Artists

“Hummel creates an affecting world. The results are enormously sophisticated. The choreography quivers with subtle emotions like the writing of Virginia Woolf.”

-Tobi Tobias, The Village Voice

Shannon Hummel (Choreographer/Artistic Director) is a choreographer, arts educator and the Artistic Director of Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance & Cora School for Dance. Beyond pursuit of her individual artistic vision, Hummel is driven to create access to the arts for all people, believing that everyone should have access to high-quality arts experiences through performance and education. Hence, her professional work both as choreographer and educator, has been experienced as much in elementary school gymnasiums and public parks as on the formal stages of major theaters and university dance programs across the country.

Hummel has received numerous honors throughout her career. Most recently, she was nominated to the Brooklyn Community Foundation as a “Brooklyn Do Gooder” for her establishment of Cora School for Dance in Red Hook. Hummel has received significant residencies from BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange’s Artist-in-Residence Program; Vermont Performance Lab’s Artist-in-Residence program in Vermont (with support from Marlboro College), among many other space grants. Hummel’s work has received support from the Brooklyn Community Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Department of Cultural Affairs, Copper-Beech Foundation, Michael & Cornelia Bessie Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Royal Trust, Arts Council of the Valley, Brooklyn Arts Council, among others. She currently curates, speaks, and sits on many guest panels at numerous venues throughout the country. She is wife to actor Greg McFadden and mother to a lively and lovely boy named Henry.

Kelly Bartnik (Dancer) is a graduate of James Madison University where she earned her BA in Dance and BBA in Computer Information Systems. Since moving to New York, she has performed with the Wright Now! Performance XPerience, Melissa Briggs Dance, Shannon Hummel / Cora Dance and Carl Hancock Rux. Her own choreography has been presented at Dixon Place, Williamsburg Arts Nexus, the Publick Playhouse in Maryland, James Madison University, Brooklyn Arts Exchange/BAX, Joyce Soho, BRIC Studio, Dance Theater Workshop and Arena Stage in Washington DC. Kelly is a founding member of Forum, Inc., a multidisciplinary arts organization based in Washington D.C., as well as a video production company, Gk1 Productions. She is currently the co-director of BAXco, the teen repertory company in residence at the Brooklyn Arts Exchange.

Sarah Burke (Dancer/Teacher) received her BA in Dance as well as a minor in French and a Pre-Concentration in Physical Therapy from James Madison University in May of 2010. She student co-directed the ensemble for new dance majors, which included teaching and choreographing. During this time, Sarah also held residencies with St. Catherine's School and zMullins Dance Collective in Richmond, Virginia. Upon graduation, she received the Choreography Award. In August of 2010, Sarah moved to New York from her home in Richmond.

Xan Burley (Teacher/Dancer) a native Ohioan, graduated in August of 2007 from the University of Michigan with a BDA in Dance and a BA in English. Since her move to New York as an independent artist she has had the great pleasure of working with Daniel Charon, Sarah Council Dance Projects, DOORKNOB Company, Shannon Gillen, Meg Hebert Dance and is soon to be joining a project with Pocket Engine. Xan also co-produces alexanDance with Alex Springer, through which they have shown work at WAXworks, Solar One, Dixon Place, and Williamsburg FreeFest. They also create video shorts for youtube in their spare time.

Galois Cohen (Dancer/Performers' Liaison) was born in New York and attended LaGuardia High School. After graduating from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst she danced with the New York Dance Collective, Leap of Faith, Room Eleven Dancers and Rosa Mei Dance. She has been with Cora Dance since 2000.

Katie Dean (Education Manager/Dancer) Katie Dean is a dancer and choreographer originally from Virginia, where she graduated with a BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has performed the work of Courtney Cooke, Shannon Hummel, Rob Petres of Ground Zero Dance Company, Scott Putman of Amaranth Dance Company, Shane O’Hara, Heidi Weiss, Erin Dalton, Brinson Leigh Kresge, and Monica Bill-Barnes, among others. Her own choreography has been shown at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center’s Choreographer Showcase (MD), Grace Street Theatre (VA), Brooklyn Arts Exchange’s Upstart Festival (NY), Dixon Place (NY), Gallery 5 (VA), Wow Café (NY), Our Space (NY), Joy of Motion (DC), and Triskelion Arts (NY). Katie Dean is currently a member of the Cultural Reflex Project headed by VCU alum Megan Harrold.

Sarah Folland (Teacher) Originally from Massachusetts, where she began her dance training in classical and neo-classical ballet. At 15 she moved to New York to study at the School of American Ballet. Upon high school graduation, she joined the Miami City Ballet, performing the works of George Balanchine, Jimmy Gamonet, Edward Villella, and Paul Taylor. After leaving the company, she studied modern dance, primarily with Jennifer Muller and members of her company, performing the works of Young Soon Kim, Leda Meredith, and Rebecca Ashley.

After "retiring" from the professional dance world, Sarah earned a B.A. in psychology from the Columbia University, and a M.S. in Occupational Therapy from NYU. She studied and performed Afro-Brazilian dance/samba with Quenia Riberio, and Haitian dance with Carolyn Webb and Julio Jean. She fell in love with Middle Eastern dance (belly dance), studying extensively with Dorit, Ranya Renee, Dalia Carella, Yousry Sharif and Nourhan Sharif. She was a professional belly dancer for a number of years, performing at parties, restaurants, clubs, and hookah bars. When the late nights of a belly dancer began to conflict with motherhood and her full time job as a pediatric occupational therapist, Sarah happily stumbled upon the Zumba dance fitness world. She is very enthusiastic about Zumba, and her high energy classes reflect this passion.

