ABOUT

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, CHOREOGRAPHER, FOUNDER

Alexandra Bodnarchuk is a Carpatho-Rusyn American choreographer and cultural activist. The daughter of first- and third-generation immigrants she grew up Pittsburgh, PA dancing with the North Hills Junior Tamburitzans and Slavjane Folk Ensemble, the premiere Carpatho-Rusyn children’s dance ensemble in the United States.

She has performed works by Staycee Pearl, Bricolage, Berit Ahlgren, Helen Hatch, Sean Curran, April Sellers, Rosy Simas, BodyCartography, Laurie Van Wieren, and Paulina Olowska. She spent two seasons with Ethnic Dance Theater and five seasons with Black Label Movement. Recently she guested with Cheremosh Ukrainian Ensemble, performing with them at Canada’s National Ukrainian Festival.

She is a 2021 Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellow at Jacob’s Pillow and a 2022 & 2020 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow Finalist (Jerome Foundation). Her works for the stage and screen have been presented throughout the US, with her 2020 dance film Heritage Sites earning 6 laurels and her second evening length work being presented by The Southern Theater in 2023.

Her work has been commissioned by The Museum of Russian Art, Threads Dance Project, and Alternative Motion Project, with upcoming commissions for Jim Johnson and Arena Dances premiering in 2025.

Photo Credit: Joshua Filmmaker

PRODUCING ARTISTIC & MUSIC DIRECTOR, CO-FOUNDER

As of late Spring 2024 - Brandon Anderson Musser is a son of a saxophonist truck driver and a union head nurse, born 1989 near present day Pittsburgh, PA. He is primarily working with music and sound for dance and theater.  He prioritizes projects that possess self awareness, tenderness, humanity, and that strive for reformation. 

Notable credits reflect service as artistic associate to Alexandra Bodnarchuk Dance Projects, company composer and sound designer to the Taja Will Ensemble, and creative technical work for Hatch Dance.

Most recently he is collaborating with Marcela Michelle.

Photo Credit: Joshua Filmmaker

RESIDENT DRAMATURG

Marcela Michelle is a community-engaged transdisciplinary artist, educator, facilitator, and producer living and working on Mni Sota Makoce. Her artistic practice spans mediums and genres, engaging dance, music, physical and scripted theatre, design, burlesque, literature, construction, performance, theory, composition, devising, and the culinary arts.

She is a 2023-2025 Jerome Hill Artist Fellow in the inaugural Combined Artistic Fields, a 2020-2022 Hennepin Theatre Trust Teaching Artist in Residence, a 2019 Mentee of the National Institute for Directing and Ensemble Creation, and a member of Actor’s Equity. She is currently the Resident Dramaturg for Doma Dance Theater and a Beverage Co-Director with Mamasan Bartending Collective.

Her original work has been presented by Walker Art Center (Choreographer’s Evening), Red Eye Theater (NW4W), Guthrie Theater’s Dowling Studio, Northern Spark, Right Here Showcase, The Minneapolis Burlesque Festival, Patrick’s Cabaret, Queertopia, Wanderlust Productions, and 20% Theatre Company, where she worked in many capacities from 2015 to 2021, ultimately serving as Artistic Director in its final years.

She enjoys cooking, reading, video essays, and long periods of rest with her Wife and Dogter.

RESIDENT TRANSLATOR

Nathan is a lecturer of Russian at the University of Oklahoma in the Department of Modern Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics.

He is interested in Slavic linguistics, dialectology, phonetics, and phonology. He is particularly interested in the relationship between 'Standard Language' and dialects as well as the effect of standardization and language ideologies on attitudes toward dialects and on the perception of those, who speak different dialects.

He is also interested in current developments in Slavic languages, including Russian, Polish, Ukranian, and BCMS (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Montenegrin). He has a PhD in Slavic Languages and Literature from University of Washington.

Nathan teaches Beginning Rusyn for English speakers at the Študium Carpatho Ruthenorum at the University of Prešov, in Prešov Slovakia.

DANCER

Non Edwards is a dancer, choreographer, and fitness/movement trainer, located in the Twin Cities since 2009. Working across a range of style and genre, Non performs modern, postmodern, improvisation and performance art in galleries, theaters, video, and DIY and public spaces including the Seattle Art Fair, Walker Art Center, Nelson-Atkins Museum, Jacob’s Pillow, and Maui Arts & Cultural Center. In 2016 Non was nominated for the Outstanding Performer Sage Award, and in 2020 Non was named a McKnight Dancer Fellow.

As a choreographer, Non creates situations for performers to exercise agency and audience to connect to their own bodies, often working outside of theaters and at the intersection of dance with other forms. A somatic coach, independent GYROKINESIS® Method Trainer, and staff at movement studio Sunna, Non guides clients - seniors, professional dancers, average people, and evolving bodies - to move with less pain and greater strength, connection, and pleasure.

Photo Credit: Joshua Filmmaker

DANCER

Rachel Holmes is originally from Milwaukee, WI, and graduated from Minnesota State University, Mankato with a BS in Dance in May 2024. Her dance training before college includes 15 years at Accent on Dance in Waukesha, WI, as well as 4 years on her high school pom & dance team. Throughout her studies, she’s found herself enjoying a focus in contemporary, hip-hop, jazz, and tap dance forms. Rachel has previously traveled to Paris and Dijon, France to study dance history, as well as perform and take classes at Conservatoire Jean-Phillipe Rameau. Outside of dance, she also has a passion for fitness and music! Rachel currently teaches, choreographs, and performs in the Twin Cities area.

Photo Credit: Joshua Filmmaker

DANCER

Odessa Rain is a freelance dancer from eastern Pennsylvania who began dancing at a local studio for competitive dance. She attended The Lehigh Valley Charter High School For The Arts in Bethlehem, PA as a dance major and spent her summers at the Joffrey Ballet School summer intensive in NYC. This led her to the Boston Conservatory on merit scholarship where she earned her BFA. During her time at BoCo she was cast in works choreographed by Gregory Dawson, Yury Yanowsky, Zoe Schoefield and Stephanie Martinez to name a few. While in Boston Odessa performed with Tilted, Dance Lab, and Dance Currents LLC.

Since moving to MN she has performed with Fox and Beggar Theatre, Amez Dance and Threads Dance Project.  In addition to performing Odessa spends her time teaching at  Minneapolis’ Audubon and Northeast parks as well as Dance Unlimited’s competition team.

Photo Credit: Joshua Filmmaker

DANCER

Yukina Sato is a Japanese dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker. Her work examines and embodies the liminal space and hybridity of being in between two countries. She worked with various performing artists such as Abby Zbikowski, Crystal Perkins, Bebe Miller, Diavolo -Architecture in Motion-, and many more. She is a co-founder of YY Dance+Media and creates/performs a multimedia live performance that intersects dance and technology. Their new work, “Motion of Seeing” premiered and won the National Exchange Award in 2023.

She holds an MFA in Dance from The Ohio State University and a BFA in Dance Performance from the University of Central Oklahoma. Currently, she is serving as an Assistant Professor in Dance at Minnesota State University Mankato.

Photo Credit: Joshua Filmmaker