Gina Gibney
Artistic & Executive Director
Gina Gibney launched Gibney Dance in 1991 to both create contemporary choreography that expresses the humanity of the moving body and to reach communities in need. Since its inception, the Company has created a repertory of over thirty dance works.
Highly sought-after by a wide range of performing arts institutions, her work has been featured in recent years by such venues as Danspace Project (New York), White Bird (Oregon) the Yale Repertory Theater (Connecticut), L’Agora de la Danse (Montreal, Canada) and Internationale Tanzmesse (Dusseldorf, Germany). Ms. Gibney has been honored with the Northern Ohio Live Arts Award, the Copperfoot Award for Choreography from Wayne State University, the Case Western Reserve University Young Alumni Award, Alpert Award (Finalist), the OTTY (Our Town Thanks You) Arts Award, and by Sanctuary for Families, Safe Horizon and The Retreat. In April 2008, her company was named to the Vanity Fair Hall of Fame for “making art and taking action.”
Ms. Gibney serves on the Board of Directors of Danspace Project and Dance/NYC. She is a frequent panelist and speaker on topics of dance, entrepreneurship, and social action. She has received recognition and support from prestigious organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Bossak/Heilbron Charitable Foundation, the Harkness Foundation for Dance, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation, the Emma Sheafer Charitable Foundation, the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Mertz Gilmore Foundation. Ms. Gibney has pioneered numerous partnerships with the corporate world, garnering support from the Agnes Varis Trust, Johnson & Johnson/Society for Arts in Healthcare, M·A·C AIDS FUND, Avon Foundation, and EILEEN FISHER, among others.
Ms. Gibney’s founding of the groundbreaking Community Action program in 1999 has since led to the building of reciprocal relationships between dance artists and social service groups and a greater visibility of the issue of domestic violence. Her commitment to “making space for dance” in New York City led to the founding of Gibney Dance Center in 2010 to provide high-quality, low-cost rehearsal space and programmatic resources to dance artists and audiences. Ms. Gibney holds an MFA in Dance from Case Western University.
Javier Baca
Operations Assistant – javier@gibneydance.org
Native of California, Javier is a performer, dancer, educator, and choreographer. After moving to New York City to focus more on the research of dance and the moving body, Javier performed with Rebecca Alaly, HT Chen, and Shen Wei Dance Arts. He has shown work in conjunction with Movement Research’s Improvisation Festival/New York (IF/NY) and I <3 Gibney. Javier has taught master classes, workshops, and been in residence at many universities both in the U.S. and abroad. He is currently working towards a certification in BodyTalk Systems, a conscious medicine modality.
Julia Boyes
Programs Assistant – julia@gibneydance.org
Originally from Kansas, Julia Boyes began her dance training at Legacy School of the Arts under Maura Landers and Michele Hamlet-Weith. At the age of 16, she began attending North Carolina School of the Arts where she received a BFA in contemporary dance. There, she performed works by Merce Cunningham, Larry Kegwin, Maurya Kerr, and Jiri Kylian, and was featured in the school’s adaptation of the Rogers and Hammerstein musical, “Oklahoma!” She has trained with renowned voice teachers in classical and musical theatre forms, and is currently studying Meisner Technique at the Maggie Flanigan Studio. Julia feels truly blessed to be on the Gibney Dance Staff.
Andy Chapman
Operations Assistant – andy@gibneydance.org
Janessa Clark
Special Projects Manager – janessa@gibneydance.org
Janessa is a German-born New Yorker currently based in Stockholm. She holds an MA in Performance Practices & Research from London’s Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and a BFA in Choreography from Arizona State University. Janessa has worked with GD since 2006 in various capacities including dancer, workshop facilitator, and Advisory Group member. She currently works to broaden the organization’s international visibility. As an administrator, Janessa has successfully managed David Dorfman Dance, Alexandra Beller/Dances, and Erica Essner Performance Co-Op. Janessa is currently developing work for her new company nomadthenewcompany and teaching dance in Stockholm.
Jennifer Current
Studio Manager – jennifer@gibneydance.org
Jennifer is originally from Delano, Minnesota and recently moved to New York City. She received her bachelor’s degree in Theater and Women’s Studies from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Jennifer has a love of performance and enjoys providing artists with the support they need to create. She has worked professionally as a stage manager and at Wisconsin Public Radio & Television. Jennifer is excited to be part of an arts organization that both helps artists find space to rehearse and has a strong misson focused on the community and women’s issues.
