Alie Vidich is a choreo-director, performer and teacher. Movement Brigade is a physical off shoot of her imagination, which she birthed in June 2009. Since beginning Movement Brigade, the company has received support from the Community Education Center’s New Edge Mix Program, the New Stages for Dance Initiative, the Leeway Foundation’s Art and Change Grant and the Puffin Foundation. In Philadelphia, Alie has performed for Jano Cohen, Terry Fox, Joan Jonas, Kate Watson Wallace, and Rebecca Weber/Somanaut Dance. She teaches dance and fitness classes to adults and children, and is presently a teaching artist for Philadelphia Dance Projects. Alie received her BFA in Dance from Rutgers University, and continued her education with the Headlong Performance Institute (Phila, PA). Alie studied Meisner Acting technique with Wendy Ward of Ward Studio. She recently co-choreographed with Heather Cole, the independent film, The Rehearsal directed by Lauren Steffen.

Elise Moureau has been actively building a musical career as a songwriter and singer in Philadelphia and recently recorded her latest album, Break Open, produced by Tony Moore. Elise has also been heard singing in the choir of Broad Street Ministry with members of Vetra Votii. Currently, she is creating The Dream It True National album tour to begin in Winter 2012. Elise studied voice with Lou Lanza, a prominent Philadelphia Jazz musician, and received her BFA in Musical Theater from Syracuse University. To listen to her work visit: www.reverbnation.com/elisemoureau.

Heather Cole is a recent graduate of Temple University and the Headlong Performance Institute, and is also a member of Venus and Keila Cordova Dance companies. She will be performing this April as Diane in Fever Dream Repetory's production of "Sister Mary". She is very excited about her collaboration with Alie and Erin.

Erin Shanti Desmond graduated from Bennington College in December 2009, and recently settled in Philadelphia; the home of the Headlong Performance Institute which she had the good fortune of inaugurating along with 12 other classmates in the Fall of 2008. Erin is delighted to be in Philadelphia, pursuing creative collaboration and movement opportunities. Erin's interests are wide ranging: her creative work includes painting, video, sound and lighting design and writing. Erin has been practicing massage since 2004, and is in the process of developing a mobile massage business. More about her work can be found at www.everythingismoveable.com .
       

Eleanor Goudie-Averill is a 2007 MFA Dance Performance graduate of the University of Iowa. She currently dances with Movement Brigade, Group Motion Dance Company, SCRAP Performance Group and is the director of the Stone Depot Dance Lab.  She has served as Visiting Assistant Professor of Ballet at Bucknell University and Artistic Coordinator of the UI Youth Ballet.  She began her training at Ballet Midwest in Topeka, Kansas and holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Kansas.  Ellie has performed with Daara Dance, Kayle+Co, Cohan/Suzeau, Prairie Wind Dancers, and was a founding member of the Bowery Dancers. Along with performing and choreographing, she loves teaching dance to people of all ages and jumping for joy!

Lily Hughes is a community organizer and performance artist. Lily does social justice organizing and leadership development work with Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and service members. She also works as a youth arts and community story telling/ performance teacher. In Lily's own performance work, she aims to orchestrate powerful and beautiful moving images that lift up silenced voices, animate stories of struggle, and inspire collective action.  She is currently returning to school to study somatic movement therapy.

Naomi Littell is a kinetic sculpture artist making work inspired by environmental events. Most recently, she created Litter Bug and Dead Fish which were both peddled through the Kensington neighborhood during the Kensington Kinetic Sculpture Derby in May 2010 and 2011. Litter Bug won Judges' Choice at the Derby this year! Naomi has worked in a variety of sculptural mediums and in addition to bicycle art has built puppets, masks, and various props since 1991. She has collaborated with Spiral Q, EgoPo, West Philth Productions, Cecilia Corrigan, and Jodi Netzer. Stylistically and ethically, Naomi prefers to work in such a way that it is quite apparent what is created is made of recycled materials and trash. She believes this further inspires the viewer to look at their values and ideas about consumption and waste in our culture.

Christina May is the Founder and President of Image of The Word, LLC established in 2008. She developed her own company to serve as an Acting Coach for many aspiring artists, and to create and showcase her original artistic works as an Actor. Her work has taken her to Memphis, TN, Dallas, TX and Israel. Christina also serves as Acting Director for Inner-City Movement, a non-profit organization where she teaches Acting for at-risk, inner-city youth in the Art’s Education Program. She has also been a guest teaching artist in Acting Workshops for Rebecca Davis Dance Company, Extreme Dance Academy and the Philadelphia Ballet School. She has had the privilege to work with David Strathairn’s Human Equation at Interact Theatre’s 2008 PlayPenn Festival and in Joey Majors "Be Alright" music video. Christina was a Dorothy Haas Acting Apprentice at the Walnut Street Theatre in 2006 and currently participates in their “Go Green” Tour. She holds a degree from University of the Arts with a BFA in Theatre Arts, 2005.

Marc Miller is happy to be joining Movement Brigade. Marc is currently working for the Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training, and he also serves on the Nichole Canuso Dance Company's governing board. He occasionally acts and sings in stuff, and wrote and produced for the Philadelphia Fringe in 2010. 

Tim Popp is a recent graduate of Muhlenberg College with a BA in Theatre and Communication. He was recently seen in Crave, Love's Labour's Lost, and CAW, an original dance theater work by Charles O. Anderson and Troy Dwyer. In addition, to working with Movement Brigade, he has danced for Dance Theatre X, under the direction of Charles O. Anderson.

Katharine Schellman has worked as an actor and dancer in DC, Maryland, Virginia, and Philadelphia.  Most recently seen in WAG Theatre's production of All in the Timing, Katharine has also performed for Simply Shakespeare, Deviated Dance Theatre, and Fever Dream Repertory, as well as in several films.  Katharine holds a BA in Theatre magna cum laude from Virginia's College of William & Mary.

Rebecca Weber, a recent transplant to Philadelphia, holds a Master’s degree with Distinction in Dance & Somatic Well-Being: Connections to the Living Body (UK) from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston, England, where she also enjoyed teaching on the BA (Hons) Dance Performance & Teaching course. She is excitedly looking forward to completing her MFA in Dance from Temple University.  Rebecca is an academic, author, and artist who seeks always to find the places where dance and somatics intersect, incorporating them into both her teaching and personal dance practices.  She is currently dancing for Movement Brigade and Venus Dance company, creating work, and co-developing Somanaut Dance, a Somatic Movement Dance Education practice in Philadelphia.

Amber Williams is a Philadelphia native who is currently a senior attending Boston University working towards her B.F.A. in Theatre Arts. Past credits include Bram Stoker's Dracula, The Tempest, Dare: The feature Film, Molly Sweeny, Aurora Borealis: A Festival of Lights and Dance and Fredrico Garcia Lorca's Blood Wedding. She is so excited to work with the Movement Brigade wants to thank her friends, family, the cast and crew for all of their help and support.

DJ Tony East is the selector for the Lions Den Philly featured on WPEB, West Philly Community Radio 88.1 FM on Monday and Saturday nights. He also Djays at local clubs including Time and the Red Snapper. East is a versatile DJ who plays everything from reggae, roots, and dub to hip hop, house, and electronic music.