Since its founding in 1992 Anna Myer and Dancers has performed Anna Myer’s innovative choreography to a steadily growing audience throughout the Northeast, most notably in Boston and New York City, and to the acclaim of some of the country’s most prominent dance critics. Myer’s unique language of movement is a fusion of her classical, modern, and postmodern background. Her dances are emotionally charged and infused with a keen formal intelligence. The Company has been presented by Dance Umbrella’s Boston Moves (1999), the Fleet Bank Celebrity Series (2003), Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (2002 and 2003), Summer Stages Dance (2006), and Crash Arts at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston (2007).

Myer has a long history of artistic collaboration, using live music and original scores, as well as incorporating young people in her work. Penumbra (2007), was a collaborative effort between choreographer Myer and neon sculptors Alejandro and Moira Sina. Ten children from the community had the opportunity to rehearse regularly with the company and appeared in the premiere performances. Prior to this, Myer commissioned three original works performed live with her dancers, most notably 2004’s All At Once, to a new composition by Jakov Jakoulov.

"Myer’s choreographic voice is quietly bizarre, but it is all her own. Ms. Myer, based in Boston, seems to look at dance—and life—from a slightly wry but affectionate distance. And what she sees becomes transformed into odd yet affecting imagery…"
– Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times

"In an evening rich in imagination and musicality, Myer proved she is a creative force to be reckoned with."
-Terry Byrne, The Boston Globe

"Anna Myer has proven herself to be a master choreographer who is always full of surprises and new ideas… …Anna Myer has gained a reputation as a post modernist. But that label used to require the rejection of both virtuosity and expressiveness, elements at the very foundation Myer’s riveting choreography."
– Theodore Bale, Bay Windows

"Myer has devised a striking, slightly mysterious vocabulary for the upper torso; the wide ranging gestural palette for the arms and hands impart color and dimension."
- Karen Campbell, The Boston Herald

"Behind Anna Myer’s musical dances lies a formalist’s brain and an iconoclasts heart. To transmit her themes - which in this concert included the history of Italy as presented in the country’s art, musings on domestic life, and the variability of space and time - she employs a vocabulary of movement that’s at once eccentric and … accessible … Her style represents a kind of classicism gone awry: one that concentrates on geometry and tempos and purity of line but is lit by a fierce energy and startling accents."
– Thea Singer, The Boston Globe

"Choreographer Anna Myer explores heaven on earth. Originality punctuates Myer’s music-filled dance."
– Debra Cash, The Boston Globe 

Voted one of the "Ten Best Dance Events of 2001" by The Boston Globe.
– Christine Temin, The Boston Globe

ARTISTS

Anna Myer
Anna Myer began her dance training in 1962 with Esther Brooks, at the Cambridge School of Ballet, on a Ford Foundation Scholarship. Later Myer was awarded scholarships at the Joffrey Ballet, The School of American Ballet, and American Ballet Theater. Myer then joined the Boston Ballet, and subsequently performed and studied with Ana Roje in Boston and Yugoslavia. Additional credits include performances in works by contemporary choreographers such as Zeve Cohen, Caitlin Corbett, Marguerite Mathews, and Pauline Koner. In 1992, Myer founded Anna Myer and Dancers in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Since its inception the company has performed the innovative choreography of Anna Myer to a steadily growing audience throughout the northeast, most notably in Boston and New York City. Her work has caught the attention and respect of some of the country’s most prominent dance critics, including Jennifer Dunning and Jack Anderson of The New York Times, and Christine Temin of The Boston Globe. In 1999 a feature article in the Sunday New York Times Arts and Leisure section, by Kevin Giordano, "Thinking Post Modern but Talking Michelangelo." Christine Temin of The Boston Globe named the company one of the "Ten Best Dance Events of 2001" and the Boston Phoenix listed the company’s 2003 season in its "Best of Arts and Dance 2003" roundup.

Myer’s work has been funded numerous times by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Cambridge Arts Council and the Turner Family Foundation. She has been presented by Dance Umbrella 1999 Boston Moves, Fleet Bank Celebrity Series 2003, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival 2002 and 2003, and World Music/CrashArts 2007.

