Direction & Concept
Choreographer

Jodie/YingChu is an independent interdisciplinary dance artist from Taiwan having been based in London and Berlin working nomadically as a creator, dancer, maker/choreographer, performer, collaborator, facilitator/teacher, researcher, and healer (Reiki Master Teacher). Creating is the core spirit of her practice, with the emphasis of kinaesthetic experiences along the process of encountering, connecting, and crafting. With her clairvoyant and sensitivity in senses, very naturally she delves into sensations and perceptions in the field of phenomenology and the body-mind relationship by weaving the thinking-body through dancing, moving, and embodying.

She has created Soul FLOWing Dance with her achievement of MA Creative Practice (Dance Professional Practice) awarding by Independent Dance, Siobhan Davies Dance, and Trinity Laban in London in the UK. Her own solo choreography ϕ (phi) has been invited to perform and tour at SAVVY Contemporary in Berlin, 4bid gallery at OT301 in Amsterdam, Kunst Dialogue in Amsterdam, and Online Performing Arts Festival. Being part of an artistic community and family, by contributing and dedicating, by giving and receiving, she very much enjoys the warm support and inspiration by collaborating with other artists in each other’s projects. This is what she values the most along her dance art career and also the insights from her interdisciplinary art residency experiences.

Collaborative Dance Artist

Blake Bellanger is a graduate of University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he received a BFA in Contemporary Dance with a minor in Arts Administration. He started dancing in the small town of Clinton, North Carolina when he was nine. He also attended UNCSA for his senior year of high school, where he was first introduced to modern dance techniques, such as Limón and Cunningham. In 2022, Blake began his professional dance career with the Marigny Opera Ballet in New Orleans. He has performed works for many choreographers, including Yoshito Sakauraba, Diogo de Lima, and Gina Patterson, as well as choreographing works for himself and other students while at UNCSA. For Blake, dance is about making connections with others through the artistic expression of human emotion and story. He looks to the dancers of the past and hopes to bring elements of their work into the modern day. Blake is also an Eagle Scout, loves hands-on activities, and considers himself a jack of all trades. Currently Blake is continuing his dance career with MOMIX under the direction of Moses Pendleton.

Collaborative Dance Artist

Nicole Connaughton was born Hanover, Maryland. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Goucher College in 2022. During her time at Goucher, she had the pleasure of performing works by Christopher K. Morgan, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Johnnie Cruise Mercer, Iquail Shaheed, and Eric Rivera. She has studied with Sarasota Contemporary Dance Company, and in 2023 was selected to present choreography at their summer intensive under the direction of Artistic Director Leymis Bolaños Wilmott. Nicole was also given the opportunity to attend the American Dance Festival in 2023 on full scholarship. While there, she was selected to collaborate with Jodie Judy Lu YingChu and other artists in creation of the work, Infinity, which premiered at the International Choreographers Residency Showcase at ADF. Nicole hopes to engage in more collaborative projects like this in the future to continue to develop her passion for creative process and performance. With a passion for visual arts as well, Nicole is currently investigating what it means to integrate her visual and movement art into a unique practice.

Collaborative Composer & Sound Designer

Joyce Lindsey (AKA) JaylinZ is a dance musician, composer, sound designer and visual artist born and raised in Chicago. Joyce has been a professional dance musician for eight years and continues to produce her own music in multiple genres such as house, vogue, hip hop, minimal orchestral, R&B and more.

Photographer

Originally from Medford, Oregon, Nikolas began his dance training at the age of 17 at Crater Renaissance Academy of Arts and Sciences. He quickly grew to love the artform and auditioned for University of North Carolina School of The Arts where he was accepted into the undergraduate program, with a concentration in contemporary dance. During his time at School of The Arts, Nikolas was fortunate to perform a wide range of repertoire including works by Claudia Schreier, Igal Perry, Darrell Grand-Moultree, Ming Lung-Yang, and Mariana Oliveira to name a few among many others.

In his spare time Nikolas has self-produced several films, as well as having self-produced an evening length performance titled SOuL, while choreographing several other pieces at School of The Arts. For Nikolas, not only dancing in works, but choreographing works as well, is a special part of what makes dance unique. He is excited to join Vitacca Ballet’s upcoming season, and to begin his first year of work as a professional.

Pictured Dancer

Paisley Kupka, originally from Winchester, VA, is currently in her third year training at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts to get her BFA in Contemporary Dance, minoring in Arts Entrepreneurship. Her training began at Shenandoah Conservatory Arts Academy, primarily focusing on ballet technique. Throughout high school and college she began to train in different modern and contemporary techniques. She also got her pilates teacher mat certification in 2022. At UNCSA, Paisley has performed works by Robert Battle, Jose Limon, Merce Cunningham, Brenda Daniels, and most recently performed Re-3 by Shen Wei in 2023. She performed in UNCSA’s Nutcracker as Drosselmeyer this past season as well. She’s very involved in the Winston Salem arts community- working with Arts Council as an improvisational performer in collaboration with local live musicians. She’s very invested in working on choreography at UNCSA. This past semester, she choreographed solo and site specific works.

Dancer (understudy)

Erin Morrisey is a dancer, creator, and teacher based in New York, New York. Erin has been dancing since age 2 training in primarily ballet and theater jazz her whole life. Being just outside New York City, her love for Broadway and acting heavily influenced her movement style. Erin’s love for contemporary and modern dance blossomed when she started training at Adelphi University. Erin will be graduating with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance in May of 2024. Since high school Erin has had the opportunity to perform and train with the Martha Graham Company, Erica Pujic, Danny Grossman, Hilda Morales, Hope Boykin, and Orion Duckstein. Working with various artists throughout the past few years has helped Erin find her voice as a mover and creator.

Erin is very dedicated to creating authentic movement to bring about an organic reaction. She finds this by using Rudolf Laban’s efforts and combing them to create different effort states. In her most recent project she focused on altering her dancers natural efforts to evoke a more emotional response in the dancers. Through Laban’s movement analysis Erin has been able to keep exploring the art form in new ways.

Dancer (understudy)

Mandi Weitz is a dance performer, creator, and educator currently based in Ohio. She trained at Dayton Ballet as a second company member from 2014-2020, performing professional roles in Karen Russo Burke’s The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty: The Story of Briar Rose, and Dracula: Bloodlines. In Fall 2023, Mandi will graduate from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) with a BFA in dance and a minor in nutrition. She is excited to be joining Dayton Contemporary Dance Company 2 for their 2023-24 season. Mandi has attended Cincinnati Ballet’s Collegiate Intensive, the GagaLab Winter Intensive in New York City, and the American Dance Festival Summer Dance Intensive as a scholarship recipient. She traveled to Panama as a dance diplomat in Summer 2022 with the organization Movement Exchange, where she taught dance in underserved communities and took classes in native dance styles. Mandi has choreographed concert works for CCM, American Dance Festival, and Dayton’s Art in the City, as well as musical theater productions for Carroll High School and Springboro Community Theater. In January 2022, she was invited by CCM director, Shauna Steele, to be a choreographer’s assistant for a week-long residency at Central Utah Ballet. Mandi believes in a holistic approach to dance, pursuing experience in a variety of dance styles and putting equal emphasis on the creative process. She values dance as a universal language and a means of connecting body and soul.