The Team

From sanitation workers to firefighters, Venetian gondoliers to professional baseball players, power linemen to forestry technicians, Allison Orr creates award-winning choreography with unlikely performers. Inspired by the beauty and virtuosity in the practiced, habitual movement of labor, Allison’s dances feature the often-overlooked choreography of work that sustains our everyday lives. Building on her background in anthropology and social work, over the past 20 years Allison has honed a methodology of ethnographic choreography that engages community members as co-authors and performers in the creation of large-scale civic spectacles. Challenging audiences to expand notions of dance and performer, her dances have been performed for audiences of 60 to 6,000+.

Recently named a 2018 Doris Duke United States Artist Fellow, Allison was named Best Choreographer of 2016 and 2017 by The Austin Chronicle, Most Outstanding Choreographer of 2003, 2008 and 2013 by the Austin Critics Table, one of Tribeza Magazine’s Top 10 Austinites, and one of eight “Extraordinary Texans” by Texas Highways Magazine. Her large-scale work The Trash Project was named a #1 Arts Event by the Austin American-Statesman, #1 Dance Event by The Austin Chronicle, Most Outstanding Dance Concert by the Austin Critics Table. It is also the subject of a feature-length documentary film entitled Trash Dance.

Allison has been commissioned three times by the Fusebox Festival and was the single US choreographer selected by the Kyoto Arts Center as part of the National Performance Network’s Asian Exchange program in 2015. A guest artist for numerous dance programs including Williams College, Wake Forest University, the University of Maryland, and Texas A&M, Allison was a Melon Foundation Creative Campus Scholar at the Center for the Arts of Wesleyan University in 2014/15. Allison gives frequent lectures and talks, and was the keynote speaker at the 2015 Texas Commission on the Arts statewide conference. Her work has been funded by the City of Austin, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, the MAP Fund, The New England Foundation for the Arts, Engaging Dance Audiences/Dance USA, numerous foundations, and the City of Venice, Italy.

Currently a Distinguished Fellow of the College of Environment at Wesleyan University, Allison directed 2016’s The Artist in the City — a hands on course in her community-based dance-making practice where Wesleyan students embedded within the local water/wastewater department to create collaborative artistic projects with city employees. Allison has also taught children, adults over 65, and people with disabilities. Before founding Forklift Danceworks, Allison danced and studied with Deborah Hay and MacArthur Award winner Liz Lerman. Allison is a native Texan and holds an MFA in Choreography and Performance from Mills College and a BA in Anthropology from Wake Forest University.

You can reach Allison at allison@forkliftdanceworks.org or follow her on Twitter.

Working in the mediums of dialogue, participation, and collaboration, Krissie Marty makes dances with people who aren’t traditionally considered dancers.  As Associate Artistic Director of Forklift Danceworks, she most often engages city employees in dance-making. She created and directed RE Source, featuring the employees and machinery of a Goodwill recycling warehouse, and co-directed with Allison Orr Served, a dance for Williams College Dining Services staff; The Trash Project Rotterdam as a commission for the International Community Arts Festival, PowerUP featuring employees of Austin’s electrical utility; Play Ball Downs Field on a historic Negro League baseball field; Afoot! a marching band extravaganza in Houston’s East End; The Trees of Govalle featuring employees of Austin’s Urban Forestry Program and Govalle neighborhood residents as well as conceiving of and co-directing the multi-year project My Park, My Pool, My City, including Bartholomew Swims in summer 2017 and Dove Springs Swims / Nadamos Dove Springs in summer 2018.

Krissie’s community-based choreography has been made in partnership with Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Kennedy Center, Stratford Circus (London), Chateau de Cazals (France), and Adugna Dance Company (Ethiopia). Krissie worked as a faculty member and choreographer with the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange for over a decade. She choreographed movement for theatre with Big Art Group (NYC and international tours), Washington Shakespeare Company, and Imagination Stage (DC). Krissie has worked with countless artists, teachers, and students at Jacob’s Pillow Curriculum in Motion, Wolf Trap Institute for Early Learning Through the Arts, the Pediatric Unit at Georgetown Medical Center, and in home health/hospice care centers.

You can reach Krissie at krissie@forkliftdanceworks.org or follow her on Twitter or Instagram.

