Contemporary Dance Theater :: Meet the 2007 Choreographers

JERI D. GATCH, Choreographer
Born in Bloomington, Indiana, Jeri Deckard Gatch is a Modern Dance teacher, choreographer, and performer. She earned her BS in Kinesiology from Indiana University, and her MFA in Performance/Choreography from Temple University where she also taught for two years. Jeri was adjunct faculty at Virginia Commonwealth University in the Dance at Theater Departments. Since moving back to the Mid-West, Jeri has worked with Contemporary Dance Theater and Growth In Motion, and performed
	with several local choreographers. Jeri choreographed for a workshop at the Playhouse In the Park, lead pre-school Creative Movement, was a Modern Dance faculty teacher at the Ohio Dance Festival, and was commissioned by Miami University and Berea College to set new works on their companies. Currently, Jeri is working at DeSales Elementary School through the Artlinks program, is on the Board of a local dance company, and a Youth Advisor for Journey To Adulthood. Supporting and inspiring all of her movement projects is Jeri’s family, for which she gives thanks.

TRICIA GELMINI, Choreographer/ dancer

Tricia is an independent dancer, choreographer and teacher. She received her MFA in dance from Smith College and a BA in dance from Antioch College. She has taught as an adjunct faculty member at Antioch college and as a guest teacher at Wittenberg University and at CDT. She has created several works for the Antioch College student dance concert. Her work has been performed in the 2001 and 2005 Choreographers Without Companies concerts, as well as in the Performance and Time Arts series. She lives and works in Yellow Springs, Ohio.

DIANE GERMAINE, Choreographer/Writer MICHELLE BUMP, Choreographer/Dancer
	Diane Germaine returns to Cincinnati after a 1½ year hiatus in New York State. Her many years as a professional choreographer and dancer include 13 years as Principal Soloist of the Paul Sanasardo Dance Company and instructor at the Performing Arts High School (PAHS) in NYC. She has been Master Instructor and Guest Choreographer for Colleges and Universities all over the US including Skidmore College, North Carolina School for the Arts, American University and, internationally, for Bat-Dor, Batsheva, Norsk Opera Ballett, and The Place in London. As Artistic Director of her own
company, Diane Germaine & Dancers (NYC), she created more than 25 works. In Cincinnati, Diane has received fellowships and project grants from the Ohio Arts Council and the City of Cincinnati. This is her 6th season as a contributor to Choreographers without Companies. Ms. Germaine is also a writer whose work has been read on Cincinnati’s WVXU radio and at “Wise Women” events presented by the Walnut Street YWCA with Women Writing for (a) Change.
MICHELLE BUMP graduated with honors from Ohio University School of Dance. Since 2000, she has worked with such choreographers as Diane Germaine, Kelly Gottesman, Linda Reiff and Cheryl Wallace. Michelle was a dancer, workshop leader and co-collaborator, in Fanchon Shur’s FLIGHT, FIGHT, FREEZE! project (2001-2003). Since 2001, Michelle has been a dancer and choreographer with the Secret Commonwealth Folk Dance Opera projects, founded by Dan Dutton. Michelle has worked with various companies including Mind Collision Dance Company, Pilobolus, Shawn
Womack Dance Company, Village Productions Contemporary Ballet Company, Mark Taylor Dance Company, and Liz Lerman. Her own work has been seen in Cincinnati’s Fringe Festival, and in collaborations with Moving Art Dance Company. She is a certified Pilates instructor and has her own studio in Norwood where she works with private clients.

JASON HATCHER, Choreographer
	Jason Hatcher received his B.S. in Musical Theater from a tiny college of which you’ve never heard in a small town in North Carolina to which you’ve never been. He has never worked with anyone famous. He is emphatically not taking the dance world by storm, and is quite content. This is his third bit of choreography for Choreographers Without Companies.


RACHEL JAMES, Choreographer
Rachel grew up with Contemporary Dance Theater, taking dance classes with an eclectic and generous faculty. She studied dance at Vassar College and The Dance Place in Washington DC. In the last two years Rachel has choreographed "Sugarfoot" for the Performance & Time
Arts (PTA) series, "Rrronja" for CWC (2005), a signed/spoken/ sung/dance solo "My Funny Valentine" (PTA), and a collaboration with Ruusu Sunila, "Red Pants and Laughing" (PTA). As a performer, Rachel has worked with many local choreographers including Christina DiGiovanni, Jeri Gatch, Tricia Gelmini, Diane Germaine, Judith Mikita, Susan Moser, Linda Reiff, Fanchon Shur, and Cheryl Wallace. Rachel teaches Modern Dance at CDT and Rhythm & Motion Dance Workout classes at the Cincinnati Ballet. She holds an M.A. from Gallaudet University in Interpretation and is a nationally certified sign language interpreter.

JUDITH MIKITA, Choreographer/dancer

Judith Mikita toured with the Chicago-based companies of Shirley Mordine, Jan Erkert, and Bob Eisen for ten years. She also worked with Martha Clarke (Pilobolus co-founder) and Lucas Hoving (Jose Limon partner). Recently, her choreography has been presented at the Cincinnati Art Museum, Contemporary Dance Theater’s Choreographers Without Companies, Interlochen Center for the Arts, Cleveland’s Poetry not in the Woods Series, Miami University, and the University of Cincinnati Patricia Corbett Theater. Judith has served on the faculties of the University of Chicago, Columbia College, and Antioch College, and

as an artist-in-residence at the University of Utah. She currently teaches modern dance at the University of Cincinnati, College Conservatory of Music. Judith holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and a BA in Theater and Dance from Indiana University. She is a member of the Board of Directors of OhioDance. Her dance video, "Palimpsest," made with video artist Charles Woodman, was presented at the American Dance Festival and the New York International Independent Film Festival.

ASHLEY L. SUTTLAR, Choreographer/dancer

Praised for her "bold, vivid and seamless" choreography, Ashley Lecille Suttlar has been called "a force to behold" by the Philadelphia Inquirer and an “emerging sensation” by the Painted Bride Arts Center. She has a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University and a MFA in Dance from Temple University. Ashley worked as a performance artist in Philadelphia, where she was a member of Paule Turner's Court and Charles O. Anderson’s Dance Theatre X. She has also performed with Tania Isaac Dance Projects, Darla Stanley, Melanie Stewart Dance

Theatre, and Kariamu Welsh. Ashley's work has been presented at Philadelphia and Cincinnati Fringe Festivals, Dance House, Moving Collective Concert Series, Painted Bride's Divine Women, Divine Work Series, American College Dance Festivals, Black College Dance Exchange, International Association of Blacks in Dance Conference, and other venues. Currently, Suttlar is Assistant Professor of Dance at Morehead State University where she is implementing a dance curriculum and is Director of the MSU Dance Ensemble. She is also the Kentucky Arts Council's Performing Arts Directory Artist. Suttlar is delighted to premiere her latest work, Soulsurfacing for the Contemporary Dance Theater's 2007 Choreographers Without Companies Concert. She will also present this summer at the Goose Route Dance Festival and continues to work as an independent artist.