Karina Davis
Karina Davis was first inspired by tap dancer Gregory Hines, and started hoofing at Ruth Williams Dance Studio in Harlem, NY. Davis later trained in the Alvin Ailey School’s Junior Division, where she studied forms of dance ranging from West African to classical ballet. While attending Williams College, she solidified a love affair with hip-hop by joining the resident dance troupe, Nothin’ But Cuties, and was elected president for the 2004-2005 season. In addition to performing student choreography, she maintained her connections to the dance world by studying forms of modern technique under the tutelage of Sandra Burton and Holly Silva and participating in workshops led by performers such as Ron K. Brown, Philadanco, HT Chen & Dancers, and Delfos Danza Contemporanea.

Jeremy Revilock-Frost
Jeremy Revilock-Frost is a graduate of the University of Hartford’s Hartt School with a BFA in Dance Performance. While at Hartt she performed soloist roles in La Bayadere, Guernsey Fields, and Martha Graham’s Steps in the Street. She began her dance training in Atlanta, Georgia and then furthered her studies in Portsmouth, New Hampshire under the direction of Mihailo Djuric and Susan Duffy. She danced with Ballet New England and Ballet Theatre Workshop performing principal roles in both classical ballets and Djuric’s contemporary pieces. Jeremy-Ruth also trained at the Boston Ballet School and studied at the Martha Graham School in NYC on scholarship. She has danced professionally with Northern Ballet Theatre and Virginia Ballet Theatre. She is on faculty at the Northeast School of Ballet and Walker’s Dance.

Joe Gonzalez
Joe Gonzalez graduated from the Boston Arts Academy and is currently a dance major at the Boston Conservatory. Joe has participated in many summer programs such as the Boston Conservatory and American Dance Festival. He has attended master classes with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Ronald K. Brown, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Sean Curran, Nathan Trice, Pedro Ruiz, Jr., and Jose Limon Dance Company. Outside of school he has broadened his horizons and enjoys musical theater, hip hop, tap, and jazz.

Ellie Kusner
Ellie Kusner received her ballet training from Boston Ballet. She danced with the company in numerous productions, performing roles from partyboy in illfitting wig to seventh swan from the left! She went on to study modern dance at Barnard College, where she graduated magna cum laude in 2003. Ellie lives in NYC, dances with Cornfield Dance and Buglisi Dance Theatre, and teaches pilates at several locations including ABT. She has also danced for Stephen Pier and Nilas Martins, and was in the original cast of Anna Myer's "All at Once." Ellie is thrilled to be working with Anna again after 3 years away and is honored to share the stage with such a talented cast of performers!

Carol Somers (Dancer)
Carol Somers has danced for many ballet and modern companies and choreographers, most notably for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Edward Villella, Ohad Naharin and Ballet Manhattan. For her own work she has been produced by Dance Umbrella, CRASHarts, Movement Research at the Judson Church in NYC, received a Best of Boston from the Boston Globe and has been presented in NYC at the Cunningham Studios and St. Marks Church. She has also choreographed several pieces for the Island Moving Company in Newport, RI, one of which, Consent to Gravity, co-choreographed with Daniel McCusker was presented at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. She started dancing for Anna in 1997.

Marissa Molinar
Marissa Molinar comes from a family of Mexican Folkloric dancers, and started learning folklorico from her mother at an early age while growing up in Texas. After moving to Boston and its diverse dance scene, Marissa became enthralled with bharatanatyam, a South Indian dance form, and began training with Aparna Sindhoor. Marissa was introduced to modern dance in high school, studying and performing with Daniel McCusker. After a dance hiatus while earning a degree in Environmental Science from Brown University, Marissa returned to dance and has been performing with many companies and choreographers in the Boston area. Marissa recently joined the fantastic office of Boston Dance Alliance, and she is honored to be performing with the talented crew of Anna Myer And Dancers.

Jakov Jakoulov, Composer
Jakov is the author of three ballets, five concertos, five string quartets, scores for over 20 theatrical, TV and cinema productions as well as numerous symphonic, chamber and choral works. In recent years the London’s New European Strings Orchestra, Boston Symphony Tanglewood Contemporary Music Festival, “Future Classics” Series with Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Boston Symphony Chamber Concerts, Armenian National Symphony Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, New England String Ensemble, among others presented his work. Recipient of six Annual Awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers; Doctor of Musical Arts from Boston University; Member of the National Honor Music Society. Has gained renowned international reputation with commissions and performances of his works in Germany, Sweden, Scotland, Finland, Italy, Mexico, Armenia, Russia, Israel as well as the United States. Recent CD recording, "Black Snow," was chosen as one of the "Top Five Classical Recordings List" of '99 by "Fanfare" magazine.

