Molly Smith (they/them) has a BS in Dance & Arts Management from Oklahoma City University and has been a company member of Chicago Tap Theatre (CTT) since 2018; they were recently promoted to Rehearsal Director of CTT. Molly is a choreographer and dancemaker, presenting works recently through CTT, Take Up Space Dance Festival, The Newport Theatre, and Poonie’s Cabaret at Links Hall. They are also a co-founder of/musician in THEM queers band and are on faculty at Activate Your Artistry dance convention. Molly also has experience in company management, stage management, production management, and arts administration for various theaters throughout Chicagoland, and they are currently Director of Production at Theo Ubique.

Ashaand Simone (they/ them) uses movement to poke at the boundaries of internal and external perception, with a focus on the trans body and experience. They are a co-conspirator of Such Creatures, and frequent flier with Ishti Collective, Mandala South Asian Performing Arts, and on the North Halsted strip as Ashaandti. Recent choreographic creations include "Lizard Brain," "The Rock One" "Take me to Your Planet," "Theythoven," and collaborations with Such Creatures and Ishti Collective., Formed in 2020, Such Creatures supports the collective investigations of Ashaand Simone and Luke Greeff, two Trans & Gender Non-Conforming movement artists invested in the exploration of inherent energetic systems, expanding the narrative surrounding queer and trans bodies in the process. Such Creatures engages in deep mind-body investigations in the interest of finding various extensions of the self, presented to audiences in multidisciplinary experiences with a commitment to both mental and physical accessibility and safety. The work of Such Creatures can be defined by the phrase: “Trans Audacity.”

SENSORY NOTE: There is a loud and sustained beep from 4:14-4:24, Voiceover by Timothy Atkinson, Spoken text from "The Body Keeps the Score" by Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD (page 33, 45, 61)

Pooja has been training in Kathak over the last 13 years under Gurus Smt. Nirupama Rajendra and Shri T.D. Rajendra in Bangalore, India. She has had the privilege of performing with Abhinava Dance Company at the prestigious Mysore Dasara Festival, Bangalore International Film Festival, ZEE5 Awards and Alvas NudiSiri to name a few and has also had the opportunity to be a part of their esteemed productions.She has learnt Karanas, a special movement vocabulary of Natyashastra from her Guru Smt. Nirupama. She has also attended Kathak workshops of legendary Gurus like Padma Bhushan Kumudini Lakhiaji and Pandit Birju Maharajji organized by Abhinava Dance Company. On moving to the US, she is practicing and performing under the guidance of Guru Parul Shah and Guru Nirmala Madhava also working as a collaborative artist with other dance companies. She has rendered solo recitals for various organizations at New York, New Jersey, Boston, Bay Area and Los Angeles, California. Her collaborative work in Navatman’s Mahabharata (2021) has been selected for film festivals. Pooja is also an accomplished vocalist, and has studied Carnatic Music for over 17 years under the guidance of Smt Padma Srinivasan, Shri. Narahari Dixit and Para. Manjunath. She has had the opportunity to render full-fledged Carnatic and light music concerts at prestigious festivals in India and the US such as Ramaseva Mandali(Fort High School), Shri Ramanavami Festival, Aiyyappa temple, Jayarama Seva Mandali, AKKA, SoCal Kannada Sangha, Ithihasa, VAH, LOTUS,SR Fine Arts to name a few. She has a degree in Electrical Engineering, the field in which she works full-time.

Instagram profile : poojag.123

Hannah Marcus is a Chicago-based dance artist and maker interested in supporting and deconstructing the materiality of the body. Her research finds form in collaborative performance and video work, often exploring the nexus between movement and visual design, sound, technology, and language. Her choreographic work has been presented at The Place (London), the University of Michigan Museum of Art, the Betty Pease Studio Theater, Northcenter Town Square, Lumber Studios, and through Dovetail’s 3for3 Creative Residency. In addition to creating, she’s had the pleasure of performing works by Shannon Gillen, Rosie Herrera, Ohad Naharin, Shay Kuebler, Russell Lepley, and Meredith Monk among others. Hannah holds a BFA in dance with a minor in Performing Arts Management & Entrepreneurship from the University of Michigan, graduating in 2020 as a recipient of the Earl V. Moore Award. Upon moving back to Chicago, she started working with House of DOV and Hedwig Dances.

Images by Chang-Ching Su, www.hannah-marcus.com

Maddy McCarthy (she/they) is a Chicago-based dancer, choreographer, and textile artist with a BFA in contemporary dance from Indiana University. She's had the honor of dancing in works by Bill T. Jones, Twyla Tharp, and Stefanie Batten-Bland as well as dancing for and collaborating with local dance companies and creating her own pieces. In her work she loves to explore the surreal, awkward, and funny aspects of life and encourage dancers and audience members to forgo their formality and rekindle their search for childlike joy and kinesthetic satisfaction

"Fuego Que Enfria" written and read by Jonathan Romo, Projections by visual artist Tommy Bien, Choreography/improvisation by Maddy McCarthy, program notes:, "I Wanna Do Right By You" is a multimedia dance piece that explores the relationship between the version of self created as a public persona and the internal experience of the self. The first section is comprised of movement generated from a focus on the external - concerned only with how it looks. The second section is comprised of movement generated on the spot with a focus on the internal - concerned only with how it looks. Created in collaboration with poet Jonathan Romo and visual artist Tommy Bien.