Who we are

• Artistic Director
• Company members
• Board of Directors
• Honorary Board of Directors

The success of Gina Gibney Dance reflects the dreams, passions, talents and intelligence of many hardworking and committed individuals including its generous and devoted board, energetic and committed staff, talented and versatile dancers and visionary founder and artistic director, Gina Gibney.

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Gina Gibney (Choreographer) is the Artistic Director of Gina Gibney Dance. Her choreography has been widely presented and commissioned in the United States and abroad at such venues as Danspace Project, The Duke on 42nd Street Theater, WORKS & PROCESS at the Guggenheim Museum, Yale Repertory Theater, Joyce SoHo, Central Park SummerStage, Symphony Space, The Joyce Theater's Altogether Different series, Joe's Pub and DanceNOW NYC, Kaatsbaan International Dance Center, The Cleveland Museum of Art, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Cleveland Public Theatre, the New York platform of the Rencontres Chorégraphiques Internationales de Seine Saint-Denis, L'Agora de la Danse (Montréal), Maison de la Culture Frontenac (Montréal), Maison de la Culture Rosemont (Montréal), Gibraltor Point Center for the Arts (Toronto), and elsewhere. In response to her growing concern about the status of women in the professional dance world, she reorganized her company as an all-female ensemble in 1997. Since that time, she has created six evening length works: Coming from Quiet (1998), Objects No Longer Present (2000), Several Truths (2001), Time Remaining (2002), Thrown (2004) and unbounded (2005). In 2000 she launched the innovative Domestic Violence Project that offers dance and creative expression to women who are survivors of domestic abuse. She is the founder of Studio 5-2, an officer of Danspace Project's Board of Directors, and a recently elected trustee of Dance/USA. Gibney graduated with honors and received an MFA in Dance from Case Western Reserve University. Individuals who have influenced her work include Kathryn Karipides, Kelly Holt, Hanya Holm, Mark Morris, Jocelyn Lorenz, and the many gifted performers with whom she has worked.

COMPANY MEMBERS

Janessa Clark was born in Germany and transplanted to Massachusetts. She holds a BFA in Choreography from Arizona State University and also received the ASU Undergraduate Choreography Award. She is the Artistic Director of Janessa Clark/KILTERBOX founded in 2001. As a designer, Janessa has created costumes for Jana Hicks, Alexandra Beller, Lexington Dance Collective, and the Performing Arts Center of Connecticut. She has enjoyed performing with Sens | Noemie Lafrance, Jana Hicks, M. Lindsay Smith, Maija Garcia, Michael Cole, and Kenny Larson Ballet. She is the Assistant Director of Erica Essner Performance Co-Op and also freelances as an Arts Administrator. She happily joined Gina Gibney Dance in November 2006.

Courtney Drasner grew up in Minnesota, and later graduated with a BFA in dance from NYU. Since moving to New York she has performed works by Jana Hicks, Kilterbox, Nicole Berger, Jordana Che Tobak, Refractions Dance Collective, and M. Lindsay Smith. She has been a member of Gina Gibney Dance since June of 2004.

Jill Frere is thrilled to join Gina Gibney Dance this season.  Frere is a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts and North Carolina School for the Arts.  Frere is also currently working with Alethea Adsitt and Company and Jody Oberfelder Dance Projects, and has guested with David Dorfman Dance Company, Ellis Wood Dance, and Larry Keigwin and Company.  Frere is the Education Director of the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, and a Yoga teacher at NYU. Frere would like to thank her husband Noah for all of his Love and support.

Jenni Hong, made in Taiwan, is a choreographer, performer and improviser. She graduated from Columbia University with an MA in psychology and is a certified Yoga teacher. Jenni has had the fortunate opportunity in the past to work with Kirstie Simson, Jana Hicks, Taipei Dance Circle, and Guido Tuveri, among others. She is currently a company member with Delirious Dances/Edisa Weeks, Erica Essner Performance Co-Op, and Gina Gibney Dance. Her choreographyhas been presented in Taiwan, Italy, and the United States. In New York City, Jenni's work has been shown in venues including: dancenow/NYC, Danspace Project’s “Food for Thought” series, Joyce Soho, Dance Space Center/Dance New Amsterdam, The Puffin Room, and Tisch School of the Arts at NYU.

