Peter Kyle Dance is proud to collaborate with exceptional artists from across the United States and around the world. Below is a list of some of the artists with whom we have worked along with a brief description of the project(s) we made together.
Anton Ovchinnikov – Peter and Anton first met in 2016 while Peter was in Kyiv, Ukraine on a Fulbright Specialist grant. In 2017-2018 they collaborated on the yearlong research and performance project, Dancing Through Translation, funded by the Public Diplomacy Small Grants Fund of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. They continue to develop plans for new work to celebrate artistic exchange around the world.
Anton Ovchinnikov is a dancer, teacher, choreographer, director, producer, and photographer from Kiev, Ukraine. After serving in the Soviet Army he danced professionally in the Kiev-based Hollywood Ballet. He started studying jazz dance with Anna Braslavskaya from Russia and contemporary dance with Miguel Gutierrez from the United States of America at the International Festival Workshop TSEH in Moscow, in 1995. Every year since, Ovchinnikov has visited many major educational dance projects all over Europe.
In 2008, Ovchinnikov founded the independent dance production company, Black O!Range Dance Theatre. Despite complete lack of funding in Ukraine, the Theatre takes part in all the major dance festivals, and is recognized as the vanguard of the dance scene there. It also takes part in major festivals in Russia and Belarus, and in international festivals in Europe. From 2008 to 2017, Ovchinnikov has created more than 20 solo and group performances. In 2016-2017 alone, Ovchinnikov has created two solo performances, two multidisciplinary projects, and was a CEC Artslink Fellow, in the United States. Between 2017-2018 he collaborated with Peter Kyle (USA) on Dancing Through Translation, with support from the Public Diplomacy Small Grants Fund of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine.
Between 2009 and 2016 he taught contemporary dance technique and dance composition in Kiev National University of Culture and Arts. In 2010 he established the Zelyonka FEST Contemporary Dance Festival, in Kiev, where he is Artistic and Program Director. In 2015 he co-founded the All-Ukrainian Association “Contemporary Dance Platform”, for which he serves as President. The main objectives of the Ukrainian Contemporary Dance Platform is to support young Ukrainian choreographers, integrate contemporary dance into the modern cultural life of Ukraine, and establish a national center of contemporary dance in that country. Ovchinnikov is a graduate of Kiev National University of Culture and Arts with a B.A. in Stage Direction and Choreography, and an M.A. degree in Contemporary Dance.
Jaanika Peerna – Peter and Jaanika first met in 2017 when she collaborated with light artist, Christine Sciulli and Chinese Opera star, Qian Yi in the What For? Why Not? festival, which Peter curated at Triskelion Arts, in Brooklyn, NY. Most recently, they collaborated on What Remains, a performance installation Peter created to mark the February 2020 closing of Jaanika’s solo exhibition, Cold Love, at Real Art Ways, in Hartford, CT.
Jaanika Peerna is an Estonian-born artist and educator living and working in New York since 1998. Her work encompasses drawing, installation, and performance, often dealing with the theme of transitions in light, air, water and other natural phenomena. For her performances she often involves the audience in participatory reflection on the current climate meltdown. Her art practice stems from the corporeal experience of our existence and reaches towards enhanced awareness of the fragility, interconnectedness and wonder of all life.
She has exhibited her work and performed extensively in the entire New York metropolitan area as well as in Berlin, Paris, Tallinn, Barcelona, Venice, Moscow, Dubai, Sydney, Canberra, Montreal, and Cologne. Her work is in numerous private collections in the USA and Europe and is part of the Fonds National d’Art Contemporain, Paris. Her performance Glacier Elegy was recently acquired by the Glyn Vivian Museum in the UK. Her work is represented in the USA by JHB Gallery and ARC Fine Art and globally by IdeelART. She was awarded the FID Grand Prize in 2016 for her work in drawing, and she has been a teaching artist at the Dia Art Foundation for many years. www.jaanikapeerna.net
Diego Vásquez – Peter first met and worked with Diego in 2008 when he hired him to perform as a dancer in The Only Tribe, an evening-length multi media project conceived by sculptor Roland Gephardt and premiered at 3LD Art & Technology Center, in NYC. They reconnected in 2018 after Peter relocated to Hartford, CT where Diego was just completing his Doctorate in Music and where he remains active as a freelance musician. Most recently they collaborated with visual artist Caleb Nussear on Travelers, a site-specific immersive performance they premiered in Kyiv, Ukraine at the 2019 Zelyonka SpaceUP Festival.
