SUZANNE HAAG
More to the Pointe Lab Cycle
DLNY was proud to partner with Chautauqua Institution to offer a special lab for three choreographers exploring the creation of work on pointe with dancers who are male-presenting, male-identifying, transmasculine, and/or whose assumed gender is male.
INSIDE THE LAB
Filmed by Joe Gustafson // Edited by Unreel Films
Photos by Joe Gustafson Photography
This Lab Cycle is made possible with generous support from the Harkness Foundation for Dance.
DLNY DANCERS
Carlos Caballero Hopuy is from Havana, Cuba. He started dancing at the age of 9 years old at Nacional Ballet School of Cuba. Carlos graduated in 2002, and at only 18 years old, he became Principal Dancer at the National Ballet of Cuba. Carlos was a principal dancer in Pro Dance Company, directed by Laura Alonso. Since 2012, Carlos has danced as Principal Dancer with the Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo and now is a ballet master and a dancer of ballet 22.
Ugo Cirri is from Lausanne, Switzerland and has trained at the Ballettschule Theater Basel, Miami City Ballet School and San Francisco Ballet School. Uga has been a dancer at Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo since June of 2019.
Duane Gosa from Columbus, OH by way of Chicago, IL, has been working as a dance artist in NYC since 2008. After receiving a BFA in Dance from the University of Akron, Duane has had the opportunity to work with a variety of talented artists ranging in different styles of performance including Jennifer Muller/The Works, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, The Love Show, New York City Opera, AIDA (Taiwanese tour), Brooklyn Ballet, Ballet22, and Gleich Dances to name a few.
Maxfield Haynes (BFA NYU Tisch) is an Afro-Latiné queer artist originally from Louisville, Kentucky. They received their formal ballet education at the San Francisco Ballet School, and have gone on to dance professionally with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and Ballez. This is Maxfield’s first time working with Dance Lab NY and they are very excited for the potential of this project.
Shohei Iwahama is a dancer, choreographer, and dance educator and earned his MFA and BFA in Dance from Sam Houston State University. Shohei is a member of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. Shohei began dancing under the tutelage of Miyako Kato in Tokyo, Japan. He has worked with NobleMotion Dance, James Sewell Ballet, and Hope Stone Dance. Shohei was named Houston Press’ 100 Creatives 2013 and a recipient of the Minnesota SAGE Award 2015 as an Outstanding Dance Performer.
Trent Montgomery is a dance artist, teacher and choreographer who is currently a company member with Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo. He holds both a MFA and BFA in Dance from Florida State University and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he had the privilege to perform works by Merce Cunningham, Dan Wagoner and others. He served as the Associate Artistic Director of Ballet Arts Conservatory of Tallahassee for several years and has worked extensively with Arkansas Festival Ballet as a dancer, instructor and resident choreographer.
Jake Speakman was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA where he began dancing at The Academy of International Ballet. He received his BFA from Marymount Manhattan College under the direction of Katie Langan. Upon graduation he was a dancer with New York Dance Project and New York Theater Ballet. Mr. Speakman joined Les Ballet Trockadero De Monte Carlo in the fall of 2021 where he performs works such as: Swan Lake, Swan Lake Pas de Trio, Les Sylphide, and Paquita. You can follow him on Instagram @jakespeakman
Originally from Puerto Rico, Roberto Vega Ortiz began dancing at the age of 14. He trained at Escuela de Ballets de San Juan, Conservatorio de Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, Escuela Especializada en Ballet Julián E. Blanco and Miami City Ballet School. He then danced professionally with Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico, Nashville Ballet II, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo and Diablo Ballet. Vega Ortiz is now the Co-Founder Artistic Director & Artist of Ballet22 in Oakland, CA.