Kristy Kuhn returned to the East Coast after earning an MFA in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She currently dances with the Treehouse Shakers (co-founded by Emily Bunning & Mara McEwin) and has performed choreography by Stephan Koplowitz, ObKNOXious Dance (Kelly Knox), Er-Dong Hu, FreshBlood Productions (Jennifer Schmermund & KC Chun), Courtney Drasner, Nicole Roberson and Ann Robideaux & Alexandra Shilling.  She holds a BS in Biology and Dance Minor from Bucknell University, where she has been commissioned as a guest artist in the Theatre and Dance Department. Kristy has been a member of Gina Gibney Dance since October 2004 and currently serves as the company's Administrative Director of Community Programs.

Stevie Oakes began her serious study of classical ballet under the tutelage of Sandra Balestracci in Williamsburg, VA and had the opportunity to train and perform with ballet masters like Rudolph Kharatian. Her undergraduate studies brought her to the College of William & Mary, where she earned a BS in Chemistry and Kinesiology. A recent graduate of the MFA program at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, she has had the privilege of performing works by Tere O'Connor, Gus Solomons, jr., and Gerald Casel. In collaboration with Kim Larimore-Goldman, her work has been shown at danceNOW, NYC, the chashama Oasis Festival and Danspace's "Food for Thought." This is Stevie's first season with Gina Gibney Dance.

Hannah Seidel studied dance at Interlochen Arts Academy in her home state of Michigan. She received her BA from Pomona College, and has since danced on the East Coast with the Erica Essner Performance Co-op, Pi Dance Theatre, Chris Ferris, Nee Danse Company, and both the Notes In Motion Company and Education Ensemble. She has taught and created dances on both coasts and spends her summers on the modern dance faculty at Interlochen.  This is Hannah’s first season with Gina Gibney Dance.

Associate Director of Community Programs. Mariangela Lopez is from Caracas, Venezuela, where she began her dance studies and performance experience. She moved to the US after receiving a full scholarship to study at The Boston Conservatory. She graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1999, obtaining a BFA in Dance. Since then, Mariangela has been choreographing and performing in Boston, Mexico, Venezuela and NYC. In 2001, she became a Certified Movement Analyst at the Laban Institute . During this time Mariangela discovered her greatest passion, creating pieces involving random people from her community. Mariangela lives in NYC, where she continues choreographing, teaching, and dancing. She performs as a solo improviser/choreographer with Klaresque Ensemble. Mariangela was a company member of Gina Gibney Dance from 2002 to 2006, and is now Associate Director of Community Programs.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Jane Grenier, President
Publisher
Flip.com

Sally Susman, First Vice President
Executive Vice President, Global Communications
Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

Rachel Norton, Second Vice President
Associate Director of Development
Lincoln Center Theater

Martha Hirschman, Secretary
Director of Admissions
Grace Church School

Tyra Liebmann, Treasurer
Wagner Graduate School of Public Service New York University

Gina Gibney, Officer at Large
Artistic Director, Gina Gibney Dance, Inc.

Mary Casey
Hotel Association of New York City

April Galda
Vice President
Goldman Sachs

Lynn Gitlitz
Marketing/Business Planning Consultant

Ellen Glazerman
Director, Ernst & Young Foundation
Ernst & Young LLP

Ken Gutwillig
Chief Investment Officer
Financial Decisions

Anne Janas
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications
Hachette Filipacchi

James Kennedy
Attorney
Kennedy Johnson Gallagher, LLC

Dan Laukitis, PH.D
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Adjunct Faculty, Teachers College
Columbia University

Phil Mussman
Director of Sales
Supersmile

Carrie Newman
President
Carrie Newman Special Events

Crystal Williams
Educational Consultant

Maria L. Yuan
Analyst
Credit Suisse

HONORARY BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Honorable Tom Duane
New York State Senator

Diane Eidman
Altria Group, Inc.

Frederica Gamble
Retired Human Resources Executive

Stephen A. Jacoby
Associate Publisher/Marketing
Esquire Magazine
Former Board Chairman

Kathryn Karipides
Professor Emerita of Humanities
Case Western Reserve University

Bill Lewis
Entrepreneur

Linda Rice
Advance Magazine Group

Frederika Rosinski

Pamela van Zandt
Executive Consultant
Estée Lauder Companies
Founding Chairman
Gina Gibney Dance, Inc.

Rita Zimmer