ABOUT US
Established in 2018 by Artistic Director Jordan Ryder, RyderDance is a performance based contemporary dance collective. RyderDance actively works to expand the reach and accessibility of contemporary dance works by exploring new audiences and mediums to nurture the life of live performance art. Jordan believes that movement can be expansive, exhilarating and personal all at once and that is something that the company shares and celebrates in every stride.
The Collective's work has been presented at dozens of venues across the tri-state area, including the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens, Dixon Place, The Loew's Jersey Theatre, Mark Morris Dance Center, and the Martha Graham Studio Theater, to name a few. Most recently, the Company had a sold out run of HOMECOMING, an original RyderDance production presented by the Tank Theater in Manhattan.
RyderDance's dance practice is inspired by the combination and juxtaposition of the natural human experience with humans’ physical and athletic capabilities. The work contrasts emotions with raw movement, left brain with right, and pushes the limitations of instinct. The collision of these differing forces is the root of the Collective's motivation to move, create, and grow.
THE ARTISTS
Emily Cattan was born and raised in Mexico City. After graduating high school, she moved to Israel for a year and was part of the International Dance Journey with Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company. In 2020, Emily moved to NYC and joined the Certificate Program at Peridance Center and graduated in 2022. She currently works as an apprentice with Peridance Contemporary Dance Company under the direction of Igal Perry, and freelances with companies such as Beth Graczyk Productions and RyderDance.
Chelen Middlebrook is a NYC based movement artist and choreographer from Northern Virginia. She relocated to NYC in 2017 and graduated from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance in 2022. They have performed works by Stanton Welch, Trisha Brown, Crystal Pite, George Balanchine, and Ohad Naharin among many others. They have recently worked with Kayla Farrish's Decent Structures Arts and Shamel Pitts' TRIBE under the direction of Marcella Lewis.
Miriam Rose (she/her) graduated with a BFA in dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 2018 under the direction of Sean Curran. While at NYU she had the opportunity to perform works by Madboots, Pamala Pietro and Jeremy Nelson as well as study abroad in Berlin. Miriam has performed in NYC in projects with Bitedown Collective, Carly Lepore (Tinted Windows), and Polly Jacobs and has been a member of RyderDance since 2020!
Philip Strom (he/him) received his BFA at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he danced in work by Crystal Pite, Sonya Tayeh, Ronald K. Brown, and Paul Taylor. Since graduating he has performed with Andrea Ward, Bennyroyce Dance, Bill T. Jones/ Arnie Zane Company, Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance, Gabrielle Johnson + Artists, inDance (Hari Krishnan), & RyderDance. He danced in Spingboard Danse Montreal’s 2018 project, performing in works by Maxine Doyle of Punchdrunk, and Emese Nagy of MA•ZE.
Devon Travis is a native of Dallas, TX, where she graduated from Booker T. Washington High School. Devon moved to NYC in 2015 and graduated Summa Cum Laude from NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She has performed works by Crystal Pite, Sidra Bell, Sonya Tayeh, MADBOOTS Dance among others and has worked in Italy under Giada Ferrone’s WADE Dance. Devon has collaborated with other companies in NYC such as VALLETO, BiteDown Collective, and Javier Padilla, and has been a member of RyderDance since 2018.
ADDITIONAL PAST AND PRESENT DANCERS/COLLABORATORS
AYALA ABRAMS
RICARDO G. BARRETT
EMILY CATTAN
ZURI NOELLE FORD
JULIA GOLD
SPENCER GROSSMAN
ISRAEL HARRIS
MEGUMI IWAMA
GABE KATZ
STONE MATHERS
LAURA MENDES
CHELEN MIDDLEBROOK
ALYSSA MYERS
ROB NEUBAUER
DANTE NORRIS
EMMA MASSARELLI
JERARD PALAZO
OSCAR ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ
MIRIAM ROSE
PHILIP STROM
ALEX TENREIRO THEIS
DEVON TRAVIS
MIRANDA VIARS
ALEX WARE
LAWRENCE I WILDE
ELIZA WOITINNEK
LIANA ZHEN-AI