Bios

Eve Allen Garza received her MFA in Ballet from the University of Utah (2013) and BS in Business Administration with a major in management and minor in dance from the University of Nevada, Reno (2007). She is a fifth generation Nevadan; born and raised in Reno. Eve is a Teaching Associate Professor for the Department of Theatre & Dance at UNR, teaching all levels of ballet technique, dance appreciation, dance history, and musical theatre styles. Eve is the founder and director of Downtown Dance Collective, a collaborative dance organization that aims to bring together local talent and present accessible performances to our community. She is a registered teaching artist with the Nevada Arts Council’s Artists in Schools + Communities Roster, and an arts integration specialist for the Sierra Arts Foundation where she utilizes the Kennedy Center’s definition of arts integration in her classes and workshops. Eve is currently the Ballet Mistress for A.V.A. Ballet Theatre, continues to perform character roles with the company, and teachings ballet technique at The Conservatory of Movement. www.eveallendance.com 

Christina Carter (she/her) is a Black-Filipinx choreographer, collaborating and performing improviser, and performance artist based out of Oakland, CA. Christina is currently exploring her ancestral connection to the fiber/textile arts and how it informs her improvisational choreographic process; in conjunction with finding Black joy and alternative containers for grief processing. She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from Mills College; where she performed in works by Shinichi Iova-Koga, Sonya Delwaide, Wanjiru Kamuyu, and trained under Kara Davis, Holley Farmer, Amy O'Neal, and Molissa Fenley. www.christinavcarter.com 

Sarah Johnson is a dancer, choreographer, and movement researcher based in the high desert of Reno, NV. Her work is curious and internal, exploring the kinesthetic, spatial, and sociocultural interplay between body and mind. She is interested in generative, collaborative storytelling, and as such her movement is both organic and geometric, with an emphasis on purposeful gesture-work. Sarah is a founding member of the Truckee River Dance Company, an Irish dance performance and education nonprofit based in Reno. TRDCo has operated in the Northern Nevada area for over a decade, performing for festivals and private events as well as hosting summer camps, workshops, and weekly classes. Sarah holds an MA in English Literature and BAs in Linguistics and Dance from the University of Nevada, Reno. Her master’s thesis, Choreographing Language: Embodied Articulation in Original Pronunciation Shakespeare, explores the relationship between spoken language and movement impulse. www.sjohnsondance.com 

Aren Long graduated with his Master’s in Piano from UNR in 2021 and is now faculty at the university, teaching and playing piano in both the music and theater departments. He recently released "Heavy Heart" in his album  “On Greenwich Way,” an independently recorded album which features over twenty talented musicians from the Northern Nevada area. The album, along with all of Aren’s upcoming projects, can be found at https://linktr.ee/arenlong

Angela Ritchie is a mother of two, dancer, choreographer, and Licensed Veterinary Nurse. She earned her Dance Minor from UNR in 2004. She has danced with Wing and A Prayer Dance Company, CPAC, Bellē Contemporary Dance, co-founded 5 Branches Dance, and has been under the mentorship of Dr. L Martina Young and Diane Rugg. Among others, she has also had the blessed opportunities to work with Sara Bogard, Patti Casey, Cari Cunningham, Jennie Pitts, and Rebecca Bone. She currently lives, loves, laughs, and dances in Reno, NV.

Hanna Walkinshaw graduated from UNR with her BA in dance, Spring of 2021. In her undergrad, she choreographed a range of work from the proscenium stage for live audience, to site specific for film. Hanna currently lives in Sacramento and is enrolled in a Sign Language Interpreting Training Program. She hopes to marry her passion for dance with her knowledge of sign language by teaching dance classes in ASL. She is thrilled to be participating in Destination Dance this year. The opportunity to revisit the beautiful UNR campus and create work again has been incredibly enriching. Hanna would like to thank Aren Long for allowing her to dance with his beautiful music and trusting her with his art. 

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