LiveTalks: Take 13

JJJJJerome Ellis is a stuttering, Afro-Caribbean composer, performer, and writer. His works are invitations to healing, transcendence, communion, and deep listening. Through an interdisciplinary practice that focuses on oral storytelling, improvisation, and the interrelations between speech, silence, disability, and religion, he’s collaborated with choreographers, rappers, playwrights, booksellers, typographers, podcasters, toddlers, and filmmakers. Mr. Ellis’ work has been presented or developed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, Lincoln Center, MASS MoCA, and WKCR. He is a writer in residence at Lincoln Center Theater. Born in Connecticut to a Jamaican mother and a Grenadian father, he was raised in Virginia Beach, VA.

Loco7 Dance Puppet Theatre Company, founded by Colombian born artist, Federico Restrepo in 1985, develops and promotes creative productions of Dance, Theatre, Puppets, Visual Arts, Media, Music and other forms of artistic expression. The company explores the junction of race, culture, history, and media in New York and throughout the global community. Loco7’s cultural policies emphasize pluralism, dialogue, and cultural transformation. Loco7 is an organization that has been built on diversity and this is reflected in the history of work. Our audiences reflect our artists: they are multigenerational, multicultural, multiracial, and inclusive of all sexual and gender identities. We pay particular attention to the growing immigrant communities and support their efforts to engage within the community.

Bobbi Jene Smith is an alumnus of The Juilliard School, North Carolina School of the Arts, and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School. Her choreography has been presented by The Batsheva Dance Company, CORPUS of The Royal Danish Ballet, LADP, VAIL Dance Festival, LaMama Experimental Theater, The Martha Graham Dance Company, PS122 COIL Festival, A.R.T, The Israel Museum, Luminato Festival, UNC Chapel HIll, and Sacramento Ballet. In 2017 she became a founding member of the American Modern Opera Company (AMOC). In 2019 she was awarded The Harkness Promise Award and was The Martha Duffy Resident Artist at Baryshnikov Art Center. Bobbi’s film and video work include, “Annihilation” directed by Alex Garland starring Natalie Portman, “MA” directed by Celia Rowlson-Hall, and “Yossi” directed by Eytan Fox. The documentary “Bobbi Jene” which follows Bobbi’s trajectory of leaving a dance company to create her own work, swept the Tribeca Film Festival, winning best documentary, best cinematography, and best editing in 2017. In 2018, Bobbi starred in as well as choreographed the feature films, “Mari” directed by Georgia Parris and choreographed by Maxine Doyle, which premiered at BFI and “Aviva” directed by Boaz Yakin which was a SXSW selection. Bobbi has been a certified GAGA teacher for the past 15 years and has taught Ohad Naharin’s repertory in schools and universities around the world. She is part-time faculty at the Juilliard School, and guest teaching at NYU and UArts.

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