Contemporary Forms Workshop with James Barrett & Emilia Bruno

Saturday, April 4 | 11-12:30

$18/$16 for college students & seniors or a card punch

James Barrett is a queer, Brooklyn-based performer, director, and educator. His dancing is most influenced by his time with director Faye Driscoll and with New Dialect (Nashville, TN), where he performed works by Rosie Herrera, Yin Yue, Banning Bouldin, Idan Sharabi, and Joy Davis. James has choreographed works for Visceral Dance Chicago and New Dialect and has shared his solo work at Centennial Performing Arts Studios (TN), the Barn at Lee (MA), Green Space (NY), and Pageant (NY). Most recent experiences include projects with Lauren Edson, Dolly Sfeir, Ben Green, and Faye Driscoll, with whom he created the critically-acclaimed work, “Weathering,” which is now touring nationally and internationally. He has worked independently and through companies as a rehearsal assistant and teaching artist, instructing at various programs including Jazzgoba Dance Academy (Costa Rica), Perry- Mansfield, Tulane University, and The Juilliard School.

Originally from Lake Zurich, IL, Emilia Bruno (they/them) is an Italian-American, queer movement artist and educator based in College Park, MD. They are a core collaborator with Tristan Koepke/Big Boy Dance, regularly creating, developing, and performing company work since 2023. Additional performance credits include Kendra Portier/BANDportier, Shapiro & Smith Dance, Zenon Dance Company, Slo Dance Company, Brit Falcon/Falcon Dance, and MK Ford. In addition to their work at BDF and as a performance artist, Emilia works as an arts administrator for Mariclare Hulbert Consulting supporting the communication, marketing, and public relations efforts of renown dance artists and organizations including Dance/USA and NCCAkron. Their dance scholarship has been presented at the 2025 Pop Culture Association Conference and the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Emilia’s work with the Young Dancers Intensive began in 2018 working as an intern for the Mentorship Team. They then served as the Director of Mentorship for the program from 2023-2025 before being named Associate Director in 2025. Education and mentorship for aspiring youth artists is a core value of their continued work and desired impact on the dance field at large. Emilia has held teaching positions of various capacities at a multitude of institutions and organizations including University of Florida; University of Maryland, College Park; American College Dance Association; and Bates College. Emilia received their BFA in Dance and BS in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and is a current MFA candidate in Dance at the University of Maryland, College Park.