Artistic Director + Choreographer

Nicole von Arx is a Swiss-British dance-theatre artist based in Brooklyn. Born outside London and raised in Hong Kong and Switzerland, she moved to the US in 2008 to train at The Ailey School, where she graduated in 2011. Her work has been presented at The Joyce Theater (New York, NY), The New Victory Theater (New York, NY), Joe’s Pub (New York, NY), Triskelion Arts (Brooklyn, NY), the Center for Performance Research (Brooklyn, NY), Stanford Live (Stanford, CA), The Westside Theatre (Missoula, MT), and internationally at venues including Bâtiment des Forces Motrices (Switzerland), Théâtre Nuithonie (Switzerland), and the Luminato Festival (Toronto). Nicole has been commissioned to choreograph for NW Dance Project, Whim W’Him, Brooklyn Ballet, Edmonton Opera, Wolf Trap Opera, Limón2, BYU, Boston Conservatory at Berklee, and D.A.F Dance Arts Faculty (Rome), among others. She is a recipient of the Ann & Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship at Jacob’s Pillow (2020) and has been nominated for the Princess Grace Award in Choreography (2024-2026). Her work has been supported by the Danse Mirage Foundation, NYSCA, the Lily Auchincloss Foundation, Brooklyn Arts Council, and Gland Culture.

Since 2014, she has created work under the name, NVA & Guests.

Photo by Gabe Katz

Performer

Juan Carlos Franquiz II, born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, is the founder of the project-based dance company Arch Dansé Ensemble. He trained at the Joffrey Ballet Academy at Fort Hamilton High School under Sabrina Jaafar and later joined MOVE |NYC|’s Young Professionals Program. Carlos earned his BFA in Dance from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College, where he performed works by renowned choreographers including Bill T. Jones, George Balanchine, and MICHIYAYA. He has choreographed for numerous companies and institutions and was most recently seen performing with Kyle Abraham’s A.I.M, NVA & Guests, and Tethered Residents. Carlos also curates performance platforms for emerging choreographers throughout New York City.

Photo by Nicole von Arx

Performer

Gabe Katz (he/him) is a dancer, choreographer, and educator with a BFA in dance from Marymount Manhattan College. He is also an alum of The School at Jacob’s Pillow, HSPro at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Springboard Danse Montreal. Gabe has performed repertoire by choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Hofesh Shechter, Peter Chu, Sonya Tayeh, Jenn Freeman, Akira Uchida, Rena Butler, and JA Collective, and has performed with NYC based dance companies MADBOOTS DANCE, Hivewild, and NVA & Guests.. His commercial credits include Gap, Puma, NOWNESS, Eartheater, Shygirl, Paul McCartney, and Ryan Heffington. He has taught and choreographed at dance institutions around the country, creating numerous live works and dance films. Gabe was also a performer and swing in the final years of Punchdrunk’s Off-Broadway show, Sleep No More in NYC.

Photo by Nicole von Arx

Performer/Rehearsal Director/Costume Designer

Caitlin Taylor earned her B.F.A. in Dance at Marymount Manhattan College, and has worked for the past twelve years as a freelance dance artist in NYC and abroad. She worked with Alexander Whitley Dance Company from 2017-2019, and has had the privilege to perform at The Royal Opera House, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, The Royal Danish Opera, The Joyce Theater, Scottish Opera, and many more. Caitlin performed in the New York Stage and Film incubator for the monologue Tulipa, written by Kate Douglas and directed by Kate Whoriskey. Since 2021, she has worked with NVA & Guests on their last six works: Stay With Me, TOMORROW, Mont Blanc, The Fear Project, SOI, and most recently, Cry Wolf. Caitlin is also a costume designer.

Photo by Nicole von Arx

Performer

Born & Raised in Virginia, Dareon Blowe is a interdisciplinary dancer, creator, and educator who is fascinated by hybridity & investigative movement research. He obtained his BFA from The George Mason School of Dance on a full scholarship under the leadership of Susan Shields & Karen Reedy. Additionally, He is an alum of The School at Jacob’s Pillow, SpringBoard Danse Montreal, and in 2021 he trained under MOTUS the company led by Diana Matos. He has performed repertoire by Kyle Abraham, Sidra Bell, Micaela Taylor, Camille Brown, Doug Varone, Wayne McGregor, Rafael Bonachela, Rena Butler, and more. Dareon has worked with companies like RUBBERBAND, Doug Varone & Dancers, and NVA & Guests. He has taught and created at a multitude of programs around the country like Gibney Dance, BigKids Summer, Boston Arts Academy, Governors School of the Arts, Frank Sinatra School of the arts ,and Colgan School of Performing arts.

