ELIZABETH DISHMAN

Elizabeth Dishman grew up in Colorado, studied voice performance and dance at Emory University, and earned an MFA in choreography from The Ohio State University. She founded Dishman + Co. in Atlanta in 2001, re-rooting the company in NYC in 2005. Here she has deepened her choreographic voice while raising two amazing men with her husband David, as well as pursuing a vibrant houseplant and coffee drinking practice.

Elizabeth began working collaboratively in 2009, evolving a communal process of “body listening” that further opened and energized her artistry. She is grateful for mentorship from luminaries Susan Marshall, Doug Varone, and Jennifer Nugent. She is amazed at the dancing voices who have joined her over the years.

Described by critics as “bodies in rigorous concentration”, and “playful and provocative…raw humanity seeps in”, the company’s collaborative work has been presented at theaters and universities across the U. S., including Dixon Place, Center for Performance Research, Gibney Dance Center, BRIC Studio, 100 Grand, the Off-Broadway Marjorie S. Deane Little Theater, Triskelion Arts, 7Stages Theatre, Emory University, Auburn University, Belhaven University, and other gracious venues.

LARISSA ASEBEDO

Larissa Asebedo grew up in Colorado before graduating with honors from the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase. While staying rooted in her heritage, she dances and teaches professionally in NYC where she has performed works by Stephen Petronio, Trisha Brown, Kyle Abraham, Merce Cunningham, Karole Armitage, Suzzanne Ponomarenko and more. All along, she has been devoted to the body as both instrument and guide with her dancing described as “tantalizing” (The Dance Enthusiast) and “angelic” (Dance Cleveland). When not performing, Larissa values time in the studio teaching kids and teens, often setting her own choreographic works. She joined Dishman + Co. in 2022 and is honored to be a part of Belly.

SHAWN BRUSH

Shawn Brush is a NY-based dancer and choreographer. He is a company member with DanceTactics Performance Group and Falcon Dance, and currently works with Amber Sloan and Dishman + Co. Shawn has performed with The Dance Exchange, Meagan Woods Company, Maya Orchin, Laura Peterson Choreography, Stefanie Nelson, The New Collectives, and Artichoke Dance Company. His own work, in collaboration with his partner Molly McGrath as Brush/McGrath(works), has been presented at Arts on Site, Art House Productions, Judson Church, Dixon Place, Triskelion Arts, Green Space, and a good friend’s wedding.  Shawn has taught at various universities and schools including The Dance Exchange and Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a BFA in Dance in 2015.

TONY GONZALES

Tony Gonzales is a movement coach and performer originally from the Sonoran Desert, now living in Brooklyn. He is interested in revolution, abolition, and communion through shared creative work. His main profession is that of a movement coach, where he empowers others to discover their inherent right to strength and ease in their body. Tony values the process of artistic creation as reflexive research that contributes to our broader humanity. He is thankful to be here.

MARY LYN GRAVES

Mary Lyn Graves is a dancer, teacher, and sixth generation Oklahoman from Tulsa, OK. Her recent performance credits include Lucinda Childs Dance Company, Mark Morris Dance Group, Megan Williams Dance Projects, and Dishman + Co., as well as works by Robert Burke, Hélène Simoneau, Thryn Saxon, and Joanna Kotze. From 2012-2018, Mary Lyn was a member of Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company in Salt Lake City, UT. While with Ririe-Woodbury, Mary Lyn originated roles in over 25 new works and toured across the United States, France, Mongolia, and South Korea. As a teacher, Mary Lyn specializes in mov is currently a faculty member of Ballet Tech, New York City’s public school for dance, and Sarah Lawrence College.

NADIA HALIM

Nadia Halim is a dancer, writer, and marketing specialist. Raised in Houston, TX, she attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Nadia graduated with honors from Barnard College with a dual B.A. in sociology and dance. There, she performed works by Shannon Gillen, Zachary Tang, Yin Yue, Sasha Waltz, Jennifer Archibald, David Dorfman, among others. She has danced and guested with companies such as Colleen Thomas Dance, cullen + them, Parijata Performance, and DJM Collective.

JULIE SEAL

Julie Seal is a dance artist living in New York. She grew up on Long Island and obtained a degree in dance from Hofstra University. From 2015-2020 Julie performed in Third Rail Projects’ long running immersive shows, ‘The Grand Paradise’ and Bessie Award-winning ‘Then She Fell,’ where she worked as Rehearsal Director. Julie is currently in her 10th year of collaboration with Dishman + Co. She also works as a movement director for theater and media.

