Special Friday on March 13 at NYU Tisch Dance!

Desmond Richardson (Co-Founder, Co-Artistic Director) was the first African-American principal dancer of American Ballet Theatre, and is hailed by The New York Times as one of the greatest dancers of his time. Nominated for a Tony Award for his role in the original Broadway cast of Fosse and deemed a standout in the Tony-Award winning production After Midnight, Richardson is highly esteemed by the concert dance and Broadway community. Richardson has appeared on celebrated stages across the world, namely The Metropolitan Opera, The Kennedy Center, Paris Opera, The Bolshoi Theatre, The Mariinsky Theatre, The State Kremlin Palace, Teatro Massimo, and Teatro alla Scala. He has been a member and invited guest of prestigious companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Frankfurt Ballet, Royal Swedish Opera Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Washington Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet, to name a few.

Richardson, a Young Arts Finalist and Presidential Scholar, has received numerous awards including the Dance Magazine Award, Capezio Award, Ailey Apex Award, L.A. Ovation Award, Bessie Award, YoungArts Alumni Award, and most recently the Roosevelt “Rosey” Thompson Award presented by the Presidential Scholars Foundation. In the spring of 2019, Richardson received an honorary doctorate degree from The University of North Carolina School of the Arts in recognition of his extensive contributions to the field of dance. Richardson has been a celebrity guest performer and choreographer for productions across media such as the American Music Awards, the Academy Awards, City Center’s Encores! series, Italy’s AMICI, and international franchises of So You Think You Can Dance.

Richardson has been featured by famed artists such as Michael Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Elton John, and Aretha Franklin, and he appears in celebrated films such as the Oscar-Award winning Chicago, Julie Taymor’s Across the Universe, and the recent independent film, Fall to Rise. He has worked with fashion icon, Tom Ford, Chic’s Nile Rodgers, and recently contributed to Grammy-Award winning Jill Scott’s video Back Together, which features dancers from COMPLEXIONS. Richardson has also been a featured performer in various operas such as: Julie Taymor’s Grendel as Beowulf and as the Pharogh in Teatro La Scala’s Moïse et Pharaone opposite Roberto Bolle conducted by famed Maestro Riccardo Muti.

Internationally and domestically, he is a master teacher for dance programs such as the. New York’s All Stars Project, YoungArts Miami, United Way, NYCDA, and multiple dance conventions. He served as co-creative director and choreographer with David Monn for the Park Avenue Armory Gala Masquerade. Richardson is currently guest artist in residence at USC’s Glorya Kaufman School of Dance and is the visiting adjunct professor of dance at Southern Methodist University.

DWIGHT RHODEN (Co-Founder, Co-Artistic Director, Principal Choreographer) has established a remarkably wide-ranging career, earning distinction from The New York Times as “one of the most sought out choreographers of the day.”

A native of Dayton, Ohio, Rhoden began dancing at age seventeen. Rhoden has performed with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Les Ballet Jazz De Montreal, and as a principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. In 1994, Rhoden and Desmond Richardson founded COMPLEXIONS Contemporary Ballet. They have brought their unique brand of contemporary dance to the world for over two decades. Under Rhoden’s direction, COMPLEXIONS has become a dance institution high in demand, as a center for innovation and cutting edge programming.

Rhoden’s choreography has been the lynchpin of the development of COMPLEXIONS repertory. “Musicality, innovation, purpose, consistency, a brilliant use of stage space and the ability to tell a story—all these qualities make [Rhoden] one of today's elect choreographers” (Los Angeles Times). Since 1994, Rhoden has created over 80 ballets for COMPLEXIONS, as well as for numerous other companies, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Arizona Ballet, Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, BalletMet, DanceTheatre of Harlem, Colorado Ballet, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Joffrey Ballet, Miami City Ballet, New York City Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theater, Pennsylvania Ballet, PHILADANCO!, Mariinsky Ballet, Minneapolis Dance Theater, Phoenix Dance Company, Sacramento Ballet, Oakland Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, The Washington Ballet, and Zenon Dance Company, among others. Rhoden has also directed and choreographed performances for shows across a range of media, including So You Think You Can Dance, E! Entertainment’s Tribute to Style, AMICI, and Cirque Du Soleil’s Zumanity, and he appeared in the feature film One Last Dance. He has collaborated with a number of celebrated artists, including Prince, Lenny Kravitz, Kelly Clarkson, ELEW, David Rozenblatt, Nicholas Payton, The Drifters, Paul Simon, Billy Strayhorn, Nina Simone, Marvin Gaye, U2, The Turtle Creek Chorus, and Patrick Swayze.