Calia Marshall (Dancer) has been dancing, choreographing, and teaching in NYC since 2000, after receiving her B.A. in Dance from Mount Holyoke College. She has self-produced three evenings of work and, with Helen Tocci, was rewarded a Space Grant at BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange in 2008/09. Her work has been presented at various venues throughout NYC including Dance Theater Workshop, Joyce Soho, BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, WOW Café Theater, Judson Church, BRIC Studio, and Galapagos Arts. Calia has been a member of Magbana Drum & Dance, Movement for the Urban Village Dance Company, Company Amy Cox and Maura Nyugen Donahue/In Mixed Company and is currently an apprentice with LAVA, an acrobatic dance troupe based in Brooklyn. She is also a yoga instructor and Reiki practitioner. Calia has been with Cora Dance since 2008.

Luisa Martinez (Dance Education Intern) is from Baltimore, MD, graduated from Ohio University in 2010 with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography. During her education she trained with Reuben Graciani, Travis Gatling, Adriana Durant, Marina Walchli and Mickie Geller. Her choreography has been performed at Ohio University concerts and the American College Dance Festival. She has recently started to work with Checkit!Dance Company and is continuing her exploration of dance education as an intern at Cora Dance Studio.

Jennifer Schmermund (Dancer/Teacher) holds an MFA in dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has been on the dance faculty at Marymount School of New York and Bucknell University where she has been both a commissioned guest artist and an adjunct professor. In addition to creating work as director of Fresh Blood Dance, she performs with Kimberly Young and the Extra-Sensory Pedestrians. Trained as a yoga teacher through Om Yoga and J. Brown at Abhyasa Yoga Center, she hopes to share more of her teaching.

Cynthia Thompson (Guest Performer) has enjoyed a career as a dancer, choreographer and educator that spans twenty-five years during which time she has been a major force in the development of the successful BA program in dance at James Madison University. Her long-time partnership with Kate Trammell in the duet company Thompson & trammel has shaped her professional career. The company has toured nationally and internationally to critical acclaim and has been awarded numerous grants and honors.

History

Cora Inc. - which includes the professional company Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance and the educational arm of that company Cora School for Dance - strives to bring the work of choreographer and arts educator Shannon Hummel to the widest possible audience, with particular focus on communities who lack performing arts experiences due to limited financial resources or other isolating factors. Cora believes that creating a culture of trust and respect between diverse people allows all those involved in a creative endeavor - artists, students, audiences and community members - to learn from one another openly, take risks together and connect more deeply.

Cora began in 1997 as the professional dance company Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance. Following Hummel's interests in creating access to dance for all people, the work of the company has been experienced as much in elementary school gymnasiums and public parks as on the formal stages of major theaters and university dance programs across the country. In 2001, Hummel incorporated the company which was quickly rising in its activity and critical acclaim. Since incorporation, Hummel's work has been commissioned and presented across the nation by such institutions as Dance Theater Workshop/NY State Dance Force (NYC), Dixon Place/Mondo Cane! Commissioning Program (NYC), University of Maryland/College Park (MD), Marlboro College (VT), Vermont Performance Lab (VT), Rhode Island College (RI), Queensborough College (NY), James Madison University (VA), among many others. The company has been presented in New York City by over 30 venues including the 92nd Street Y, BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange, The Brooklyn Museum of Art, BRICstudio, Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project, Dixon Place, The Flea, La MaMa, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, HERE Arts Center, New Dance Alliance, Joyce SoHo, among many others.

Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance has been widely acclaimed by critics across the country. The work has been called "finely wrought, poignant and sophisticated," "remarkably assured and perceptive,” and "as vivid and true as a Eudora Welty story" (The New York Times); “quiver(ing) with subtle emotions like the writing of Virginia Woolf” (The Village Voice) among much more critical praise from publications across the country.

As the company began to garner a solid reputation in the established world of professional contemporary dance, they were simultaneously bringing professional performance to underserved and at-risk communities across the country. In 2002, Hummel and Cora developed "The Crossroads Project” providing free public workshops linked to live performances to isolated communities with little or no exposure to dance. Since the inception of the project, Cora has worked with over 2000 "non-dancers," in isolated urban and rural communities in KY, NJ, OK, VA, WV, VT and NY. While touring, the company has taught and lectured at such notable institutions as American Dance Festival (NY), American College Dance Festival/(Mid-Atlantic Region), Dance Theater Workshop (NY), Rutgers University (NJ), The College of William & Mary (VA), Marlboro College (VT), Henrico Center for the Performing Arts (VA), among many others.

In 2009, with an eye toward merging their interests in professional performing arts with education and community engagement, Hummel and the staff, board and artists of Cora established The Cora Studio, in Red Hook, Brooklyn. The Cora Studio serves as home to the professional company, Shannon Hummel/Cora Dance and the company’s education initiative, Cora School for Dance which offers dance training to youth and adults in the neighborhood regardless of their ability to pay. To date, the school has served over 400 students through their studio and in-school programs. Returning to performing in the 2011-2012 season after a two year hiatus to establish The Cora Studio, the professional company will present multiple community performances in Red Hook this year as well as touring in NY, VA and WV.

Throughout its history, Cora has received numerous honors. Most recently, Cora's Artistic Director was nominated to the Brooklyn Community Foundation as a “Brooklyn Do Gooder” for establishment of Cora School for Dance in Red Hook. The company has received significant residencies from BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange’s Artist-in-Residence Program; Vermont Performance Lab’s Artist-in-Residence program in Vermont (with support from Marlboro College), among many other space grants. The company has received significant support from the Brooklyn Community Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Copper-Beech Foundation, Michael & Cornelia Bessie Foundation, New York State Council on the Arts, Royal Trust, The Robertson Foundation, The Arts Council of the Valley and The Brooklyn Arts Council.