Jenna has lived in Austin for thirteen years and is an arts advocate who strives to create and work with organizations that force people out of their comfort zones. Jenna has a passion for projects that provide communities with accessible and affordable learning opportunities in unique environments. She received her B.A. in English Writing and Rhetoric, with a Creative Writing emphasis, from St. Edward’s University in 2009 and has remained in Austin since to pursue a career in arts non-profit administration.

Previously, Jenna has worked in development and as an event producer for visual arts non-profit Big Medium; in development at local Montessori-to-IB private school The Khabele School (now Headwaters); in programming and development at free creative writing cohort Austin Bat Cave; and in event production for You’re Here!, a series of interactive and music showcases.

Jenna is also the founder of Attendance Records, a local non-profit organization that provides a platform for public school students to explore their identities through music, art, and writing. Through Attendance Records, Jenna has helped create six collaborative albums with several local bands and middle / high school students.

Jenna currently serves on CapMetro’s ArtMetro committee and continues to work on creative programming and events around town.

You can reach Jenna at jenna@forkliftdanceworks.org.

Jake Stepansky is a theatre-maker and arts advocate with a passion for making work that sands down boundaries between creator and audience. Jake graduated from Harvard University with a degree in psychology and theater, dance & media, as well as the Radcliffe Doris Cohen Levi Prize for outstanding achievement in musical theater. Jake has worked as a production assistant and educator at the award-winning American Repertory Theater (ART) in Cambridge, MA, including work on the NYC-bound productions of Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812 and Nice Fish, and as a director at the ART’s second stage, Club OBERON. He has served as a student producer for Harvard’s annual ARTS FIRST festival, a development assistant at the Gate Theatre in London, and a freelance writer for Inside Arts magazine. In Austin, he has worked as a stage manager with paper chairs and Salvage Vanguard Theater.

You can reach Jake at jake@forkliftdanceworks.org or follow him on Instagram.

Gretchen LaMotte works in the realms of art making, live performance, community action, and healing. She received a BA in Science in Society from Wesleyan University with concentrations in Psychology and Feminist, Gender, & Sexuality Studies and a Certificate in Environmental Studies. At Wesleyan’s Center for the Arts, Gretchen worked for the Creative Campus Initiative, Zilkha Gallery, and the Institute for Curatorial Practice in Performance. With Forklift, she has collaborated on The Artist in the City (2016), Bartholomew Swims (2017), Served – Williams College (2018) and Dove Springs Swims/Nadamos Dove Springs (2018).

You can reach Gretchen at gretchen@forkliftdanceworks.org.

Clara Pinsky is a choreographer and arts administrator based in San Francisco, California. She received her B.A. in Dance from Wesleyan University, where her senior thesis, “Evaluating Community-Based Performance as a Strategy for Community Development” emerged from her work on program evaluation for Forklift Danceworks. Clara also directed BUILD, a dance featuring Wesleyan’s Physical Plant employees, using the engagement model developed by Forklift Danceworks. She has been working for Forklift since 2015, first as a student fellow and rehearsal assistant for The Trees of Govalle, then as research assistant, and now as Administrative Coordinator.

Clara also serves as Program Manager for Skywatchers, a community-engaged arts program of ABD Productions, based in San Francisco. In her free time, she spends time cooking, reading, listening to podcasts, learning about community organizing, and fretting about the state of the art world.

You can reach Clara at clara@forkliftdanceworks.org.

Miriam Conner is a curator, artist manager, creative space maker and event producer. She has been in Austin for 25 years by way of New Orleans, Louisiana. After graduating from St. Stephens Episcopal High School, she received a Bachelors of Fine Art in Photography from the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles.

After college, Miriam came home to Austin and began managing the Pine Street Station (an Artist warehouse and gallery) for two years, and has since planned countless art shows, in addition to co-founding Topology Art Warehouse. She has also worked with SXSW, Art Outside, Six Square – Austin’s Black Cultural District, the City of Austin, and more.

“At the age of fifteen, I discovered what I want to do for the rest of my life. I know not many people are sure about what they want to do by the age of twenty-seven much less by the age of fifteen, but I am very grateful to have found that particular passion that wakes me up in the morning and tucks me in at night. My life liberty and pursuit of happiness lies within art.”

