Nerve Show | Target Margin Theater | September 16, 17, 18, 2021

Created and directed by Julie Mayo with performers Justin Cabrillos, Ursula Eagly, Doug LeCours, Eleanor Smith, and Jessie Young contributing movement and sound.

Lighting Designer & Technical Director: Ben Demarest

Recorded music: Tren Brothers “Montana” (used by permission) and Alice Coltrane “Going Home” (traditional)

Bios

Julie Mayo has been making dances for 20+ years. She is also a performer and a teacher. She has been called “an associative, sometimes absurdist choreographer” by the New Yorker and her dance performance has been presented by The Chocolate Factory, The Kitchen (DAP), Gibney Dance, New York Live Arts (Fresh Tracks), JACK, Dixon Place, Movement Research at the Judson Church, Brooklyn Studios for Dance and alongside the visual artwork of James Bierdeman at the Elizabeth Harris Gallery. Her work has also been presented at NOHspace in San Francisco, Highways Performance Space in Los Angeles, and multiple venues in Chicago and in Richmond, Virginia, where she is originally from. Julie has been an Artist-in-Residence at Movement Research, Center for Performance Research, and is currently a 2021 Gibney DiP (Dance in Process) Resident Artist. She has been a recipient of residencies at Yaddo, Djerassi, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Ucross, Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Mount Tremper Arts. She has taught at many universities and colleges as a guest artist, at community venues, and currently teaches through Movement Research, the online + live platform freeskewl, and on her own Zoom’in platform juliemayo.com

Justin Cabrillos is a choreographer, performer, and writer based in Brooklyn. He was a 2016 danceWEB scholar (Vienna, Austria), and has had residencies at Movement Research (New York) and the Momentary (Bentonville, Arkansas). His work has been shown at Danspace Project, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. As a performer, he has worked with Every house has a door, Julian Barnett, Jen Rosenblit and perel. His evening length work “as of it” will premiere at the Chocolate Factory in Spring 2022.

Ben Demarest is New York based Lighting Designer, Production Manager, and Performer. He has designed work for Jennifer Monson, Walter Dundervill, Sam Kim, and Urban Word to name only a few. He is one part of the multi-disciplinary art collective TRUX, and has also appeared on stage with Royal Osiris Karaoke Ensemble, Neal Medlyn, and TYKE Dance. Ben also currently serves as the Facilities and Production Manager for Center For Performance Research.

Ursula Eagly is a dance artist who has been active in New York City and internationally for over 20 years. Her new work takes place at Abrons Arts Center this October through December. It's a one-on-one piece called The Nature of Physical Reality. Ursula has followed Julie Mayo's dances for years, and Nerve Show is the first one she is stepping into as a performer.

Doug LeCours is a choreographer, performer, and writer based in New York City. His work has been presented by AUNTS, Center for Performance Research, New York Live Arts, DraftWork at Danspace Project, WeisAcres, and the Performance Mix Festival. He has been a resident artist at Chez Bushwick and a Fresh Tracks artist at New York Live Arts. He has worked with choreographers and directors including Tess Dworman, John Jasperse, Keely Garfield, Catherine Galasso, Julie Mayo, Pavel Zustiak, RoseAnne Spradlin, and Ash R.T. Yergens. His writing has been featured in The Brooklyn Rail.

Eleanor Smith is a choreographer, freelance dancer, and Authentic Movement practitioner. She is thrilled to be performing alongside such amazing artists in Nerve Show. As a dancer, Eleanor has worked with Ivy Baldwin Dance, Molly Poerstel, and Katie Workum, among others. She is a part of Duvet, an Authentic Movement collective and is currently an MFA candidate at Hunter College. Since 2006, Eleanor has been making dances with Molly Lieber. Recent works include Gloria (Abrons Arts Center, 2021), Body Comes Apart (New York Live Arts, 2019, Documented by The New York Public Library, Jerome Robbins Dance Division and remounted for Live Artery, January 2020), Basketball (PS122 and Baryshnikov Arts Center for COIL 2017), Rude World (PS122 and The Chocolate Factory Theater for COIL 2015), Tulip (Roulette, 2013; Judson Now at Danspace Project, 2012), and Beautiful Bone (The Chocolate Factory Theater, 2012). They have a new commission at Baryshnikov Arts Center to premiere in January 2022. mollyandeleanor.com

Jessie Young is a Brooklyn-based choreographer, performer and teacher originally from Port Angeles, WA. She has been an artist in residence at New York Live Arts (Fresh Tracks), Brooklyn Studios for Dance (NY), The Floor on Atlantic (NY) and Centrum (WA). As a performer, she has had the pleasure of working with Abby Z and the New Utility, Julie Mayo, Khecari Dance Theater, The Moving Architects and Stephanie Acosta, among others. Currently, she is dancing in work with Tere O’Conner, Beth Gill, Julie Mayo, Same As Sister and Kendra Portier. As a curator and producer, she works with AUNTS in their Public Performance Initiative. Young has been on faculty at Rutgers University, Lion’s Jaw Performance + Dance Festival, Mark Morris Dance Center and Gina Gibney Dance Center. Currently, she is on faculty with the American Dance Festival, contributes to the online teaching platform freeskewl and has a virtual pilates studio JessieYoungPilates.com.

Gratitudes

Julie doesn’t know where to begin. “Begin anywhere” ~ John Cage.

OK I WILL. I would like to begin here—thank you, Mark Richardson, for everything. This includes, but is not limited to, being my life partner and my rock.

Julie would like to thank the wildly talented cast: Justin Cabrillos, Ursula Eagly, Doug LeCours, Eleanor Smith and Jessie Young. Julie is in awe of each and all of their gifted-ness. THANK YOU for being a part of Nerve Show, as it has stretched out over several years and in other forms, finally landing here/now.

THANK YOU Ben for your lighting and production expertise, your groundedness, and some good laughs too.

THANK YOU David, Sophie, Adam and Grace for the beautiful space and everything else. Thank you to Brian Rogers for the introduction to David H & Moe Y. A good meeting!

THANK YOU Christy, Nami, Emma, Krisha, Alexis and Zoe for your eyes and ears at our work-in-progress showing and the incisive feedback you offered.

THANK YOU to Yanira Castro, Tere O’Connor, Linda Mayo, Felice & Jerry Kassoy, Ryan Schreiber, Christy Funsch, Amanda Petrusich & Bret Stetka, Tess Dworman, Michelle Erard, Susan Richardson, Jocelyn Tobias & Julian Barnett, Stacy Sperling, Mina Nishamura & Kota Yamazaki, Jillian Sweeney, Cheryl & Philip Young, Krisha Swiat, Amy Phillips, Susie Silver Hjellen, Kimberly Bartosik, Shirley Robbins, Stacey Cervellino Thorp, and Mathew Pokoik (space) and Ivy Baldwin (space) for your generous support of this project and believing in art right now. Special thanks to Ricky Zein for your kind and deep generosity. This wouldn’t have been possible without you.

Nerve Show was made with the generous support of many. Julie researched, developed, and honed Nerve Show with financial, administrative and residency support from Dance in Process at Gibney. Special thanks to Gibney’s Eva Yaa Asantewaa, Sarah Rosner, Beau Banks, Shantel Prada and all staff for the DiP residency. Thank you to Melissa West and Shawna Salmon with the Snug Harbor PASS Program for the time and space in this work’s early development. Thank you to New York Foundation for the Arts, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, and Queens Theatre for the support through the City Artist Corps grant.