Dance Auditions

Five College Dance Auditions at UMass Amherst with Jenna Riegel. Photo © nikki lee.

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Thanks to All who came out for Fall 26 Auditions!

If you have been cast, congratulations! Please be sure to register in the course listed as soon as possible. Reach out to the faculty director to confirm your interest. Be aware that your rehearsals may start as early as tomorrow. (See below for Ballet Placement.)

MASTER REHEARSAL SCHEDULE for Fall 26 faculty projects

If you are not cast this time, please keep at it! Consider auditioning for the many opportunities coming up - for student projects and for campus dance groups. 

FCD Auditions Cast Lists - September 12, 2026

Barbie Diewald - Please register for MHC DANCE 305RB-01

• Beatrix Airhart MHC
• Sophia Dumsch MHC
• Wilsie Ferris MHC
• Lia Gish MHC
• Felonica Kirkham MHC
• Ellen Lawton MHC
• Jessy Minas UM
• Avital Reshit SC
• Lillian Sanford MHC

Ellie Goudie-Averill - Please Register for MHC DANCE 305RC-02

• Molly Armbrust MHC
• EJ Byer-Tuohey MHC
• Abby Chan MHC
• Maria Dean NA
• Xintong Han UM
• Kiana Jeskewitz MHC
• Jolina Kong MHC
• Cherace Lin MHC
• Heath Suzor UM
• Lilly Wright MHC

Lindsey Jones - Please Register for SC DAN 207-02

• Elizabeth Windnagle SC
• Elizabeth Kisor, SC
• Maeve Laffan MHC
• Ariel Barniv UM
• Andromeda Brushcke, SC
• Abby Chan MHC
• Sofia Gluck SC
• Arianna Zirbel SC
• Nissa Inwood SC
• Amara Baker SC
• Sonja Brown MHC
• Julia Grabow SC
• Sadie Whalen UM
• PLEASE NOTE: Remaining Cast TBD, Faculty will reach out.

Alexis Robbins - Please register for SC 207-01

• Lucy Booth SC
• Christine Buskey MHC
• Charli Kellaway SC
• Lauren Kravitz SC
• Ivy Hannich SC
• Andromeda Bruschke SC
• Eliana Kruege, SC
• Arianna Zirbel, SC

Rodger Blum - Please register for SC 309-02

• Catherine Abilla, SC
• Carolyn Coffey, SC
• Louisa Damborg, SC
• Ada Fiala, SC
• Ellery Gleason-Kaiser, SC
• Papatya Krody, SC
• Isabelle Perez, SC
• Avital Reshit-Sampson, SC
• Julia Steinberg, SC
• Mia Tagore, SC
• Lizzy Tucker, SC

MASTER REHEARSAL SCHEDULE 

for Fall 26 faculty projects
 

Fall Faculty Concert Tech & Performance Dates

• MHC tech dates Nov 7-11
• MHC performance dates Nov 12-14
   
• SC tech dates Nov 14-18
• SC performance dates Nov 19-21** 
• **Amherst students please note this performance is Saturday evening of Thanksgiving break.
   
• AC/HC/UM tech dates Nov 29-Dec 2**
• AC performance dates Dec 3-5
• **All students please note tech starts the last Sunday evening of Thanksgiving break.

Faculty Project Information by Faculty Artist

Barbie Diewald

Faculty: Barbie Diewald
Genre: Contemporary Ballet, Intermediate/Advanced level
Rehearsing and Performing at: Mount Holyoke College
About the work:
My work draws influence from across the concert dance spectrum, including ballet, modern, and postmodern contemporary forms. It is usually highly collaborative and relies on improvisation as a mode of generating movement. Students should be comfortable with (or interested in!) partner work, as that often plays a large part in my dances.
The work I am making this year is a tribute to my collaborator and colleague, musician Peter Jones, who is celebrating his 40th anniversary in Five College Dance this year. The music was chosen by Jones, and comprises several piano works composed by him. The material I have been working on requires an understanding of ballet logic and technique but is decidedly a contemporary work. Students who have studied ballet but want to branch into more contemporary and collaborative processes would be well-served by this process! Some images I am working with: falling into and out of view, a sense of vast landscape, queer-micro-love-stories, formality and casualness in relationship, being precise while loosening the reins.
Rehearsal times: MW 12:00PM-1:15PM F 12-3PM
Some Saturday rehearsals are also scheduled. See me if you have small conflicts, as I may be able to work around them!
Cast size: 10 total, looking for 6 more dancers.

