ARTISTIC TEAM
PHOTO BY SHAREN BRADFORD
JOY BOLLINGER I ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Joy Bollinger is a distinguished choreographer, teacher, and répétiteur and has led Bruce Wood Dance since 2018. Bollinger is a veteran performer of the nationally acclaimed Fort Worth–based Bruce Wood Dance Company from 2002 to 2007 and a founding member of Bruce Wood Dance in 2010. She has performed in more than 50 of Wood’s ballets. Hailed as the “poet of dance” by Margaret Putnam, Bollinger has created critically acclaimed works: Carved In Stone (2016), Hillside (2017), In My Your Head (2019), Blue (2021), Slip Zone (Commissioned by the Dallas Museum of Art, 2022), and Chopin in A Minor (Commissioned by TITAS, 2022). Carved In Stone was called the “single best dance in 2016 . . . deeply emotional and striking in its stillness” by Mark Lowry of The Fort Worth Star–Telegram and “a dance for the ages” by Margaret Putnam of TheaterJones.com. “Hillside goes for broke, swirling with the same kind of physical and emotional power that marked her stunning debut as a professional dance maker,” acclaimed Manny Mendoza of The Dallas Morning News. Bollinger is listed by D Magazine as “Women Who Make Dallas Great,” citing her choreography as “highly cerebral and intuitive.” Presented on KERA’s Frame of Mind TV series, her work expanded to film, collaborating with Broadway composer Joseph Thalken to create Life Interrupted (2020) and Blue (2021) in collaboration with Redirecting Dance and the Movement 4 Movement series. In addition, Bollinger has been commissioned by the Dallas Black Dance Theater (2018), Texas Christian University (2017, 2022), Southern Methodist University (2022) and Bucknell University (2022). D Magazine has referred to her as “one of the most evocative and lyrical choreographers on our scene.” Photo by Kent Barker.
MATT RIVERA I REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Matt Rivera has spent the better part of the past 30 years dancing and performing on stages throughout the country and around the world, and off stage as a teacher, coach, and choreographer. He began his career on the concert stage performing with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago under the direction of founding director Lou Conte, and then in New York City with the companies of Eliot Feld and Twyla Tharp, as well as The American Dance Machine for the 21st Century. On the theater stage, Rivera worked with several Broadway touring companies, including Movin’ Out, Swing! (assistant dance captain), and CATS; off–Broadway in Garden of Earthly Delights (dance captain) and Lynne Alvarez’s Romola & Nijinsky; and most recently with the Las Vegas production of MAMMA MIA! where he also acted as dance captain. His Las Vegas credits also include Cirque Du Soleil’s Viva Elvis and acting as company instructor for NBT. Rivera is currently on faculty at several schools in the Dallas area. Photo by Jason Watson.
KIMI NIKAIDOH I ARTISTIC ADVISOR
Kimi Nikaidoh, a Dallas native, received her training from Canada’s National Ballet School, the School of American Ballet, American Ballet Theater, and Tanju and Patricia Tuzer. She spent the first five years of her performing career as a member of the Fort Worth–based Bruce Wood Dance Company. Nikaidoh joined Complexions Contemporary Ballet in 2005, touring nationally and internationally with the company through 2008. While earning a degree in neuroscience and behavior from Columbia University, Nikaidoh freelanced as a performer, stager, and choreographer in New York City. She restaged works for Bruce Wood, Dwight Rhoden, and Emery LeCrone at Charlotte Ballet, Boston Ballet II, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, The Juilliard School, Marymount Manhattan College, Point Park University, and Columbia University. Her choreographic works have been performed by Complexions Contemporary Ballet (The Joyce Theater); Bruce Wood Dance (Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out Performance Series, St. Marks Church, Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, Moody Performance Hall); Avant Chamber Ballet (MPH); Columbia Ballet Collaborative (Miller Theater); and Firebone Theater (Kirk Theatre). Following Wood’s untimely passing in 2014, Nikaidoh served Bruce Wood Dance as artistic director. She expanded the company’s repertoire with new commissions while working to increase national exposure of Bruce Wood’s legacy. She conducted the company’s first formal outreach program, initiated its popular CRAFT series, and facilitated numerous artistic collaborations with artists across the state and country. In August 2018, she moved to Los Angeles with her husband. Photo by Brian Guilliaux.
