2024-2025 Choreographers

Charlotte Boye-Christensen, a native of Copenhagen, received her formal training as a choreographer and performer in Copenhagen, London and in New York. Charlotte has been commissioned to choreograph for companies and institutions nationally and internationally, including Danish Dance Theatre, Singapore Dance Theatre, Ballet West, Milwaukee Ballet, Ballet de Camaguey in Cuba, The European Dance Development Center in the Netherlands, The National School for Performing Arts in Denmark, London Contemporary Dance School, Nanyang Academy of the Arts in Singapore, The Bauhaus in Germany, The Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Tokyo, The Alliance Francaise in Singapore, The New Opera House in Copenhagen, the Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Seoul International Dance Competition, Tisch School of the Arts in New York City, Princeton University and other institutions across the US and the world.

Charlotte was the Artistic Director of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company for 11 years from 2002 to 2013. In this time, she created 22 new works on the company and commissioned the work of renowned choreographers, including Wayne McGregor, John Jasperse, Bill T. Jones, Alicia Sanchez, Susan Marshall, Johannes Wieland, Karole Armitage and more. She toured with the company to 35 plus cities across the country and facilitated residencies at Tisch School of the Arts in New York City, Sun Valley Center for the Arts, Muhlenberg College, Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts in Arizona and more.

In 2013 Charlotte founded NOW-ID with architect Nathan Webster. The company produces design driven, interdisciplinary work for/with unique spaces, with contemporary dance at the works’ core. The company has created several site-specific productions, events, workshops/symposiums, and films, and has toured nationally and internationally to critical acclaim. NOW-ID has forged partnerships with organizations that include Arts Access Victoria in Australia, The Australian Arts Council, The Copenhagen Opera Festival, Utah Museum of Contemporary Arts, Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Figura Music Ensemble, and The BBOY Federation, as well as with the University of Richmond, the University of British Columbia, and several other academic institutions. The company is currently based out of Vancouver, Canada.

In addition to directing NOW-ID, Charlotte was Associate Director of the School of Theatre and Dance at Texas Tech University for four years where she created a new BFA degree in dance with a focus on interdisciplinary performance and choreography. She also directed the Dance Department at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, as an Artist-in-Residence and Visiting Associate Professor helping to refocus the Dance Curriculum and move the Department from the historic Kerry Hall to the main campus.

Charlotte is the recipient of several awards and grants for her choreography, including awards from The National Foundation for the Arts in Denmark, Canada Council for the Arts, The National Endowment for the Arts, a Fulbright, the Choo-San Goh Award for Choreographic Excellence, and more. She is excited and honored to be returning to work with the Department of Theatre and Dance at the University of Richmond in connection with the 40th anniversary of University Dancers.

Photographer: David Newkirk

Angelica Burgos is of Dominican-Armenian heritage. She has received an M.F.A. in choreography from Jacksonville University in Florida, she also has a Bachelor of Arts degree from LEAP Program with Saint Mary’s College of California, and is an ABT Certified Teacher, who has successfully completed all of ABT Teachers National Training Curriculum. Over the 16 years of her performing career, she danced with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago under Gerald Arpino, Sacramento Ballet under artistic directors Ron Cunningham and Carinne Binda, Ballet Hispanico under founder Tina Ramirez and in the West Side Story on Broadway revival in 2010. She has worked with artists such as Pedro Ruiz, Margo Sappington, Ramon Oller, John Clifford, Annabelle Ochoa Lopes, Val Caniparoli, Trey McIntyre, Septime Webre, Dwight Rhoden, Graciela Daniel, Sergio Trujillo and Ron Cunningham.
Additionally, she has taught for Western Kentucky University for three years and University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University. Burgos’ choreography has been commissioned by the Western Kentucky University spring performance and Virginia Commonwealth University Freshman Repertory course show, University of Richmond, Fullerton University, and Duke University Dance Program. Her choreography has competed at the 2020, 2021, and 2022 Youth America Grand Prix and Universal Ballet Competition. Burgos’ television credits include PBS’ Setting the Stage, 2007; NBC’s 20th Hispanic Heritage Awards; and PBS’ documentary Pedro Ruiz Coming Home, 2011. She is also fluent in Spanish, Russian, Armenian, and English languages.