Elena Light
Communications Assistant – elena@gibneydance.org
Elena began her dance training at Oakley Ballet Center in Ventura, California under Kirsten Oakley, attending summer programs at Oregon Ballet Theater and The Boston Conservatory. She graduated this May from Yale University with a BA in the History of Art and French, where she performed works by Twyla Tharp, Merce Cunningham, Reggie Wilson, and Akram Khan as part of Yale Dance Theater. Most recently, she worked as a student curator and editorial assistant at the Yale University Art Gallery. She also currently works as an SAT and French tutor. Elena is thrilled to be able to use her writing and editorial skills at Gibney Dance as she pursues her own creative work.
Jessica Martin
Development & Communications Associate – jessica@gibneydance.org
Born and raised in Atlanta, Jessica attended her first ballet at the age of six. She trained with the Georgia Youth Ballet under the direction of Magdalena Maury and Jonsie Pollock. Jessica holds a degree in Dance and Arts Administration with a minor in Public Relations from Butler University. During college, she performed classical and contemporary works with Butler Ballet and toured throughout Poland and Russia, studying at the National School of Ballet in Warsaw and the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg. Jessica has trained with the Paul Taylor Dance and Lar Lubovitch Dance Companies. She is blessed with the opportunity to utilize her dance and administrative knowledge to bring resources to the field.
Liz Montgomery
Development & Communications Manager – liz@gibneydance.org
Liz began her study of dance at the Peabody Institute under the visionary direction of Carol Bartlett. She holds a BFA, with honors, in Dance with a minor in Creative Writing from Tisch School of the Arts. Liz has studied at the American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance, and with David Dorfman Dance. She has performed works by Gerald Casel, James Martin, Benoit-Swan Pouffer, Claudia Anata Hubiak, and Sarah Holmes. She has presented her own choreography at the DanceNOW[NYC] RAW and River to River Festivals. Liz is a certified yoga teacher through the Mind Body Dancer® 200 Yoga Teacher Training. In 2011, she founded the Red Currant Collective.
Yasemin Ozumerzifon
Community Action Manager – yasemin@gibneydance.org
After completing her primary education at the Royal Academy of Ballet, Yasemin moved to the United States where she studied dance and psychology at Connecticut College. In order to combine her two passions, she pursued an M.A. at Columbia University in Developmental Psychology with focuses in creativity and human development. She was a research assistant for a study that evaluated the Guggenheim Museum’s “Learning Through Art” program. Yasemin apprenticed at the New Victory Theater, where she created School Tool™, a resource guide based on NYC and state standards. Yasemin is proud to be part of a program that brings movement to domestic violence survivors.
Allie Pfeffer
Operations and Programs Manager – allie@gibneydance.org
Originally from North Carolina, Allie Pfeffer holds a BFA in Dance, with honors, from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Allie joined Gibney Dance in 2011 as assistant to Operations Manager Michele Wilson. Now pioneering a new position as Gibney Dance’s Center Programs Manager and Dance in Process (DiP) Coordinator, she is responsible for the planning, preparation, and execution of unique programming that serves the dance and performing arts community. Allie dances with Alisa Fendley’s Fingerprints Projects and MATYCHAK, and is a founding member of RedCurrant Collective. She has presented her own work at La MaMa ETC. Allie is a nationally certified personal trainer.
Jit Seneviratne
Special Projects – jit@gibneydance.org
Jit Seneviratne is a graduate of the MFA Interdisciplinary Theatre program at Sarah Lawrence College. He has worked as both a lighting designer and electrician. Jit has performed in Shakespeare on the Sound’s Much Ado about Nothing. Jit earned his BBA from the Edith Cowan University and holds an Advanced Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. He spent four years at the Finance Control Department of HSBC – Sri Lanka. He also spent a brief term as an economic research assistant for Sri Lanka’s Institute of Policy Studies where he co-authored The Liberalization of Civil Aviation in South Asia. He uses his spare time for playwriting.
Russell Stuart Lilie
Operations Assistant – russell@gibneydance.org
Interns:
Jenny Gram
