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Two women on a musical theater stage singing one left and one right in green tank top and black pants.

Sep 21 - Oct 12 (SUN 12PM - 3PM) | Theater | $500.00

Audition Prep and Performance Ages 15 -18

With Aaron Norman

A man and a woman working in an art studio

Oct 4 - Oct 25 (SAT 1PM - 4PM) | Art | $500.00

Portfolio Development for College Applications

With Winnie Westergard

Two actors on a theater stage wearing womens gray wigs one holding a finger up to the other as though they are in trouble.

Oct 5 - Nov 9 (SUN 1PM - 4PM) | Theater | $415.00

Auditioning for the Stage: Adult

With Nicole Beerman

members of Cornish Plus Choir smiling to a person off camera.

Oct 8 - Dec 17 (WED 6:30PM - 8:00PM (Group Discount Rate Below)) | Theater | $225.00

Cornish+ Voices (Wednesday)

With Aaron Norman

people in performance ready to sing

Oct 5 - Dec 14 (SUN 3:30PM - 5:00PM (Group Discount Rate Below)) | Theater | $225.00

Cornish+ Voices (Sunday)

With Aaron Norman

clown nose actor with black background and yellow hat blue shirt

Nov 14 - Nov 16 (FRI, SAT, SUN 9AM - 4PM) | Theater | $414.00

Clown Study Intensive

With David Taft

Singers on stage singing for theater with a man in the middle in a tux.

Jan 31 - Feb 7 (SAT 10AM - 12PM ) | Theater | $315.00

Auditioning for Musical Theatre Dance: Adult

With Nicole Beerman

A man and a woman working in an art studio

Jan 17 - Feb 7 (SAT 1PM - 4PM) | Art | $500.00

Portfolio Development for College Applications

With Winnie Westergard

selection of student abstract self-portraits

Jul 7 - Aug 1 (MON-FRI 9AM - 12PM) | Art | $3,160.00

Art & Design Intensive + Portfolio Development

With Lily Hotchkiss and Sarah Bixler and Winnie Westergard and Lael Rogers

Person working at a mixing board

Jul 8 - Jul 31 (TUES & THUR 1PM - 4PM) | Music | $730.00

Live Sound Engineering

With Daniel Goody

teacher instructing youth in combat scene

Jul 8 - Jul 31 (TUES & THUR 1PM - 4PM) | Theater | $730.00

Stage & Screen Combat

students practicing piano

Jul 8 - Jul 31 (TUES & THUR 1PM - 4PM) | Music | $730.00

Practical Piano for Musicians

With Travis Palmer

Students on stage performing jazz with brass instruments.

Jul 7 - Aug 1 (MON, WED, FRI 1PM - 4PM) | Music | $730.00

Jazz@Cornish

students practicing in a small jazz ensemble

Jul 8 - Jul 31 (TUES & THUR 1PM - 4PM) | Music | $730.00

Not Just Jazz

J gordon life drawing

Jul 8 - Jul 31 (TUES & THUR 1PM - 4PM) | Art | $730.00

Life Drawing

Person speaking into a microphone in front of a crowd

May 31 - May 31 (SAT 10AM - 5PM) | Theater | $161.00

Leadership Speaking Through Acting

With Meg McLynn

Fantasy Landscape Game Art

Jul 8 - Jul 31 (TUES & THUR 1PM - 4PM) | Art | $730.00

Game Art

With Simran Jagnik

single dancer in black with head down leg extended arm curved up

Jul 7 - Aug 1 (MON - FRI 9AM -4PM) | Dance | $400.00

Dance Intensive + Audition Prep & Performance

With Emma Lawes and Nikki Flores and Kiné Camara and Olivia Anderson and Ashley Menestrina and Majinn and Genna Carey

teen improvising a dance move on floor

Jul 8 - Jul 31 (T/TH 1 - 4PM) | Dance | $730.00

Improvisational Practices

With Alia Swersky

Two dancers in a pose together one is a black male and the other bent over them is a white woman or person.

