Katherine Desimine (she/her) is a dancer, dance maker, arts administrator, and arts advocate. She has a BFA in Dance from The University of the Arts. While at UArts, she was instrumental in creating The Workshops at 1401. Since graduating she has been part of different efforts to organize around the arts in Philly, including with Perphorm, Future Space Philly, and now Philly Dance Class Share!! As a dancer and dance maker she is intrigued by novelty, nuance, floorwork, and partner-work.

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Photo by Michael Pilla.

Shoshana Isaacs (they/them) is a white Jewish queer artist residing on Lenae/Lenape land (Philadelphia) They recently graduated from the University of the Arts cum laude with a BFA in Dance and minor in Photography. At UArts, they had the opportunity to perform with Doug Varone, Joanna Kotze, Jesse Zaritt, and Sara Shelton Mann, Sheer Spectacle, and Jordan Demetrius Lloyd. They completed their BFA Dance thesis this spring exploring ideas of performance and multimedia art. They continue to work with movement, performance, and fine arts in pursuit of a career as a choreographer and freelance photographer. 

Sarah began dancing at age 8 and has had the opportunity to train and work with industry legends such as Ben Vereen and Chet Walker. In 2008, she earned multiple degrees from the University of Colorado while freelancing. Sarah completed an MFA in Dance from Tisch and an MA in Dance Education from Steinhardt at New York University in May 2021. Ms. Messenger remains a freelance dance artist focusing on her choreographic voice and will be publishing her first academic article in 2024. She is also currently an adjunct professor of dance with Temple University in Philadelphia.

Bailey Fleming is a Philadelphia based artist with KC Ballet Company. Currently, she teaches at Flair Dance Company, Bowman Dance Company and the Garden Arts Center. She works in the administrative sector for Equilibrium Dance Company and Philly Dance Class Share. She has been with several different contemporary companies in the past doing both live performances and film, along with numerous independent projects across Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey. 

Nikolai is a dance theater artist, teacher, writer, and storyteller whose work is fed by their identity as a queer, multiracial, interclass, intercaste immigrant from Jamaica. Nikolai seeks the
liberation of queer and BIPOC bodies and minds through movement; inviting softness, vulnerability, weirdness, uncool, and tender surrender into their movement practice. With innate,
vibrant Caribbean patriotism and queerness, Nikolai aims at confronting trauma with rigorous explorations, with the notion that the body is not an apology and that memory, history, protest, pain, pleasure, and joy are all means of resistance in the face of oppression. A fatwa in patwa.

Vyette Tiya (she/her) is a Philadelphia-based dancer and artistic collaborator. Born in Kenya, she grew up all over, and her work explores identity, lineage, and belonging. She’s most interested in blending dance forms, integrating improvisation as practice, and centering movement as a way to tap into our authentic selves. Vyette has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian National Gallery of Art, Dance Place, and Philly Fringe Fest. She holds a Bachelor’s from American University and a Master’s degree from Princeton University. She can’t wait to collaborate and build community!