Collective Thread provides a voice and a platform for artistic self-impression to those women identifying artists of underrepresented ethnic groups within the medium of dance. ***PLEASE NOTE: MADC uses the term “women” to encompass all those that self-identify as women including cisgender, transgender, nonbinary, or gender non-conforming. We honor and respect all identities.*** The goal of Collective Thread is to instill artists with the necessary tools to take on leadership roles in an effort to increase diversity, inclusion, and gender equality in the dance field.

 

MADC’s Collective Thread Dance Festival & Residency is made possible in part with funding from the West Harlem Development Corporation (WHDC) Community Benefits Grant; New York State Council on the Arts; by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; the Lower Manhattan Cultural Center (LMCC) Creative Engagement Grant; and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone (UMEZ) Arts Engagement Grant.

Reverberation

Choreographed & Performed by: Saharla Vetsch (she, her ,hers) 

Music: A medley of "Passionfruit" by Drake, with remixes by: Justice Der, Mabel, Delirious & Alex K, DJ Manyhats, Angus & Julia Stone, ItsAMoney, Melvin War and Yaeji. Mixed by Jaime Serra dos Santos

 

Website: https://www.themajorsdance.com/

Instagram: @the_major_s

 

Personal acknowledgement: Kristine Goodwine for the endless support and love.

 

Saharla Vetsch is a Somali American multidisciplinary artist rooted in the Bay Area. Saharla earned a degree in Performing Arts and Social Justice in dance from the University of San Francisco. Saharla’s teaching and performances encourage and celebrate the intersecting identities that make up who we are and inform how we all engage with the world and each other. She does this in the spaces of drag, nightlife entertainment, youth dance education, and through collaborative dance performances. Saharla strives to be a beacon of self-expression, harnessing the liberating power of dance to ignite a sense of freedom through community.

Poesía No Eres Tu

Choreography by: Another River Interdisciplinary Ensemble

Collaborators: Andrea Vázquez (they, them), Aminta Fresnillo (they, them)

Performed by: Aminta Fresnillo

Music: Bésame mucho. Trío Los Panchos

Vocals: Poesía no eres tu by Rosario Castellanos

 

Website: https://www.anotheriver.com/

Instagram: @anotherriver_interdisciplinary

 

Another River Interdisciplinary Ensemble’s  work aims to build bridges among disciplines and, above all, to communicate to a wide audience without compromising artistic honesty. Under the artistic direction of James J. Kaufmann and Andrea Vazquez, the ensemble is a diverse group of artists committed to take their practice to great depth, sharing it with others through creation, performance, and teaching.

Crack!

Choreographed by: Makayla Peterson (she, her, hers)

Performed by: Ashley Fields, Makayla Peterson, Maleyah Peterson, & Serena Thomas

Music: Les Boulets se Rebiffent by Les Tambours du Bronx; Ramalama (Bang Bang) by Róisín Murphy; Jungle Jazz by Les Tambours du Bronx 

 

Website: www.mmpthecollective.org

Instagram: @mmp.thecollective

Facebook: mmp.thecollective

 

Makayla Monét Peterson is a dancer, choreographer, scholar, teaching artist, and Founder & Artistic Director of Monét Movement Productions: The Collective. She is a 2020 Temple

University graduate with a BFA in Dance. A 2019 Temple University Diamond Research Scholars Grant recipient, Makayla has presented research at national and international conferences. Her scholastic achievements earned her the Temple University Boyer College of Music and Dance Rose Vernick Scholar Award. Choreographic presentations include Mare Nostrum Elements Emerging Choreographer Series, COCO Dance Festival, Collective Thread Dance Festival, Making Moves Dance Festival and more! Makayla currently dances with Enya-Kalia Creations and OKRA Dance Company.

Taraana 

Choreographed & Performed by: Serene Puri (she, her, hers)

Collaborators: Radhika Kotwal, Kalaa Kendra Performing Arts Academy 

Music: Taraana by Birju Maharaj

 

Website: www.courtyardly.com/serene-puri

Instagram: @serenityrenity

 

Personal acknowledgements: Thank you to my family, who has supported me through medical school, through my rangmanch pravesh, and now through my continued dance endeavors. I love you all. 

 

A passionate, lifelong Kathak dancer, Serene began dancing at age 5 and hasn't stopped moving since. She has always been entranced by all things Kathak: the graceful mudras of the hand, the rapid movement of the feet in tatkaar, the jingling of the ghungroos. Serene completed her formal Kathak graduation, her Rangmanch Pravesh, in the fall of 2024 under her guru Smt. Radhika Kotwal. In the ultimate test of her passion, Serene trained for her Rangmanch during her first year of medical school, continuing to dance and stubbornly refusing to give up her art in the face of life’s curveballs.

Only Bones

Choreographed by: Li Chiao-Ping (she, her, hers) with creative contributions from the dancer

Performed by: Mayu Nakaya

Music: Byron Au Yong

Vocals: Text by Li Chiao-Ping (augmented/shaped/edited), based on conversations with the soloist. Spoken by Mayu Nakaya.

