Current Collaborators
Photo: Jen Kertis, What’s in a name?
katherine kiefer stark
Movement Artist / Artistic Director
I am a Philadelphia-based dance-artist, educator and founder of The Naked Stark. As a white, cis-woman, middle-class, heterosexual, Jewish, married, mother-of-two, many of my identities are privileged. I have questions and hurts from the current societal oppressive structure(s). Modern dance is how I make sense of the world and the medium through which I process and share my experiences. My dance works emerge from my questions, concerns, and discomforts. The folks that I collaborate with join in the questioning, add new perspectives and challenges, and help shape the work. I am continually working towards a process that truly embodies my values and pushes forward the questions and concepts I am investigating.
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Amalia colon-nava
Movement Artist
Amalia is a farmer and multi-disciplinary artist that loves to move. She has many years of education in contemporary dance styles, partner dances, improvisation and dance making. She welcomes and deeply experiences the change of seasons both literally and metaphorically when balancing land work and artistic practice.
Photo: Joy Ike
Marcie Mamura
Movement Artist
Marcie Mamura (she/they) is an artist, mover, maker, educator, collaborator, community member and researcher. She is from popcorn and passionfruit. Currently based in Philadelphia, her teaching history includes Dream Camp, ArtWell, Asian Arts Initiative, Camp Sojourner Girls’ Leadership Camp, Drexel University, Muhlenberg College and Spiral Q. Marcie’s creative and coordinating work arcs across fields and is informed by intentional circles, embodied knowledge and integrated practices. She currently engages the intersections of health, humanities and the arts as Humanities Education Coordinator at Thomas Jefferson University. Marcie earned a BA in Theater & Dance from Kansas State University and an MFA in Dance from the University of Oregon. They are a founding member of TRANSForm Dance Collective and an independent artist who values collaboration and expanded ways of being in our world.
aubrey donisch
Managing Coordinator
I am a teaching artist, dancer, and supporter of artistic visions from Minneapolis, MN. I graduated from my childhood bedroom with a BA in dance and sociology from Bryn Mawr College--I recycled all my papers and that was that! In my wearing of several hats in the dance world, I strive to approach dance making with a foundation of accessibility, centered in care and community.
Photo: Sophie Malin
Harlee Trautman
Movement Artist / Financial Coordinator
I am a movement artist and sculptor currently residing in Philadelphia, PA, after time spent in Southern Louisiana where I received my BFA in Sculpture. Since arriving to Philadelphia, I have had the opportunity to work professionally with The Naked Stark, Asya Zlatina & Dancers, Opera Philadelphia, and Archedream for Humankind. My most recent creations have been showcased at the Iron Factory (Philadelphia), Tattooed Mom's (Philadelphia), Grounds for Sculpture (Hamilton, NJ), as well as on display at the Philadelphia International Airport's D terminal.
Photo: Gabriel Bienczycki
Chloe Marie
Movement Artist
Chloe Marie is a multi-disciplinary artist based on Lenni Lenape land that is Philadelphia. Chloe went to the San Diego School of creative and performing arts- where she worked with Donald McKayle, and Christopher Huggins. During this time Chloe also performed works by Ana Sokolow, Limon repertoire. Chloe moved to Philadelphia in 2013 to attend The University of the Arts, and received her BFA in 2017. During her time there she worked with Kyle and Dinita Clark, Curt Haworth, Doug Varone, Netta Yerushalmy, and Jesse Zaritt. Since graduating, Chloe has been a freelance performer working with many local Philadelphia artists, and has shown works in New York, Pittsburg, and Maine.
Meredith stapleton
Movement Artist
Meredith Stapleton, MFA recipient in Dance/Choreography from the University of Iowa, is a Philadelphia-based dance artist, yoga teacher, doula and childbirth educator. Meredith currently teaches yoga at Temple University, and has taught in dance at Muhlenberg College, Swarthmore College, and The University of Iowa, as well as Koresh School of Dance and Philadelphia Dance Academy. Meredith is also the Member Coordinator and an Artist In Residence at Mascher Space Cooperative where she maintains a solo dance practice, collaborates with Emie Hughes, and organizes community gatherings. Meredith has engaged in freelance performance projects in Philadelphia since 2013, including for DanceSpora, The Naked Stark, Megan Flynn Dance Company, and Shannon Murphy.
Recently we’ve also worked with
Andy Thierauf
Percussionist
Andy Thierauf is a Philadelphia-based percussionist who specializes in the creation and performance of contemporary music. His creative research centers on seamlessly integrating technology into performance to produce collaborative, multimedia presentations with writers, dancers, actors, choreographers, and composers. Andy teaches at Settlement Music School and is an adjunct professor of percussion at Kutztown University.
A native of Cincinnati, OH, Andy received his B.M. from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and M.M. from The Ohio State University. Andy received the D.M.A. degree in percussion performance and pedagogy at The University of Iowa under the direction of Dan Moore.
Photo: Daniel Mezick
Marisa illingworth
Marisa Illingworth is a dance artist based in Philadelphia. She has a BFA in dance from The University of the Arts where she performed works by people she hopes sound familiar to you so that you think she’s a good dancer. She’s danced in lots of venues around Philadelphia and for a handful of artists since graduating. Marisa currently dances with the Naked Stark and with the Dark Moon collective, both groups of people who share her values around authentic, non-hierarchical, politically conscious art making. She can still do splits on both sides.
Ajibola Rivers
Cellist
Ajibola Rivers is a Nigerian-American cellist from Lafayette Hill, PA. He received his cello performance degree from the Boyer College of Music and Dance in 2016. While much of his training is traditional, in high school he taught himself how to swing, improvise, and play by ear, equipping himself to learn music from many genres in communities across the United States and around the world. He is also a self-taught writer, applying instincts developed from his music experience to composing, arranging, and songwriting, and prose. What defines Ajibola the most is his sense of purpose and his determination to fulfill that purpose. In his own words: “As a creative artist, I have a social responsibility to explore, invent, and discover ways to unite worlds through my every medium.” He lives up this expectation everyday by sharing and teaching his love of art and culture with artists and audiences from all walks of life.
Sean Thomas Boyt
Sean Thomas Boyt is a dancemaker, dancer, and dance advocate based out of Iowa City, Iowa. Currently, they are working toward a Master of Fine Arts in Dance with an emphasis on Choreography at the University of Iowa. Having recently lived in Philadelphia, They danced for The Naked Stark, Nora Gibson Contemporary Ballet, Vervet Dance, and Anne-Marie Mulgrew & Dancers Company; collaborated with percussionist Dr. Andy Thierauf as stb x at (awarded artist in residence at Soundspace 1525); and worked on projects with Dana Powers-Klooster, Lauren Linder, Lyons and Tigers, Esther Baker-Tarpaga, Ballet 180, Antonia & Artists, SKI BALL, Meredith Stapleton, and Kat J. Sullivan.
