Billbob Brown  (Artistic Director) is associate professor in dance at UMass Amherst, part of the Five College Dance Department.  He received his BFA in Dance from Arizona State University and Master of Arts (in Dance History and Criticism) from the University of New Mexico.  He has collaborated with numerous scientists, such as physicist P.K. Aravind  from Worcester Polytechnical Institute, to help the scientist envision his paper on hypercubes.  Billbob was the co-founder and artistic director of Desert Dance Theatre in Phoenix, now in its 30^th year, from 1979-1989, and with whom he continues to work and perform. He has created and directed shows at the Utah Shakespearean Festival, and choreographed and performed in TV movies and commercials for the Chicago Cubs, Molson Canadian Beer, Disney Studios, and ABC-TV, several of which have received national advertising awards.  He has toured nationally with the Bill Evans Dance Company, and, in Albuquerque, was director of Buen Viaje Dancers, a group of people with disabilities.  His Emmy-award winning video, "Opening Doors," with Buen Viaje, is occasionally still seen on PBS stations across the country.  He has taught and performed in Japan, England, Switzerland, and throughout Mexico and the United States.  Currently he sets work on dance companies across the country.  Billbob has had choreographic residencies or performances at Harvard University, Arizona State University, Rodger Williams University, University of New Mexico, Willamette University, Colby-Sawyer College, Plymouth State University, Rhode Island College, Western Wyoming Community College, Springfield College, Wyndham College, Hampshire College, and many other places. Read more at:
Volcanoes in Borneo

Erica Dankmeyer (Dancer/Collaborator) choreographer, and teacher, was born in Washington, D.C. and raised in Northern California. She began her ballet training with Paul Curtis and Anne Bena, and later studied on scholarship at the MarthaGraham School of Contemporary Dance.  As a Soloist with the Martha Graham Dance Company (1996-2006), she performed many roles in the repertory both in the U.S. and abroad.  Dankmeyer earned her BA in Art History at Williams College, where she is now a Visiting Lecturer in Humanities and Dance, and Guest Artist.  She is also a lead performer and choreographer for 360 Dance, a new collective dedicated to performing both classic modern dance revivals and new works.Dankmeyer founded Dankmeyer Dance Company, her modern dance collective, in 2002.   DDC has appeared at Danspace Project in St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out, the Clark Studio Theater in Lincoln Center, City Center Studios, PACE University, Marymount Manhattan College, the DUMBO Dance Festival, the Hollywood Florida Central Performing Arts Center, The ’62 Center for Theater and Dance at Williams College, SUNY/Purchase, the Florida Theater in Jacksonville, FL, and Frostburg State University.  www.dankmeyerdance.com. Dankmeyer is a faculty member of the Martha Graham School, and in New York City has also taught at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theater, Marymount Manhattan College, and the High School for the Performing  Arts. In the fall of 2001 she was Artist-in-Residence at Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, FL, and in fall 2005 was the Arthur J. Levitt, Jr. Artist-in-Residence at Williams College.

Ann Sorvino (Dancer/Collaborator), holds a BFA in Dance from the Juilliard School and has performed in the works of Merce Cunningham, Jose Limon, Paul Taylor and Anna Sokolow among others. She is currently the chair of the Performing Arts Department at The Stoneleigh-Burnham School and an adjunct professor of dance at Greenfield Community College, both in Greenfield, MA. She is a certified Pilates mat teacher and a Kripalu yoga instructor. The Sorvino Dance Intensive is a summer program for girls aged 11 through 16. Ann has performed with Chaos Theory Dance for the past seven years; she also recently performed with Blaze Dance Group. She has directed The Sorvino Dance Project for the past thirteen years; most recently they performed at the Joyce SoHo in New York City.

Abby Bielski (Dancer/Collaborator), grew updancing, performing, and teaching throughout the Northeast.  She attended the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts High School where she danced and performed with many local artists and choreographers. Abby went on to graduate from the Ohio State University with a BFA in Dance Education.  While at Ohio State, Abby taught tap classes her junior and senior year for the Department of Dance.  In the recent past, Abby has performed and worked with Alive Dance, Ann Sorveno, Celeste Platt, Susan Hadley, Melanie Bales, and Vicki Uris.  Currently, Abby is working with Chaos Theory and Alive Dance.  Abby is a certified Zumba instructor and teaches dance at Technique Studio of Dance.

Michael DeQuattro (Composer) is the resident Dance Accompanist and Adjunct Instructor at Roger Williams University. In addition to his work at Roger Williams University he is also Adjunct Instructor of Percussion at Rhode Island College, The Community College of Rhode Island, and is an active freelance performer in Providence and Boston. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music Education from Rhode Island College and a Master of Music in Percussion Performance from the Boston Conservatory. His performing experience is extremely varied, including theater orchestras, jazz ensembles, symphony orchestras, and rock bands. He is accomplished in many styles including improvisational, world, jazz, classical, and blues. He has performed with notable artists such as The Moody Blues, opera singer Maria Spacagna, marimbist Nanae Mimura, flautist Carol Wincenc, and pianist Judith Stillman. He has also been involved with many modern dancers and dance companies as accompanist and composer, including Groundwerx, Fusionworks, Sean Curren, Heidi Henderson, Kathy Gordon Smith, Kelly Wicky-Davis, Jennifer Scanlon, Diane Noya, Melody Ward, Jenny Rocha, and David Dorfman, to name just a few. He has also accompanied for the Bates Festival. Michael has performed with The Rhode Island Festival Ballet, Boston Festival Orchestra, Rhode Island Civic Chorale, Great Woods Festival Orchestra, and Rhode Island Philharmonic. He has been a member of the Providence Federation of Musicians Local 198-457 since 1999.

Rebecca Nordstrom (Artistic Advisor/Choreographer) is Professor of Dance and Movement Studies at Hampshire College and in Amherst, Massachusetts.  She holds a BA Degree in Art with a concentration in Dance from Antioch College, an MFA in Dance from Smith College and is certified as a Laban Movement Analyst by the Laban/Bartenieff Institute for Movement Study in New York City.  Prior teaching positions include Windham College in Putney, VT., the University of Delaware, Newark, DE., and the Graduate Liberal Studies Program at Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.  Early in her performing career Rebecca was a member of Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians in NYC.  In recent years she has performed in the work of many of her colleagues in the Five College Dance Department and has toured in the US and abroad.  She has been making duets with Billbob Brown since 1994.