 

Website: www.lcpdance.com

Instagram: @lcpdance, @lichiaoping, @mayudance157

 

Funding acknowledgements: UW-Madison Vilas Trustees and the National Endowment for the Arts

 

Li Chiao-Ping’s work has been praised in the NY Times, Village Voice, Dance Magazine, LA Times, Washington Post, & SF Bay Guardian. Her work has been shown in major venues/festivals: Jacob’s Pillow, Bates, American Dance Festival, Kennedy Center, Dance Place, Danspace Project, ODC Theater, CounterPulse, & more. Named one of Dance Magazine’s “25 to watch”, Li is a multi-hyphenate artist, 9-time NEA grant awardee, & MAP Fund grant recipient, who creates layered works that explore themes of culture, identity, diversity, inclusion, space, & place.  

 

Mayu Nakaya (she/her) is a professional contemporary dancer and choreographer originally from Japan based in New York. She founded the dance project "MNiverse", which expresses the possibilities of diversity through dance based on the concept of human connection and dance performance with collaborators.

Connections Within 

Choreographed by: Quetzali Hart (she, her, hers)

Performed by: Courtney Holbrooks, Macy Alday and Quetzali Hart

Music: Six Breaths: II Breath, Out of Breath by Ezio Bosso, The London Cellos Ensemble

 

Website: https://www.quetzalihart.com

Instagram: @quetzalihart

 

Personal acknowledgements: Thank you to Courtney and Macy for sharing your talents with me and for trusting me in another creative process. To my parents Barbara and Jeff for your constant support!

 

Quetzali Hart is a New York based dancer and choreographer. In 2023, she received her BFA in Contemporary Dance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. While there she performed works by Jose Limon and Igal Perry, and original works by Darrell Grand Moultrie, Juel D. Lane, Ashley Linsdey, Grady Bowman and Ming Lung-Yang. Quezali has worked with choreographers such as Jacob Jonas, Sidra Bell, Peter Chu, Flockworks. In April 2024 she made her New York debut with Rachael Lieblein-Jurbala Dance Works. Quetzali is currently a company member of Artichoke Dance Company. 

Excerpt of "My Body, No Apologies"

Choreographed & Performed by: Maxine Montilus (she, her, hers)

Music: "What It Feels Like For A Girl" (Instrumental) by Madonna

 

Website: https://www.maxinemontilus.com/

Instagram: @maxinemontilus

 

In 2019, Maxine founded MV Dance Project, a dance company that aims to be of service to others through public performances and dance education programming.  In June 2019, the company performed its first evening-length production “Strength in Spirit” at Brooklyn Studios for Dance. Maxine has presented work independently at various institutions, including The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance and La Mama Experimental Theatre Club, Maxine has also presented choreography in Dance Caribbean COLLECTIVE’s annual New Traditions Showcase from 2015-2017.  In 2023, Maxine was selected as one of Haiti Cultural Exchange’s Lakou New Artists-in-Residence as well.

Sole searching

Choreographed & Performed by: Rathi Varma (she, her, hers)

Music: V Quiz Game Show Opener by Waderman & Celebration Background Music by MUSDO (Music for content creators)

 

Website: https://www.rathivarma.com/

Instagram: @rathivarma

 

Rathi Varma, originally from Mumbai, India, began dancing at the age of 15 alongside pursuing her Diploma in Visual Arts and working as an Illustrator. In 2018, she moved to New York to pursue dance professionally at Peridance Centre. Her works, including Table for Two, Imperfect, What Will Be, Will Be, and Dear Bread, have been presented at venues like Spoke The Hub, Flushing Town Hall, Arts on Site, Green Space, Balance Arts Centre, and BAAD. Rathi is a company member with Treehouse Shakers and Time Lapse Dance, and also serves as a Teaching Artist with Arts For All. 

Circles, Section 8

Choreographed by: Leah Tubbs, Ellicia Clayton, Solenn Etienne, Doria Marchena, Mireille Lorenzo, Shakerah McDowell, & Lauren Mueller

Performed by: Ellicia Clayton, Solenn Etienne, Doria Marchena, Mireille Lorenzo, Shakerah McDowell, & Lauren Mueller

Music: Bobby McFerrin

 

Website: www.modartsdance.com

Instagram: @ModArts_Dance

Facebook: MODArts Dance Collective

 

Leah Tubbs, a Birmingham, Alabama native & Harlem resident, studied dance at Alabama School of Fine Arts (ASFA) and the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. She has performed with various dance companies in Alabama, Ohio, California, Texas, and New York. MODArts Dance Collective (MADC), established in 2011 by Leah and Shaun Tubbs, holds space for Black, Indigenous, & People of Color (BIPOC) through its choreographic work, festivals, concerts, residencies, & workshops. The mission of MADC is to utilize movement as the catalyst to increase IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, & access) as a form of resistance & liberation for Black & Brown people nationwide. 

