Katie Bateman is a dancer, educator, and choreographer based in the NJ/NYC area, their work rooted in the spirit of modern dance and founded within collaboration and community. A graduate of Rutgers University, Katie earned an Ed.M in Dance Education with a Certification of Eligibility with Advanced Standing in K-12 Dance (CEAS) from the Graduate School of Education, and a BFA in Dance from Mason Gross School of the Arts, where they were recognized as a Hanya Holm award recipient. Recently, Katie performed under Grant Jacoby & Dancers, where the company presented at the annual Morven Moves event in Princeton, NJ. As an educator, Katie is currently a Community Teaching Artist for Nimbus Dance, teaching in Jersey City and Union City Public Schools, and is a ballet teacher at Triangle Dance Center. As a choreographer, recently they were a Guest Artist at Middlesex College, and presented a new work at their 2026 Spring Dance Concert. Katie began an apprenticeship with Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company in the summer of 2026.

Derek Crescenti is a dance artist whose work is shaped by his experiences dancing in New York City and Seattle with choreographers Chase Brock, Donald Byrd, Daniel Gwirtzman, Larry Keigwin, Mark Morris, David Parker, Megan Williams, among others, as well as performing with the repertory company 10 Hairy Legs. Derek has assisted Donald Byrd on commissions and stagings of his work at ACT Theater, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Barnard College, DeSales University, and Spectrum Dance Theater, and teaches Donald Byrd Contemporary Technique. As an associate choreographer for Larry Keigwin, he has worked on commissions for Paul Taylor Dance Company and Vail Dance Festival, and has staged Keigwin’s work on Ormao Dance Company. Derek’s choreography has been presented by Allentown Symphony Orchestra, Men in Dance, Seattle International Dance Festival, Ten Tiny Dances, and WestFest Top Floor. He has taught at The Taylor School and was previously on faculty at DeSales University and the University of Washington. His research in restaging and re-performance has led to presentations at the NDEO National Conference, and his recent article, “Joining the Dance: Exploring Meaning-Making in Pedagogies of Restaging,” has been published in the Journal of Dance Education. Derek holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and an MFA in Dance from the University of Washington, and is currently an Assistant Professor of Dance at Montclair State University.

Daniel Gwirtzman—producer, educator, filmmaker and performer—celebrates thirty years as a NYC choreographer and company director. Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, a nonprofit teaching and performing organization is known for its optimistic ethos and the repertory for its invention, humor, musicality, stylistic diversity, charismatic performances, and accessibility. Collaborations that blend genres, take risks, engage communitiy, and celebrate humanity are areas of focus. “Mr. Gwirtzman does know that in dance less can be more…he can evoke strong feelings with a few gestures” writes The New York Times. The New Yorker describes him as “a choreographer of high spirits and skill,” and The Village Voice calls him “an abundantly inventive artist with a subtle defiance of gender roles.”

Performance highlights include Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Kennedy Center, Battery Dance Festival, Fire Island Dance Festival, Bryant Park, La MaMa, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and Lincoln Center. He has been awarded commissions, residencies and fellowships from institutions including the Joyce Theater Foundation, The Yard, Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Raumars (Finland), Sacatar Foundation (Brazil), Sfakiotes Residency (Greece) Maison Dora Maar (France), Centro Negra (Spain), Gdański Festiwal Tanca (Poland), The Studios of Key West, CUNY Kinsgborough Community College, and Ucross (Wyoming), American Dance Festival (Durham, NC).

DGDC’s fifteenth anniversary was celebrated with the evening-length premiere of The Oracle at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s BAM Fisher. Arts/ATL described its “mathematical elegance” and “joyful physicality…a vision that vibrated on a frequency of harmony and brilliance.” Recent productions include the dance-theater duet e-Motion (2023), which La MaMa presented during their 20th Anniversary Season of La MaMa Moves Dancer Festival (2025), delving into the concerns of AI, which Culturebot reviewed as “profoundly chilling,” noting Daniel’s performance as “masterful.”

Flashpoint, an ensemble dance developed at the American Dance Festival (2024) explores the contours of relationships, the push and pull of harmony and strife within our lives, and the lines separating intimacy from violence. In 2024 he was in residence at the Dora Maar Cultural Center in Provence, France where he produced the dance film Framing Ménerbes, which premiered in France and New York City (June 2025), and continues to screen in theaters. Framing Ménerbes frames a stunning village in Provence and captures its natural beauty of far-reaching vistas, mountains, vineyards, and the light for which it is known. A dozen participants from the region joined as performers in this feature-length film Daniel shot and edited which celebrates the beauty of dance.