Hannah is a creative producer and arts advocate who has collaborated with artists and nonprofits in Austin and central Texas since 2006. From program development and fundraising to event design and communications, she has a passion for helping collectives find their voices and tell their stories with impact.

Previously, Hannah worked with Big Medium as the development director, with the Austin Humane Society as fundraising events manager, and with the Capital District of the United Methodist Church, the San Antonio Jewish Community Center, and in the art studio of Judy Paul. She received her BA in Art History with a minor in English from Texas State University, San Marcos (2009).

Hannah also currently serves as the Grants and Conferences Program Officer for the University of Texas Libraries and is a resident planner and contributing writer for Bridal Musings.

You can reach Hannah at hannah@forkliftdanceworks.org.

Andrew Lee Dolan is a multidisciplinary performance artist whose work has premiered in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Austin, New Orleans, and Ireland. He has served guest artist residencies with Fairfield University (CT) and Century College (MN), and has worked with Teatr Biuro Podrozy (Poland), 15HEAD: a theatre lab, Town Hall Theatre (Ireland), and many others. He has provided dozens of lectures and workshops on contemporary performance and devising techniques for universities and theater companies across the country. He graduated with an MA in Performance from the National University of Ireland, Galway, and holds an MFA in Directing and Public Dialogue from Virginia Tech. He has been working with Forklift Danceworks since 2010.

Rachel Nayer is a dancer, choreographer, yoga teacher, and environmentalist. She was born and raised in Austin into a family who celebrates the expressive nature of the body. Rachel completed her undergraduate degree in dance and environmental science this past year at Scripps College in Claremont, California. Recently, Rachel spent a year studying at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. She has also worked for the City of Austin Brownfields Office, contributing to the revitalization of contaminated properties. Rachel is passionate about using the body as a tool for communication in order to viscerally represent themes of disagreement and resolution. She searches to share art, emphasizing its power to support and stimulate personal, social, and environmental change. Movement is her tool for celebration, community building, and acknowledgment.

You can reach Rachel at rachel@forkliftdanceworks.org.

Raised in Austin, Texas, Sarafina Fabris-Green is in her third year at Wesleyan University studying urban studies. She began working for Forklift during the summer of 2017. Her work at urban community based organizations like Forklift piqued her interest into the impact of a city’s built environment on social inclusion among residents. At Wesleyan, her urban studies curriculum provides a theoretical and design framework to analyze city development. Last fall, Sarafina participated in SIT’s Cities in the 21st Century program, in which she observed governments across Buenos Aires, Barcelona, and Cape Town, alter their urban landscapes to establish more resilient, accessible, and citizen-oriented cities. Her urban design courses and work experiences show her the power of collaboration between residents, officials, and designers to create a more just city.

In Austin, Sarafina has worked with GO Collaborative, a creative placemaking firm owned by urban planner Lynn Osgood and architect Sarah Gamble. She worked on their Drawing Lines project that examined place and identity across Austin’s ten districts and also conducted preliminary research for a cultural engagement project in Calgary. In Sarafina’s first summer at Forklift, she served as a community engagement intern for the production Bartholomew Swims. Sarafina helped run rehearsals and conduct interviews with community members and coordinate their role in the production. In 2018, while still involved in the production process, Sarafina’s role shifted to the development side of Forklift operations.

You can reach Sarafina at sarafina@forkliftdanceworks.org.

Taylor Courtney is a senior, BFA Theatre Education major at The University of Texas at Austin obtaining an Arts Administration Minor, Business Minor, and Sports Media Certification. Upon graduation, Courtney plans to pursue a career in Theatre Management and Sports Reporting. Courtney wants to open a Performing Arts School dedicated to giving all students an opportunity to pursue a career in the arts.

You can reach Taylor at taylor@forkliftdanceworks.org.

Morgan Mikes is a senior at the University of Texas at Austin. In May 2019 she will be graduating with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance and a Minor in Business. In recent years Morgan has traveled with the UT dance department to American College Dance Association’s yearly convention. She has performed in works with Dance Repertory Theatre, Dance Action, and Cohen New Works Festival. In addition, Morgan was part of the collaboration ‘String Circle’ in 2016.

You can reach Morgan at morgan@forkliftdanceworks.org or follow her on Instagram.

