DANSPACE PROJECT PRESENTS
Yvonne Meier: Strega Nona
Thursday, November 20 | 7:30PM
Friday, November 21 | 7:30PM
Saturday, November 22 | 7:30PM
Choreographer: Yvonne Meier
Dancers: Osmani Tellez and Lisa Kusanagi
Lighting Design: Kristen Paige
THANK YOU
Thank you to Ishmael Houston-Jones and Niall Jones.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Originally from Zurich, Switzerland, Yvonne Meier has spent the past 40 years dedicated to the art of improvisation. Her work ranges from intimate solo performances to large postmodern spectacles. She is the recipient of three Bessie Awards, and her work has been supported by NYSCA, NYFA, FCA, the Guggenheim Fellowship, the American Masterpiece Award (NEA), the Lambent Foundation, Creative Capital, and others. Recently, she has created short dance films, including “kopitoto” (with Lisa Kusanagi) and “Hidden” (Director of Photography: Osmani Tellez; dancer: Lisa Kusanagi). Yvonne has taught Releasing, Authentic Movement, and Scores for decades and has served as a dance improvisation teacher in public schools. In addition to her work in dance, she is also a visual artist.
@ymeier01
A graduate of Cuba’s Escuela Nacional de Arte, Osmani Tellez began his career with Danza Abierta before joining Venezuela’s Danza Hoy, Rajatabla Danza, and Neodanza, where he became a resident choreographer and teacher and toured extensively throughout South America and the U.S. Through dancing with David Zambrano, Tellez deepened his dedication to improvisation, which led to collaborations with artists across Europe and the U.S., including Tim Feldmann, Bo Madvig, Mia Lawrence, Jeremy Nelson, Jennifer Monson, Kirstie Simson, Chamecki-Lerner, Jennifer Miller’s Circus Amok, and Yvonne Meier. During 12 years in NYC, Tellez honed his choreographic voice and improvisation skills through festival performances and opportunities such as Movement Research AIR, Under the Radar AIR, and a Danspace Project commission. In recent years, Tellez has received a Miami Light Project commission for “PINKY PROMISES” (2024) in collaboration with Lisa Kusanagi; 2024 and 2025 Miami Individual Artist Grants; a 2024 Artist Access Grant; and the 2025 Dance Miami Choreographer Award.
https://osmanitellez.weebly.com/
@osmanitellez
Lisa Kusanagi is a multidisciplinary artist whose work in dance, performance art, film, and visual arts has been presented in over 30 countries, including at Film at Lincoln Center, Harlem Stage, Miami Light Project, Eye Filmmuseum (Amsterdam), Cineteca Nacional (Mexico City), and the BAFTA-qualifying 10th Aesthetic Short Film Festival (York). Her films “itsy bitsy” and “kopitoto” (with Yvonne Meier) have earned notable recognition, including #mydancefilm Winner at the 47th Annual Dance on Camera Festival, 2nd Place in the Amsterdam-based daily newspaper Het Parool’s Best of 2021, and the 2022 Lawther/Graff No Violence Award at the Oscar-qualifying 60th Ann Arbor Film Festival. Kusanagi is a 2023 and 2025 Pola Art Foundation Fellow (Japan) and a 2025 Miami Individual Artists Grant recipient. She holds an MFA in Dance from Hollins University and a BA in Dance from Sonoma State University.
http://www.lisakusanagi.com/
@lisa.kusanagi
SUPPORT FOR THIS WORK
This project was made possible, in part, through support from the New York State Council on the Arts, a Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA) Emergency Grant, Anne Delaney, and Flavio Meier Linden.
Danspace Project pays respect to Lenape peoples. We acknowledge that this work is situated on the Lenape island of Manhattan (Mannahatta) in Lenapehoking, the Lenape homeland. We pay respect to Lenape land, water, and ancestors past, present and future.
ABOUT DANSPACE PROJECT
Danspace Project presents new work in dance, supports a diverse range of choreographers in developing their work, encourages experimentation, and connects artists to audiences. For 50 years, Danspace Project has supported a vital community of contemporary dance artists in an environment unlike any other in the United States. Located in the historic St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, Danspace shares its facility with the Church, The Poetry Project, and New York Theatre Ballet. Danspace Project’s Commissioning Initiative has commissioned nearly 600 new works since its inception in 1994. More about our staff, our mission, and values For information on our funders, visit danspaceproject.org/support FOLLOW US @danspaceproject danspaceproject.org