Ellie Goudie-Averill

Faculty: Ellie Goudie-Averill
Genre: Contemporary Modern, Intermediate/Advanced level
Rehearsing and Performing at: Mount Holyoke College
About the work: I make dances to draw lines out from ourselves into the world, help us to understand the limits of codified systems of movement, and to find freedom within form. I want dancers in my work to feel and to be seen in three dimensions, to live within and beyond their lineage and training, and to make change their constant.
This Fall, I'll be creating a new contemporary work for the Mount Holyoke Concert. I am seeking dancers with the desire to dive into technical movement with curiosity and ease. We will work together on momentum driven phrases, some partner work, and a human presence within the formal aesthetics of classical modern dance. We will be working with music from Peter Jones' album The Fifth Movement.
Rehearsing at: Mount Holyoke College
Rehearsal times: TTh 3:15PM-04:45PM
Cast size: 7-11
Video Links: vimeo.com/1145397945 and vimeo.com/eleanorga

Lindsey Jones

Faculty: Lindsey Jones
Genre: Cunningham technique / Modern, Intermediate Level
Rehearsing and Performing at: Smith College
About the work: Merce Cunningham (1919-2009) was a celebrated dancer and choreographer renowned for his groundbreaking work, his lifelong passion for innovation, and his profound influence on generations of dancemakers and artists.
Merce Cunningham's TV Rerun (1972) explores shifting focus on stage by having one or more persons moving around the stage photographing the performance, so that the dancers would be aware and move with a non-fixed focus. Carolyn Brown described it as "a dance in which everyone learns the same material but is free to choose spontaneously in performance what parts of it she or he wishes to perform"
Rehearsal times: TTh 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Cast size: 10-14 dancers

Alexis Robbins*

*To audition, please come to the first class on Friday, Sept 11 at 1:20-4:00pm in Leeds Studio, Berenson Hall, 122 Green Street, Smith College.

Faculty: Alexis Robbins
Genre: Tap, Intermediate level
Rehearsing and Performing at: Smith College
About the work: My favorite thing to do in this world is tell stories through movement and music. I love to tell stories that make people question and examine their relationships with themselves, their loved ones, and the communities they live in. As a Tap Dancer, Tap Dance choreographer, and musician, I am dedicated to sharing the Black American art form of Tap Dance as a form of music that is played with the entire body, and sharing with audiences that Tap Dance can exist in multitudes.
The work I create will depend on the cast I get to work with as they will influence the creative process which will likely include the following: original music composition, improvisation, intersections of tap dance and modern dance, vocalizing/speaking, and potentially other forms of percussion or tap dancing without shoes. I am completely open to any number of performers as I want to work with folks who are hungry to learn and want to create music with their bodies.
Rehearsal times: Fridays 1:20-4:00pm
Cast size: TBD
Video Links: vimeo.com/1002817818?fl=pl&fe=sh

Cast lists are posted!

Please be sure to CONFIRM as soon as possible with all faculty whose projects you are cast in regarding your interested and availability.
Please REGISTER for the rep course.
Thanks and congratulations! More rep projects coming this fall.

Angelilca Monteiro Faculty Project at Amherst College
Please confirm your interest with Angelica at amonteiro@amherst.edu

• First Class/Rehearsal will serve as a Final Audition.
• Dancers can register for a full or half credit version of the course with Angelica Monteiro:

• Full: THDA 218-01 - Dance Technique and Rep.
• Half: THDA 218H-02 - Dance Technique and Rep.

Maddie Cefalo - UMASS
Anjali Goth - MHC
Annie Wang - MHC
Charlette Sostre Garcia - HC
Eli Goldfinger - HC
Neila Casseus - SMITH
Hannah Castrataro - UMASS
Nicki Tsouknakis - UMASS
Mina Yang - AC
Ismael Arias - AC
Anna Copeland - AC
Clara Gill - MHC
Yiran Zhao - AC

Shakia Barron Faculty Project at Mount Holyoke College
Register for Dance 305ST-01
Please confirm your interest with Shakia at shakia@mtholyoke.edu

Hannah Castrataro (UM)
Mia Frias (MHC)
Junyao Huo (MHC)
Marina Jacobs (MHC)
Ivan Jimenez (UM)
Phillipa Kargbo (SC)
Justi Ortiz (UM)
Charlie Penna (MHC)
Meena Relyea-Strawn (MHC)
Ivy Ruitong (MHC)
Stefi Sweitzer (MHC)
Warren Wang (AC)

Jenna Riegel Faculty Project at Amherst College
Please confirm your interest with Jenna at jriegel@amherst.edu

• First Class/Rehearsal will serve as a Final Audition.
• Dancers MUST register for Amherst College THDA 218H-01 with Jenna Riegel.

