*(Last 2 Bios Here)* CLAIRE CHRISTINE SARGENTI

Claire Christine Sargenti is an interdisciplinary artist, activist, and healer.  She received her formal training at the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, earning her the title of “Classically Trained Rebel,” for her bold works that break boundaries and cross genre lines. She served as the founder, director and choreographer for the contemporary collaborative company New Bridges Ballet and performed as the edgy-gritty-sexy character the Metal Ballerina with NYC’s underground heavy metal band Fear of None and the multitalented burlesque troupe La Bella Roma. 

When a chronic illness related injury prematurely ended her career as a ballet dancer and threatened her ability to walk, Claire turned to other performative and visual art forms as a creative and professional outlet. She wrote, produced and performed the 12 character solo show Interludes: A New (Orleans) Play with live music by Darrell Smith and the Interludes Jazz Orchestra and directed by Gregory Allan Bock. Interludes performed from coast to coast in prestigious international fringe festivals, winning the coveted Spirit of The Fringe award from the New York International Fringe Festival and was the first straight play to perform at the legendary club 54 Below. Claire’s visual art can be seen through her photography and writing project Self Portrait of a Solo Artist and through PussyPussy, a feminist collaborative art show with one of her best friends Eunice Wong. Claire’s art and activism go one step further with her feminist brand True Nature Child with some of her more notable creations being Origin, the world’s largest spinning vagina sculpture and Vagina Book of which she is both the author and illustrator, as well as through her multi-city protest art and wheatpaste project entitled Paleo Street Art.  Inspired by the alternative healing modalities that helped her find her way back to health after the end of her ballet career, Claire seeks to share the wisdom and practices she has learned along the way with anyone else in need of healing. Ultimately, she believes that the purpose of art and healing are one in the same. 

Danielle Bees is a composer hailing from Southern California and is currently based in New York City. She is a two-time American Prize semi-finalist, both in the choral and chamber student divisions, and she has experience writing works for a variety of ensembles, instrumentations, and mediums, including film and theatre. Danielle's music has been performed throughout the United States, the United Kingdom, and Europe, and she has worked with notable ensembles such as the RSNO Ensemble, the Hebrides Ensemble, and the Edinburgh Quartet. Danielle holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Greatbatch School of Music at Houghton College and a Master of Music degree from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.