LARRY LANE I ASSOCIATE PRODUCER
Larry Lane first worked with Bruce Wood Dance Project in 2012 when Bruce Wood selected him to perform in his masterpiece, My Brother’s Keeper. In 2013, he and Wood collaborated on the production of Mistletoe Magic—a Christmas cabaret at the legendary Venetian Room with Broadway stars Jason Graae and Elizabeth Stanley. After Wood’s passing, Lane produced Mistletoe Magic in 2015 and 2016 with Broadway stars Liz Callaway and Hugh Panaro. He also was an associate producer for June 2017’s Chasing Home, which focused on the plight of refugees around the world. Earlier this year, Lane produced the Valentine cabaret and fundraiser––Love, Bruce, starring Brent Barrett and Joseph Thalken. Lane initiated and produced a Texas Weekend Getaway with Bruce Wood Dance to Big Spring, Texas in March. The weekend festivities offered Dallas patrons an opportunity to travel with the company and enjoy the rich cultural history of West Texas. Lane brings considerable training and experience in the theater to Bruce Wood Dance. For more than 17 years he has produced cabaret shows at destination resorts across the country. He has worked with Hollywood legends Lily Tomlin, Debbie Reynolds, Phyllis Diller, Marge Champion, and JoAnn Worley, as well as Broadway legends Tommy Tune, Faith Prince, Donna McKechnie, and Rebecca Luker. Previously, Lane worked in New York as a performer, touring in Broadway’s A Chorus Line, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Evita, and Fiddler on the Roof, to name a few. Lane is a graduate of the Professional Acting Program at Southern Methodist University. He has a passion for practicing and teaching Iyengar yoga. Photo by Brian Guilliaux.
TONY TUCCI I LIGHTING DESIGNER
Tony Tucci, a pre-eminent lighting designer, has been creating and recreating lighting for Bruce Wood Dance Project since the company’s inception in 2011. The Austin–based Tucci currently is resident lighting designer for Ballet Austin’s repertory; Long Center Opening; Metropolitan Classical Ballet; Washington Ballet; Houston Dance Salad; Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre; University of Texas at Austin Opera’s Turn of the Screw, Don Giovanni, La Curandera, Bastien und Bastienne, and Albert Herring. Additionally, Austin Musical Theatre keeps Tucci hopping with lighting design for Damn Yankees; Carousel; West Side Story; Annie; Gypsy; Jesus Christ Superstar; Music Man; Oklahoma; A Chorus Line; Carousel; and Sound of Music. Tucci is the recipient of two B. Iden Payne Awards and Critics Table Awards. His extensive design résumé also includes American Ballet Theater’s Configurations with Mikhail Baryshnikov and the video, Baryshnikov, Dancer and The Dance. Photo by Amitava Sarkar.
ERIN FLEMING I LIGHTING DESIGNER
Erin Earle Fleming is a New York City–based lighting designer whose art illuminates the human experience through inclusive storytelling. Her work encompasses opera, dance, and theater across the U.S. She has worked internationally, as well as in regional, Off–Broadway, and Broadway theaters. Fleming has designed lights for Yale Repertory Theatre, Yale Cabaret, Columbia University, Texas Ballet Theatre, Ballet Austin, PRISMA International Dance Festival, Mariinsky Theatre, Northern Lights Music Festival, Butler Opera Center, and Hong Kong Lyric Theatre, among others. A native Texan, she holds a BA from St. Edward’s University and an MFA from Yale School of Drama. She teaches at Mississippi State University. Photo by Ao Li.
JOHN AHRENS I COSTUME DESIGNER
John Ahrens began his career as a costume designer in New York City working with New York City Ballet and The Juilliard School. Among the many modern dance companies he has designed for are Martha Graham; Paul Taylor; Alvin Ailey; Merce Cunningham; and José Limón. In Texas, Ahrens has designed for the Dallas Ballet; Fort Worth Ballet; Ballet Austin; and Dancers Unlimited. He is pleased to work with the company dancers. Photo by Brian Guilliaux.