Jul 7 - Aug 1 (MON, WED, FRI, 1PM - 4PM) | Dance | $820.00

Choreography & Performance

With Ashley Menestrina

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South Lake Union Campus

1000 Lenora St
Seattle, WA 98121
(800) 726-ARTS | Contact Us

Contact us

Michael Callaizakis, Director Cornish+
mcallaizakis@cornish.edu
(206) 726 5148

@2025 Cornish College of the Arts at Seattle University

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Aaron Norman in a black blazer black and white photo with dread locks.

Aaron Norman

Aaron Norman is an educator, performer, and artist/activist in town. Aaron’s formal training includes studying at Biola Conservatory of Music, studying with opera singers in Heidelberg German, and Cornish College of the Arts. With a background in vocal performance, vocal health/technique, Aaron has performed in many musical arenas and has worked with incredible musicians across Europe, Canada, and the United States. From opera, to musical theatre, to gospel Aaron appreciates any chance he gets to be on stage working with other talented performers. Aaron can be found teaching and music directing at Village Theatre Kidstage and Cornish College of The Arts and also performing in shows around town.

Winnie Westergard

Winifred Westergard is a Seattle based fine art and commercial photographer with degrees from the University of Washington and Cornish College of the Arts in Creative Writing, Journalism and Art. Her art making foundation is rooted in the early processes of photography, fully embracing the slow processes of 19th century photography. She is a visual creator with a strong base on human emotion and storytelling. She has managed the photography studio at Cornish College of the Arts since 1999 and has taught Photography and Portfolio Development through Summer@Cornish since 2003.

Nicole Beerman

Nicole is an actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, teacher, visual artist, wife to Josh and mother to Max and Huxley. Nicole has lived and worked on both coasts, loves to create, garden, and do construction! On screen, Nicole has been seen in Nike, LG, and T-Mobile commercials. On stage in Adrift (Sam French Festival), Big Effing Deal! (Duet with Reggie Watts), Cabaret (Gregory Award Nominee), Mary Poppins, Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, How to Succeed, Once Upon A Time in New Jersey and many Village Originals (Village Theatre), The Constant Wife (Seattle Rep), Cabaret (5th Ave, AMTSJ, Ordway Center), Wonderful Town (5th Ave), Ming the Rude (Empty Space), Elephant and Piggie, Fire Station 7, Sleeping Beauty (SCT), Tapestry (Oregon Cabaret Theatre), and many more. As a choreographer and dancer Nicole had the honor of working with Sonya Tayeh and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with running the dance call for the original production of Head Over Heals. In New York, Nicole’s work has been seen at the HERE Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Astoria Performing Arts, The Management and Acting Manitou. In Seattle, at KIDSTAGE, Cornish, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, The Triple Door, Café Nordo, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Fantastic Z, and Art Institute of Seattle. Nicole is currently teaching at Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle Film institute, and Westlake Dance Center. She has also taught at UW, Art Institute of Seattle, Hunter College High School, VAM Studios, 5th Avenue, Century Ballroom, McCarter Theatre Company, Jersey City Dance Academy, and The Studios. Nicole holds a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts, is a certified Simonson Technique teacher and a member of Actors’ Equity.

Aaron Norman in a black blazer black and white photo with dread locks.

Aaron Norman

Aaron Norman is an educator, performer, and artist/activist in town. Aaron’s formal training includes studying at Biola Conservatory of Music, studying with opera singers in Heidelberg German, and Cornish College of the Arts. With a background in vocal performance, vocal health/technique, Aaron has performed in many musical arenas and has worked with incredible musicians across Europe, Canada, and the United States. From opera, to musical theatre, to gospel Aaron appreciates any chance he gets to be on stage working with other talented performers. Aaron can be found teaching and music directing at Village Theatre Kidstage and Cornish College of The Arts and also performing in shows around town.

