Join choreographers Alice Blumenfeld and Felise Bagley for an intimate Zoom conversation moderated by flamenco scholar Amy Schofield. Together, we’ll dive into the creative process behind Ni más / ni menos, exploring how Felise’s contemporary dance background and Alice’s flamenco expertise intersect to shape this groundbreaking new work.
Attendees will gain behind-the-scenes insight into the themes, inspirations, and collaborative methods driving the piece — from shared movement generation to the blending of distinct aesthetics into one unified voice. You’ll also have the opportunity to ask questions directly, making this an interactive exchange about the art of making dance across traditions.
Don’t miss this rare chance to witness how collaboration fuels innovation in performance.
Please note: automated closed captions of the talk will be available live on zoom.
Amy Schofield is a US-American flamenco scholar, educator, dancer, and choreographer. She is a part-time instructor at Ohio Wesleyan University and a doctoral candidate in the Department of Dance at The Ohio State University where her research explores flamenco practice and performance in the diaspora as it intersects with Latinx Studies and decolonial theory. Amy holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of New Mexico and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of the Arts. She has studied flamenco baile and cante at the Fundación de Arte Flamenco de Cristina Heeren in Seville and the Centro de Arte Flamenco y Danza Española Amor de Dios in Madrid, as well as in numerous workshops in Spain and the US. She currently teaches and performs with U Will Dance Studio and Caña Flamenca in central Ohio under the direction of Griset Damas Roche. Most recently, Amy created the archive at the National Institute of Flamenco in Albuquerque, NM as a Dance/USA Archiving and Preservation Fellow.
Felise Bagley is a native New Yorker whose dance career spans more than three decades. Her longevity & excellence in dance were recently recognized with a Cleveland Arts Prize Mid Career Award in 2015. Her experiences have taken her across the globe, including to: New York City Center as a guest artist with The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; The Kennedy Center as a guest artist with The Joffrey Ballet of Chicago; The State Theatre in Cleveland's Playhouse Square with Opera Cleveland; Madison Square Garden with The Knicks City Dancers; L’Opera Comique in Paris, France for the annual Concours Le Danse; and The Nostos Festival at The Stavros Niarchos Cultural Center in Athens, Greece for the world premiere of “Just Human” with Corningworks. Currently, Felise is a senior instructor of The Gyrotonic Expansion System at the boutique movement studio Inspiralmotion in University Heights, Ohio.
Felise's dance training began with Willa Damien and continued as a merit scholarship recipient to The Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and The Joffrey Ballet School where she was a member of Joffrey II. Ms. Bagley went on to dance with The Joyce Trisler Dance Company, Philadanco, Elisa Monte Dance Co., Festival Ballet of Rhode Island, Ohio Ballet, and she was a founding member of Groundworks Dance Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio.
Alice Blumenfeld is known for a “fierce presence (her movements seem to arise from several feet beneath the ground)” (Thinking Dance) and “sharp and exhilarating” energy onstage (Philadelphia Inquirer). Her recognitions include: a Fulbright recipient in dance in Spain, a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, and a two-time Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award recipient in choreography (FY20 & 22). She toured nationally with Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, and has been a guest artist with Nélida Tirado, the American Bolero Dance Co., Antonio Granjero, Jácome Flamenco, Dominick Farinacci. She premiered an original show at the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage in 2014, and premiered three evening length works at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in New Mexico. She has taught at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Oberlin College & Conservatory, Wayne State University, Children’s Museum of Cleveland, The Kennedy Center, the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, and other institutions. Blumenfeld holds an MFA in Dance from Hollins University and a BA in Comparative Literature from New York University, graduating summa cum laude, with highest departmental honors, and Phi Beta Kappa.
Special thank you to the Ohio Arts Council for their ArtsNext Grant that helps fund this activity.