The Company
York Dance Works is a dance company committed to collaboration. We aim to compose thoughtful, original, and articulate work that audience members can enjoy and contemplate. We believe in building work out of a rehearsal environment with both clear leadership and active collaboration- where every artist is given the opportunity to both perform and create. Our mission is to promote dance as an art form by presenting new work, to appeal to and actively broaden the audience of dance-goers, and to foster artistic fraternity in New York City. YDW is led by Artistic Director Lucy York Struever. York Dance Works creates work both as a group and in collaboration with other artists - in dance, theatre, film and video. We are thrilled to be more and more frequently commissioning music. York Dance Works is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas.
LUCY YORK STRUEVER (managing director and artistic director) studied acting at the Baltimore School for the Arts and graduated with honors in Economics from Skidmore College. She studied violin and ballet throughout her youth, and developed a strong interest in modern and contemporary dance in high school. Influential teachers have been Carol Bartlett, with whom she took her first composition classes, Mark Dendy, Aszure Barton, and Robert Battle. She recently danced for Noemie Lafrance in the operas “Harnasie” and “King Roger” at the Bard Summerscape Festival, and choreographed her first musical this past fall. She is active as a choreographer, dancer and actor on various projects throughout NYC.
Contact: lucy at yorkdanceworks dot com
The Dancers:
MATT ADAMS is originally from San Jose, CA, and received his BA in Dance from the University of California Santa Barbara in the spring of 2003. During his final year at UCSB he toured with the UCSB senior dance company throughout the West Coast. He moved to NYC in the summer of 2003 to pursue his dance career. He’s performed and toured the US and internationally professionally as a member of The Silver-Brown Dance Company and the Amy Marshall Dance Company. He is also a member of Cheer New York, a nonprofit adult cheerleading squad that works to raise money and awareness throughout the LGBTS community.
HANA GINSBURG holds a BA in Education Policy from Princeton University and an MFA in Performance and Teaching from Purchase College, SUNY. She is currently a member of Riedel Dance Theater, Lane & Co., York Dance Works, Kazuko Hirabayashi Dance Theater and 360° Dance Company. She has also had the pleasure of dancing with AdrienneCelesteFadjoDance, a-core-dance-arts, Kathleen Dyer/KDNY and Amy Marshall Dance Company. Ms. Ginsburg has had original solos created for her by David Dorfman, Paul Matteson, Daniel Gwirtzman, and Asun Noales, and has performed solo and duet repertory by Jose Limon, Robert Battle, Anna Sokolow, Lester Horton, Pauline Koner, Kazuko Hirabayashi and Valerie Bettis. She has performed professionally in Norway, Spain and Japan, and attended The Yard on Martha’s Vineyard for three consecutive summers where she served as Dance Assistant to founder Patricia N. Nanon for the final two years of her life. Hana currently serves as Co-Managing Director for Dances Patrelle, General Manager for Kazuko Hirabayashi Dance Theater and 360° Dance Company, and Executive Director for Dance New York International.
KILEY DURST graduated Summa Cum Laude from Slippery Rock University with a BA in dance. While at SRU, she performed works by Art Bridgman, Myrna Packer, and Anna Sokolow. She also had the opportunity to study Bharatanatyam for 6 weeks in India with guru Revathi Ramachandran. In Pittsburgh she worked with Attack Theatre and collaborated with choreographers Michael Walsh and Gwen Hunter-Ritchie. In New York, Kiley has performed with ACFDance and joined York Dance Works in 2007.
DAVID GONSIER was born and raised in New York City. He came late to the dance world, starting his training while studying philosophy at Skidmore College. Since graduating and returing to New York he has trained at the American Dance Festival and the Alvin Ailey School, as well as with a number of wonderful teachers and choreographers. As a member of Dodge Dance Company and the Amy Marshall Dance Company, he has had the opportunity to tour around the US as well as internationally.
MARYBETH HANLEY graduated with a BA from the University of Maryland. Since moving to NYC, she has studied with Doug Varone and Dancers and worked with artists Oliver Steele, Nejla Yatkin and SHUA Group. She is currently working on her own choreography as well.
JAIME GRAHAM a Nashville native, graduated with a BFA in Dance and a BA in English Literature from Webster University in 2005. She then completed a one year post-graduate program at the Rotterdam Dansacademie, NL. She has danced in pieces by Mark Haim, Ming Lung-Yang, Liat T. Waynesboro, and Juliana May. Jaime has a pilates certification from Romana’s studio and in addition to her dancer career, manages the pilates studio at the Equinox gym on Park Avenue.
AMANDA KWOLYK She grew up in Wisconsin and considers herself to be a true mid-westerner, but her serious dance training began when she moved to Boston in middle school. She was trained in classical ballet at Northeast Youth Ballet, but also explored theater, jazz, hip hop, flamenco and modern. Amanda attended Skidmore College where she majored in business and dance with a concentration in choreography. While dancing at Skidmore, Amanda worked with Steven Hyde, Kirsten Simone, Alexander Proia, Jeanne Brescianni, Debra Fernandez and was a featured dancer in Robert Battle’s works. Amanda won the Periclean award for outstanding creativity and hard work in her senior dance choreography capstone. Upon moving to New York City she continued to choreograph and perform her own works. She has also performed with Jose Limon Dance Company, House of the Roses, and Amy Marshall. Amanda enjoys each moment of the creative process and looks forward to exploring dance and theater in New York City.
COURTNEY ROTTENBERGER is a recent graduate from Skidmore College where she double majored in dance and Psychology. She is currently working with choreogrpaher Jay T Jenkins on a jazz ballet that will premiere this June. Courtney also danced with the 2007-2008 New York Jets Flight Crew dance team.
BREANNA SMITH was born and raised in Tallahassee Florida. She began her dance training at the Southern Academy of Ballet Arts and performed with their company, Pas de Vie, under the direction of Charles Hagan and Natalia Botha, formerly of the Pittsburg Ballet. In 1998 she joined the Tallahassee Ballet Company performing both soloist and principal roles until 2003. While dancing with the Tallahassee Ballet she attended Florida State University and in May of 2004 received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance. During her time at Florida State she studied under and performed works by Lynda Davis, Jane Wood-Smith, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Anjali Austin, Tim Glen, Elizabeth Higgins, Jose Limon, and Suzanne Farrell. Breanna is a member of ACFDance, joining the company in January 2006.
SHAYNE STALEY (dancer) Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Staley received her early training at the Dallas Metropolitan Ballet and the Dallas Black Dance Theater. Her continued studies led her to earn a BFA in Dance Performance from Southern Methodist University in 2002. At SMU, Staley was greatly influenced by Karen Kriete, Max Stone, Nathan Montoya and Larry White and carries their inspiration with her today. There she was also cast in works by choreographers such as Robert Battle, Hernando Cortez and Estella Tajeda. In 2002, she became one of the three founding collaborators of Triptych- a dynamic performance/dance company. Staley has studied intensively with Doug Varone, David Parsons, Paul Taylor, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Since moving to New York City in 2003, she has worked with ArchDance Co., Extended Dance Theater, Fresh Blood Productions, Jette Pefrormance Company, Steps Repertory Ensemble, and Ezra Caldwell. Currently, along side performing, Staley teaches yoga and dance around the city.
