- Propel-her Dance Collective has been selected by Fame Theory to participate in their innovative funding experiment, Trust Art! You can now buy shares in Propel-her Dance Collective at www.trustart.org.
Who We Are
A native of Wooster, Ohio, Betsy Miller is currently a Graduate Associate at the Ohio State University, where she is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts in Dance. Betsy graduated from Connecticut College in 2005 with a B.A. in Dance. Since then, she has performed with shove gently dance, in many self-choreographed works and in collaborations with Maggie Bennett. She has worked administratively with the José Limón Dance Foundation, WHITE WAVE Dance, Bates Dance Festival, Doug Varone and Dancers, and the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance, and on the youth advisory panel of Dance/NYC, marking a passion for supporting the work of both established and emerging artists in the field. Her choreography has been presented at the d.u.m.b.o. dance festival, The Chocolate Factory, Merce Cunningham Studio Theater, Spoke the Hub, the Cool New York Dance Festival, Williamsburg Art Nexus, Columbus Dance Theatre, and other venues.
“I often see my works as paintings brought to life, infused with a churning visceral motivation, and nuanced by detailed gesture. Ideas generated by cultural reference and personal memory form the basis of these works, presenting audiences with the delicious task of peeling away layers of thought and feelings encoded in the movement.”
Cara Angela Liguori, NYC native, is an original co-founding member of Propel-her Dance Collective. Born and raised in New York City (Queens), Cara has studied with the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Doug Varone & Dancers, Jeremy Nelson, Tere O'Connor (MELT 09) and with ROSAS and The Forsythe Company (Impulstanz Festival/Workshops 08), among others. She has had the pleasure of working with DendyDance Theater, Heidi Latsky Dance, Stefanie Nelson Dance Group, Natalie Desch, Kathy Wasik, Janessa Clark/Kilterbox, and, her fellow Propel-hers. Currently a member of Aviva Geismar/Drastic Action, Cara travels to Germany once a year with the group (and Battery Dance Company), to perform and work in German Public Schools (08, 09, & 10).
Cara has created four dances in New York City with support from Propel-her Dance Collective, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, and a FAR Space Residency from The Field. Her choreography has been presented by the Collective at the Merce Cunningham Studio Theater (06, 07 & 09), and by the NYC FRINGE Festival (in collaboration with PurpleMan Theater Group, 08), Envision Chamber Orchestra 07, GrooveMamaInk 08, and most recently, at the Galerie Hans Mayer in Dusseldorf, Germany. Cara teaches contemporary creative movement and hip-hop classes around the city and is an active Grantwriter for various New York Artists, including Faye Driscoll. She graduated summa cum laude with a BA in Dance & Choreography from Connecticut College in 2005.
Ani Javian is originally from Connecticut where she began her dance training with Lee Lund at age three. Now she is a founding member of the choreographers’ collective, Propel-her, with whom she received a 2009 MCAF LMCC Grant. She graduated with BA degrees in Dance and English from Connecticut College where she was awarded the Martha Myers’ Award for Creativity. Her work has been shown at d.u.m.b.o. dance festival, COOL New York Festival, Cunningham Studio Theater, Brooklyn Arts Exchange’s Upstart Festival, Chen Dance Center’s Newsteps Series, Triskelion and Chashama. Javian has danced for independentdancemaker, Maggie Bennett, Molly Lieber, David Dorfman's underground project, Betsy Miller, Amy Adams, Labor Force Dances and Natalie Desch. She is a member of Dance/NYC’s Youth Advisory Committee and was awarded a 2008 Dance/USA Access Scholarship. Javian teaches dance in Connecticut.
"In my work, I closely consider both spatial and human relationships by unearthing an underlying rhythm: a push and pull between dancers, movement and music, performer and audience. There is a strong sense of architectural structure while the dance is propelled by inner-narrative, enriching stories for audiences. I balance this structure by utilizing instinct at the heart of my work: developing natural, inherent movement and guttural responses to it. I play subtlety against a large physicality that stems from untreated and raw energy."
Amy Tennant Adams was born and raised in Kinnelon, NJ. She graduated from Connecticut College in 2005, with degrees in Dance and Human Development, and was the recipient of the Connecticut College Dance Department Award and the Creative Dance Continuum Service Award. Amy has danced in the Beijing Cultural Arts Festival in China and performed her own work in Calcutta, India. In New York she has performed with Heidi Latsky, David Dorfman, Stefanie Nelson, Faith Pilger, Ellen Stokes Shadle, Erin Malley, Betsy Miller, Ani Javian, and is featured in a dance film by Diego Agull. Amy now lives in Brooklyn, and currently works with Regina Nejman and Company, with whom she toured twice to Brazil and performed at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. She also dances with Valerie Green/ Dance Entropy. Amy is Pilates mat certified and teaches dance and choreographs for children of all ages in Queens and New Jersey.
“I strive to create movement and art with a lucid structure from a conceptual point of view. Inspired by individual experiences and interpretations, I use these elements as a springboard in fabricating innovative, honest, and intelligent work. My process is rooted in understanding the physical feeling and shape behind my own intuitive created movement. This results in full, physical, and integrated contemporary movement with clear lines and distinct musicality. With added moments of subtle quirkiness and humane gesture, the movement aims to reveal integrity in human nature and authenticity of character through performance.”