LIZ LERMAN  (Founding Artistic Director) is a choreographer, performer, writer, educator, and speaker. Described by the Washington Post as “the source of an epochal revolution in the scope and purposes of dance art,” her dance/theater works have been seen throughout the United States and abroad. Her aesthetic approach spans the range from abstract to personal to political, while her working process emphasizes research, translation between artistic media, and intensive collaboration with dancers and communities. She founded Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in 1976, and has cultivated the company’s unique multi-generational ensemble, with dancers whose ages span five decades, into a leading force in contemporary dance. Liz has been the recipient of numerous honors, including the American Choreographer Award, the American Jewish Congress “Golda” Award, and Washingtonian magazine’s 1988 Washingtonian of the Year. In 2002 her work was recognized with a MacArthur “Genius Grant” Fellowship, and she was recently designated for the National Foundation for Jewish Culture’s Achievement Award and induction into the University of Maryland’s Hall of Fame. Liz’s work has been commissioned by Lincoln Center, American Dance Festival, BalletMet, and the Kennedy Center, among many others. From 1994 to 1996, in collaboration with the Music Hall of Portsmouth, N.H., Liz directed The Shipyard Project, which has been widely noted as an example of the power of art to enhance such values as social capital and civic dialogue. From 1999 to 2002 she led Hallelujah, which engaged people in 15 cities throughout the United States in the creation of a series of dances “in praise of” topics vital to their communities. Her current projects include Ferocious Beauty: Genome, an investigation of the impact of genetic research in our lives, and a commission from the Harvard University School of Law for a work observing the human rights legacy of the post-WWII Nuremberg Trials. As a frequent keynote speaker and panelist, Liz addresses arts, community, and business organizations both nationally and internationally. She consults regularly with the Mellon Orchestra Forum and Synagogue 2000, and recently participated in Harvard University’s Saguaro Seminar, which gathered thinkers to promote the growth of civic connectedness in the United States. She is the author of Teaching Dance to Senior Adults (1983) and the co-author of Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process (2003), and has written articles and essays for such publications as Reconstructionism Today, Faith and Form, Movement Research, and the Rockefeller Foundation’s Community, Culture, and Globalization. Born in Los Angeles and raised in Milwaukee, Liz attended Bennington College and Brandeis University, received her B.A. in dance from the University of Maryland, and an M.A. in dance from George Washington University. She is married to storyteller Jon Spelman. Their daughter, Anna, was born in 1988.

PETER DIMURO  (Producing Artistic Director) has performed, taught, and choreographed professional artists and those new to art-making throughout the United States and abroad for the past 25 years. Since 1993 Peter has performed and collaborated with Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, where he was named Producing Artistic Director in 2006.  In addition to leading Dance Exchange performances and residency work –  including the groundbreaking “Music Hall’s Shipyard Project” in Portsmouth, New Hampshire and many cities on the multi-site “Hallelujah” Project – Peter leads performance and education initiatives within the Dance Exchange’s unique artistic and administrative models.

Since earning a BFA in Theatre from Drake University and an MFA from Connecticut College, Peter has performed in a range of dance works by contemporary masters from Ted Shawn to Liz Lerman, as an actor, in musical theater, and as Drosselmeier in the Boston Ballet’s Nutcracker.  His autobiographical evening of solo works, Light Reading/Male Monuments, and the repertoire of his Boston-based company Peter DiMuro Performance Associates, have been seen around the country and in Europe.

Peter has created new works for Dance Umbrella/Boston, Boston Ballet II, Auras Theatre/Lithuania, Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center, the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at Maryland and for the Something Different series at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.  His choreography has appeared across the country in a televised public-service spot for the National Institute on Aging, as well as in the repertoire of several college-based companies. He has taught and created work at the American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival and most recently at Florida Dance Festival. Peter was named a 1995 Mayor of Boston/ProArts Public Service in the Arts Award recipient, a White House Millennial Artist in 2000, and has received grants from the National Performance Network, Artists’ Foundation and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Choreography for theater most recently includes work with Open Circle Theater production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the Folger Theatre. Peter has spoken on engaging communities in art-making at the National GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Educators Network) Conference, state arts councils in Oklahoma and New Hampshire and as a guest of the National Dance Academy (Mexico City) and Firkin Crane Institute (Cork, Ireland).

Peter’s Funny Uncles project is currently under development both online, through his blog at FunnyUncles.org, and on stage, where it was a feature in this summer’s Capital Fringe Festival.

Originally from Round Lake, Illinois, Peter now lives in Washington, D.C.

