about the show
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“What Is Love?,” choreographed by Jennifer Crowell-Kuhnberg, is a celebration of being out and proud. These short stories of coming out, romance, activism, and self discovery are told through the lens of contemporary dance. Originally debuting in Summer 2015, the show is being revived and reworked for a new audience!
Excerpts were recently performed by the original cast at Malden Dance Mile on April 27, 2019. This program is supported in part by a grant from the Malden Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency. This show is also supported by in-kind contributions from OnStage Dance Company, a non-profit dance organization.
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All sales are final. You may exchange for a different night, but there are no refunds.
Please contact Brown Paper Tickets directly at 1-800-838-3006 for any questions about your purchase.
All sales are final. You may exchange for a different night, but there are no refunds.
Please contact Brown Paper Tickets directly at 1-800-838-3006 for any questions about your purchase.
about the choreographer
Photo by Mickey West Photography.
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Jennifer Crowell-Kuhnberg is the Director of OnStage Dance Company, choreographer and dance instructor. In addition to creating new work for OnStage productions each season, Jen's work has been featured in the Providence Movement Festival, Dance for World Community, Southern Vermont Dance Festivals, NACHMO Boston & NYC and 12 Dancers Dancing. She choreographed the evening-length productions: Selichot (2017), What Is Love? (2015) and Heartbeat: A Modern Dance Rock Concert (2013-14). Jen is passionate about bringing the dance community together and providing performance opportunities to emerging artists and has produced several dance festivals including: OnStage Summer Performance Series, OnStage 360°, Empower One Another and The Malden Dance Mile.
Jen has worked as a dance instructor in the Boston-area for over 15 years and is currently on staff at Dance Place, Cheryl Sullivan's School of Dance and Center Stage Dance Studio. |
Meet The cast
Michaela Barrette started dancing at the age of 4 and began dancing competitively at the age of 8 at Sally McDermott Dance Centers in Auburn, Massachusetts. Michaela studied many styles of dance including Jazz, Ballet, Pointe, Lyrical, Tap, and Musical Theatre. After high school, Michaela attended UMass Amherst where she danced with the Encore Dance Team and Stage Crew Dance Team. Michaela choreographed and served as captain of Stage Crew her senior year. Since college, Michaela has danced with OnStage Repertory and is currently in her 9th season with OnStage Dance Company. She has taught multiple sessions of classes in Jazz and (Emo) Contemporary. Michaela is thrilled to be back in the cast of What is Love. When she is not at the studio, Michaela enjoys spending time with her fiance, friends, and family, planning Disney trips, and working as a School Adjustment Counselor.
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Sarah Canny grew up in Binghamton, New York. She began dancing at the age of three at Southern Tier Academy of Dance, where she trained in tap, ballet, jazz, contemporary, modern, and hip hop. As a member of the United State Dance Team for five years, she performed in Madison Square Garden, Times Square, Walt Disney World, and Universal Studios. Sarah then attended the University of Rochester, where she studied International Relations and Spanish. At the UR, Sarah joined Louvre Performance Ensemble, a student-run contemporary dance group, as a member and choreographer for four years. She served as Louvre's Production Manager for one year and President for two years. She also studied abroad in Granada, Spain, where she studied Flamenco dance technique and history. In 2014, Sarah began dancing with BIODANCE, a dance company based in Rochester, NY, which explores social, political, and environmental issues through its artistic works. She moved to Boston in July 2016 to begin a Masters in Public Policy at the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. She began dancing with Boston-based dance collective Evolve Dynamicz that summer as well. Sarah graduated in 2018, and is now working as a policy advisor to Congressman Joe Kennedy III.
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Marisa Cohen began dancing at an early age at Joanne Langione Dance Studios where she competitively studied ballet, tap, jazz, modern, and hip-hop styles and attended American Academy of Ballet summer program on scholarship. Marisa received a dual bachelors degree from Connecticut College in Dance and Psychology where she studied under David Dorfman, Lisa Race, Shani Collins-Achille, Heidi Henderson, Shawn Hove, Derrick Yanford and guest artists Martha Meyers and Nicholas Leichter. Additionally Marisa performed and choreographed in several student run organizations including CC Dance Club, a role on the executive board for Eclipse, director of Fusion, and captain of CC Dance Team. Marisa has a Masters of Social Work and works full time as a clinical social worker with children and families. She continues to find opportunities to combine her love for dance with her passion for working with at-risk youth in several school-based and therapeutic expressive arts programs. Marisa is on staff at The Dance Place (Arlington) and has performed with several Boston based dance companies and choreographers including OnStage Dance Company, OnStage | Repertory, Tribe the Dance Company, Embrace, Paradise Moves, Project 31, and as a backup dancer with Covering New England - Madonna.
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Sarah Drinkwater’s dance education began at L’Ecole de Ballet (Littleton, MA), where she received a solid background in ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, and contemporary under the primary instruction of Clarissa Eaton, Mary Demaso, and Miranda Bailey. To expand her dance education, Sarah attended the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet and Boston Ballet School where she studied ballet and modern with many notable instructors including Vanessa Zahorian, Sarah Wroth, and Lasha Khozashvili.
Sarah has been dancing with Dance Prism for over 15 years and is currently a company member and rehearsal coach there. She is also a dance instructor at her hometown studio, L’Ecole de Ballet, for the past 8 years and works as their office manager. This year, Sarah joined OnStage Dance Company and is looking forward to this opportunity to perform in a wide range of dance styles throughout the Boston area. |
Teresa Fardella is a New Orleans native and has trained and performed with Jefferson Ballet Theater, Ballet Hysell, Loyola Ballet, and D’Project. Her most memorable performances are West Side Story, La Bayadere, and A Midsummers Night Dream. Upon moving to Boston, she has performed in Tony Williams Urban Nutcracker and began teaching at Fresh Pond Ballet. She has enjoyed her first year in Boston and is thrilled to be working at OnStage Dance Company.