Mark Berger, Violinist
Mark Berger, violinist and violist, has performed with many of the elite ensembles of the Boston area, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, the Boston Modern Orchestra Project, Boston Lyric Opera, Opera Boston, Emmanuel Music, Boston Musica Viva and ALEA III Contemporary Music Ensemble. An avid chamber musician, he is a founding member of the Worcester Chamber Music Society and Music at Eden’s Edge, and has performed as a guest artist with QX and the Lydian String Quartets. Mr. Berger has participated in major summer music festivals including the Kneisel Hall Chamber Music Festival and the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s Tanglewood Music Center, where he was in residence for two summers as a member of the New Fromm Players, a chamber ensemble dedicated to the performance of new music. In addition to his work as a performer, Mr. Berger is also a composer, and his works have been commissioned and performed by many leading contemporary music ensembles. Mr. Berger has received degrees from Boston University, and is currently a PhD candidate at Brandeis University.

Spoken word artists / Rappers / Poets / Dancers

TiElla Grimes, Rapper
TiElla Grimes is a recent graduate of Newbury College, where she obtained her Bachelors in Communication. She is a member of the Women of Color Roundtable in Roxbury where she studies ways to reduce HIV/AIDS in women of African descent. TiElla was on the Advisory Board for the Girls Grant-making Gathering, which is a part of the Women’s Funding Network Annual Conference. TiElla was also on the committee for Raising Women’s Voices, a national conference that addresses issues and disparities surrounding women and health care. TiElla is a graduate of the YWCA Boston’s Youth Voice Collaborative. Currently she works full time at the YWCA Boston and part time at the Boston Women’s Fund as a Young Sister for Justice in Philanthropy. She often volunteers at community events as a spoken word performer.

New Legends
New Legends is made up of L-Ski, also known as Lynn Harris, who was born in Boston and raised in Grove Hall and Young Cyde, also known as Anthony Marshall, who was born and raised in Dorchester. Both have used rap as a way to overcome the experience of living in a community where shootings, drug dealers, and gang members are common. They started rapping at age ten and in their teens formed the rap group New Legends. Their goal is to be signed to a major record label while they are still teenagers.

Joseph Banh
07/19/1987 senior in college at Umass Lowell majoring in Management and minoring in English. Been writing for almost 3 years. a musician, percussions and guitar. part of the poetry trio L.I.F.E. since 6/22/07

Anthony Febo | Masada Jones
L.I.F.E. which stands for Lyricists In Full Emancipation is a socially conscience spoken word trio consisting of Febo, Masada Jones, and Joey B. They draw their inspiration from everyday situations, family, and life itself. Having all grown up in Lowell Ma, they share similarities but it is their individual stories that they bring in each poem that makes them sound so distinct.

L.I.F.E. has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with some of Boston’s finest. This year alone, the group has been blessed with many features all through out Boston and Lowell, as well as having numerous slots in shows in various colleges. In January, they went back to Lowell High to promote and then coach Poetry Out Loud, a nation wide poetry reciting competition. In one day they reached approx. 720 kids. In upcoming months the group has shows booked outside of their state and even into 09, making 08 nothing short than a blessed year.

Tu Phan
Tu Phan, inspired by hip hop, spoken word, and literature, has been writing poetry for about three years. His writing focuses on socioeconomic, environmental, political, and spiritual concepts, drawn both from life and people's speech and from his readings in satire, history, and spiritual literature. Tu's spoken word poetry aims to help people change their destructive habits. He lives in Dorchester and is attending Northeastern University.

Adam Gottlieb
Adam Gottlieb is a twenty-one-year-old poet/creator/performer currently studying poetry and education at Hampshire College. He has been performing for seven years throughout festivals, poetry slams, open mics, and other events in his hometown Chicago and well beyond. He tries his best to use creativity and teaching in the service of humanity. He believes whole-heartedly that artists, poets, dreamers, and creators of all kinds will be the leaders of the coming revolution, and the pioneers of a new world in which love, peace, and justice will reign supreme.