Diego Vásquez is a multi-faceted performer/clarinetist based in New England. He is principal clarinet of the Berkshire Opera Festival and has performed with Hartford Symphony Orchestra, Hartford Opera Theater, New Haven Symphony, Norwalk Symphony, Bridgeport Symphony and Canterbury Choral Society in NYC, among others. He has been under contract as a dancer-mime soloist for Karl Stockhausen’s INORI in 2017 and 2018, performing under the baton of Péter Eötvös in Lucerne, Paris and at the Berlin Philharmonie. Diego has been selected to attend the Lucerne Festival Academy in Switzerland, has been fortunate enough to perform under Alan Gilbert, Susanna Mälkki, Matthias Pintscher, and in concert with Anne-Sophie Mutter, and recently participated as clarinetist in the first production of Stockhausen’s KLANG in Montréal. Diego completed his Master of Music at Mannes School of Music, and is currently completing his Doctorate of Musical Arts in clarinet with a minor in music history at The Hartt School for Music Dance and Theatre. His principal teachers are Charles Neidich and Ayako Oshima. www.diegocl.com
Caleb Nussear – Peter sought out visual artist Caleb Nussear in 2013 after happening upon some of his mirrored mosaic sculpture in a gallery in Manhattan. Over coffee, the two immediately recognized shared interests in space, efficiency and the theatricality of interacting bodies, and have been working collaboratively ever since. They have developed two evening-length programs, Move-Remove (2014), and Vigilance (2015), as well as numerous shorter one-off performance experiments in a variety of venues inside and outside of New York City, including their 2016 outdoor performance A Chance Afternoon Meeting on the Lawn at Katonah Museum of Art, in Katonah, NY. Most recently, they collaborated with clarinetist Diego Vásquez on Travelers, a site specific, immersive performance they premiered in Kyiv, Ukraine at the 2019 Zelyonka SpaceUP festival.
Caleb Nussear is an American artist living in New York. He received a B.A. in Philosophy and Religion from Bard College at Simon’s Rock and an M.A. in Social Sciences from the University of Chicago. Mr. Nussear’s work is based on the overlap between complex formal geometries, physical and mathematical concepts of higher dimensionality, the natural landscape as it is found, and finally, the sensual, tensile quality of line drawing. He is comfortable working in a variety of media such as drawing, sculpture, photography, and installation. More information at: www.calebnussear.com
Garo Sparo – After being introduced by a mutual friend, it took years for Peter and Garo to align their schedules, but the wait was worth it! Garo first provided costumes for PKD’s 2010 evening-length program, Dances in the Step Down Room. The collaboration has continued with three more evening-length projects: 100 DAYS (2011/2012), Move-Remove (2014), and Vigilance (2015).
Garo Sparo is a couture fashion designer based in Manhattan. Specializing in corsetry, custom clothing, costume design and made-to-order bridal, Garo designs for and collaborates with celebrities, artists, private clients and fashion icons such as Daphne Guinness and Amanda Lepore.
Born into a line of old world artisans skilled in beadwork and lacemaking, Garo started making clothing at age eleven, working as an apprentice to a Native American costumer on Long Island. At fourteen he designed and created his first commissioned dress, channelling his fascination with both nature and science fiction into a fledgling fashion line. While attending college at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Garo created and sold hats at various venues around town, paving the way for his signature line, the Garo Sparo Collection.
In 1995, Absolut Vodka sponsored the Garo Sparo Collection, launching a series of fashion shows at downtown New York City venues such as Limelight, Webster Hall and the underground nightclubs Click+Drag and Jackie 60. In 1999, Garo was named one of fashion’s most innovative rising stars by Gen Art, the premier national organization supporting emerging talent in the arts.
In 2000, Garo opened a boutique on historic St. Mark’s Place. A contract with Park Avenue couturier Pratis soon followed, along with a gig designing for Victoria’s Secret “Rock Chic” collection. By 2004, Garo had branched out into bridal wear and, wanting a break from the cut-throat industry attitude, decided to focus solely on his couture collection and custom design for private clients.
Garo’s designs have been featured in museums, television commercials, Hollywood films, Vatican weddings and innumerable stage performances. He is the resident designer for New York production company Screaming Queens Entertainment, and has fabricated costumes for the Metropolitan Opera. His collection pieces and custom apparel have been worn by a long and growing list of dedicated clients from all walks of life, and his Sundance Channel reality show, “Unleashed by Garo,” continues to be enjoyed by countless admiring fans. His current atelier in Manhattan’s Garment District is open by appointment only, for private consultations, custom fittings and meteorological conversations. For more information at: www.garosparo.com
Michael Bellar/AS-IS Ensemble – – Longtime PKD friend, collaborator and percussionist Brad Wentworth introduced Peter to Michael Bellar and the music of his AS-IS Ensemble in 2007. Peter was drawn to its undeniably funky, kinetic groove, and to the big heart of these music makers. So, in 2008 he asked Michael if he would work with PKD on the development of KnowOne, an evening-length work that premiered in 2010.
