Meet Vanessa Martínez de Baños!

Hometown? Madrid. Mix coke and wine and you get a “Kalimotxo” Drink it in the street with your friends in a gigantic plastic cup called a “mini” 🙂
What do you love most about performing? Sharing with an audience and with your fellow dancers. Through dance we tell stories, we make people feel and get away from their every day lives. Its magic!
Favorite summertime activity? Anything under the sun!
Most rewarding aspect of being a dancer? Doing what you love and sharing it with friends, family and strangers. Being a dancer is both physically and mentally very rewarding.
Why come see Summertime Suite at Battery Dance Festival? Fun. Excitement. Happiness. Incredible cast and choreography!

Meet Jeff Davis!

Hometown? Snellville Georgia
What’s one thing people don’t know about it? The town’s motto on the water tower is “Everybody’s Somebody in Snellville”
What do you love the most about performing? I love the energy of performing. I think it’s exciting to get a group of people together, rehearsing, adding props, music & costumes, then inviting lots of people to watch (or pay to watch) & hope everything goes perfectly.. It’s fun & i guess terrifying too!
Favorite Summertime activity? Swimming in the Ocean!!!
Most rewarding aspect of being a dancer? Being able to physically express yourself differently from others.. the ability to tell stories & make art with your body.
Why would you encourage someone to see the Summertime Suite at Battery Dance Festival? This is a great piece to perform & watch in the summertime!! Danny sets nostalgic summer scenes that are energetic, fun, really entertaining & danced along to great music!!

Meet Larissa Asebedo!

Hometown? I am from Denver, Colorado.
What is one thing people don’t know about it? Some people may not know that the city is at one mile high of elevation at 5,280 feet!
What do you love most about performing? The ability to be in the moment. Whether in an intimate or proscenium setting I love connecting with the audience and space.
Favorite summertime activity? Spending time outside in parks, backyards, or on hikes. My absolute favorite thing to do outdoors is find a comfy spot by a running river with a good book. I also love being out on cool nights which are perfect for wood fires.
Most rewarding aspect of being a dancer? The challenging nature of the field. Dance pushes my to improve personally and professionally in auditions, rehearsals, and performances. When I persist and overcome a challenge the reward is more than worth the efforts.
Why would you encourage someone to see the Company at Battery Dance Festival? I encourage everyone to see the Summertime Suite at Battery Dance Festival because it is a piece that celebrates the joy of summer through entertaining and high caliber dancing!

Meet Honza Pelichovský!

Hometown? Prague, Czech Republic – People probably don’t know that Jiří Kylián was born in Prague.
What do you love most about performing? I love the rush of adrenaline that comes with every performance, the sense of uncertainty about how things are going to unravel, the lack of predictability.
Favorite summertime activity? I enjoy walking through the less populated parts of New York City after a yoga class with an espresso drink in my hand, listening to music or a podcast.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a dancer? Maybe the constant communication with one’s body and the excitement of moving it through space.
Why would you encourage someone to see the Company at Battery Dance Festival? Summertime Suite is a piece that evokes a summer’s day sunset, warm breeze, and the joy of being alive that only this season brings. I think it was meant to be performed outside in a public park in the middle of the summer, surrounded by the budding life of this metropolis.

Meet Kenzie Haynes!

Hometown? Nashville, TN – Many people don’t know that Oprah Winfrey got her first anchor job in Nashville while attending Tennessee State University.
What do you love most about performing? I love the feeling when you finish dancing or pause while still on stage and you feel the adrenaline pumping through you and the lights are shining bright. There is nothing like it.
Favorite summertime activity? Laying on the beach for hours!!
What is the most rewarding aspect of being a dancer? Being a part of a community where pushing the boundaries of creativity, intellect, and ultimately loving one another is so important.
Why would you encourage someone to see the Summertime Suite at Battery Dance Festival? The Summertime Suite gives you a chance to immerse yourself in something fun, upbeat and charmingly playful. You can’t help but smile when seeing the dancers fill the space with such a positive energy. Why wouldn’t you want to see something so uplifting and enjoyable?