Thanks to leadership support from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, Dance With Us, a free online educational resource produced by the organization is designed to demystify choreography and increase comfort viewing and speaking about dance. https://dancewithus.org

Internationally recognized dancer, teacher, choreographer and co-artistic director of DoubleTake Dance. Vanessa has been trained in Contemporary, Ballet, Lyrical, Musical Theater, Hip Hop, Tap, Modern, Aerial Silks and Acting. Currently dances for Daniel Gwirtzman Company (now celebrating 10 years as a soloist. Some of her favorite shows include Lincoln Center Outdoors, Battery Dance, Rochester Fringe Festival…), Christy Walsh Company and DoubleTake Dance.

Recently seen as “The Queen” in the Contemporary Ballet production of “The Queen of Nöri” by Stoneworks Productions (performed in Oahu, Hawaii) and in the Fashion Magazine BAZAAR Indonesia, dancing/modeling for Fashion Designer Yinglun Zhang. And the shows “Planets” and “Seasons” as a dancer/choreographer produced by KDA (Oahu, Hawaii).

Honored with a professional development scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Culture Vanessa moved to NYC to pursue her dance career. Credits in Spain include choreographing “Tick Tick…BOOM!” and “I Love You, You’re Perfect …Now Change” produced by Tela-Katola as well as performing with the European show “Compradores de Sueños”.

Vanessa has produced, choreographed and directed several full length shows with her dance company DoubleTake Dance along with co-director Ashley Carter. Featured in Dance Informa Magazine; with shows in festivals & events such as SummerStage; Battery Dance, NY Half Marathon, Ailey Theater; Carnival, NYC Fashion Week, Higher Ground Festival, the ACLU’s 100th birthday celebration, United Palace, Webster Hall; Gerald Lynch Theater, Dixon Place, Teatro la Tea, JCE (NY),Teatro Madrid & SalaTriángulo (Spain). DTD is a proud recipient of commissions such as NY City Arts Grant, Rock that Rolls for Dancing Wheels (Cleveland, OH), HTChen New Steps (NYC); Next Step (JPAC NYC)

Other companies and choreographers include: LLMoves, BalaSole, Noir Tribe Media, Burnt Sugar, Ikada, Germaul Barnes/Viewsic Expressions, Ryan Beck, Derek Mitchell, Guillém Alonso, Gabrielle Lasner, Alan Onickel, Lynn Schwab (Tap City -Symphony Space) and Tony Waag (Career Transition for Dancers Gala at City Center) Featured in “Steel City Rhythm” workshop by RSW & associates; “DIY Nutcracker” (NY), “Rabi Thakur: A ballet on the Life of Rabindranath Tagore” (NJPAC); “The jazz Hip Hop Nutcracker” by Momentum Dance Theater: (Washington D.C ). Other shows include “Mitridate” by The Little Opera Theater in NY; “The Golden Cockerel” & “Aurora’s Wedding” with ABT at the MET, “Arrival” (Theater 80), “LOVEartJAPAN” (Raising funds for Japan and “3 for 1” by DTD with AJR Brothers.

Vanessa is a versatile performer who has worked as an actress, model and dancer for international brands and commercials like: L ́OREAL, Heineken, Ameriprise, Athleta, NYRoadRunners, Tag Heuer, Netflix “Umbrella Academy”, Yahoo, Ursus Vodka, KDDance, Lush Cosmetics/Gorilla Perfumes, El Pais newspaper, channel Tele5, Fuse TV, X-Box/Kinect (Times Square with NeYo and Lady Sovereign) Fashion Center Arts Festival, One Truth, Dru Cutler, Guerilla Toss, The Rachel Ray Show, Dropps, Smartphone Users Guide to Etiquette by Mary John Frank with Ariana deBose. Film credits include “The Ryde of Tom & Valkyrie”, & “Friends With Benefits” with Justin Timberlake (IMDB 2011)

As a dance video director, editor and dancer her latest work “Piel” has successfully premiered in the Festival “Encuentros” (Ciapas, México.)