Michael Bellar/The AS-IS Ensemble – The AS-IS Ensemble is the musical home of musician/producer Michael Bellar. This highly excitable, alt-jazz group has opened for John Scofield, Tea Leaf Green, Medeski Martin and Wood and JFJO. They have performed at such venues as Avery Fischer Hall at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center in Washington DC, South By Southwest, the JVC, Bell Atlantic and New York City Winter Jazz Festivals and were formerly the house band at the world-famous Blue Note jazz club in New York City. In a review of their first ever performance in New York City,they were hailed as “GENERATION NEXT” by Billboard Magazine. The group has recorded three studio CDs – “Turned On Turned Up” (2009), “Like It Is,” and “REACT!”Featured on the latest release “Turned On Turned Up,” are bassist Rob Jost (Imogen Heap, Bjork), drummer Brad Wentworth (Ryan Keberle. Aretha Franklin) and percussionist Robert Di Pietro (Norah Jones, Jessie Harris). More information at: www.michaelbellar.com or www.facebook.com/michaelbellar.asisensemble.
William Catanzaro – Peter has worked with William Catanzaro since 2009. They first met as, and remain colleagues at Sarah Lawrence College just north of New York City. To date, Catanzaro has created original music for two projects with Peter Kyle Dance including: 100 DAYS (2011/2012), and Move-Remove: Tribute (2014).
William Catanzaro is an eclectic composer and multi-instrumentalist based in New York. His style is an amalgam of sources where classic meets contemporary, jazz and world music. Since arriving from his native Buenos Aires in 1989, Mr. Catanzaro has composed musical scores for renowned choreographers such as Anna Sokolow, Steve Paxton, Viola Farber, Sara Rudner and Milton Myers. His work has been presented nationally and internationally with The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, New Danish Dance Theater Denmark, TanzFabrik Berlin, Amsterdam Theatreschool, Cyprus Festival, Irish Modern Dance Theater, Architanz Tokyo, Kyoto Arts Center, Teatro San Martin Buenos Aires, Institute for Contemporary Art Boston, Philadanco, Player’s Project, Dallas Black Theater, Jacob’s Pillow and more. He has received recognition and funding from the NEA, The Samuel S. Feld Fund, New York State Council on The Arts, Harkness Foundation, NYU Humanities Council, and NYU Service/Learning Fund. Mr. Catanzaro has composed scores for many off-Broadway theater productions. He is the Composer and Conductor of MinM Musicians in Masques and the Music Director for the Young Dancemakers Company. He has worked at The Juilliard School, Marymount Manhattan College, Merce Cunningham Studio, Limon School, Martha Graham School, New York University and Skidmore College. He is currently on faculty at The Alvin Ailey School, Sarah Lawrence College and Steps on Broadway. He has developed the music score for Dario Vaccaro and Lois Greenfield’s work titled “Projected” and for their production of “Zonco”. He has several recordings as bandleader on major labels and many independent editions of his theater and dance works. His CDs “Percussion Works, Compositions For The Choreography Of Milton Myers”, “Evolution Suites” and “Percussion For The Dance Technique of Lester Horton Vol. I and Vol. II” have been received with great acclaim. His most recent CDs “Piano Works” and “About Time” co-produced with Jerome Morris have been released by CatStudio Productions. More information at: WilliamCatanzaro.com.
Venske & Spänle – Sometime in 2007 Peter met German visual artists Julia Venske and Gregor Spänle, at a gallery opening in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. In the ensuing months he visited them at their studio in the basement of an old firehouse in East Williamsburg, was delighted by their amorphous, whimsical, beautifully carved and polished Carerra marble sculptures, and soon thereafter proposed that they might work together on a performance project. Many months later, on September 24, 2010 Peter Kyle Dance premiered KnowOne, an evening- length dance/music/sculpture installation and performance at the Dumbo Arts Festival in Brooklyn, NY. The project featured sculpture and video animation by Venske and Spänle, and live music by Michael Bellar/The AS-IS Ensemble.
