CRDANCE was founded in 2007 as a company dedicated to respecting and reinventing the history of modern dance. Rago, a native of San Lucido, Italy, joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 2009 after completing its Professional Training Program, and has received commissions from Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation, Accademia Nazionale di Danza, Alvin Ailey/Fordham and PeridanceCapezio Dance Center where she is currently on the faculty. Rago also teaches at the Joffrey Ballet School and the Martha Graham School and was named Emerging Choreographer for MET Dance Company (Houston). She restaged Martha Graham’s 1935 work, Panorama for Accademia Nazionale Di Danza at Rome’s Soirees Dans and Karole Armitage’s American Dream for the Ravello Festival and has received recent commissions from Alvin Ailey/Fordham University and Marymount Manhattan College. CRDANCE has performed at New York Live Arts, Martha Graham Theatre and Teatro de la Ciudad Francisco de Paula Toro, Mexico, among many others. Rago’s role as Choreographer is manifested not only on stage, but also in her teaching practice, especially during TDM’s Summer Intensive workshops and in special sessions throughout the year in the USA, Italy and internationally where she has focused not only on teaching her own choreographic works, but on those from notable choreographers including Martha Graham, Jose Limon, Lester Horton, and Paul Taylor. In her role as Producer and Artistic Director, Rago collaborates closely with set and costume designers in both Italy and New York. Rago’s most ambitious choreographic work to date is the World Premiere of a new ballet, ALTA MARE that, for the first time, includes both male and female dancers, performed at KNJ Theater, Peridance in 2024. Rago’s contribution to the field of modern dance and its history has a global reach that is diverse and ambitious in its goal to use dance as a language to make us see.

Will Evans creates music as an open invitation—to drop your guard, tune in, and move through the world a little more freely. Rooted in folk tradition yet unconfined by genre, his songs blend thoughtful, quotable lyrics with sunlit grooves and global textures, encouraging listeners to reconnect with their most honest selves. Based in Rhode Island, the singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist has built a devoted following by pairing sound with intention, most notably through his Kind Folk community, which turns shows into shared experiences of kindness, charity, and collective uplift. Known for his dynamic live performances, Evans weaves together acoustic guitar, handpan, didgeridoo, beatboxing, and percussion to create a fluid, organic sound that feels both grounded and expansive. His 2025 release The Wild Unknown pushes that vision further, exploring the crossroads of contemporary folk, electronica, and rock, with collaborations from artists like Tristan Prettyman, Dirtwire, and Moontricks. From sold-out rooms across the U.S. and Europe to stages shared with Crosby & Nash, Grace Potter, Bruce Hornsby,Dirtwire, Trevor Hall, and Railroad Earth, Will Evans continues to build a musical space where connection comes first—and everyone belongs.

Jon Lehrer Dance Company (JLDC) began in 2007 in Buffalo, NY and has received critical acclaim nationally and internationally. Jon moved the company to his hometown of NYC in 2019, where they have become a vibrant addition to the city’s dance community. Under Jon Lehrer’s artistic direction, the company showcases his unique choreography and definitive style. His extensive background in both the modern and jazz dance idioms fosters choreography that is organic, athletic, artistic, entertaining, and often humorous, reflecting human experiences. JLDC’s expressive style is based on three main elements of movement - Circularity, 3-Dimensionality, and Momentum - which combine to create a form that is best described as “Organically Athletic”. With creativity, athleticism, and the ability to make new and innovative modern and jazz dance accessible to all audiences, the company has made quite a name for themselves in the dance world. Striking the elusive balance between art and entertainment, JLDC showcases a dynamic, fun, and distinctive style which fuses jazz and modern dance, creating a true spectacle onstage which can be enjoyed by dance experts and novices alike. JLDC tours extensively, receiving critical acclaim worldwide. Dance Magazine praised “the company took the house not so much by storm as by quantum physics,” and Galerie Ortenau in Offenburg, Germany declared, “Dynamic, Powerful, Elegant – brings an absolute passion for the dance.” From 2012-2016, JLDC had the honor of touring to Russia, sponsored by the US State Department in order to, as they said, “bring the best in American modern dance to the people of Russia.” These cultural diplomacy tours brought the company to Vladivostok, Anadyr, Perm, Yekaterinburg, Chukotka, and Berezniki. JLDC has been touring to Europe since 2014. For their 2022 tour they premiered “Bernstein Celebration" - a full evening set to the music of Leonard Bernstein . JLDC was honored and privileged to be one of only a handful of dance companies worldwide given the rights to use Bernstein’s music. At home in NYC, JLDC is a three time recipient of the prestigious CUNY Dance Initiative Award (2022, 2023, and 2025). Jon Lehrer Dance Company’s mission is to share and spread the joy of dance through performance, education, community engagement, and artistic collaboration. With choreographic works by Jon Lehrer, the company brings edge-of-your-seat excitement to audiences worldwide through a signature style of movement that is organic, athletic, artistic and accessible.