- Artistic Director
- Performers
- Benjamin Asriel
- Gina Bashour
- Yo-el Cassell
- Ellen Cremer
- Alberto Denis
- Saar Harari
- Ashleigh Leite
- Marya Wethers
- Anthony Whitehurst
- Collaborators
- Board of Directors
- Funders
Benjamin Asriel
Benjamin Asriel grew up in Glasgow, Kentucky where he cultivated his love of movement in his mother's dance classes, on the soccer field, and with the GHS Marching Band. After receiving his AB Music in 2003 from Brown University, he matriculated to NYU Tisch, completing his Dance MFA in 2006. In addition to Palissimo, Ben performs with Walter Dundervill, Edisa Weeks, Gerald Casel, Milka Djordjevich, Gabriel Forestieri, and Kyle Abraham. As a choreographer, Benjamin's work has been seen at the Ohio Theater, AUNTS, NYU, and the DUMBO Dance Festival. In addition to his work as a dance artist, Ben works as a sound designer and is a member of the collaborative performance group, Basic Assembly. Give him your two cents at basriel@yahoo.com.
Gina Bashour
Gina Bashour has been a member and rehearsal director since 2003 with Palissimo Dance Theatre. She has worked with Ashleigh Leite since 2005 and has also performed with Jody Oberfelder & Company and Alethea Adsitt & Company. In addition, she has performed and collaborated with Dance New Amsterdam's former producer Alberto Denis, was a founding member of Melissa Riker's The Kinesis Project, flown in the air with Julie Ludwick's Fly By Night Trapeze, danced as a principle in the Off-Broadway production Thin Line directed by Derek Mitchell, among others. In 2001, Gina founded the dance company, GiBa in motion, which has performed throughout New York and New England. She has been a freelance choreographer since 2005 and lives in NYC since 2000.
Yo-el Cassell
Yo-el Cassell, a graduate of The Boston Conservatory (Magna Cum Laude-1997) received training in dance, mime, and puppetry. A member of Palissimo since its inception as a company, he has performed with numerous artists including The American Mime Theater, Rob Marshall (Chicago-film), Twyla Tharp, Sean Curran Dance, Spencer/Colton, Paul Taylor II, Julie Taymor, The Virginia Opera, Heidi Latsky Dance and has appeared in the PBS broadcast of Shining Time Station, the independent film What Alice Found, and performed in Disney's Pinnochio ("Gepetto and Son") which premiered in NYC in Spring 2008. Mr. Cassell is also the artistic director of YC Movement Theatre (www.moonlightinterior.com). A recipient of The Lotte Kaliski Award for Gifted Artists and The Silo Residency Grant, his work has been presented at numerous venues including Joyce Soho (NYC), Dance Theater Workshop (NYC), The American Repertory Theater (MA), SummerStages Fellowship (MA), The Walnut Hill School for The Arts (MA), St. Mark's Church (NYC), Symphony Space (NYC), and Skidmore College (NY) where he was Guest Artist in Residence. Yo-el has also choreographed for the independent film, Cultivating Stillness, produced by Miramax and will serve as the assistant choreographer for the upcoming film Nine directed by Rob Marshall. Mr. Cassell is currently the resident choreographer for The American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA.
Ellen Cremer
Ellen Cremer was born in Germany and studied Dance, Theater and Improvisation in Germany and at the Theater School Amsterdam. Supported by a scholarship from the 'Art and Culture Foundation Duesseldorf) she first came to New York in 2003. After three years of traveling and performing in Europe and New York she finally moved to the States and worked most intensively with Hofftanzt, LeeSaar the Company and Palissimo. She also teaches Yoga and has recently received her certification as a Vortex Healing Practitioner.
