
Research & Publications
Conference Papers & Publications
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DecaDance Reduxe (co-written: Mª Dolores Molina García, Catalina Castro Colomer, María Victoria da Silva Torentino & Giordana Patumi)
I Congreso Internacional de Artes Escénicas y Diversidad – “Identidad, cuerpo, género y violencias”,
Universidad Católica de Murcia (UCAM), Spain, 8–10 November 2018.
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Abstract (English translation). Paper and original publication in Spanish:
Contemporary Dance in composition processes is closely linked to suggestion, motivation, self-expression, creative exploration, and cooperation. These factors create an ideal framework for inclusivity and diversity. Drawing from Ohad Naharin’s celebrated work DecaDance, in particular the section Echad Mi Yodea, this conference-action re-staged the choreography with students from the umcapacitas program alongside professional dancers, applying the Gaga method as both a creative and inclusive practice. The project demonstrates how contemporary dance can serve as a tool for diversity, accessibility, and embodied creativity, generating transformative experiences that go beyond technical execution.
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Race, Resistance, and Embodied Memory in Alvin Ailey’s Lazarus II: Embodied Resilience in Times of Crisis
8th Arts & Cultural Management Conference – Crisis & Resilience, Vienna, 30 Oct–1 Nov 2025
Forthcoming publication in Nexis Key Academic Journal (Issue 2, 2026).
Abstract:
When I first encountered Lazarus II (2018), choreographed by Rennie Harris for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, I was struck by how it moved far beyond tribute. It was a call, a pulse, a living archive of African American resilience. Created in a time when the arts face political repression, shrinking budgets, and systemic inequality, Lazarus II asks what survival looks like for a community whose history is marked by both beauty and brutal oppression. This paper examines the work as an example of cultural survival, independence, and adaptation under pressure. Drawing on theorists such as Audre Lorde, Peggy McIntosh, Dwight Conquergood, Guillermo Gómez-Peña, Ananya Chatterjea, and Michael M. Kaiser, I place the choreography within the historical continuum of African American concert dance and the current crises facing the arts. I analyze a key section from Act II, showing how Harris’s choreography transforms grief into communal insistence, builds resilience through rhythm, and resists commodification. The paper also considers the institutional role of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as a cultural mediator and examines how their approach aligns with sustainable, care-based models of cultural management.
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Moonlight and the Wilis: Staging the Supernatural in Giselle (1841)
28th Annual Oxford Dance Symposium – Staging Dance, New College, Oxford, April 2026 (forthcoming)
Abstract:
When Giselle premiered in Paris in 1841, its staging established one of the most enduring images of Romantic ballet: the moonlit Wilis, arranged in spectral formations across Pierre Ciceri’s forest. This paper re-examines the staging mechanics of Giselle with a focus on Act II, where corps de ballet configurations, costume technologies, and gaslight worked together to construct the ballet’s supernatural aura. Drawing on lithographs, reviews, and promptbooks, I trace how choreographic geometry and shadow-play produced the illusion of spectral presence, and how costuming—gauzy white tulle versus colored bodices—contributed to symbolic legibility. The paper also considers how these staging devices resonate in later revivals, including Zurich Ballet’s 2024 production, where LED lighting and altered spacing restage the Romantic supernatural. By foregrounding the corps de ballet as a staging device, the paper highlights Giselle’s enduring negotiation between embodiment, scenography, and audience imagination in the Romantic theatre.​​​​
Essays & Academic Writing
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The Green Table: A Dance of Death
Essay, Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, 2016
A historical and critical study of Kurt Jooss’s The Green Table (1932), focusing on its Expressionist influences and satirical commentary on war and politics in the Weimar Republic
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Engaging Communities
Master in Performing Arts Management, Accademia Teatro alla Scala & MIP Politecnico di Milano, 2020
An exploration of community engagement in the performing arts, analyzing projects by Protein Dance, balletLORENT, and Casa da Música in Porto, with a focus on cultural policy and social impact.
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Dance House: A Value for a Country
Postgraduate Project Work, Accademia Teatro alla Scala & MIP Politecnico di Milano, 2020
Research on the role of international dance houses and a proposal for an Italian Casa della Danza, with a case study of Dance House Helsinki.
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Race, Resistance, and Embodied Memory in Alvin Ailey’s Lazarus II
MA Essay, Texas Tech University, 2025
Examines Lazarus II as an embodied archive of African American resilience, situating the work within cultural survival, community memory, and institutional practice.