Julia Venske was born in 1971 in Berlin. Gregor Spänle was born in 1969 in Munich. They live and work in New York and Munich. Selected solo shows: 2011 Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York; 2010 Soloposition Preview Berlin Art Fair; 2010 Kunstkammer No.8, Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin, Germany; 2010 “voyage congolaise” Arin Contemporary Arts, Los Angeles; 2010 “Inside”, Marcia Wood Gallery, Atlanta; 2009 “voyage congolaise” Kunstverein Würzburg, Germany; 2009 “in hannover” Galerie Robert Drees, Hannover, Germany; 2009 “coming together” Thatcher Projects, New York. Selected group shows: 2010 “survival-überleben”, neue Kunst in alten Gärten, Lenthe, Germany (catalogue); 2010 Summergroupshow, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York; 2009 “wallrocket” Albright Knox Museum, Buffalo, NY, USA; 2009 “in china” Conny Dietzschold Gallery, ART HK 09, Hong Kong, China; 2009 “Raumfahrt der Bürokraten”,Schalterhalle Hbf München, Germany; 2008 “wallrocket – tribute to ed ruscha” Flagart Foundation, New York (catalogue); 2008 “schrumpf” Thatcher Projects, Pulse, Miami, USA; 2008 “las vegas collects contemporary”, Art Museum Las Vegas, USA (catalogue); 2007 “cybersmorf” installation, Pulse Art Fair, Miami.
“Venske & Spänle have journeyed widely with their mission to make stone sculpture both smart and adorable. In the last couple of years, members of their family of cartoon-like stone creatures have showed up on a boat on the Congo at Brazzaville, in a schoolyard in Munich, and on a genuinely remote Pacific island in Vanuatu.” Jerry Cullum
James Bigbee Garver – Jimmy and Peter began working together in 2005. Since then he has composed music for three dances by Peter Kyle and in 2006 they created the Tiny Dance Film Series, an installation project which they continue to develop. Jimmy has 15 years of professional theater experience, ten of them as a sound designer and composer. He creates sonic inventions, soundscapes and music for live performance, interactive media and film, often mixing the timbres of acoustic instruments with abstract, synthetic audio to achieve a unique blend of otherworldly music. His tools typically consist of both composed and sampled music, sound effects, and live signal processing.
Jimmy’s designs have been heard Off Broadway and at numerous New York City venues including Lincoln Center, The 92nd St. Y, Joyce SoHo, Japan Society, Performance Space 122, St. Ann’s Warehouse, and on Long Island at Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center. His work for interactive media has been presented or produced by the American Museum of Natural History, the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space museum and Food & Water Watch. As an actor he has performed extensively at nationally-recognized experimental venues in New York City and Seattle, across the U.S., and throughout Europe. More information at: www.bigbee.org.
Roland Gebhardt and The Only Tribe – Conceived by Roland Gebhardt, this unique theatrical experience utilizes masks, dance, sound, lighting and projected images to explore issues of societal identity in an abstract interpretation of a short story by Rebecca Bannor-Addae. Choreography by Peter Kyle, music by Stephen Barber, video design by Reid Farrington, lighting design by Stephen Arnold, and featuring dancers Christina Amendolia, Vincent McCloskey, Océane McCord, Rebecca Rainey, Ellenore Scott, Diego Vásquez, Emily Walsh, and Matthew Westerby. The project premiered at 3LD Art & Technology Center on December 3, 2008, in New York City.
Pacific Performance Project/east – between 2000 and 2008 Peter Kyle and Pacific Performance Project co-directors Robyn Hunt and Steve Pearson performed together, created and/or collaborated on numerous projects including: Going, The Water Station, Prix Fixe, Myra’s War, Suite for Strangers, To What Extent, and Gravity. Their work together has been performed at On the Boards, University of Washington, HERE Arts Center, Abrons Arts Center, University of South Carolina and with Japanese theater director Shogo Ohta, at Kyoto University of Art & Design. In addition, during this time Peter Kyle taught side by side with Hunt and Pearson in P3’s annual Physical Approaches to Performance workshops. This work continues to influence the work that Peter Kyle Dance does to bring actors, dancers, and performers of all kinds together in the creation of innovative performance projects, and in the company’s ongoing development of training practices for the next generation of artists/performers. More information at: www.p3east.com
Lori Goldston – Peter Kyle first worked with cellist/composer Lori Goldston while he was teaching in the Dance Program at University of Washington. To date, they have worked on three creative projects including Lune, a 30-minute solo performance by Kyle with Goldston performing a modified cello live. The work premiered in the 2003 UW Summer Arts Festival. In 2004 Peter commissioned a score by Lori for the premiere of EF Eridanus, a group dance he made for Cornish Dance Theater at Cornish College of the Arts, in Seattle, Washington. In 2010, Peter invited Lori to New York City to create music and play her cello live for Dances in the Step Down Room, an evening-length program of solos and duets featuring performers Holley Farmer, Scott Giguere, Scott Nath, and Mercedes Searer. More information at: www.lorigoldston.com