CHOREOGRAPHERS
KATIE BICKFORD
Originally from Florida, Katie was first introduced to dance at Dance Empire in Miami. She continued her training with the Portland School of Ballet in Maine, and then went on to graduate from Canada’s National Ballet School. Katie has received additional training from summer intensives with San Francisco Ballet School, Houston Ballet Academy, Dominic Walsh’s Compass Coaching Project, and Springboard Danse Montreal.
She earned her B.S. in Ecology and Environmental Science with a minor in dance from the University of Maine, while performing with Robinson Ballet and Bangor Ballet. In 2015, Katie joined Festival Ballet Providence. At Festival, she has enjoyed working with and performing pieces by choreographers such as Viktor Plotnikov, Kurt Douglas, Mary Ellen Beaudreau, Christopher L. Huggins, Mihailo Djuric, Yury Yanowsky, and George Balanchine.
Throughout her college and dance career, Katie has enjoyed finding the time to explore her love of choreographing. Katie has choreographed pieces that were performed at the American College Dance Festival, as well as YAGP. She has also had the pleasure of choreographing for the RI Women’s Choreography Project several times. Katie is very excited to join and begin creating with the Revolve Dance Project this season!
DARA CAPLEY
Dara Nicole Capley is a dancer, choreographer, and educator based out of Boston, Massachusetts. She is originally from Florida, where she received early training with Gloria Gaither before moving on to train under Peter Stark and Ivonne Lemus at Next Generation Ballet at the Patel Conservatory. After her training, Dara found freelance work for a year with Brandon Ballet and The Sarasota Opera before dancing in Nashville Ballet’s second company for two years. Dara joined Festival Ballet Providence in 2015, under the direction of Mihailo Djuric. During her time with Festival Ballet Providence Dara performed works by Yury Yanowsky, Mary Ellen Beaudreau, Christopher Huggins, George Balanchine, José Limón, and many others. Dara also originated soloist roles for Viktor Plotnikov, Ty Parmenter, and Katherine Bickford.
Dara choreographed her first piece Vivisection for the Rhode Island Women’s Choreography Project in the spring of 2019 and received multiple choreographic commissions as a result. In the summer of 2020, Dara was chosen as one of Sarasota Contemporary Dance’s emerging choreographers, where she created The Noonwraith, a work she rehearsed and filmed entirely over Zoom. In the spring of 2021, Festival Ballet Providence’s School commissioned a piece from Dara to be used to compete in the ensemble category in the Boston regionals of Youth America Grand Prix. The piece, entitled The Yawn placed in the top twelve ensembles, and was invited to compete at YAGP finals. Also in 2021, Dara created a world premiere for Revolve Dance Project. This new work, titled Into Reality, premiered in the summer of 2021 and was accompanied by singer-songwriter Chrissy Stewart. Dara’s most recent work f..-.r.-.o---n -.t-i..e.r.-. premiered in Atlanta, GA in March 2022. The piece explored metaphor through the use of science fiction, as well as how emotion surfaces in the human body.
Dara is fascinated by all forms of human expression and seeks to make art that explores the simultaneous majesty and mundane of being human. Dara’s choreography has been presented by Rhode Island Women’s Choreography Project, The Waterfire Arts Organization, Sarasota Contemporary Dance, AS220 Virtual Gallery, The Dance Complex, and Dance Canvas. Currently, Dara works as a freelance dancer and choreographer for projects across theNew England area.
KURT A. DOUGLAS
Kurt A. Douglas is a graduate of New York’s LaGuardia High School of Music Art & the Performing Arts. Originally from Guyana, South America, Douglas earned a B.F.A. in dance from Boston Conservatory and an M.F.A. in dance from Hollins University in association with the American Dance Festival, Frankfurt Conservatory of Performing Arts, and the Forsythe Company. After graduating from the Conservatory, Kurt joined the Limón Dance Company, where he performed in many of Limón’s most influential works.
Kurt received a 2002 Princess Grace Award and was honored by an invitation to perform for the royal family of Monaco. In 2007, Douglas became the first African American to portray Iago in The Moor's Pavane, José Limón's most famous work. Kurt was named one of Dance Magazine’s "Top 25 to Watch” in the January 2006 issue. He danced from 2002 to 2007 in the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, and joined Ballet Hispánico from 2005 to 2006 under the direction of Tina Ramirez. In 2009, he joined the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company during their 40th anniversary season, touring throughout the United States and Asia. In 2011 he began touring with the Tony Award-winning musical A Chorus Line throughout the United States, Japan, Singapore, and Australia.