Aaron Norman in a black blazer black and white photo with dread locks.

Aaron Norman

Aaron Norman is an educator, performer, and artist/activist in town. Aaron’s formal training includes studying at Biola Conservatory of Music, studying with opera singers in Heidelberg German, and Cornish College of the Arts. With a background in vocal performance, vocal health/technique, Aaron has performed in many musical arenas and has worked with incredible musicians across Europe, Canada, and the United States. From opera, to musical theatre, to gospel Aaron appreciates any chance he gets to be on stage working with other talented performers. Aaron can be found teaching and music directing at Village Theatre Kidstage and Cornish College of The Arts and also performing in shows around town.

Davit Taft black shirt grey hair beard

David Taft

David Taft was a Theater Professor at Cornish College of the Arts for 24 years and developed clown study coursework taken from his own training and performance experience. He curated the annual Clown Show at the Cornish Playhouse and currently is a movement consultant for stage and screen. His website and resume can be found at: david-taft.com

Nicole Beerman

Nicole is an actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, teacher, visual artist, wife to Josh and mother to Max and Huxley. Nicole has lived and worked on both coasts, loves to create, garden, and do construction! On screen, Nicole has been seen in Nike, LG, and T-Mobile commercials. On stage in Adrift (Sam French Festival), Big Effing Deal! (Duet with Reggie Watts), Cabaret (Gregory Award Nominee), Mary Poppins, Annie, Bye Bye Birdie, How to Succeed, Once Upon A Time in New Jersey and many Village Originals (Village Theatre), The Constant Wife (Seattle Rep), Cabaret (5th Ave, AMTSJ, Ordway Center), Wonderful Town (5th Ave), Ming the Rude (Empty Space), Elephant and Piggie, Fire Station 7, Sleeping Beauty (SCT), Tapestry (Oregon Cabaret Theatre), and many more. As a choreographer and dancer Nicole had the honor of working with Sonya Tayeh and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with running the dance call for the original production of Head Over Heals. In New York, Nicole’s work has been seen at the HERE Center, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Clubbed Thumb, Astoria Performing Arts, The Management and Acting Manitou. In Seattle, at KIDSTAGE, Cornish, Oregon Cabaret Theatre, The Triple Door, Café Nordo, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Fantastic Z, and Art Institute of Seattle. Nicole is currently teaching at Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle Film institute, and Westlake Dance Center. She has also taught at UW, Art Institute of Seattle, Hunter College High School, VAM Studios, 5th Avenue, Century Ballroom, McCarter Theatre Company, Jersey City Dance Academy, and The Studios. Nicole holds a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts, is a certified Simonson Technique teacher and a member of Actors’ Equity.

Winnie Westergard

Winifred Westergard is a Seattle based fine art and commercial photographer with degrees from the University of Washington and Cornish College of the Arts in Creative Writing, Journalism and Art. Her art making foundation is rooted in the early processes of photography, fully embracing the slow processes of 19th century photography. She is a visual creator with a strong base on human emotion and storytelling. She has managed the photography studio at Cornish College of the Arts since 1999 and has taught Photography and Portfolio Development through Summer@Cornish since 2003.

Lily Hotchkiss

I have been making art my whole life in one form or another. I fell endlessly in love, over and over, with the process of making. This led to my role as a teacher, first with young children and later with teens. More facilitator and guide than anything else, being able to participate and witness someone’s creative journey and awakening is an awesome gift. It demands that I remain nimble and bring all my best to working with youth and helping them discover and share their voices. I am both an arts educator and a working artist. As a member of Side Rail Collective, I co-curate shows throughout the year and participate in exhibits. My work as an artist is based in storytelling. I work in a variety of mediums, including clay, found materials, wood, fiber, as well as 2D mediums. The story informs the material.

Sarah Bixler standing in a room with paintings on the wall.