Currently on faculty at BAE (Adult Program), Ballet Hispánico (Adult, Summer Intensive and Pre and Professional Programs) and BeFit. Other teaching credits include: Peridance, Joffrey, Steps on Broadway, Nazareth Dance, Ithaca College, PMT, Bridge for dance in NY; Alonzo Lines in San Francisco; LeHigh Valley Alliance in Pennsylvania; Hawaii Univ, Punahou, Mid-Pac, Kailua Dance, Kroc Dance, Destination in Hawaii; Round Rock Rep, and Tarrytown Dance in Austin; V. Ullate, Arte de Bailar, Luthier, L’atelier, Ross in Spain; PAO Dance in Belgium, T- Stage in México…). Vanessa loves traveling as a teacher, judge and choreographer and is also a Pilates Mat Certified Trainer, with choreography featured in the YAGP finals.

Johnny Mathews III (he/they) is a Filipino-American dancer, choreographer, and video artist from Madison, Wisconsin, now based in Brooklyn. Johnny is a company member with Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, Valerie Green/Dance Entropy, and KAŌS Dance Collective, and has performed with artists including Keith A. Thompson/danceTactics, Kashia Kancey, Cameron Barnett & Fiona Schlegel, Cristina Moya-Palacios, and Justine Gelfman/Sally Butin.

Johnny is a 2026 CPR Artist-in-Residence and his choreographic research has been supported by residencies at The Residency Project @ 280 in Pasadena, CA, and the Digging In Group (DIG) Residency at Green Space in Queens, NY. He has shown work at the Pageant Gala, Triskelion Arts, Green Space, THAT SHOW at Index Space, ESTIA Day Fest, and more. In collaboration with Nikaio Thomashow and KAŌS Dance Collective, they have created and performed work at the Bryant Park’s Picnic Performances series, the Ailey Citigroup Theater, and Madame X.

He holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor.
Instagram: @johnnymathews3

Aria Roach is a producer, dance educator, and performer based in New York City. Her producorial work spans major dance organizations, companies, and independent artists. She most recently served as the Associate Producer of Events for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and was previously the General Manager of Caleb Teicher & Company (CT&Co) and Company Manager for Joyce Theater Productions’ touring Lindy Hop show SW!NG OUT. Other administrative roles include Producer of Yehuda Hyman’s The Dancing Room at Arts on Site and Operations Coordinator at Mark Morris Dance Group. In 2024 she supported Works & Process as Festival Manager for the Underground Uptown Dance Festival at the Guggenheim and Lincoln Center.

Aria is currently the Program Manager of the National Dance Institute (NDI) Collaborative for Teaching & Learning, where she also spent three years teaching 3k-5th grade dance classes in NYC public elementary schools. Additionally, Aria has taught adaptive dance in the NDI DREAM Project for students with and without disabilities. Aria continues working with young dancers as the lead Teaching Artist and Choreographer for Mark Morris Dance Group’s Student Company II program. She has nearly a decade of experience leading classes in Modern, Ballet, and Improvisation for students 6-18 years with a focus on social/emotional wellness. Aria also offers private lessons, and teaches occasional adult Yoga and Modern Dance classes. During the 2020-2021 pandemic she worked as a farmhand and taught socially-distanced lessons for pre-teens in parks tailored toward connection, movement, and creative exploration.

As a performer, Aria’s experience includes both traditional Modern dance and outdoor, queer, site-specific, dance theater work. She most recently appeared as one of two collaborative leads in Hallie Chametzky’s the truth is the truth is the truth is the, a dance theater exploration of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. Aria has also danced with Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company, Yehuda Hyman’s Mystical Feet Company, Eva Dean Dance, The Moving Architects, , Stephanie Saywell, and Zoe Walders.

Beyond performing, Aria’s creative work includes appearances in filmmaker James Fotopoulos’s La Belle et la Bête, Dandelot’s Tutu music video, and Target’s All in Motion ad campaign, as well as collaborations with photographers Barbara Shore, gwen charles, and Sherrie Nickol. She has been honored to present her choreography at VCUDance, Built on Stilts Festival, Southern Vermont Dance Festival, Iona College, and in commissions for both Dancewave and Mark Morris Dance Group’s Student Companies. She also created Tomato Season, an outdoor dance film on Ghost Island Farm (Martha’s Vineyard, MA) that premiered at Built On Stilts dance festival and was selected for 92Y’s Mobile Dance Film Festival.

Aria holds a BFA in Dance & Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of the Arts (VCUarts) and Honors College (summa cum laude). As an undergraduate she spent a semester at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and received a 2015 VCUarts Dean’s International Study Grant to study at the ImPulsTanz Festival in Vienna, Austria. Upon graduating, she worked as an Artist Services Intern at The Yard. Aria earned her Master Composter Certificate from NYC Compost Project and her 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certification from The Shala Yoga under founders Barbara Verrochi and Kristin Leigh.