common space
common space offers a platform for emergent choreographers and movement artists based in NYC to create new work in a collaborative, intimate, performance setting.
our goal is to provide a professional performance opportunity with equitable access to resources. we aim to support work that has a fresh, unique quality, one that is inherently creative and original.
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Anna Limberea is a first-generation Russian/Romanian American, born in New York City and raised in the DMV area. She recently completed the Independent Training Program at the Gibney School and is now an innovative performing artist and choreographer based in NYC. Anna’s training began at Center Stage Dance & Performing Arts in the DMV area. Under the mentorship of Laura Schmidt, Peanut (Chris) Saunders, and Hilary Wright, and guided by renowned tap legend Sherri Shortell, Anna developed her artistry. From ages 16 to 18, she further honed her craft at the Fairfax Academy of Performing Arts under modern extraordinaire Meredith Barnes. Anna’s artistic vision is profoundly shaped by her cultural heritage, particularly her upbringing with a jazz pianist father. These musical influences continue to inform her choreography and performances.
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Liz Westbrook is a dancer and dance maker from New Hampshire based in New York City. She’s completed a certification in Contemporary Dance from Gibney as well as studied Movement Practice and Composition at Bennington College, and attended The University of the Arts (BFA, Dance). She has been a Class Fellow with VLA Dance in Boston, as well as apprenticed for Grant Jacoby and Dancers. To make dance, is to build a world. Liz approaches her collaborators with research as a way to invite them into her vision, which they shape together. Their practices become a study to examine and manifest these worlds. She creates these worlds to observe and acknowledge human experience — often experiences we might not otherwise acknowledge. Recent credits: Katia Tubini, Nadine Gerspacher, Grant Jacoby, Laura Sanchez, Anna Limberea, Shaina Schwartz. In addition to being in residency with creature space, is currently in collaboration to present work for Moulin/Belle, 7MPR, and Junction Dance Festival. She also currently interns for Critical Correspondence.
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Chisato Fujii (she/her), a native of Japan, began her training in ballet and jazz dance at Matsuoka Jazz and Ballet Studio at age 5, and is currently attending the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase College. She has performed works by Merce Cunningham, Norbert De La Cruz, Tsai His Hung, New Dance Group, Trisha Brown, Kevin Wynn, Symara (Johnson) Sarai and more.
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Alex Krstić is a dancer, choreographer, and research ethicist from San Diego, CA. She has performed in works by Ronald K. Brown, H.T. Chen, and in adaptations of other landmark works (The Rite of Spring; Carmina Burana). Her own work has featured in performances at Williams College, with DanceWorks NYC, with Unbound Dance Collective, and with the Donna Cory Legacy Project (which she organizes annually). She has also performed at the Young Choreographer’s Festival and with Anthology33.
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Gabriel Garon is a dancer, choreographer, and landscape architecture student living in Brookline, MA. He began his modern and contemporary dance training with Donna Cory as a high schooler at The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, CA. As a student at Columbia University, he took classes from Jodi Melnick and Colleen Thomas and performed and choreographed with a number of student groups. After college, he has continued to dance and choreograph with the Donna Cory Legacy Project and Danceworks NYC.
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Raychel has had work featured on the 2020 Kilroys List, and at the Centre National de la Danse (Paris), HERE Arts (NYC), The Brick (NYC), En Garde Arts (NYC), the New School College of Performing Arts (NYC), Poetry Society of New York (NYC), Annenberg Performing Arts Center at the University of Pennsylvania (PHL), 954 Dance Movement Collective (PHL), Ursinus College (PA), the Shoebox Theater Festival (PHL), Vox Populi (PHL), the Ringling Museum of Art (FL), MARA Studio|Gallery (FL), Marie Selby Botanical Gardens (FL), Sarasota Art Museum (FL), the Bay Park Conservancy (FL), and with the Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies department at the New College of Florida. Raychel has produced their work with support from the Florida Humanities Council, Sarasota Arts and Cultural Alliance, Florida Public Archaeology Network, and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Raychel received their BA with honors from the New College of Florida, where they double majored in Literature and Anthropology, and where they worked as an Visiting Professor in spring 2022.