OKORIE JOHNSON

Okorie Johnson is an Atlanta-based cellist-composer exploring the intersection of African Diasporic melodies and perceptions/assumptions about the classical and European nature of the cello. His idiosyncratic cello voicings, harvested sound, and community interviews collide classical with jazz, EDM, reggae, and funk in experimental sonic worlds. He has opened/performed/recorded for Grammy award-winning artists India.Arie, De La Soul, Big Boi of OutKast, Van Hunt, and Maxwell, and has performed his own work at SXSW, the Atlanta Jazz Festival, Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, and Cuba’s classical music festival Habana Classica. In 2021, Okorie was selected for the Kennedy Center's artist residence program, the Democratic Republic of the Congo Biennale, and Emory University’s Arts and Social Justice fellowship program. He scored the documentary "Imperfect Alibi" which won a regional Emmy, and Atlanta Magazine and InStyle named him as part of “Atlanta’s Rising Creative Class” and the "Creative Class Making Atlanta the New Epicenter of American Arts."

ADRIAN ONG

Hailed for his “palpable musical instinct and intelligence” (Catanduanes Tribune), Adrian Nicolas Ong had his orchestral debut at the age of 17 with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra. Adrian has performed and given recitals at the Cultural Center of the Philippines, the National Arts Center (Laguna), Maybank Performing Arts Center, and Areté Ateneo. He has held concertmaster and principal positions in the Interlochen Arts Academy Orchestra and the Curtis Summerfest Orchestra. He is part of the young artists roster of the FilAm Music Foundation and has been a Friends for Cultural Concerns of the Philippines (FCCP) scholar since 2019. In 2019, he performed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Gerard Salonga. In July of 2022, he was invited by the French Embassy to perform with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Michael Cousteau. He will have his Carnegie Hall debut in the fall of 2022.

LEAH IVES

Leah Ives is a member of the Trisha Brown Dance Company. Since joining in 2014, Ives has performed a total of 20 pieces of repertory in more than 15 countries. She worked with filmmaker Thierry De Mey on his installation Solid Traces, which transformed Brown’s Set and Reset into a solid sculpture. Other work has included the character-driven explorations of Sarah A.O. Rosner’s Barrishand Etle and the Anders; she also appears in the film Frances Ha, choreographed by The Median Movement. Ives has worked with Elizabeth Dishman, Megan Chu, The Leopold Group, and Peter Sparling Dance Company. Between 2008 and 2016, she helped lead several creative workshops with Avodah Dance for incarcerated women. Most recently, Ives worked with Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and director Ivo van Hove on their development lab of West Side Story. She is currently guest choreographer at Manhattanville College.

JULIA JURGILEWICZ

Julia Jurgilewicz is a native of Massachusetts where she trained at the Gold School. She earned a BFA in Dance from Tisch School of the Arts, NYU and has since performed in NYC, nationally, and abroad. She has worked with Third Rail Projects in the immersive theater productions Then She Fell and The Grand Paradise. She performed in Cendrillon, Parsifal, Don Giovanni, and Aida at The Metropolitan Opera as well as in works by Dishman and Co., Mark Dendy, Johannes Wieland, Jillian Peña, and LEVYdance, to name a few. Julia has had the pleasure of working as a company member with Liz Gerring Dance Co., Erica Essner Performance Co-op, and Suzanne Beahrs Dance. Julia currently dances with Third Rail Projects and is a personal fitness trainer.

MYSSI ROBINSON

Myssi is a multi-disciplinary artist from Richmond, VA. Home is currently Jersey City and the movement worlds of David Dorfman Dance, Kyle Marshall Choreography, and the ColemanCollective. Since graduating from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University with a BFA in Dance, Myssi has developed a process and materials based practice of drawing, design, and simple construction. Her work has been presented by Mana Contemporary, the Jersey City Theater Center, the Gallery at Nimbus Dance Works, and Le Poussin Rouge. She experimented with set design for Davalois Fearon Dance's For C.J. with support from BAAD! and the Bronx Museum of the Arts. Smush Gallery will present her next solo show in March 2020. In all of Myssi's working, empathy is queen.

JOSHUA REAVER

A graduate of Florida State University with a BFA in Dance, Joshua Dutton-Reaver has been collaborating with Third Rail Projects since 2013 on a multitude of immersive and site-specific works including Ghost Light (LCT3) and long-running hits Then She Fell and The Grand Paradise. During this time, Joshua has also traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia to assist in the creation of As Time Goes By. In his spare time, along with working administratively for Third Rail Projects, Joshua freelances as a technologist collaborating in various technological mediums including video editing, graphic design, and web design.

MEI YAMANAKA

Mei Yamanaka is a dancer and choreographer from Japan. Mei moved to New York in 2008 and has worked and collaborated with artists including Catherine Galasso, Tiffany Mills, Mark Dendy, Jennifer Archibald, Christine Bonansea, Jody Oberfelder, Boy Friday, and Orange Grove Dance, among others. Mei's work has been seen at Fresh Tracks at New York Live Arts, Movement Research at Judson Church, Mix Festival at HERE, Food for Thought at Danspace, and more. Mei was a "Fresh Tracks" residency artist at Dance Theater Workshop (now New York Live Arts) in 2010 - 2011. Mei was also a Chez Bushwick Artist In Residence in 2014. www.meiyamanaka.com