Photo credit: Megan Garrison

Named “25 To Watch” by DANCE Magazine, Robin Dekkers (they/them) is artistic director of Berkeley Ballet, a non-profit arts organization that’s home to a school, dance center, and professional company Post:ballet, which Robin founded in 2009. Robin uses collaboration as a driving force in their process to create and produce original works for the stage and screen. In addition to live productions including ourevolution (created with visual artist Enrique Quintero), Incandescent Body (featuring singer/songwriter Star Amerasu), and Lavender Country (created with Patrick Haggerty’s Lavender Country, America’s first openly queer country music band), Robin has choreographed/directed dance films including Playing Changes (co-produced with San Francisco Symphony), Coming Home (commissioned by SF Dance Film Festival), and Waltz of the Snowflakes, which has been viewed over 300,000 times on YouTube. Their short film Been Lovin’ You closed the opening night screening at the 2022 SF Dance Film Festival, was featured at SF International Airport for Pride month in 2023, and was screened at the Lincoln Center’s prestigious Dance On Camera and Film festival. Flutter, created with AXIS Dance Company, was commissioned by Lincoln Center and still plays daily at TKTS Time Square. Their full-length film for Post:ballet Lyra was commissioned by SF Performances and was recently presented at Stanford Live, Yale Schwarzman Center, and 92nd Street Y in NYC. Robin has collaborated with with organizations including Kronos Quartet, SF Girls Chorus, Berkeley Symphony, Berkeley Art Museum (BAMPFA), and The Living Earth Show, and has created original works for Atlanta Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, Smuin Ballet, Diablo Ballet, and SF Dance Theater. Their work has been featured at Jacob’s Pillow, SF International Arts Festival, and SF Frameline Film Festival, and in 2021, Robin choreographed the season finale dance sequence for Starz Network’s Blindspotting series in collaboration with Lil Buck, Jon Boogz, and the Post:ballet dancers. Robin is also the Director of Choreography for Art Haus, a Playa performance ensemble that has presented multidisciplinary productions including Noble Beast, We Human, and Rite of Spring. Robin has choreographed for the dance departments of Stanford University, Southern Methodist University, University of Richmond, and San Jose State University. Robin regularly teaches company class for AXIS Dance Company, Smuin Ballet, and ODC/Dance, and is a guest teacher for LINES Ballet’s Trainee Program. Robin danced professionally with Ballet Arizona, ODC/Dance, Company C Contemporary Ballet, and Diablo Ballet, where they were nominated for an Isadora Duncan award for “Outstanding Performance- Individual” in 2013. They danced leading roles in works by George Balanchine, Twyla Tharp, José Límon, Paul Taylor, KT Nelson, Val Caniparoli, Lar Lubovitch, Jodie Gates, Trey McIntyre, Dominic Walsh, and Septime Webre.

www.postballet.org

Photo credit: Natalia Perez; visual art by Enrique Quintero

As a Puerto Rican contemporary dance artist in the diaspora Alicia Díaz’s work speaks to issues of memory, colonialism, and the legacy of slavery. Her innovative collaborations with percussionist Héctor “Coco” Barez engaged Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba as a point of reference to investigate embodied forms of resistance, healing, and liberation. She directed the dance film, Entre Puerto Rico y Richmond: Women in Resistance Shall Not Be Moved, weaving stories of anti-colonial and feminist activism through the history of tobacco in Puerto Rico and Virginia, receiving numerous awards including Vanguard Award for Outstanding Experimental Film at The Art of Brooklyn Film Festival, Best Experimental Film at the International Puerto Rican Heritage Film Festival, and 1st Place Original Music at the Utah Dance Film Festival. Alicia was recently featured in the ground-breaking book, Inhabiting the Impossible: Dance and Experimentation in Puerto Rico (University of Michigan Press), and was part of la convivencia the first residency of movement-based Puerto Rican artists at MANCC, the renowned national center for choreography at Florida State University.