Sarah Bixler

Sarah Bixler is a painter and educator living and working in Seattle Washington. She began her artistic studies focusing on the figure and observation, at Gage Academy of Art in Seattle Washington. There she was able to deepen her understanding of the human body through intensive focus on long-form sculpture, anatomy and drawing from direct observation. In 2011, Sarah received a BFA from the University of Washington where she studied contemporary drawing and painting, with a focus on paint language, form and color.

Winnie Westergard

Winifred Westergard is a Seattle based fine art and commercial photographer with degrees from the University of Washington and Cornish College of the Arts in Creative Writing, Journalism and Art. Her art making foundation is rooted in the early processes of photography, fully embracing the slow processes of 19th century photography. She is a visual creator with a strong base on human emotion and storytelling. She has managed the photography studio at Cornish College of the Arts since 1999 and has taught Photography and Portfolio Development through Summer@Cornish since 2003.

Lael Rogers in a black and white photo with blond hair and trees behind them.

Lael Rogers

Lael Rogers is a Seattle-based writer & director hailing from Juneau, Alaska. Her 2020 short film, The Claw, was produced with the support of Film Independent and received a Vimeo Staff Pick. Her award-winning films have played at top tier festivals around the world including Fantasia International Film Festival, Fantastic Fest, Palm Springs Shortfest and more. Her work has been featured in publications such as Rolling Stone, IndieWire, and The Seattle Times. In addition to writing & directing, Lael’s practical SFX design work is featured in the short film Dream Creep, which premiered at Sundance, played SXSW, and made someone throw up at a screening. She currently teaches film at Cornish College of the Arts.

Daniel Goody

Daniel Goody has been working in the performing arts field since 2001 starting in the UK as a sound engineer. Presently working as the Head of Audio at the Playhouse in Seattle for Cornish College of the Arts, his work has spanned many disciplines over the years including audio, light and video design. His primary collaboration since 2015 has been with the Danish immersive theatre group Sisters Hope.
Following a decade in Sweden as the Technical Director at the culture house Inkonst Malmö, Daniel formed artistic partnerships with a number of performance, dance and theatre groups based throughout the Nordic and European regions. These collaborations, with groups such as; Institutet, White On White, Jon & Juli and Lucie Tuma explored the family, critical whiteness and the relationship to the body on a wholly radical level.

Geof Alm

Geoffrey Alm has been teaching Stage Fighting at Cornish since 2008. A Certified Teacher with The Society of American Fight Directors since 1987, he is also a Certified Fight Director and Fight Master. Professionally he has been choreographing fights since 1988, locally and Nationally. He’s a proud member of Stage Directors and Choreographers, Actors Equity, and SAG-AFTRA.

Tyler in a green shirt with a brown fedora hat on playing piano.

Travis Palmer

Travis Palmer is a songwriter, arranger, jazz pianist, and music educator whose passion lies in helping his students learn and apply new musical vocabulary, with an emphasis of learning how to shape the concepts to come across in the student’s own voice. Travis has a wide range of interests and experience in various musical styles such as singer/songwriter, salsa, jazz, free music, traditional jazz, and classical music. Travis’ current musical projects include; serving as the board president for the 501(c)(3) non-profit Songwriters in Seattle, playing tenor banjo in and directing the 1920’s-1950’s style jazz band The Emerald Street Ragtime Band, and leading, composing and arranging for the all-originals band The Palmer Group.

J. Gordon

J. Gordon brings over two decades of experience as an artist, educator, and curator, to his classrooms. Gordon earned his BFA and MFA in painting from the University of Kansas and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts respectively. While his current professional practice centers primarily around the medium of drawing, he incorporates aspects of traditional and contemporary painterly practices in both his teaching methods and mixed media art works.

Gordon is a recipient of multiple scholarships and awards, as well an artist fellowship from the state of Delaware. He has taught drawing at many colleges, art centers, and museums including the Tacoma Art Museum and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He is currently represented by Gallery Strega, where he also plays a supporting role in exhibition design and curation.