Called “the quintessential modern composer” by the London Independent, Austin-based composer-bandleader-improvisor Graham Reynolds creates, performs, and records music for film, theater, dance, rock clubs and concert halls with collaborators ranging from Richard Linklater and Jack Black to DJ Spooky, the Rude Mechs and Forklift Danceworks.

Heard throughout the world in films, on TV, on stage, and on radio, from HBO to Showtime, Cannes Film Festival to the Kennedy Center, and BBC to NPR, he’s scored HBO’s “The Diplomat”, “Before Midnight” with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, “Bernie” featuring Jack Black, the Rooster Teeth TV series “Day 5”, and many more. His score to the Robert Downey, Jr. feature “A Scanner Darkly” was named Best Soundtrack of the Decade by Cinema Retro magazine.

With the jazz-based but far reaching Golden Arm Trio, Reynolds has repeatedly toured the country and released four critically acclaimed albums. As Co-Artistic Director of Golden Hornet Project, Reynolds has produced more than fifty concerts of world-premier alt-classical music by more than sixty composers, as well as countless pieces of his own. He is a company member with the internationally acclaimed Rude Mechs, resident composer with Salvage Vanguard Theater, and works regularly with Forklift Danceworks and Ballet Austin.

Reynolds last released two albums simultaneously: “The Difference Engine: A Triple Concerto” and “DUKE! Three Portraits of Ellington” on Innova Records with distribution by Naxos, the world’s biggest classical label. His awards include a Creative Capital Award, an Independent Music Award, Lowe Music Theater Award, eight Austin Critic’s Table awards, the John Bustin Award, an Amp Award, seven Austin Chronicle Best Composer wins, and a B. Iden Payne Award. His current work-in-progress is a multi-year three part commission from Ballroom Marfa titled “The Marfa Triptych”, a portrait of deep West Texas that Vogue Magazine described as “beautiful and raucous”. Find out more at grahamreynolds.com.

Stephen Pruitt has been working as a photographer, designer, writer, director and performer since getting his first camera in high school. After studying Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati, he switched directions by spending two years at Ensemble Theater of Cincinnati working under several well know directors and playwrights, including Lee Blessing, Edward Albee and Rebecca Miller. Shortly after, he began designing lighting and sets and became interested in dance, becoming the resident designer for Cincinnati’s Contemporary Dance Theater, where he worked with many nationally known Dance groups and choreographers including Parsons Dance, Urban Bush Women, Doug Varone, David Dorfman and many others.

Since moving to Austin in 1997, Stephen has worked as a freelance Lighting, Scenic, and Video designer, collaborating with many of Austin’s biggest and most creative theater and dance groups including Forklift Danceworks, Tapestry Dance Company, Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance (as resident production designer for all three), Trouble Puppet Theater (resident lighting designer), and Rude Mechs (company member) as well as Andrea Ariel Dance Theatre, Conspirare, Scottish Rite Theater, Salvage Vanguard Theater, Physical Plant Theater, and St Edwards University. His company, Fluxion Scenic and Light, has produced and designed many seminal Austin events, including Austin Film Society’s Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards, the Mayor’s party at City Hall for First Night, and opening night parties for Cirque du Soleil’s first two Austin Premieres. In addition to his work in Austin, Stephen tours and travels frequently and also produces performance work through Catastrophe Theory Arts.

Stephen has received many nominations and awards from Austin’s critics and arts community including each of his collaborations with Forklift, and is the only designer in Austin to be nominated for Critic’s Table and B. Iden Payne Awards in both the Scenic Design and Lighting Design categories, and his work is routinely recognized in the many end of year top ten lists. In the past couple years, Stephen has been spending more time on his photography work, with recent shows at Prizer Arts and Letters, and Link & Pin Gallery. All of his work in various media can be found at www.stephenpruitt.net

Nancy Bain has been a dance educator for 40 years, teaching in public and private schools, studios, community centers and universities. She was a licensed dance teacher for NY City Board of Education, teaching at LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts, as well as in elementary and middles schools. She taught at Queensborough Community College and The Brooklyn Arts Exchange, and was a teaching artist for 3 schools for students with special needs. In NY, Nancy performed with several modern dance companies and directed her own professional company, IdeaDance, for 13 years. In Austin, she coordinates the VSA & Forklift Danceworks “BODY SHIFT KIDS! Dance for Children with Special Needs”, and has been a teaching artist for VSA in K and PPCD classes. She also teaches at The Dance Gallery/Round Rock. In January 2013, she started the “Dancing with Parkinson’s” programs for people with Parkinson’s in Austin and Georgetown. Nancy holds a M.A. degree in Dance Education from New York University and was a Parent Support Specialist for Round Rock ISD from 2006-2011.