Kurt Douglas joined the Boston Conservatory at Berklee faculty in 2015 where he is an instructor of technique, repertory, critical theory, and pedagogy for modern dance. Kurt also serves as artistic director for the Boston Conservatory at Berklee’s Summer Dance Intensive. Kurt reconstructed A Choreographic Offering for the Limón 71st Anniversary Season in 2017, and he continues to reconstruct and stage Limón's work all over the world. Kurt also serves on faculty with the Limón for Kids Program and the Limón Institute in New York City, the official school of the Limón Dance Foundation.
In 2017, Kurt was invited to perform for the Boston Conservatory’s 150th Anniversary Gala at Symphony Hall hosted by Alan Cummings. Some guest artist credits include Aszure Barton & Artists, Prometheus Dance Company, Thang Dao Dance Company, Buglisi Dance Theatre, Dzul Dance Theatre, and the Sean Curran Dance Company.
Douglas remains deeply invested in his teaching practices, conducting Limón Dance workshops in Haiti, France, England, Australia, and Mexico, and across the United States in New York City, Boston, Salt Lake City, Portland, Philadelphia, and Sioux Falls. He has also taught workshops at institutions such as Harvard University, Dallas Black Dance Theater, Southern Methodist University, the Juilliard School, SUNY Purchase, SUNY Brockport, Skidmore College, and Festival Ballet Providence School.
TY PARMENTER
Ty Parmenter is a filmmaker and choreographer based in Rhode Island. In 2019, after a 15-year career as a dancer, Ty retired from the stage to pursue a career in filmmaking and devote more time to his three bumbly boys.
During his career as a dancer, Ty had been fortunate enough to create works with leading choreographers such as James Kudelka, Edwaard Liang, Dominic Walsh, Andrea Miller, and Christian Spuck. He has also had the pleasure of performing works by Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon, Mauro Bigonzetti, Matthew Bourne, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, and Alejandro Cerrudo.
In 2012 Ty was awarded the Columbus Dances Fellowship from the Greater Columbus Arts Council for his first choreographic work. He has gone on to create many works for Festival Ballet Providence and dance for film.
He is excited to create and collaborate with the dancers and musicians of REVOLVE Dance Project.
ARIEL ROSE
Ariel Rose of New York City began his training at Ballet Academy East. He went to school at the Fiorello LaGuardia Highschool of Art and Performing Arts and also trained at the JKO American Ballet Theatre School. He was a Young Art’s merit winner in 2007.
Ariel then went on to complete his training at the Boston Ballet School on full scholarship. He has danced previously with the Boston Ballet, the Richmond Ballet and the Ballet Municipal de Lima in Peru.
Ariel is currently a soloist at the Miami City Ballet. He has choreographed over twenty new dance works for Ballet Academy East, Boston Ballet School, Cia de Ballet do Rio de Janeiro Brazil, Medanza in Medellıń , Colombia, Miami City Ballet School and Miami City Ballet as well as for artistic endeavors using dancers from the Miami City Ballet including a collaboration with the New World Symphony. Ariel was also the recipient of a choreographic fellowship at Jennifer Homan’s Center for Ballet and the Arts at NYU, in New York City. In 2017, his Ballet “Hesperion” won the silver medal at the Valentina Kozlova International Ballet competition in New York City.
In 2018 Ariel was brought in by Dimensions Dance Theater of Miami for their inaugural season at the South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center, which then toured to the Joyce Theater in New York City, and to Jacobs Pillow in Becket, Massachusetts. He continues to create new works for them including an upcoming work collaborating with Latin Grammy winning and Miami native composer Jorge Mejia.
He was also commissioned in 2020 to create a new work by the Inter- American Choreographic Institute in response to and in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic performed live at the Broward Center for Performing Arts.
Ariel graduated from Umass Lowell with a bachelors in arts in 2016. and currently serves on the board of Dances Patrelle: A not-for probit chamber ballet company in NYC which has recently commissioned a new work from him for 2021 as well.
RUKA WHITE
Ruka Hatua-Saar White was born in Aviano, Italy. He trained as a scholarship student with the Miami City Ballet. After graduating from the Dillard School of the Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. he obtained a B.F.A and an M.F.A in dance from Florida State University and Hollins University; respectively.
Ruka has danced professionally with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC); Philadanco; Armitage Gone! and Limon Dance Company. He has appeared alongside such artists as Maya Angelou, Shirley Murdock, and Missy Elliot. He has choreographed the musical, Choir Boy, by SpeakEasy Stage Company. Ruka is currently an Assistant Professor at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee.