has been a senior member of the Webb Mgmt team. In that role, she has directed research and analysis on more than 250 studies and plans.  Her recent research with Dance/NYC focused on New York City’s vast fiscally sponsored arts landscape and informed the City’s first ever cultural plan.

Before joining the firm, Carrie was the Associate Producer for the Office of Arts & Cultural Programming at Montclair State University (NJ) where she played a pivotal role in the establishment of Peak Performances, an ambitious new presenting, producing and commissioning program. Collaborating with innovative experimental artists from across the nation and around the world, Carrie coordinated regional, national and world premieres while establishing identity, presence, structure and policy for MSU’s new venture. 

Prior to MSU, Carrie developed and managed fundraising events and campaigns for both The Drama League, a New York City-based nonprofit committed to developing artists and audiences for the American theatre, and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (Madison, WI). She also worked in marketing for the Madison Civic Center as management prepared for expansion to what is now the Overture Center.

Carrie is a proud alumna of the Bolz Center for Arts Administration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business where she completed several consulting projects, including business planning and market research for arts organizations. Her graduate research focused on the university arts presenters’ multifarious existence within university and community contexts.

https://www.webbmgmt.org/team-carrie

Monroe&Co is a New York City-based strategy and design studio that creates branding, websites, and print publications for non-profits, arts organizations, and growing businesses. Principal James Monroe has 15 years of experience designing and leading design projects. He is passionate about helping others learn and grow while remaining mindful of society and the environment. He believes it is important that even organizations with limited resources have access to effective communication design.

http://monroeand.co/

Michelle Tabnick PR is a full-service public relations firm specializing in the arts. The company creates PR strategies with the goals of promoting the client's brand image, building ticket sales, and reaching target audiences, with specific focus on integrated marketing campaigns. Photo credit: Christopher Duggan

michelle@michelletabnickpr.com

646-765-4773

www.michelletabnickpr.com

Non-Profit Operations and Consulting (NPOC) Services is based just outside of Boston, MA and serves nonprofit organizations across the nation. They provide operations support and project management exclusively to non-profit organizations. NPOC provides a concierge based, “one-stop-shop” operations support service that is cost-effective because it affords the Non-Profit Client access to staffing support and nonprofit expertise without having to commit to the costs of staff recruitment and retention. NPOC provides both short-term support services for interim periods as well
as long-term support services in all areas of non-profit operations: bookkeeping & audit support, administrative support, central receptionist and mail handling, technology systems management and development, infrastructure and policy development, CRM management, donor gift entry management, benefits and HR administration, and communications support.

www.npocservices.com

Rila Group is committed to providing exceptional research and analytics services to businesses and non-profit organizations. Our skills and experience help us deliver insight and impact for clients through a wide range of flexible support models, providing ad hoc and ongoing analytics solutions. In partnership with our clients we can identify and capture the most value and meaningful insights from data and turn it into competitive advantages. As a fully technology agnostic firm we are able to work with our clients' preferred technologies and platforms. We strive to be the first choice for any company interested in gathering and utilizing data related to their operations.

www.RilaGroup.com