Meg McLynn

Meg McLynn is an actor, vocalist, and teaching artist who has been seen on stages and screens throughout North America. Meg loves to share her passion for performance with students of all ages, and it is her belief that the work we do in “the studio” is applicable to all aspects of our everyday lives.

Having studied for 7 years under renowned voice teacher, Kristin Linklater, Meg now works with students to help them take ownership of their wonderfully unique voices. She teaches Voice and Speech at Cornish College of the Arts, and she serves as a vocal coach with Jack Straw Studios. She has assisted with voice training at Columbia Business School and World Leaders Forum in New York City. Meg also teaches Voice and Acting classes at Freehold Theatre Lab and Mighty Tripod Studios in Seattle.

Meg is a member of the Seattle-based vocal trio, Blue Plate Special, and has been an Anthem Singer for the Seattle Seahawks. As a concert soloist, she performed the songbooks of Patsy Cline, Judy Garland, and Carly Simon with Purple Phoenix Productions. Local acting credits include roles with Seattle Shakespeare Company, Book-It Rep, Seattle Symphony, ArtsWest, Seattle Opera, Seattle Public Theatre, Washington Ensemble Theatre, Theatre22, Harlequin Productions, and 14/48: TWQTF, as well as the feature films “Different Drummers”, “7 Minutes”, and “Colton”. You can see her in the series, “The Girl in the Woods” streaming on NBC/Peacock.

Simran instructor in a black shirt smiling with black hair.

Simran Jagnik

Simran Jagnik is a Design Technologist from New York City with an MFA in Design Technology from the Parsons School of Design. She explores experimental mediums for storytelling and interactive play experiences, pushing the boundaries of how technology shapes engagement and expression.

She brings insights from her background in computer science, user-centered design, immersive storytelling, critical thinking, and experimental games to her teaching on game art and design. Simran’s work has been showcased on platforms such as the Meta Quest Store, IBM Quantum Jam, Games for Change, NYCxDesign, Miami Art Basel, Dezeen, and XR Guild.

Emma Lawes dancer in a dance position in green pants and white shoes and green shirt brown hair.

Emma Lawes

Emma Lawes (she/her) is a dancer, educator and producer based between Los Angeles and Seattle. Currently, she is in creation processes with Keyes Wiley (SEA) and Sean Ardor (CA) to premiere in 2025. She is on faculty at Orange County School of the Arts and California School of the Arts SGV, and producing work with CO-, G.U.M. Collective and zoe | juniper. She has presented her own work at Base: Experimental Arts + Space, 10 Degrees Arts + Events, Mutuus Studio and Atwater Village Theater. She is a graduate of the University of the Arts with a BFA in Dance Performance under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield.

Nikki Flores in a black top and brown hair sitting looking at camera

Nikki Flores

Nicole Flores (they/she) -- Nicole (Nikki) is a movement artist, dance educator, and personal trainer based in Seattle, Washington. Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Nikki received her BFA in Dance from Columbia College Chicago before relocating to Los Angeles in 2018 where she received secondary training from The American Music and Dramatics Academy (AMDA) and performed with Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Psychopomp Dance Theater, and Heidi Duckler Dance. Nikki is a close collaborator with the Artistic Director of Psychopomp, Shenandoah Harris, with whom she co-facilitated three consecutive Psychopomp summer workshops (2020-2023). As a facilitator, Nikki strives to center community-building and somatic awareness in conjunction with strong technical foundations for the dancers they work with.

Since moving to Seattle in 2021, Nikki has performed works by Coriolis Dance Collective, Dance Undercurrent, and Earthworks Dance. Nikki’s passion for live performance and deep curiosity for humanity in movement ultimately led her to badmarmarDANCE (Marlo Martin, Artistic Director), with whom she currently performs. Nikki is also a dance educator at eXit SPACE and Dance Fremont as well as a NASM certified personal trainer for their business Powerchord Movement. Her belief is that movement, and dance especially, is for everyone, so Nikki does her best to meet each student where they’re at while encouraging a balance between rigor and joy. As a trainer, Nikki focuses primarily on the functionality of the body and how each individual can fine tune their working parts for optimal freedom in everyday life. At home here in Seattle, Nikki is eager to see how dance and life will continue to unfold.