Alberto Denis
Alberto Denis recently transitioned from his role as a company member with Arthur Aviles Typical Theater in order to create the Queens Academy of Arts & Dance = [QuA D]. He has performed in projects for Palissimo Dance Theater, Dixie Fun Dance Theater, Alethea Adsitt and Dancers, Heidi Latsky Dance, Lawrence Goldhuber, Luis Lara Malvacias, JoAnna Mendl Shaw's Equus Projects, and Mei Yin Ng's Mei-Be Whatever. His choreography has been produced at Danspace Project's Food For Thought, Dixon Place's Body Blend and Moving Men, BAAD!'s Boogie Down Dance Series and Out Like That Festival and Kinetics Dance Theater, Baltimore MD. He's created sound designs for Alexandra Beller, Richard Rivera, Nathan Trice, Arthur Aviles and Karl Anderson. Alberto has taught Arthur Aviles' Swift/Flow technique as well as Contact Improvisation, and Composition at Trinity College, Lourdes College and the Kinetics Dance Theater Summer Intensive, in Baltimore, MD.
Saar Harari
Saar Harari was born on an Israeli farm to an artistic family. Saar joined the army and was accepted to a special combat unit where he served for six years as a combat commending officer. At the age of 24, he left the army and was accepted to the Liat Dror, Nir Ben-gal Company as a leading dancer, performing in Europe, Israel and the U.S. Later he established LeeSaar The Company with the actress and playwright Lee Sher. In February 2004 they relocated to NYC where they performed at DTW, Gene Frankel Theater, The Flea Theater, Joyce SoHo, The Puffin Room, Theater For The New City, 92nd Street Y, HERE Arts Center, The White Wave Festival, Merce Cunningham Studios, Broadway Dance Center, La Mama and Performance Space 122. Saar was awarded Guggenheim Fellowship in 2008.
Ashleigh Leite
Ashleigh Leite graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BFA in Dance Performance in 1997. Upon graduation, she joined Stephen Petronio Company where she served as Assistant Director/Rehearsal Director and a dancer for over eight years (1997-2005). Ashleigh began creating her own work in 2004 which has been presented by Joyce SoHo (NYC), Dance New Amsterdam (NYC), Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival (Becket, MA), The Joyce Theater and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council's acclaimed series Evening Stars, Danspace Project's Out of Space series (NYC), dancenOw/NYC Festival (NYC), and Same Planet, Different World Dance Theater (Chicago, IL). Last year, Ashleigh was an Artist-in-Residence at Joyce SoHo, where she created her new evening-length work, Crawl Space for Danspace Project's Fall season (NYC). Ashleigh teaches technique and repertory at conservatories all over the world and guest teaches regularly at Dance New Amsterdam in New York City. Ashleigh has been working with Palissimo since 2002.
Marya Wethers
Marya Wethers has been dancing and working in arts administration in NY since 1997. As a performer she has enjoyed working with Yanira Castro + Company (yaniracastrocompany.org), CompanyAmyCox, Palissimo, Faye Driscoll, and Joyce S. Lim. Mar a has also performed in independent films and television, including a featured role in the dance film Lez Side Story and hosting Move the Frame on public access television. As an administrator she has worked at Danspace Project, BRICstudio, Pentacle, and currently Dance Theater Workshop. She curated the Out of Space @ BRICstudio series for Danspace Project from 2003-2007 as well as two evening of Food For Thought. Her writing UnCHARTed Legacies: women of color in post-modern dance was published in the 25th Anniversary Movement Research Performance Journal #27/28. She graduated from Mount Holyoke College cum laude with a BA in Dance with High Honors and a minor in African-American Studies. More info at www.myspace.com/maryared.
Anthony Whitehurst
Anthony Whitehurst self-identifies as a movement artist, writer, energy worker, and activist. A graduate from the University of Louisiana of Lafayette with a BFA in dance, his work has been shown in NYC at Mulberry Street Theatre's New Steps Series, Dixon Place, Judson Church, and the Performance Mix Festival at Joyce Soho. His work has also been presented at International Festivals, poetry readings, and gatherings in Louisiana, Texas, West Virginia, Maine, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Anthony has danced with Larry Keigwin, Shaleigh Danceworks, Megan Sipe/Dancing Fish Productions, and Of Moving Colors Productions. He is currently working with Curt Haworth, Amanda Loulaki, Neta Pulvermacher, Kristen Schifferdecker and Pavel Zustiak/Palissimo. While in college he co-founded a Hip-Hop Dance Theatre group in Louisiana called Rhythm N Soul Dance Productions. Co-artistic director of Red Novae-Movement Group with Kristen Schifferdecker, Anthony creates work that is both socially aware and connected to the human experience.