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Rebecca Lang is a graduate of the school of Social Work and Dance at Salem State University. She is now pursuing her Masters degree in Social Work. Her experience includes teaching, choreographing, and performing. She has choreographed and performed at The Dance Complex, Green Street Studios, American College Dance Association, Salem Dance Ensemble, and Salem Arts Festival. Rebecca also creates works with her partner Angelina Benitez. She is passionate about creating work that empowers the LGBTQ+ community and is inspired by this project.
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Alexandria Nunweiler is a movement artist based in the greater Boston area. She holds her BA in dance from Winthrop University and her MSc from Hult International Business School. Her work has been featured up and down the east coast in the BOOM Charlotte Festival, LadyFestCLT, Dance Complex's A Drop in the Bucket, and the Third Life Choreography Series, among others. She has performed with companies and choreographers including George Staib, Martha Connerton's Kinetic Works, THE MARK dance company, Triptych Collective, Valerie Ifill, Brian Feigenbaum, and Kelley Donovan. Alexandria also serves on the administrative team for Lady BOS Productions in outreach and development and as an artist in residence for the Dance Theatre of Greenville.
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Alana Grace Rochford is a freelance choreographer and dancer from Southern New Hampshire.
Alana has studied at The University of the Arts and has participated in The Gypsy Project: LA with Erica Sobol and Boston Community Dance Project. With a focus in contemporary movement and improvisational studies, Alana aims to blend various styles of movement and music to create works that challenge the way that the artists and audience approach typically approach dance. Currently, Alana is an instructor at Melissa Hoffman Dance Center and the Assistant Stage Manager for Groove Dance Competition. |
Alice Rufo received her primary dance education at Needham Dance Theater where she trained in ballet, contemporary, jazz, and hip hop. During her early training, Alice also performed with the Jose Mateo Ballet Theater and Dance Prism. In the last year she graduated from Needham High School and began studying at MassArt. Since starting college, Alice joined the Colleges of the Fenway (COF) Dance Project where she is studying contemporary, ballet, and jazz. This spring she attended and performed at the American College Dance Association (ACDA) regional conference.
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Alaina Sawyer is so honored to be a part of a dance project that promotes understanding, love, and acceptance. She has been studying contemporary dance since she was young, practicing and competing at Studio B Dance Co in Liverpool, NY, before going to University of Rochester, where she minored in dance. In her program, Alaina studied Modern and Contemporary Technique, Elements of Choreography, Dance and Music Therapy, and World Music, with a focus in West African dance and music. She performed with on-campus groups, Ballet Performance Group and Louvre Performance Ensemble, the latter of which she performed with fellow "What Is Love?" dancers Nicole Zizzi and Sarah Canny. Since moving to Boston she has been grateful for other opportunities to perform with OnStage Dance Company and Jennifer Kuhnberg, including NACHMO NYC and recently at the Providence Movement Festival. She currently dances with Evolve Dynamicz (with Sarah Canny and under the direction of Nicole Zizzi) and is working on projects with Tilted Collab. She is thrilled to be working with so many talented and compassionate dancers!
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Nicole Zizzi was born and raised in Buffalo, New York where she started dancing at the age of 2 at Eugenia’s Dance Studio. She trained in ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, lyrical, and Polish Heritage dancing. At the age of 18, Nicole attended the University of Rochester where she studied Physics and Dance. Nicole attended the ACDA Northeast Conference, American College Dance Association (formerly ACDFA) in 2012, 2013, and 2015. At the 2015 conference, Nicole premiered “STROBE” in the adjudicated concert series as her first professional choreographic work. In the summer of 2015, Nicole moved to Boston and performed for OnStage Dance Company director and choreographer Jennifer Crowell-Kuhnberg in the production “What is Love?” Since her move to Boston, she has also briefly worked with other Boston based dance companies including OnStage | Repertory, a collaborative choreographic project and Unyted Tek'Nēkz, of Unyted Style Productions, under the direction of Ricardo Foster. In October 2015, Nicole and her dance partner, Lisa Costello, founded their own company; Evolve Dynamicz. Since it’s founding, the company has performed at events across the Boston metropolitan area as well as in New York City. She manages, dances, and choreographs for Evolve and has dreams of one day becoming an architect— merging her passions for the arts and sciences. Nicole is currently pursuing a Master's of Architecture at Northeastern University.
OPENING ACT - fRIDAY SHOW
Photo Credit: Olivia Moon Photography, @halfasianlens
J Michael Winward is an independent dance artist based in Boston. With influences in American-style ballroom, ballet, contemporary and somatic dance practices, his work places a strong focus on building connection: connection to one’s body, one’s self, one’s audience, connection between dance partners, connection within and across communities. His solo performances blend movement and memoir, and deal with a variety of topics, including: coming of age, institutional injustice, and the politics of being oneself. Through the Steps in Time program, Michael brings social ballroom dance classes and parties to senior, elder, and memory care communities throughout Greater Boston. Dancing with Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion (PDM), Michael works to advance the PDM mission of cultivating dance/arts literacy, advocacy and engagement. Along with Maggie Cee, Michael produces Dancing Queerly, a festival of performances, workshops, discussions, and social dance gatherings by and for the LGBT+ community, friends, and allies. More information can be found at www.jmichaelwinward.com.