Kine Camara

Kiné Camara

Kiné Camara is a dance artist and educator based in Seattle, WA, but you can often find her in Paris and Johannesburg as well.

She began dancing traditional Senegalese styles professionally at 8 years old, and teaching in 2005, under the direction of her father, Master Drummer and Dancer, Ibrahima Camara, of the National Ballet of Senegal. In 2019, she shifted gears to the world of Afro, training in a mix of styles including Afrobeats, Azonto, Ndombolo, Amapiano, and Afrohouse.

She loves bringing her passion for dance to the stage, and has performed with artists including Uncle Waffles, Asake, Tiwa Savage, Sauti Sol, and Archie. She has also dance and hosted with nightlife events such as the “Tune4Tune” series at Neumos, and “Private Piano” both in collaboration with KEXP DJ, Lace Cadence.

She is currently teaching Amapiano classes, and has taught with organizations like The University of Washington, the University of Florida, Vashon Island Center for the Arts, The Overlake School, The Union Cultural Center, Whatcom Community College and Bellingham Repertory Dance.

Olivia Anderson in a brown shirt with green pants in a dance pose.

Olivia Anderson

Olivia Anderson is a Seattle-based dancer, educator, and stage manager who is continually growing into her own practice and purpose. You may have seen her performing her own work around Seattle, or dancing with companies/artists such as dani tirrell and the Congregation, Keyes Wiley and the NOGOODDOERS, EL SUEÑO, Gansango Dance Company, Malacarne, Chamber Dance Company and badmarmarDANCE, among many others.

She recently began teaching dance at the Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences and the University of Washington. Olivia is moving through the world with care, intention, and a great curiosity that drives her love of people.

Ashley Menestrina in a black and white dress with black background.

Ashley Menestrina

Ashley Menestrina (she/her) is a movement artist with deep ties to improvisation. She has been performing her own work around the world since 2016. Her solo work, 'The Human Condition: Absent Presence', premiered at The Martha Graham Theater in April 2018 and has since toured in New York City, Los Angeles, Turkey, Mexico City, Portugal, Oklahoma City, and Germany (receiving ‘Best Creation’ Prize at Solocoreografico Festival in both OKC and Frankfurt). Her most recent work, 'Combative Echoes', was originally shown in Thessaloniki, Greece for Die Wolke Art Group’s Unit Motives: GRM festival in 2019, and was accepted into the 24th International Solo-Dance-Thetare Festival Stuttgart in 2020, the 39th Edition of NYC's Battery Dance Festival in 2021, and Seattle International Dance Festival in 2024. She has further worked as a performer/collaborator/choreographer for the following: Manhattanville College (NY), Alice Gosti (Malacarne), Gonzaga University, 5th Ave Theater production of Afterwords, Anna Mlasowsky for the Amazon Artist in Residence program, DX arts department at UW, Emily Schoen Branch, and Maia Melene Durfee.

Majinn

Majinn is a queer, disabled, mixed Black dance artist and educator who utilizes their training in multiple dance forms to find and express their whole self. They believe that to be the best dancer and person they can be they need to continuously push their own comfort zone. Majinn works to help guide people in becoming more confident and connected in their bodies, find joy in their movement and be able to speak their voices primarily through Black social dance forms. One of Majinn’s biggest goals in dance is to spread the histories of Black social dance forms in and out of academia so that the cultures are learned and more respected. They also aim to give back to the communities that these art forms were created from through any way they can. Majinn’s art is for them and the communities they come from, always striving to be authentically themselves in their movement and work You can find Majinn under Majinn_Mike on Instagram

Courses Taught

Genna Carey in a black jacket and skirt with dark hair and a white background.

