Who We Are

Betsy MillerBetsy Miller originally hails from Wooster, Ohio. She received her early training at Wayne Center Ballet and Northeast Ohio Dance. In 2005, Betsy graduated with honors from Connecticut College with a B.A. in Dance and minors in English and History. Since relocating to New York, she has supplemented her own dancing, choreographing and teaching by serving as the Administrative Director of WHITE WAVE Dance and Assistant Institute Director of the José Limón Dance Foundation, and on the youth advisory panel of Dance/NYC. She has also worked administratively with the Bates Dance Festival, Doug Varone and Dancers, and the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance, marking a passion for supporting the work of both established and emerging artists in the dance field. In New York, her choreography has been presented at Dance New Amsterdam’s Works-in-Progress, the d.u.m.b.o. dance festival, The Chocolate Factory, Merce Cunningham Studio, Spoke the Hub, the Cool New York Dance Festival, and Williamsburg Art Nexus.

“I often see my works as paintings brought to life, infused with a churning visceral motivation, and nuanced by delicate 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 LiguoriCara Angela Liguori was born and raised in Flushing, Queens. Cara attended Connecticut College where she majored in Dance and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2005. In New York, Cara has studied with Paul Taylor Dance Company and Doug Varone & Dancers and she has performed with Heidi Latsky Dance, Betsy Miller, Natalie Desch, and Stefanie Nelson Dance Group. Since co-founding Propel-her Cara’s work has been presented with the group and by the Envision Chamber Orchestra, New York City FRINGE Festival and GrooveMamaInk. Cara is currently dancing with Drastic Action/Aviva Geismar and Janessa Clark/Kilterbox. She is a teaching artist and a Certified Pilates Mat Instructor, and she plans to spend summer 2008 dancing around the European Union.

“Overall my dances have a vivid, painterly quality like detailed snapshots from a brain in deep dream state. Often conveying a transformation of character through the confrontation of a personal demon, my pieces possess moments of identifiable, universal humanity. An insistent pursuit of personal inquiry translates into a therapeutic energy that can be felt by audiences, pervading my choreography regardless of its subject matter. With movement that is feral, coy, sturdy, rhythmic, and sensual, I aim to share a visceral experience with viewers of the catharsis that is both part and product of my creative process.”

Ani JavianAni Javian is originally from Milford, Connecticut where she began her dance training with Lee Lund. She graduated with honors in Dance and English from Connecticut College in 2005, where she studied with David Dorfman, Jeremy Nelson, Lisa Race, Eddie Taketa, Dan Wagoner, among others, and was the recipient of the Martha Myers' Award for Creativity. Ani has danced for independentdancemaker, David Dorfman's underground project, and Natalie Desch at Chashama. She is co-founder of Propel-her Dance Collective with whom she has presented her choreography at the Merce Cunningham Studio and collaborative works at Chashama Gallery. She is currently dancing for co-Collective members Amy Adams and Betsy Miller. Ani teaches dance in Connecticut and makes dances anywhere.

"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."

Maggie BennettMaggie Bennett grew up in Louisville KY, where she trained in classical ballet at the University of Louisville Dance Academy. She graduated from Connecticut College in 2005 with BAs in Dance and English. She spent four months in Ghana studying traditional Ghanaian dance, and has been inspired by Alexander Technique, Body Mind Centering, and Somatic Experiencing. In New York, Maggie has worked with David Dorfman in undergroud at BAM, Martha Bowers as a dancer and costumer, Jennifer Monson on the iLAND Ridgewood Reservoir Project, and recently performed for Paul Matteson of Nugent + Matteson Dance. She has collaborated with Propel-her member Betsy Miller and danced for Cara Liguori . Currently, she is working with Vanessa Justice Dance. She has presented work at the Merce Cunningham Studio, Chashama Gallery, Spoke the Hub, Dixon Place, MR Open Performance, and Dance Theater Workshop as part of the Fresh Tracks. Maggie is currently studying to be a Pilates Instructor at the Kane School of Core Integration.

“My dances are homemade and intimate. I work to reveal relationships between images and concepts that have no obvious relationship. In bringing together seemingly unrelated images, states, scenarios, statements, experiences and characters, an idiosyncratic logic emerges that echoes the logic of the current world. By developing abstract states that emerge from concrete ideas, rather than the idea itself, a deep embodiment of sensory existence emerges, to see and experience the world more clearly.”

Amy Tennant AdamsAmy Tennant Adams was born and raised in Kinnelon, NJ. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Connecticut College in 2005, with honors degrees in Dance and Human Development, and was the recipient of the Connecticut College Dance Department Award and the Creative Dance Continuum Service Award. Since graduating, Amy has danced in the Beijing Cultural Arts Festival in China, and in New York she has performed with Heidi Latsky, David Dorfman, Stefanie Nelson, 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 to Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, and performed at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Amy teaches dance to 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.”