1. Molly Smith (UM)
2. Heath Suzor (HC)
3. Maxine Kamen van Westen (UM)
4. Adebola Adenle (MHC)
5. Sophie Biderman (SC)
6. Megan Barrett (AC)
7. Lauren Rainey (AC)
8. Helena McGowan (MHC)
9. Elsa Lyons (AC)
10. Annika Xuan (AC)
11. Olivia Salai (AC)
12. Sawa Machida (UM)
13. Juliet O’Connor (AC)

Garth Fagan's "From Before" / Five College Dance Repertory Project at Amherst College
Please register for THDA 218-02.
Please confirm with Neri Torres at ntorres@amherst.edu

Ismael Arias AC
Sophie Biderman SC
Charlotte Bowe SC
Teddie Charleceus HC
Eli Goldfinger HC
Luke Hatzis UM
Lauren Horn SC
Addie Husband UM
Chloe Jean UM
Ivan Jimenez UM
Sawa Machida UM
Ben Nir UM
Alexis Schrebler UM
Natalia Caballero UM,  understudy
Maddie Cefalo UM, understudy

Trisha Brown's Groove and Countermove at Smith College
Register for DAN 309-01.
Please confirm with Angie Hauser at ahauser@smith.edu

Samantha Bean
Kiera Chan
Claire Evangelho
Lauren Kravitz
Daisy Ober
Aleesha Polite
Ma'ayan Shacham
Julia Steinberg
Alexa Torte
Gloria Yong

Sean Curran at Mt Holyoke College
Register for Dance 305CR-01
Rehearsal director Peter Jones

Adebola Adenle
Charlie Penna
Mia Frias
Meena Relyea Strawn
Stephi Sweitzer
Beatrix Airhart
Lillian Wright

Faculty Project Information by Faculty Artist

Neri Torres 

Faculty: Neri Torres she/her, rehearsal director, FCD Repertory Project
Performing at: Amherst College and Smith College
About the work: 
Garth Fagan’s “From Before” is the this year’s Five College Dance Repertory Project. Find out  more about the project here. Garth Fagan won a Tony Award for his choreography for Disney’s Lion King. "From Before," created in 1978, explores movement from “before” Western civilization through a contemporary lens. Garth Fagan drew on African and Caribbean dance traditions while stripping away the elaborate costumes and props typical of those forms, allowing the movement, rooted in loose, torso‐centered technique, to speak with clarity and modernity. The piece has become one of Fagan’s most celebrated works, praised for its power, sophistication,and inventive use of space.”

• Please be aware that the work requires strong body isolations and the ability to move comfortably with polyrhythms, as they relate to an African-derived aesthetic of movement.
• The choreography will be taught by one of Fagan’s former soloist dancers during the intensive.

Rehearsal times: This repertory has a required intensive before classes start and will meet in the evenings during the week to accommodate Amherst College’s early start date.

• Intensive: Sunday August 30 - Sunday September 6 (weekends full days and weekday evenings)
• During the semester:  Studio 1, MW 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm at Amherst College

Cast size: - We are looking for two casts of 10–12 dancers, up to 20-24 dancers, ideally with a balanced gender grouping of performers.

Angelica Monteiro

Faculty: Angelica Monteiro
Performing at: Amherst College
About the work: Drawing from African diasporic and Latine movement vocabularies, Angelica Monteiro’s choreographic process emphasizes experimentation, musicality, and strong theatrical presence. Her work develops through collaborative movement generation and improvisation, shaping dynamic ensemble pieces that center powerful physicality and expressive performance.
This repertory work draws inspiration from the life and artistic legacy of music icon Ney Matogrosso, exploring themes of unapologetic self-expression, artistic freedom, and the courage to inhabit one’s full self on stage. The creative process will be collaborative, using improvisation, movement generation, and discussion to build a physically dynamic and theatrical dance work. Movement will draw from and experiment with African diasporic and Latinx dance forms, encouraging bold physicality and creative risk-taking. I am seeking a small ensemble of performers who are curious, fearless, and eager to explore fierce, powerful dancing while contributing their own artistic voice to the process.
Rehearsal times: Tuesday and Thursday 5p-7:30p/8p (approx.) at Amherst College
Cast size: 4-6

Jenna Riegel

Faculty: Jenna Riegel
Performing at: Amherst College
About the work: My work falls under the umbrella term of contemporary dance, but is heavily influenced by the postmodern choreographers I worked closely with during my professional career in New York City. These include, but are not limited to, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, David Dorfman Dance, Alexandra Beller/ Dances and Bill Young and Colleen Thomas and Co. I utilize movement that combines both full-bodied and momentous vocabulary with more detail oriented articulations and gestures. I ask dancers to be collaborators in the creative process and so the movement and ideas generated for the work come both from me and my cast members. I often work non-linearly and out of sequence, so dancers must be willing to retain disparate nuggets of material until we decide upon sequencing and transitions. 
This fall, I will be making a contemporary/modern work with a smaller number of dancers (under 8). My hope is to explore A LOT of partnering and possibly speaking and text. Any other subject matter or content for inspiration is unknown at this time. Dancers who do not wish to experiment and engage with touch/contact/partnering OR speaking/text should note this on the audition form for me.
Rehearsal times: M/W 7-9 PM, Fridays 1-3 pm at Amherst College
Cast size: 6-8

Shakia Barron

Faculty: Shakia Barron she/her 
Performing at: Mount Holyoke College
About the work: This work will be presented at Mount Holyoke College and will be performed to Peter Jones music. This Fall we will be celebrating the work/ music of Peter Jones. Link to relevant work.
Rehearsal times: Fridays 1-4pm at Mount Holyoke College 
Cast size: 8