Alicia has performed with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Andanza: Puerto Rican Contemporary Dance Company, Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre, Maida Withers Dance Construction Company, Sally Silvers, Marion Ramírez, and Alejandra Martorell amongst others. She has co-directed Rubí Theatre, a Latinx, intergenerational theater ensemble; en la brega dance company, with Puerto Rican dance artist Ñequi González; and Agua Dulce Dance Theater, with movement artist Matthew Thornton, creating works for concert dance, museums, and site-specific locations. Her choreographic work has been presented in the USA, Spain, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Argentina, and Mexico.

Alicia holds an M.F.A. in dance from GWU. She joined UR in 2011 where she teaches contemporary dance, improvisation, choreography, and community-engaged courses centered on dance for social change. She is deeply engaged in interdisciplinary collaborations engaging the arts in the urgent fight for climate justice. She received the 2020 Community-Engaged Scholarship Award from the Bonner Center for Civic Engagement, recognizing her work with the Tucker Boatwright Festival: Dancing Histories, This Ground’s commission of Brother General Gabriel, co-directed by Free Bangura and MK Abadoo, and the collaborative video project "Knowledge of This Cannot be Hidden" Westham Burying Ground Commemorative Act, on the history of the unmarked burial ground for enslaved people at UR. Alicia serves on the Board of Pepatián: Bronx Arts ColLABorative, an organization that supports Latinx, Black, Afro-Latinx, Caribbean, Latin American, and indigenous artists. 

Christopher Rudd - he/him - (Executive Artistic Director/Choreographer) is a Jamaican-born Guggenheim Choreography Fellow, the inaugural New Victory LabWorks Launch Artist, and the creator of the groundbreaking works TOUCHÉ and LIFTED for American Ballet Theatre. In hopes of bettering the world through dance, his works blend contemporary dance, contemporary circus, and theatricality to speak to relevant issues. As founder of RudduR Dance, he is a two-time Exchange Alumni through the US State Department, having presented his works in the United States, Canada, France, Trinidad & Tobago, Burkina Faso, Ecuador, & Italy. Rudd has created works for SUNY Purchase, The Ailey School, Duke University, and UNC School of the Arts and received residencies from CUNY Dance Initiative, Vendetta Mathea’s La Manufacture, Tofte Lake Center, Kaatsbaan, and STREB. A former resident artist at both BAM and The Chelsea Factory, Rudd was named one of 2023’s 6 Theater Works to Watch by American Theatre Magazine. He credits the Armour Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem’s Summer Intensives, and New World School of the Arts for his professional career, which includes Carolina Ballet, Les Grands Ballet Canadiens de Montréal, and Cirque Du Soleil. 

Photo credit: João Menegussi

A native of Puerto Rico, Eric Rivera earned an M.F.A. in choreography from SUNY Purchase College. During his performing career, he danced with Ballet Hispanico of New York for 13 seasons, where he helped create over 20 original works. He performed with Minnesota Ballet as a principal dancer, Ballet Theater of Pennsylvania, Ballet Teatro Municipal de San Juan P.R., Danza Jazz de San Juan, and West Side Story’s European tour. He has appeared as a guest artist in companies such as Connecticut Ballet, Thomas Ortiz Dance, Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, Bradley Shelver Contemporary Dance Theater, Westchester Ballet, and Brooklyn Ballet. Eric had the pleasure of performing choreographies of Ann Reinking, Mark Morris, José Limon, Kenneth McMillan, Margot Sappington, Graciela Daniel, Kevin Wynn, Vicente Nebrada, Talley Beatty, and George Balanchine.

His works have been presented by Ballet Contemporáneo de Camagüey in Cuba, EDANCO Dance Festival in the Dominican Republic, Ciudad Interior in Mexico, Dance Iquail, Ashani Dance, Convergence Ballet, Owensboro Dance Company, CSU Fullerton, University of Mississippi, Western Kentucky University, University of Richmond, Orange County College, Purchase College, Goucher College, W&L University, Jacksonville University, Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, L2 Dance Theater, New England Dance Theater, ACDA South, ACDA Baja Region, ACDFA Gala at Little Rock, AR, NY Summer Stage, and the show They Called it Rock. His television appearances include PBS’ Setting the Stage, NBC’s 20th Hispanic Heritage Awards, Hispanic Day Parade with Brenda Blackmon, Puerto Rican Day Parade with Ernie Anastos, and the documentary Pedro Ruiz Home Coming, among others.

