The Team

From sanitation workers to firefighters, power linemen to maintenance teams, Allison Orr creates award-winning choreography with the people whose work sustains our everyday lives. Inspired by the beauty and virtuosity in the movement of labor, and building on her background in anthropology and social work, 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+.

In recent years, Allison has been named a MacDowell Fellow, a Dance | USA Fellow in Social Change, a Doris Duke United States Artist Fellow, Best Choreographer by The Austin Chronicle, Most Outstanding Choreographer 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, and 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. A guest artist for numerous dance programs including Williams College, Wake Forest University, the University of Maryland, and Texas A&M, Allison has been a Mellon Foundation Creative Campus Scholar at the Center for the Arts of Wesleyan University. Her work has been funded by the City of Austin, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the Doris Duke Foundation, 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 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 in 2001, Allison danced and studied with Deborah Hay and MacArthur Award winner Liz Lerman. She holds an MFA in Choreography and Performance from Mills College and a BA in Anthropology from Wake Forest University. Allison is a fourth generation Texan and lives in Austin with her husband and two children. 

You can find and follow Allison on Instagram.

Qainta Harris is a native of Dallas, TX and holds a B.A. in Women’s Studies & Psychology from Southwestern University. Her distinguished career in nonprofit development began in Austin over 25 years ago. She has held integral roles within various esteemed institutions across diverse sectors, from Community Health to Higher Education where she specialized in event planning, volunteer management and recruitment, and major donor relations and stewardship. After more than a decade of dedicated service in the nonprofit realm, Qainta transitioned her career trajectory to become a Registered Nurse, while continuing to be an active volunteer for Texas Organ Sharing Alliance, Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and Big Brothers Big Sisters. She served on her Alma Mater’s Alumni Board and was a dedicated board member and board President for ATX Kids Club. She is a recipient of Alpha Phi Omega’s Alumni Professional Service Award and is a 2024 awardee of AFP’s Fundraiser of Color Scholarship. Now, after more than 15 years in the medical field serving as a charge nurse and a hospital Quality Manager, Qainta has renewed her initial passion for nonprofit strategy and relationship cultivation by joining Forklift Danceworks as their first Director of Development and Communications, where she brings her wealth of experience and expertise to steer the organization towards further growth and impact.

Rachael Garbowski is a seasoned professional in the nonprofit sector, specializing in development, strategic partnerships, and community building. Previously serving as the Director of Development for both Big Medium and AIA Austin, she has played a pivotal role in supporting artists and fostering artistic communities in Austin and across Texas. Rachael has also held key roles in various organizations, including serving as Managing Director of Austin EMS Relief Fund, Corporate Relations Manager for The Contemporary Austin, and Director of Development for Texas Land Conservancy. With a background that includes a BA in Art History and Theater from Bates College, as well as formative years at Cranbrook Kingswood Upper School, Rachael’s commitment to the arts is deeply ingrained. She is currently dividing her time between Brooklyn and Austin, where she has resided for over a decade. From 2021 to 2023 she owned and operated Ani’s Day & Night, a hybrid coffee shop, bar, community space, and event venue, reflecting her commitment to creating inclusive spaces for connection and creativity. She is excited to embark on her new role as Institutional Giving Manager with Forklift Danceworks.

As Development Coordinator, Josiane brings a decade of experience in the arts and nonprofit world to Forklift Danceworks. Born and raised in Laredo, Texas, Josiane came to Austin to study at St. Edward’s University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in English Writing and Rhetoric with a minor in Communications. She has completed internships with several local nonprofits, including Latinitas and the Austin Film Society.

For four years, Josiane worked at the Texas Commission on the Arts, assisting with various grant programs for arts organizations and artists. Following her time at TCA, Josiane worked at KMFA Classical 89.5 for six years, where she supported the Board of Directors and development department. She was also part of the development team that worked on the capital campaign to build KMFA’s new home in East Austin.

Josiane is excited to maximize her expertise to support Forklift’s amazing mission to activate communities through a collaborative creative process that values authentic connection. 

Angela is a theatre artist, administrator, and educator with a passion for making the arts accessible and connecting communities through storytelling and spectacle. Originally from New Jersey, she previously served as Producing Artistic Director at Eagle Theatre, producing and directing AEA productions and community events in Hammonton, NJ. She also worked as Director of Performing Arts for a Camden, NJ–based nonprofit, introducing theatre as a tool for social-emotional learning, and taught acting as an adjunct professor in Rowan University’s Department of Theatre and Dance. 

Angela holds an MA in Theatre from Villanova University and a BA from Rowan University, and is currently pursuing an MFA in Directing at Texas State University, where she teaches and directs in the School of Theatre. She lives in San Marcos with her husband and two cats.

Born and raised in Austin, TX, Rachel Nayer is a performance artist, choreographer, and yoga teacher. In 2018, Rachel completed her undergraduate degree with honors in both Performance/Choreography and Environmental Science at Scripps College in Claremont, California. She is passionate about using the body as a tool for communication, celebration, community building, and acknowledgment. Rachel first joined the Forklift team in the summer of 2018 for Dove Springs Swims/Nadamos Dove Springs, and since then has collaborated on Givens Swims(2019), The Way of Water: Waller Creek (2022), and The Way of Water: Onion Creek (2023/24).  

Francis Rodriguez (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer and educator currently based in Austin, Texas. She began collaborating with Forklift Danceworks in 2018, working as an artistic intern for Dove Springs Swims/Nadamos Dove Springs. Since then, Francis has participated as a choreographer in the projects: Austin FC Collaboration (2021), Dance For Dogs and People Who Walk Them (2022, 2023), The Way of Water: Waller Creek (2022), The Way of Water: Onion Creek (2023, 2024), and The Way of Water: Miami (2025). Throughout these same years, she worked as both a teaching artist and program coordinator of Forklift’s Leaps & Bounds program, leading creative movement lessons for early childhood classrooms across AISD and other Austin area preschools. Francis holds a BFA in Dance from The University of Texas at Austin (2018).

Born and raised in Austin Tx, Damian comes from a background of film. At 18 years old, he wrote and co-directed his first short film and debuted it at the Cannes Film Festival. Since then, he has continued to work on his craft, exploring other avenues of visual media in commercials, music videos, and feature films. Damian has done work for Microsoft, Capital Metro, Austin FC, E4youth, I ACT, DAWA and others. “I enjoy the process of filming and editing, but I love having the ability to turn a life’s moment into a beautiful story”.

Mariema (Mari) Tall is a student at Wesleyan University majoring in Biology and English with a concentration in creative writing. Alongside doing research in the Singer Lab, Mari is a Wesleyan Grant recipient, Bailey Fellow, McNair Scholar, and Wesleyan’s 2025 Shu-Tokita Prize in Literature recipient. She is hoping to pursue her PH.D. in Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, along with continuing to publish her poetry and creative works. Outside of her academic endeavors, Mari is a dancer on the FXT dance team, an avid reader, activist, and plays the guitar with a passion for singing/songwriting.

Xander is a Junior at Wesleyan University, Currently pursuing a double major in Art History and Psychology. Coming from a diverse background of Dutch, Egyptian, and British heritage, Xander was born in New York but left at a young age, living in Cairo for two years before settling down and spending the majority of his childhood in Paris, France. 

Since 2023, Xander has worked as an intern for Forklift acting as a liaison between the non-profit and Wesleyan, as well as assisting employees with communication and maintenance tasks. This summer, Xander went to Braga, Portugal with Allison Orr and Rachel Nayer where they worked with local sanitation workers to create the opening performance for the Desejar festival.