JOHN BORSTEL (Humanities Director) is responsible for developing the Dance Exchange’s Tool Box project, an online/in print initiative to document and disseminate Dance Exchange methodology. John serves as chief editor for many publications generated by the organization, and serves as an advisor for special projects involving humanities field work. He directed the Dialogue Audit project, an initiative funded by Animating Democracy to survey the impact of the Dance Exchange’s work as a form of civic dialogue. John has been a member of the Dance Exchange staff since October 1993, when he returned to the fold after being a student and community performer during the Dance Exchange's early years; from 1993 to 2000 he served as the company’s Director of Development. His arts administration experience encompasses fund-raising, marketing, public relations and educational programming for Central City Opera in Colorado, The Pennsylvania Opera Theater, and the Washington Bach Consort. John is co-author (with Liz Lerman) of the book Liz Lerman's Critical Response Process: A Method for Getting Useful Feedback on Anything You Make from Dance to Dessert published in 2003. He has led training sessions in the Process at conferences, colleges, and arts organizations throughout the U.S. A visual artist in photography and mixed media, John’s work has been seen in solo and group exhibitions and in publications including The Washington Post. He holds a B.A. in English from Georgetown University.

JANE HIRSHBERG Contact information: 301-270-6700 ext 12 janeh@danceexchange.org (Managing Director) Jane joined the staff of Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in October 1998. Prior to that, Jane was manager of the Culture in Community Fund at the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) in Boston, Massachusetts. Before coming to NEFA, Jane was the Director of Development & Education at The Music Hall, a multi-disciplinary arts presenting organization in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Her responsibilities there included directing The Music Hall’s Shipyard Project, a two-year endeavor which, in its simplest form, was a collection of personal stories from the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard put to movement by the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and members of the seacoast community during a series of culminating events in September 1996. Her work on that project is what gained recognition from NEFA, and eventually resulted in her present position with the Dance Exchange. Jane received her Master of Music in Performance from the Manhattan School of Music, and her Bachelor of Music from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. She has served as a panelist for grant reviewing throughout New England, in Maryland, and for several national programs, and enjoys talking in various forums about community building through the arts. She recently relocated to Catonsville, Maryland, where she lives with her husband, a furnituremaker, and two daughters.

LEE WOODMAN (External Relations Director)

Lee joined the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange as External Relations Director in 2007, and is responsible for development and communications. Lee Woodman has more than thirty years of experience in company building and media development within the non-profit and corporate world. From 2002 to 2006, she headed Lee Woodman Media, Inc., a media and communications company that produced award-winning programs for a variety of clients. Her accomplishments include a highly visible education and outreach plan for the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project. Her radio series for PRI, Public Radio International, hosted by Senator Max Cleland, and associated website titled Experiencing War brought history alive to a wide audience and garnered top industry awards. Other clients include the NEA Foundation, the International Storytelling Center, and Arlington Psychiatric Group. From 2000 to 2002, she was Vice President for Editorial and Media for K-12 Inc, a national online education corporation. She built the media and editorial divisions from scratch, supervised 20 employees, administered a budget of 2 million dollars, and oversaw the production of all educational media products from CDs to interactive video activities.

 As Executive Producer of Smithsonian Entertainment, for 16 years, she oversaw partnerships between the Smithsonian Institution and leading companies in film, television, and multimedia, including Columbia Pictures, Showtime, Macmillan Publishing, and Phillips Media.  She supervised the Institution’s representation by Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles. As a producer, she won numerous awards for writing and production.

 A childhood spent in India and academic studies in Paris have given her an international and multi-cultural orientation. Lee is a respected public speaker, and especially enjoys interviewing and hosting programs. She is an executive member of Women in Film and Video, Inc and former Board member of the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange.  She holds an M.A. Ed in Art Education from the University of Hartford, and a B.A. in Art from Colby College in Waterville, Maine.

ELIZABETH JOHNSON 

(Associate Artistic Director) is a choreographer, dancer, educator, and the director of the Dance Exchange’s Teen Exchange program. In her eight years with the Dance Exchange, Elizabeth has collaboratively created dances in communities from Eastport, Maine to Los Angeles, California; from Kyoto, Japan to Vancouver, Canada.  She works with youth, seniors, and religious communities of many faiths, high school teachers, lawyers, scientists, and professional dancers, with a particular focus on teens. Her work with young people has been featured across the country as well as at home in the metro DC area. Her choreographic work is driven by athleticism, physicality, and the desire to connect movement with meaning. She is a yoga practitioner, runner and rock climber. Elizabeth graduated from Connecticut College with a B.A. in Dance and a minor in Theatre, and has studied at London Contemporary Dance School. Elizabeth is the Dance Exchange artistic lead on the multi-media exhibit “Cells: The Universe Inside Us” in development at the Maryland Science Center. Elizabeth received the "Center for Creative Youth Arts Leadership Award for 2005" from Wesleyan University, which is given to someone who has demonstrated extraordinary devotion to bringing the arts to the community and spreading arts advocacy.

