Join Dance and Theatre Artists to talk about neurodiversity, disability, and accessibility in the arts.
Our next Creating Change Conversation is July 26, at a special time, 6pm ET!
Moderated by Tara Moses!
Shawn Buller is a dance artist with over 15 years experience with Karen Peterson Dancers. She also holds a Bachelors of Arts in Music Education and a Master of Music in Music Therapy. As a member of Karen Peterson Dancers she as preformed in Miami, throughout the state of Florida, New York City as well as internationally in Montenegro, Belgrade, Lisbon and London. She worked as full time Music Therapist at the Miami VA Medical Center for 27 years.
Visual Descriptor: Brown Egyptian non-binary person with a black vest and silver chain gazing into the camera with their arms crossed in front of them.
Shan Hafez (shan/they/them) is a nonbinary, disabled, mixed-Egyptian dancer currently based in Los Angeles. They have studied dance at Calarts and are currently doing freelance work. They recently were featured in “Dancing With Nia,” a series created to showcase dancers with disabilities. Accessibility, discussing ableism, and honoring accommodations is something they advocate for when moving through spaces. They strive to find and create community that accepts all parts of an individual's experience. A lot of Shan’s work is inspired by sensation and the healing aspects of dance, due to their experience growing up with chronic pain and symptoms. Despite obstacles, dance is what keeps them moving throughout their life. Social Media @shannonhafez Venmo @shannonhafez
Devin Hill is a graduate from the University of Central Oklahoma with a B.F.A. in Dance Performance. Her love of dance began at the age of three and has lasted a span of twenty years. Devin set her sights on dance as a career during her time spent at Collin College in Plano, Texas. While at Collin College, she was exposed to: Jazz, Ballet, Modern, Hip Hop, Tap, African, Improvisation, and Latin Ballroom. Devin has had the opportunity of working with multiple artists such: as Christopher K. Morgan, William “Bill” Evans, Clarence Brooks, Brandon Fink, Hannah Baumgarden, Jeremy Duvall, Gregg Russell, Lachlan McCarthy, and Cat Cogliandro . She was also a member of the 2015-2016 award winning Kaleidoscope Dance Company. Since graduating from UCO, Devin has continued to further her knowledge of dance by performing, choreographing, and participating in intensives and workshops across the United States. In 2018, Devin had the honor of performing with Liz Lerman’s Dance Exchange at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Ms. Hill currently resides in the D.C. metro area, where she performs in ReVision Dance Company and facilitates for Dance Exchange. Devin also serves as a disabilities dance advocate for The Dance Safe Organization and is an ambassador for Embody Dance Conference. Ms. Hill strives to use her artistry to create a more safe and inclusive dance world for everyone .
Ilana Jael earned her MFA in Creative Nonfiction from Sarah Lawrence College and a BA in Writing and Psychology from Florida Atlantic University’s Wilkes Honors College, where she also served as co-founder of student theatre troupe “Theatre in the Raw.” She started her theatre journey as an actress but is now mostly focusing on playwriting, and her short plays have been produced in-person at Bob Carter’s Actor’s Workshop and Repertory Company and Florida Atlantic University as well as virtually by New City Players, Theatre Lab, and Femuscripts. She is also a current company member of New City Players, and you can check out her blog and theatre writing at southfloridatheater.com!
Venmo: @ilana-jael On Instagram @sillylittlepoet.
Tara Moses is a familiar face and name to Momentum audiences, and we are so excited to have her moderating this panel.
Tara Moses (she/her) is a citizen of Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, director, playwright, Artistic Director of telatúlsa, Co-Artistic Director of Red Eagle Soaring, and a founding member of Groundwater Arts. She is a Cultural Capital Fellow withFirst Peoples Fund (2020); Invited Playwright with HBMG Foundation’s National WinterPlaywrights Retreat (2020); fellow with the Intercultural Leadership Institute (2018/19); theNative Storytellers winner with the Yale Indigenous Performing Arts Program (2019); an observer with the SDC Foundation (18/19); fellow with the Intercultural Leadership Institute (18/19); member of DirectorsLabChicago (2018); member of the Directors Lab at Lincoln Center (2017); Senior Artistic Director Fellow, Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship at Arena Stage (2016/17); recipient of the Thomas C. Fichandler Award (2016); Management Fellow, Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship at Arena Stage (2015/16); associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society; and Dramatists Guild member. She holds a B.A. in Theatre from the University of Tulsa and is attending Brown University/Trinity Rep as an M.F.A.Candidate in Directing in the fall of 2021. Twitter/Instagram: @taratomahawkwww.taramoses.com
Event is pay-what-you-like. Suggested ticket is $10.
ASL may be requested by July 5. Email us to request.
This conversation is made possible by your donations, The Pollination Project, and New City Players.