Photo by Nicole von Arx

Performer

Michael Greenberg is a dancer and choreographer from New York City. He began his training at the Ailey School in 2004 and went on to study dance at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. Michael received his BFA from NYU Tisch in 2017. Since his graduation, Michael has performed with the Met Opera (Aida and Salome), Fiddler on the Roof (1st National Tour), NW Dance Project, NVA & Guests, Liz Gerring Dance Company, Rashaun Mitchell and Silas Riener, Obremski/Works, and Jody Oberfelder Projects. Michael received a 2024 Cuny Dance Initiative (CDI) residency and presented a work at City College of New York.

Photo by Nicole von Arx

Understudy

Thy-Lan Alcalay is a performer and creator from Brooklyn, New York. She began her training at The Ailey School and is a graduate of LaGuardia High School, MOVE|NYC|’s Young Professionals Program, and Springboard Danse. Thy-Lan is an alumna of Barnard College of Columbia University, where she studied Dance and Architecture. Throughout her training, she has performed repertory by Pina Bausch, Andrea Miller, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, chuthis., KOMOCO, Welcome to Campfire, and VIMVIGOR. She has worked with companies including David Dorfman Dance, Graham II, Colleen Thomas Dance, BodySonnet, and Stefanie Nelson Dancegroup. As an actress, she has guest-starred on Law & Order: SVU and appeared in campaigns for Target, AMEX, Bloomingdale’s, Facebook (DGA-nominated), Kiss Beauty, and Truth Initiative.

Photo by Nicole von Arx

Understudy

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Derek Lee is a Chinese-American multidisciplinary artist. He studied dance at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School before earning a BFA in Contemporary Dance from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. An alumnus of the MOVE|NYC| Young Professionals Program, Derek has also trained at Jacob's Pillow Contemporary Program, RUBBERBAND Summer Intensive, and Springboard Danse Pittsburgh. He has collaborated with and performed works by Kyle Abraham, Aszure Barton, Ethan Colangelo, James Gregg, and Scott Autry, among others, and recently danced with LamDanceWorks. Through movement, collaboration, and interdisciplinary practice, Derek explores work rooted in curiosity, connection, and storytelling.

Photo by Nicole von Arx

Company Manager

Liz Hepp is a dance artist and producer based in Brooklyn, New York. Performance credits include works by Heidi Latsky, PeiJu Chien-Pott, Caitlin Trainor, Dusan Tynek, Michelle Thompson Ulerich, Jessica Ray, Erick Montes and Merce Cunningham. She has performed nationally on proscenium stages, in museums, and site-specific works in quarries and on beaches. Liz was a 2025 Fellow with NYU Production Lab’s Artist Development Program for Dance and holds a BFA in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She is a co-producer with CreateART Performance and lead producer at Noo Arts.

Photo by Mallory Pettee

Lighting Designer

Matt Morris is a New York City based lighting designer with varied lighting design experience across theater and dance, music, comedy, and other live events. He particularly enjoys working on new work with emerging artists and has an affinity for dance and movement.

Through his work at Triskelion Arts in Brooklyn he has collaborated on new pieces with several artists and companies, including the Jamal Jackson Dance Company, SHA Creative Outlet, and 2nd Best Dance Company.

Youth Creation Program 2026 Program Coordinator

Suzannah Dessau is a New York City-based dancer and dance educator. She holds a BFA from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and an MA in Dance Education from NYU Steinhardt with a concentration in ABT Ballet Pedagogy. Suzannah is fully certified in the ABT National Training Curriculum (Pre-Primary through Level 7) and is also a 200-hour certified yoga instructor. She has nearly a decade of experience teaching ballet, contemporary, creative movement, and dance conditioning in both pre-professional and recreational settings. As a performer, she has worked with companies including Punchdrunk, Oui Danse, Liz Roche and Erin K. McNulty Dance. Suzannah's work is driven by a belief in student-centered pedagogy and a commitment to supporting the next generation of technically strong, artistically curious dance artists.

Advisor

Dan Gross is a seasoned advocate for artists who has worked around the entertainment industry for nearly 20 years. He has focused on matching brands with musicians, and is currently the Director, Sync at Warner Chappell music publishing. In the past, his work with the advertising industry has included brands like Microsoft, Mastercard, Verizon, L'Oréal, and has been awarded Clios, D&AD Pencils, Cannes Lions and more. Dan has been heard on panels at places like SXSW and Nashville's Who Knew, and in guest lectures at institutions like New York University and Berklee School of Music. He is a graduate of the University of Rochester with a B.A. in Economics and a Certificate in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing. He brings his love of dance and live performance to NVA & Guests.

Photo by Katie Henry