THOMAS DWYER began a dance career with Liz Lerman after retiring from the U.S. government service in June 1988. During his time with the Dance Exchange he has become a teacher of creative movement for senior adults in community settings. His choreography, known for modern dance employing community-based seniors, has been presented at Dance Place and The Church Street Theatre in Washington, DC, and the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at Maryland.

MATT MAHANEY from West Virginia, discovered dance at an early age through his younger sister, and earned his undergraduate degree from the North Carolina School of the Arts. Matt has performed works by, and studied with, Brenda Daniels, Sean Sullivan, Trish Casey, Scot Rink, Alberto (Tito) Delsaz. He has also studied and performed with his mentor, David Beadle. Currently an adjunct artist with the Dance Exchange, his first public performance with the company was on October 25, 2003, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden (Smithsonian Institution) in Washington, DC. Matt also produces his own work, which includes but is not limited to digital video, music, choreography, and sculpture.

CASSIE MEADOR, a Georgia Native, is a choreographer, performer, and teacher based in Washington, DC.  She joined the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in 2002.  As a company member she has collaboratively created dances in communities throughout the U.S. and Internationally in Japan, Canada, and Ireland.  As an educator she has taught at the Maryland Institute College of Art, Dance Center–Columbia College in Chicago, American University, Wesleyan University, Kyoto Arts Center, American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, and the Bealtaine Festival in Dublin, Ireland.  Cassie completed her BFA in Dance from The Ohio State University, where she was the recipient of an honor’s research scholarship in Choreography.  Cassie currently serves as Project Director for multiple projects at the Dance Exchange.  In March she had the great honor of co-directing the premiere of 613 Acts of Radical Prayer: Opening Acts with Liz Lerman at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center.  

 SHULA STRASSFELD

Shula began dancing “too late” and has been dancing ever since. After training in NY with members of the Jose Limon Company and with Collette Barry and Susan Klein, she spent two years in Boston studying and performing with Amy Ellsworth, Susan Rose and Joy Kelman.

While living in Israel, Shula taught at the Bat Dor Studios and The Rubin Academy of Hebrew University. She also taught and choreographed for the Apprentice Company of the Kibbutz Dance Company. For five years she was a soloist with the Mirali Sharon Dance Company performing throughout Israel and in Europe and the US. Returning to North America, she danced with South Street Dance Company and Sybil Dance Company in Philadelphia and with choreographers Jan Van Dyke and Sandra Neels in North Carolina.

Shula lived in Toronto for 18 years. For six years she was Artistic Director of Me’irim Dance Company, the resident company of the Toronto JCC. Her work was also presented in the Toronto Fringe Dance Festival and by Ballet Creole and Dancemakers.

Shula has an M.A. in Dance from Columbia University and was Artist-in-Residence at York University Dance Department. She also taught at the School of Canadian Dance Theatre and in the Professional Program at Ballet Creole.

She joined Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in 2007.

MARTHA WITTMAN is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Martha has been a teacher, dancer and choreographer for the past 40 years. As a young performer, she danced with Juilliard Dance Theatre under the direction of Doris Humphrey and in the Ruth Currier, Joseph Gifford and Anna Sokolow dance companies. From 1968 to 1996, Martha was an associate choreographer with the Dances We Dance Company directed by Betty Jones and Fritz Ludin where her choreography was toured throughout the U.S. and parts of Europe. Awards in choreography include three NEA fellowships and the Doris Humphrey Fellowship from the American Dance Festival. Most recently, she received a choreography fellowship from the Maryland State Arts Council. Martha has shown works at Dance Place and Joy of Motion in Washington, DC. Recently, she was commissioned to make a new work for students of Eastern New Mexico University in Portales under Dance/USA’s National College Choreographers Initiative. Her work on that commission is informing her latest choreographic exploration titled Imprints on a Landscape: The Mining Project. For many years, she was a faculty member at Bennington College in Vermont. She is a practitioner of T’ai Chi Ch’uan and a certified teacher of Skinner Releasing.

BEN WEGMAN

Ben received his training at the Joffrey Ballet School and Point Park University.  He has performed with the Pillow Project Dance Company of Pittsburgh and Troika Ranch of New York City, as well as Jeanne Ruddy Dance, Headlong Dance Theatre, and Myra Bazell of Philadelphia.  Ben recently worked with Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, choreographer Phil Grosser and Keith Thompson's danceTactics. He joined Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in 2007.

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