Introduction & Recognition of the 2025 CREATE | SHARE | INSPIRE Legacy Award Recipient: Dianne McIntyre

Dianne McIntyre is considered a pioneer for her groundbreaking work as a choreographer, dancer, teacher, curator and director. She celebrates 53 years as a dance-maker and founder of her first company of dancers and musicians, Sounds in Motion. The company toured throughout

the U.S. and abroad and the Harlem-based Sounds in Motion studio was for many years, a central hub of creative activity with classes, studio performances, rehearsals, and a gathering place for the “culture crowd” to explode with ideas. She has choreographed for her own and

other dance companies including Dance Theatre of Harlem, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Philadanco Cleo Parker Robinson Dance, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Dancing Wheels, and GroundWorks Dance Theater; several Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, three operas, around 35 regional theatre productions, a London West End musical, feature films, television productions, stage movement for recording artists and, so far, created five original full-length dance dramas.  McIntyre has had choreography and teaching residencies in countless universities and continues associations with American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival and Jacob’s Pillow where she has been the co-director with Risa Steinberg of the Hicks Choreography Fellowship Program. Her current work “In the Same Tongue” is currently touring supported by a grant from New England Foundation for the Arts/National Dance Project. Highlighted concert works: “Life’s Force”, “Take-Off from a Forced Landing”, based on her mother’s stories as an aviator; and “Their Eyes Were Watching God”, based on the Zora Neale Hurston novel. In 1991 after extensive research, she recreated dance pioneer Helen Tamiris’ epic 1937 work “How Long, Brethren?”  For the screen: “Beloved”, “Langston Hughes: The Dream Keeper”, “Miss Evers’ Boys” (Emmy award nomination).

 

Inspired to create work derived from real life narratives, McIntyre has conceptualized and directed her own “dance-driven dramas” that have appeared in both dance and theatre venues. Notable works are “Open the Door, Virginia!” from 1950s civil rights activism, and “I Could

Stop on a Dime and Get Ten Cents Change: A Ballroom Drama” based on her father’s life stories.

 

Awards include: A 2022 Dance Magazine Award Honoree, a 2023 Martha Hill Lifetime Achievement Awardee, 2020 United States Artists Doris Duke Fellowship, and 2016 Doris Duke Artist Award recipient. Other honors: John S. Guggenheim Fellowship, three Bessie Awards, two AUDELCOs, one Helen Hayes award, National Black Theatre Teer Pioneer Award, Def Dance Jam Community Butterfly Award, Harlem Arts Alliance Award, The International Acclaim Legendary Artist Award from IABD. She has also received Honorary Doctor of FineArts Degrees from SUNY Purchase and Cleveland State University.

 

McIntyre has worked in collaboration with master music innovators: Olu Dara, Lester Bowie, Max Roach, Sharon Freeman, Butch Morris, Amina Claudine Myers, Cecil Taylor, Don Pullen, Kysia Bostic, Onaje Allan Gumbs, Abbey Lincoln, Hannibal Lokumbe, Ahmed Abdullah and many others. Along with her mentors, her fellow dancers and collaborative composers, McIntyre acknowledges the influence of directors and playwrights with whom she has worked: Bartlett Sher, Marion McClinton, Regina Taylor, Des McAnuff, Jonathan Demme, Douglas Turner Ward,

August Wilson, OyamO, Ntozake Shange, Avery Brooks, Rita Dove, Joe Sargent, Rick Davis, Woodie King, Jr., Irene Lewis, Oz Scott and Ricardo Khan.

 

A dance alum of the Ohio State University her mentors include Elaine Gibbs Redmond, Gus Solomons jr, Louise Roberts, Vera Blaine, Helen Alkire and Richard Davis.

 

You can click here to access the full interview with Dianne McIntyre.

www.diannemcintyre.com

Gratitude and Thanks

MADC would like to thank our 2024/25 donors: Sharon Banks, Paul Brill & Alicia Stivala Brill, Lauren DeGeorge, Sherema Fleming, Karen & Brian Lowy, Tanya Patton, Adriana Ray, William-Michael Cooper Rivera, & Harriette Smiley. MADC is grateful to be receiving funding this season from the International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD) COHI | MOVE Gamma Collective Cohort with the Mellon Foundation (2024-26), West Harlem Development Corporation (WHDC), the New York State Council on the Arts, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Center Creative Engagement Grant, and the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone Arts Engagement Grant. We are thankful to be receiving subsidized studio rates as a company-in-residence at Hi-ARTS.

Support

MODArts Dance Collective, Inc. (MADC) is always grateful to receive contributions to continue to expand and amplify the reach of holding space for BIPOC artists & communities through its choreographic work, festivals, concerts, residencies, & workshops. MADC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible; EIN: 87-2210130. Please consider contributing to MADC here.