Novana Venerable
Novana Venerable was born and raised in Oak Park, Illinois. She started writing when introduced to her mentor, Peter Kahn, who is head of the Spoken Work Club and Slam Team. Through working with Peter Kahn, she has had the opportunity to teach high school English classes and lead poetry writing workshops. In high school, Nova participated in Louder Than A Bomb and won an all expense paid trip to New York CIty her sophomore year to compete in Brave New Voices. From there, she was filmed for a documentary called Louder Than A Bomb which is currently premiering around the country. Nova spent her first year in college at Illinois State University and transferred to Smith College for her second year where she is majoring in Psychology and double majoring in Spanish. Nova hopes to become a behavioral analyst for the FBI and to continue helping out with Louder Than A Bomb as well as teaching workshops to young students.

DeAnna Pellecchia
DeAnna Pellecchia is a dancer, athlete, aerialist, actress, and choreographer committed to collaboratively creating multi-disciplinary works of live art. The Boston Herald describes her as "stunning...one of the area’s finest artists." The Boston Globe calls her “compelling…a committed and daring performer." DeAnna has danced with horses, in trees, on stilts, under water and through air; has been featured in rodeos, operas, plays, fashion shows, magazines, movies and music videos; and has performed in countless unconventional landscapes as well as theaters of all shapes and sizes across the U.S. She has made performance pieces with composer Johnny Reinhard, Grammy-nominated musicians Dave Eggar and Joshua Pierce, and choreographers Elaine Summers and Ann Carlson. DeAnna is co-choreographer of Kairos Dance Theater with Ingrid Schatz. She is a principal dancer with both internationally acclaimed Paula Josa-Jones/Performance Works and Kinodance Company (named one of Dance Magazine’s "Top 25 to Watch"). Ms. Pellecchia received a BA in Dance/Performance from Roger Williams University. She is on the dance faculty at Boston University and The Urbano Project. She is thrilled to be dancing her first season with AMAD. For details see www.deannapellecchia.com.

Hieu Nguyen
Hieu Nguyen graduated from Boston University, where he was a member of the Dance Theatre Group for two years. After college, Hieu attended the New England School of Law while continuing his dance training, primarily with Anna Myer. Hieu currently works as an attorney specializing in family law and domestic violence prevention. When he is not in the office, Hieu choreographs and consults for several award-winning programs such as the University of Delaware and Shenendehowa High School from Clifton Park, New York. Hieu also adjudicates movement all over the country to help students and programs reach higher standards of excellence. Hieu has been dancing with Anna Myer for two years and is thrilled to be a part of such an amazing project!

Nina Saraceno
Nina Saraceno began her dance training at a four year old at the Ana Roje School of Ballet in Boston, MA, also dancing as a fourth generation Isadora Duncan dancer. She danced with the Boston Dance Company during the late 1990s and joined Anna Myer and Dancers in 2003. She has also danced with Ariel Rifka Dance in New York and Interweave Dance Theatre of Boulder, CO. She has performed works by George Balanchine, José Limón, Robert Battle, Damian Woetzel and Marius Petipa, among others. Nina holds a Bachelors degree from Skidmore College in Psychology and Dance and a certification from the San Francisco School of Massage.

Jessie Stinnett
Jessie Stinnett graduated from The Boston Conservatory in 2009. She is also an alumni of Berklee College of Music as a vocal major and The University of Hartford where she majored in dance while pursuing a double academic minor. As a student, Jessie performed works by Martha Graham, Alwin Nikolais, Sean Curran, and Tommy Neblett. Upon graduating she moved to Paris, France where she danced for the Artistic Director of the National Ballet of Chile, Gigi Caciuleanu and Ruxandra Racovitza. In the summer of 2010 she acted as the International Liason for Kazuko Hirabayashi’s Dance New York International where she worked with Wilfried Romoli, former star of The Paris Opera, and Koji Minato of The Cunningham Company. She then joined Dansgroep Amsterdam, home to choreographers Krisztina de Chatel and Itzik Galili for one season. Since returning to the US Jessie has had the pleasure of working with Marjorie Folkman, formerly of the Mark Morris Dance Co. as a part of the Boston Baroque's production of Les Indes Galantes at NE Conservatory's Jordan Hall to be presented in May 2011.