Genna Carey

Genna Carey is an interdisciplinary artist working at the
intersection of dance, choreography, and film. With a BFA in
Dance from Western Michigan University, she integrates her
movement background with cinematic and multimedia elements to
explore new dimensions of storytelling. Her performance career
includes dancing with companies such as Conteur Dance Company
(Toronto, ON) and LED Dance Company (Boise, ID). Genna’s
choreography has been presented on renowned stages, including
the Ailey Theatre, Peridance Capezio Theatre, Center for
Performance Research, and 92nd Street Y in New York. Beyond the
stage, her work has expanded into dance film, where she blends
movement with visual composition. Recent highlights of her film
work include movement direction for Seattle-based musical artist
Yellacatt and an upcoming immersive collaboration with new-media
a r t i s t M a j a P e t r ić. I n a d d i t i o n t o h e r p e r f o r m a n c e ,
choreographic, and film work, Genna is the co-founder of AETHER,
a multidisciplinary arts space that fosters creative
experimentation within both her own practice and the Seattle
community.

Alia Swersky

Alia Swersky is a movement artist, performer and educator deeply engaged in dance improvisation, durational time-based art, film, site-specific work, and environmental installation. She is an artist and an educator with degrees from Cornish College of the Arts and an MFA in dance from the University of Washington.

Her artistic path over the last two decades has been shaped by this yearning for deep and meaningful connections with people and places. As a co-creator, ritual maker, and a “horizontal” director, Alia seeks to touch others through dance, somatic presence, vulnerability, and fierceness. Her work ranges from full audience participation to intimate acts of One-to-One performances, site-specific dances for film and live performance, as well as durational time-based art that includes physical acts of endurance, repetition, stillness, subtlety, singing, soft energetic grace, abstraction, caricature, and a deconstruction of clichés such as extreme high femme expressions. Her teaching and art-making seek to create practices that embrace endurance on stage and in life as acts of resistance, resilience, release, and beauty.

As a performer, Alia has also toured nationally and internationally as a member of the LeGendre Performance Group and has performed in the works with many Seattle artists, some of which include The Maureen Whiting Company, Khambatta Dance Company, Jurg Koch, KT Niehoff, and Salt Horse.

As an educator, she has taught at Cornish College of the Arts for sixteen years and in the Seattle community at Velocity’s Strictly Seattle Festival, and the Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation (SFDI). She was a long time Co-artistic director of Dance Art Group (DAG), a non-profit organization that promotes the practice and appreciation of dance and somatic education in the Seattle area, including the Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation.

Ashley Menestrina in a black and white dress with black background.

Ashley Menestrina

Ashley Menestrina (she/her) is a movement artist with deep ties to improvisation. She has been performing her own work around the world since 2016. Her solo work, 'The Human Condition: Absent Presence', premiered at The Martha Graham Theater in April 2018 and has since toured in New York City, Los Angeles, Turkey, Mexico City, Portugal, Oklahoma City, and Germany (receiving ‘Best Creation’ Prize at Solocoreografico Festival in both OKC and Frankfurt). Her most recent work, 'Combative Echoes', was originally shown in Thessaloniki, Greece for Die Wolke Art Group’s Unit Motives: GRM festival in 2019, and was accepted into the 24th International Solo-Dance-Thetare Festival Stuttgart in 2020, the 39th Edition of NYC's Battery Dance Festival in 2021, and Seattle International Dance Festival in 2024. She has further worked as a performer/collaborator/choreographer for the following: Manhattanville College (NY), Alice Gosti (Malacarne), Gonzaga University, 5th Ave Theater production of Afterwords, Anna Mlasowsky for the Amazon Artist in Residence program, DX arts department at UW, Emily Schoen Branch, and Maia Melene Durfee.

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