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Yang Sun is a dancer and choreographer, working in the intersection of movement, color, and poetry. In 2023, Yang won 3rd place in ImpulsTanz "Freedom is a Dancer" Dance Battle, Vienna. As a choreographer, she has presented works at Hi-Arts, Arts on Site, Kirby Theater, ACDA Northeast Regional Gala, Queens Outdoor Dance Festival, CraftNYC, Red Pavilion, The Wild Project etc. She is a 2024 resident artist with Hi-Arts where she started the artist collective: Yang Sun & Poets.
Her 2023 dance film “Poet” was an official selection for numerous international festivals including:Dance Camera West; Portland Dance Film Festival; American Dance Festival Movies by Movers; and Cinédanse Sept-Îles Prix Lumière nomination. -
Audrey Allen (she/they) is a visual and movement artist based in New York City. As a previous member of GibneyPRO, directed by Alexandra Wells, Audrey received training from Chelsea Bonosky, Omri Drumlevich, Zina Zinchenko, Dual Rivet, and more. She performed works by Laja Field, Ana Maria Lucaciu, Peter Chu, Adam Barruch, Lea Ved, and Sidra Bell. Audrey graduated with Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Dance from Brigham Young University while also dancing with BYU’s Contemporary Dance Theatre. Audrey has extensive screen acting and directing experience with accolades from Utah Dance Film Festival and Noori Screendance Festival. Their artistic endeavors root themselves in a desire to engage in effort and exploration. At the heart of their work lies an immersed journey into world-building, where they explore how stepping into imagined realms allows us to transcend the composition of our own world, therefore diving into humanness in extreme doses.
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Frances is a dancer and choreographer based in Brooklyn, NY. Her work has been showcased at Movement Research, Symphony Space, the Athenaeum Theatre (Chicago, IL), and the Eskenazi School of Architecture (Bloomington, IN). She has performed in works by Petra Zanki, Bill T. Jones, Stafford Berry Jr., Selene Carter, Amelia Heintzelman/Leah Fournier, Lilli Dekker/Owen Prum, Lulu Munteanu, Braedan Barnes, and more.
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Lo Poppy is a multifaceted experimentalist based in movement practices. They obtained their BFA in Dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. Lo performed and worked with Bill T Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Trisha Brown, Jenn Freeman, Luna Cenere, På Tå Hev, and Den Norske Opera & Ballett.
They are the Founder of the Fluid Creature Collective, and have presented work at SARAIKATIA at University Settlement, Ailey Citigroup Theater, Green Space: Digging in Group Residency, 7MPR, Steps Beyond Foundation: Choreography Labs, SOHO Playhouse and The Deans Tisch Orientation at Town Hall. -
ABBONDANZA was launched in January 2025. The word means ‘abundance’ in Italian, but it's more than just a word. It's a celebration, an affirmation, and a call to live a life of plenty. Our aim is to take this into our dance spaces and create a community centered around pleasure, honesty, and imagination. We believe that opportunity creates even more opportunity, and that there is more than enough to go around! Our work asks you to show up not only for yourself, but for one another. As we tell our stories, do you see a glimmer of yours?
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Cecilia Mitchell, a Montclair NJ native, cultivated her dance foundation at Sharron Miller's Academy for the Performing Arts, where she trained extensively and performed throughout her community. As a member of the esteemed Performance Workshop Ensemble, she engaged in arts education initiatives, using dance to connect with diverse audiences. She earned her BA in Dance Performance from Stockton University, performing with the Stockton Dance Company and collaborating with artists such as Caroline Fermin, Tiffany Mills, Meredith Rainey, Salena Pettaway, Lauren Putty White, Christopher Huggins, and Christian Von Howard. Mitchell's professional credits include performances with The Moving Architects, Koresh Artist Showcase, Putty Dance Project, and Alma Dance Company. As a freelance artist, she continues to teach, choreograph, and perform across the East Coast, expanding her artistic repertoire while deepening her passion for dance education and performance.