Alyson Dolan was recognized by The Austin Chronicle as a “key modern mover” for the “stamina, concentration, and big jar of real that she brings to the potluck.” As a dance artist and avid collaborator, she has presented her choreography at festivals, theaters, schools, parks, islands, and creeks throughout the country. Alyson was Resident Choreographer for Sarasota Contemporary Dance from 2012-2014 and continues to create work with the Florida-based company on a project basis, and regularly presents her work in Austin. She has received two Austin Critics Table awards (Outstanding Dancer 2014, Outstanding Duet 2015), as well as the Jerry MacLauchlin Best in Fest award (254 Dance-Fest). Dolan is on faculty at St. Edward’s University and Hamrick/Warren, a professional modern dance studio housed at Cafe Dance. She has also served on the dance faculty at Texas State University, St. Petersburg College, and Booker High School as well as fulfilled multiple teaching and choreographic residencies. Alyson admires the originality of Austin’s artists and feels honored when given the opportunity to add to the spread.

Yvonne Keyrouz, a choreographer and performer, received her B.A from the Texas Woman’s University Department of Dance. She is a Teaching Artist for Leaps & Bounds and served as Assistant Choreographer and Rehearsal Assistant for Forklift Danceworks’ most recent production, RE Source.

Yvonne has created and performed work for many Texas dance festivals such as Bailando, The Cohen New Works Festival, Big Range, and the American College Dance Festival. Yvonne has completed an internship with Deborah Hay, conducting research for the Solo Commissioning Project and has attended the American Dance Festival twice, once as a student and once in a work-study position. In the summer of 2014 Yvonne participated in the Summer Institute at Dance Exchange as a scholarship student and later attended the Facing Race Conference in Dallas with the Dance Exchange team. She received her certification as a Labor Support and Postpartum Doula from Doula Trainings International and is interested in exploring birth activism in her future choreographic projects. Her other interests include painting, ongoing pranks with her sister and three brothers, and watching Lilo and Stitch on a weekly basis.

Roman Christian Morgan is a Teaching Artist with Forklift Danceworks. He began his dance training at Austin Community College and soon earned his BFA in Dance from Texas State University where he was a member of Merge Dance and Opening Door Dance Company. Roman has also studied Music and Theatre with faculty and guest artists at both Tarleton State University and Baylor University on Scholarship. Roman is the recipient of the Joan Hays, Opening Door Dance Theatre, Austin Community College Fine Arts, and Galaxy Dance Studio Scholarships. He has performed with Sally Jacques’ Blue Lapis Light, Allison Orr Forklift Danceworks, Charles Anderson, Kate Warren and in works by Darla Johnson. Roman is in his fourth season with the award-winning Kathy Dunn Hamrick Dance Company as a full time artist. Roman is currently a Learning Assistant/Substitute Teacher for Austin Community College in the Office of Students with Disabilities and Fine Arts Program. Roman has been the resident co-choreographer for Austin Community College Summer Dance Informance Showcase since 2010 under the mentorship of Darla Johnson. Roman has taught and choreographed Dance for Bowie High School, American College Dance Festival, and privately working with novice dancers, musicians, and actors in the community. Roman is delighted to be with Forklift Danceworks as a Teaching Artist!

Francis Rodriguez is a performer and dance educator currently based in Austin, Texas. She is a graduate of The University of Texas at Austin’s UTeach Dance program and holds a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Dance. While at UT, Francis both performed and choreographed works with Dance Repertory Theatre, Dance Action, and the Cohen New Works Festival. She also served as Chair of the College of Fine Arts’ UTeach Fine Arts Council for two years. Most recently, Francis was an Artistic Intern for Dove Springs Swims/Nadamos Dove Springs. She now teaches dance at The Dance Gallery, 620 Dance Centre, and through Forklift Danceworks’ Leaps & Bounds program.

You can reach Francis at francis@forkliftdanceworks.org.