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DANSPACE PROJECT PRESENTS

DraftWork: Victoria Lynn Awkward + JOYBOY

Saturday, October 24 | 3PM

Victoria Lynn Awkward

Cast: JoyBoy, Jess Smith, Elinor K. Diggs, Miriam Hermina, Sophia Mladineo

Music: “The Girl from Ipanema” by Antônio Carlos Jobim, “Tear You Apart” by She Wants Revenge, “Happy Together” by The Turtles, “Cosmic Dancer” by T.Rex

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Victoria Lynn Awkward is a multidisciplinary creator, educator, producer, and the Director of VLA DANCE. She pursued her multiple interests at Goucher College and graduated with high honors in Dance, Visual Art and Secondary Education. As the Director of VLA DANCE she is currently directing projects: “For Nina” – a multidisciplinary show celebrating the lineage of Nina Simone, “In The Space Between” – a production where dance, textile, and audio brings audiences into a world of queer imagination, and “Harnessing our Gardens” – a book celebrating the stories of Black femme movement artists. Notably, Victoria is a Brother Thomas Fellow as well as a recipient of the Queer (Re)public Theater Offensive Residency. Additionally, Victoria is a producer of Performance and Live Art for MoMA.

Maxi / finalgirl ‘98 (she/they) is a Performance Artist based in Brooklyn, originally from El Paso, TX. Her series of works present as radical fantasies, surreal disruptions, decomposing realities, and ruptures in normalcy. She is a 2026-28 Pioneers Goes East Fellow, 2026-27 Mabou Mines Suite/Space Artist and 2025-26 Movement Research Artist-in-Residence. She is one half of movement/sound collective: GUT PUNCH w/ musician and visual artist Hisham Akira Bharoocha.

Devon Gates is a Brooklyn-based bassist, vocalist, and composer whose work sits at the intersection of jazz, chamber music, and social storytelling. Her work as a composer has been featured in works with playwright Phillip Howze, Nap Ministry founder Tricia Hersey, the Berklee Press New Standards collection, and more.

THANK YOU

Thank you to Kashia Kancey and Kayla Farrish who have also contributed to the beginning ideas of this budding show, Enchant this Room.

JOYBOY

Cast: JoyBoy, Jess Smith, Elinor K. Diggs, Miriam Hermina, Sophia Mladineo

Music: “The Girl from Ipanema” by Antônio Carlos Jobim, “Tear You Apart” by She Wants Revenge, “Happy Together” by The Turtles, “Cosmic Dancer” by T.Rex

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

JoyBoy is a Bessie Award-nominated interdisciplinary performing artist, writer, and educator based in New York, NY who blends physical theater and clowning to create humorously surreal, confessional, and immersive performances that confront themes surrounding identity, power dynamics, and our collective emotional lives. Collaboratively driven, their work has been presented at the Martin E. Segal Theater, Center for Performance Research, Ars Nova, Union Hall, Triskelion Arts, The Brick Theater, 3 Dollar Bill, Baker Falls, Arts on Site, and more. They are currently seeking their Master of Fine Arts in Interdisciplinary Dance Research at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. For more information, visit joyboycreations.com or @joyboycreation on Instagram

Jess Smith is a multidisciplinary artist working within dance performance, choreography, education, sound and set design across New York City. Originally from New Orleans, LA she has performed with Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More (NYC), Vim Vigor Dance Company, Zvi Dance, and Kizuna Dance. Jess is also the co-founder and co-Artistic Director of Dual Rivet, a highly physical contemporary dance company that engages with feminist themes. For more information, visit dualrivetdance.com or @jaesmith9 on Instagram.

Elenor Kleber Diggs is a multidisciplinary artist and performer based in New York, NY. They have performed for Yursha-Marie Sorzano, Christian Warner, Catherine Kirk, Marcus Jerrell Willis, and Dianne McIntyre. Working within choreography, performance, videography, photography and sound, their work is primarily focused on how meaning can be constructed through fragmented images. Their work has been presented at venues like Triskelion Arts, BAAD Bronx, Kaatsbaan and more. For more information, visit, elinorkd.com or @elinor.kd on Instagram.

Miriam Hermina is a performer, visual artist, and yoga instructor based in New York, NY working within immersive, site-specific environments and film. She has performed as a collaborator with artists like Stephanie Batten Bland, Lilly Morris, Madeline Riley, Aime Irasema and has completed residencies at institutions such as Art Omi. For more information visit @miriam_in_space on Instagram.

Sophia Mladineo is a movement and visual artist whose deep curiosity about life has guided her practice across the country. Raised in Southern California, she worked in Los Angeles with choreographers like Brian Friedman, Gil Duldudao, and Tucker Barkley before expanding her practice to Portland where she performed with Open Space, Noelle Kaser, Franco Nieto, and Outrun the Bear. Currently based in Queens, she has performed with HAILES and Madi O’Halloran. She is also a yoga instructor currently teaching at Daya Yoga. For more information, visit @sophiamladineo on Instagram.

THANK YOU

5 Dancer Medley was originally produced by the 2026 Dance West Festival with Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Repertory Dance Theater, the University of Utah. Thank you to the original dancers: Sophia Valdez-Anderson, Megan Bertelsen, Cooper Perrine, Emily Marsh, and Keilah Shumway-Teusche.

NOTES

JoyBoy wants everyone to go out, makeout with someone, and dance with each other more. Hopefully this piece will inspire you to do that.

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 over 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

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