Somatics + Jam Facilitator

kaijo caggins (they/he) is a Black trans performance artist, educator and doula. they observe improvisation and defiance through pleasure in their performance practices. kaijo works within the body, sounding and disorientation; with an emphasis on queerness, somatics and liberation as life force. they facilitate a queer Contact Improvisation jam + teach CI based classes. Living within land home to the Lenni-Lenape People of Lenapehoking, he is currently in community with local CI enthusiasts, multidisciplinary artists, families and the rivers. kaijo will be pursuing their MA in Women’s, Gender + Sexuality Studies at George Washington University. 

instagram - kjocaggins
substack - @kaijoooooo
website - https://kaijocaggins.squarespace.com/
queer ci jam whatsapp - https://chat.whatsapp.com/GRUQc633SqPGYHWTBpLbVm

Technique + Somatics

Sydney Donovan is a Philadelphia performer, choreographer, educator, and healer. She graduated from the University of The Arts in 2019, receiving her dance BFA. After graduating, Donovan continued working with Uarts as guest choreographer in 2023 where she premiered her work Thy Spirit like Thy Flesh (2023). As a freelancer, Donovan was principal dancer with Opera Philadelphia through her role as the coyote in The Listeners (2024) choreographed by Raja Feather Kelly. She collaborated with Paul Matteson in his work How Many Times (2020); performed in Lilach Orenstein’s She Will Come on Her Own (2021) and Zoe Scofield’s work The Other Shore (2021). She choreographed an evening length trio titled TRINE, that premiered March 2024 at The Decon Phl. Donovan is a guest choreographer and adjunct dance faculty member at Drexel University.

instagram: @sydneydonovan 
website: www.sydneydonovan.art

Technique

Bio coming soon!

Creative Practice

Paul Matteson's research explores imaginative movement within collaborative choreography. He was a member of the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company and has also worked with Jennifer Nugent, David Dorfman Dance, Lisa Race, Terry Creach, Peter Schmitz, Susan Sgorbati, Neta Pulvermacher, and others. He received a BESSIE award for his body of work as a performer. He is a Bennington B.F.A. Dance faculty member. Matteson was an Associate Professor in the School of Dance at the University of the Arts. He earned his MFA in Choreography from Bennington College and is currently pursuing an MDiv degree at Naropa University, focusing on hospital chaplaincy.

@paulmatteson_

Somatics

Ali Lodise (she/they) is a Doctor of Physical Therapy, Pilates instructor and movement artist. Ali attended Drexel University where she studied health sciences, dance and somatics and Temple University where she studied physical therapy. While at Temple they developed and administered a functional dance screen, a Dance Injury Awareness and Injury Prevention lecture and a research study evaluating the injury prevention educational initiative for dance students. She believes in a holistic approach to movement and personal empowerment. Ali currently dances with Burgundy Blue Dance Company and practices PT and Pilates in the greater Philadelphia area. Follow Ali @alilodise or contact her at alexandra.lodise@gmail.com.

Technique

Arabia Richardson is a Philadelphia based Performer, Collaborator, Choreographer. She earned her MFA in Dance in 2022 and graduated cum laude in 2019 with a BFA in Dance from University of the Arts (UArts). After graduating, Arabia held the title of administrative assistant to the interim executive director of Philadanco, Gaynell Sherrod. She was also the rehearsal director for Juel D. Lane, rehearsal assistant to Kim Bears-Bailey, co-choreographer with Wayne St. David, rehearsal director to Marguerite Hemmings and creative associate for the School of Dance at UArts. Currently, Arabia is an Assistant Professor at Temple University and a Dance Teaching Artist at the Rock School for Dance.

Creative Practice

Nicole Bindler–dance-maker, Body-Mind Centering® practitioner, writer, and activist–has practiced contact improvisation since 1997. Her work has been supported by numerous grants and fellowships, and presented on four continents. Recent projects include curating an evening of Palestinian dance films; somatic research on the embryology of the genitalia from a non-binary perspective; a workshop on neuroqueering embodiment; co-producing the Consent Culture in Contact Improvisation Symposium; and a solo dance, The Case for Invagination, in which her scars speak candidly about trauma and desire. She is co-editing a book, Gathering Sparks: Jewish Arts and Somatics that will be published by punctum books. nicolebindler.com, instagram.com/nicole_bindler