Meet Daniel Morimoto!

Hometown? Orlando, Florida – There isn’t much that people don’t know about it…tourists, traffic, and mini golf courses abound!
What do you love the most about performing? I think what I most love about performing is the fact that you can finally show your art to someone. What you see is the product of months of rehearsals and training. It’s wonderful to finally say “Here you go, this is a part of my soul.”
Favorite summertime activity? Getting together with friends and family, swimming in a pool, and having a grill going! Cheeseburgers and hot dogs, sunshine and swimming, what could be better?
What is the most rewarding aspect of being a dancer? Baring your soul in the form of your performance art. Other than that, learning all the different ways the human body can move and trying it out for myself! I continue to learn new ways and styles of dancing, and it inspires me to keep moving.
Why would you encourage someone to see the Summertime Suite at Battery Dance Festival? With the advent of the technological age, people don’t really spend much time outside anymore. I know I don’t! Summer is a time for having fun and enjoying yourself in the outdoors! Summertime Suite reminisces over summer and the joy of youthful activities. One will leave this performance feeling good with a peaked interest for picnics and adventure!

Meet Julia Gold!

Hometown? Chappaqua in Westchester, NY – Many people probably already know this but Bill and Hillary Clinton live there as well! They’ve been known to frequent the local deli and bookstore on weekends.
What do you love most about performing? I love the escape. I feel like I can be anyone or anywhere when I’m performing which is really thrilling. But, as a dancer, my body is my craft and that can be quite vulnerable when performing onstage.
Favorite summertime activity? I love going to the beach-I’m an absolute sun junkie…give me some sand, the sun, a book, and I’m happy.
What is the most rewarding aspect of being a dancer? Being able to share stories/experiences with others through movement is something really special and unique about dance. It is so rewarding to communicate in a universal language with others through dance.
Why would you encourage someone to see the Summertime Suite at Battery Dance Festival? Do you like summer? Do you like to smile? Do you like the outdoors? Do you like dance? Then you should absolutely come to see Summertime Suite at Battery Dance Festival!!

Meet Devin Richey!

Hometown? I usually say that I’m from Milford, Michigan – which is already a small town – but I’m really from an even smaller town called Highland! Most people don’t know that I’m also a drummer, and that I was recently in a rock band.
Love most about performing? I love being a part of a creative process, to connect and build something from the ground up with other humans who care about the work, the message, and about the people in the room.
Favorite summertime activity? A good part of me wants to say dancing outside… but honestly, napping in nature. Nothing better than an afternoon nap under a tree’s limbs in a meadow, or in a hammock on a mountainside, or on a nice bench next to a pond.
Most rewarding aspect of being a dancer? I think that it’s the physical release that we can experience, that we’re so often given the opportunity to explore or play or relinquish or embrace however we are feeling. There’s something so human about movement catharsis… and sometimes we even get to share that with others, and that’s the real magic of being a dancer.
Why would you encourage someone to see the Summertime Suite at Battery Dance Festival? It exudes the essence of summer, while you’re at a beautiful park, on the southern tip of Manhattan, at sunset… like come on! Feel all the summer feels!!

Meet Ashley Carter!

Hometown? My hometown is Acton, MA – Most people don’t know about the important revolutionary history it carries!
What do you love most about performing? I love performing because it allows me to express emotions and feelings without having to say anything. I definitely feel more comfortable with movement than with words
Favorite summertime activity? Being outside anywhere near water! Preferably in the water.
Most rewarding aspect of being a dancer? One of the most rewarding things for me is to have an audience member approach after a performance and tell me that I moved them or affected them in some way… it’s a wonderful feeling!
Why would you encourage someone to see the Summertime Suite at Battery Dance Festival? Battery Dance Festival is an incredible, free outdoor performance series, and the Summertime Suite is entertaining, energetic, and lots of fun!