Rhoden is a recipient of various honors and awards including The New York Foundation for the Arts Award, The Choo San Goh Award for Choreography, and The Ailey School’s Apex Award. Rhoden received an honorary doctorate degree from the Boston Conservatory in recognition of his extensive contributions to the field of dance.

Daniel Mantei is a ballet dancer, teacher, choreographer, and flexibility strength trainer.  He was a soloist with the National Ballet of Canada and danced with American Ballet Theatre for 15 years.  He has also danced with the Metropolitan Opera.  Daniel choreographed Armaments, Tolling Bells, and Stare Decisis on ABT.  He has also created works for Columbia Ballet Collaborative, New York Theatre Ballet, The Ensemble for the Romantic Century, and The Seattle Symphony. 

During a professional ballet career of over 18 years, Daniel experienced many injuries as well as many healing modalities and somatic practices.  In 2017 was introduced to a unique way of stretching, which harnesses the power of eccentric contractions, and dove into a deep self-stretch and assisted-stretch practice.  He found it to be transformational for his body by creating more space for his muscles to function, reducing pain, and increasing his range of motion and overall sense of wellbeing.  An ACE certified personal trainer and Reiki 2 certified, Daniel creates an uplifting stretch experience that facilitates healing and strengthening for people of all ages and levels of fitness.

Fascia Meridian Stretch Class

Learn a revolutionary yet intuitive way of stretching with resistance.  By stretching in this specialized way, we use eccentric contractions to reduce dense fascia and scar tissue, improving tissue health.  Fascia is connective tissue that stabilizes, encloses, separates, and runs throughout muscles and around internal organs; it is the system of the body that touches all other systems.  Through fascia meridian stretching we can free-up space for muscles to shorten and lengthen, reduce tension and pain, strengthen, increase range of motion, and promote a more balanced musculature and improved health.

Tara Marie Perri is founder and director of The Perri Institute for Mind and Body, an international community of educators, researchers, and holistic health practitioners based in New York City and Upstate NY. The Institute supports its communities with a unique educational environment combining pedagogy, research, holistic medicine, and collaborations with the arts and sciences. Since the Institute's founding in 2009, Perri has trained and mentored a team of teachers, wellness professionals, and researchers working across the US and abroad. She has implemented and customized Yoga, yoga therapy, and mind/body wellness curriculum/programs in commercial studios, gyms, performing arts schools, and higher education environments. Graduates of the Institute’s nationally recognized courses have established a trusted presence in yoga, therapeutic, and performing arts environments. Several graduates have pursued their studies at the Institute to complement or initiate new careers in medicine, social work, physical therapy, acupuncture, early childhood education, higher education, and psychotherapy. Perri has been consulted for her expertise and her writing has been published in periodicals such as Dance Teacher Magazine, Elle, Women’s Health, Dance Informa, Dance and Pointe Magazines. She writes regularly for MindBodyBrew.

Quinn Wharton is a Director and Choreographer with a specialty in human movement. He was born in Seattle and raised in a yurt on Hawaii. He danced for the San Francisco Ballet and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Quinn has choreographed and directed for such companies as the The Joffrey Ballet, Rolex, Airbnb, The Pacific Northwest Ballet and the San Francisco Ballet. He has lectured at Stanford and the University of Chicago.

The workshop will focus on combining the aesthetic line and structure of ballet with the energy and spontaneity of hip hop. Using contemporary music with more classical forms of movement to explore their relationship and attempting to find unions that make sense without seeming forced or tacky. The session will be high energy and vibrant, some floor work may be involved but nothing acrobatic. Bring both socks, ballet flats, and some sneakers to move in.