Mr. Rivera is the recipient of Best Ballet choreography 2019 and Best choreographer of the year 2021 by RVA Dance Awards. In his creative work, as well as in his teaching, he is continuously exploring ways in which to share his Hispanic heritage. Mr. Rivera is an ABT Certified Teacher who has completed the ABT Teachers Training Intensive in Primary through level seven of the ABT National Training Curriculum.

Photo credit: Katelyn Hundley

Anne Norman Van Gelder, faculty, Department of Theatre & Dance, director of dance, and artistic director of University Dancers holds a B.A. from Virginia Intermont College and an M.F.A. from the University of Utah, in performance, choreography, and pedagogy. Ms. Van Gelder performed with and served as ballet master in companies in Virginia and Utah. As a dancer, Ms. Van Gelder worked with a variety of educators and choreographers including Li-Chou Cheng, Alun Jones, Conrad Ludlow, Richard Munro, Tom Pazik, and Stanley Zompakos. At the University of Richmond, Ms. Van Gelder has worked with artist-scholars Francesca Harper, Stefanie Batten Bland, Charlotte Boye-Christensen, Alexandra Damiani, Kanji Segawa, Jacqulyn Buglisi, and Stephanie Martinez, among others. Her choreography has been performed in collaboration with the Grammy-award winning sextet, Eighth Blackbird. She has taught all levels of classical ballet technique at the University of Richmond, the University of Utah, Virginia Intermont College, and the Willam F. Christensen Center for Dance. Ms. Van Gelder has been invited to create or re-stage choreographies for various institutions including the Saratov Academic Youth Theatre, W&L Repertory Dance Company, Theatre Bristol, Park City Shakespeare Festival, and the Ogden Symphony. Ms. Van Gelder has created works for Department of Theatre & Dance productions including the department’s dance concerts, The Tempest, Wings, Fiddler on the Roof, Funny Girl, and The Chairs and The Bald Soprano directed by Italian director and filmmaker, Paolo Landi. In Utah, she served as Dance Instructor and Choreographer for gymnasts who were members of the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team. She has been invited to lecture on dance history at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and regularly teaches master classes at the American College Dance Association annual conference. Her study of dance is ongoing, including professional conferences in Italy, Boston, and New York City, where she enjoys studying historic dance. At UR, Ms. Van Gelder teaches Text & Performance, Dance History-Theory I and II, and all levels of ballet and pointe technique. Ms. Van Gelder serves on the Board of Directors of CORPS de Ballet International and is a member of the Membership and Outreach committee. She serves on the Advisory Board of Conflux Dance Theater. She is a member of Golden Key International Honour Society and Alpha Psi Omega Dramatic Honorary Society.

Photo credit: Dixon Christian

Agua Dulce Dance Theater

Ephrat Asherie

Robert Battle

Stephanie Batten Bland

Charlotte Boye-Christensen

Jacqulyn Buglisi

Chris Burnside

Deandra Clarke

Sean Aaron Carmon

Frank Chaves

Diane Coburn Bruning

Patrick Coker

Jean Paul Commelin

Myra Daleng

Alexandra Damiani

Robert Dekkers

Andrea Del Conte

Norbert De La Cruz III

Alicia Diaz

Barbara Duffy

Pamela England

Starr Foster

James Frazier

Tiffani Harris

Bill Hastings

Willie Hinton

Rebecca Hodal

Gerri Houlihan

Steven Iannacone

Larry Keigwin

Juel D. Lane

Abdul Latif-Dulie Dules

Jason Luks

Stephanie Martinez

Jenna McClintock

Christopher K. Morgan

Miguel Pérez

Peter Pucci

Scott Putman

Kanji Segawa

Susan Shields

Billy Siegenfeld

Gusti Sudarta

Matthew Thornton

Nathan Trice

Takehiro “Take” Ueyama

Kim Urba

Anne Van Gelder

Doug Varone

Christian von Howard

Jill Brammer Ware