Guest Artist Bios

David Bithell (Denton) – video designer for "The Well Interruption"
David is an Assistant Professor of Music Composition at UNT and is the coordinator for iARTA (Initiative for Advanced Research in Technology and the Arts). He composes contemporary music that explores connection between the arts and holds a PhD from University of California, Berkeley.

Laura Jones (Fort Worth) – guest performer for "Safe"
Laura is very excited to be performing in her first dance program.  She is a performer on the local community theatre stage, having worked with Stolen Shakespeare Guild, Hip Pocket Theatre, Pantagleize Theatre and Artisan Theatre Company.

Ellie Leonhardt (Denton) – choreographer for "The Well Interruption"
Ellie began her dance career in creative movement classes at the Kanopy Dance Center in Madison, Wisconsin. She has choreographed and performed ever since. Ellie's passions and specialties include Contact Improvisation, Authentic Movement, Yoga, and The Erick Hawkins Modern Dance Technique. Ellie's choreography has been performed throughout the United States including the San Francisco Bay Area and New York City Area. Ellie received a BA in Dance and English, and a minor in Psychology from Oberlin College in 1999. She also earned an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Mills College in 2003. Currently, Ellie is a full-time Lecturer of Dance in the Dance and Theater Department at the University of North Texas in Denton. In Denton, she annually choreographs for the Faculty Dance Concert and has had her work performed at UNT’s College of Music, the Bath House Cultural Center and the Dallas Museum of Art.

Claudia Pacheco Orcasitas (CD/FW company member) – choreographer for "Claroscuro"
Claudia is a Peruvian modern dancer from San Marcos Ballet of Peru directed by Vera Stastny of England. Claudia has performed professionally for more than 20 years, working with different choreographers such as Royston Maldoom (England), Rogelio Lopez (Costa Rica), Patricia Awapara (Peru), Tamara McLong (England), Dana Tai Soon Burgess (USA) and Maureen Llewellyn Jones (Peru). She graduated from Peru's San Marcos University in 2001 where she studied Psychology, and in 2004 she returned to complete a degree in Education in two years. In March 2007, Claudia came to the U.S. to strengthen her foreign language teaching skills. She currently teaches Spanish for the Fort Worth ISD at Southwest High School, where she is also the director of the drill team, and modern dance classes at Wise Dance Center. This is her third season performing with CD/FW.

Lori Sundeen Soderbergh (Fort Worth) – choreographer for "Safe"
Lori launched her own dance company, "Dancing Outside the Box," in 2009. She has performed and choreographed in numerous theatres and site-specific settings in the U.S. and Europe. In North Texas she is an active member of the Barefoot Brigade and an invited guest artist with Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth. In Fort Worth, she has enjoyed participating four consecutive years at the Modern Dance Festival at The Modern (CD/FW’s annual festival at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth). "A Time to Dance" (2005) filled the grand lobby with the vibration of Tibetan gongs, and "Chakra Dance" (2006) flowed through and around the Richard Serra sculpture "Vortex", located just outside the museum’s entrance. Starting in 2007, Lori’s work took a political flavor with the premiere of "Freedom Blues" (music by Scott Lennox) at the Barefoot Brigade Dance Festival. She followed up with "Peace Chain" at the Modern Art Museum that summer, featuring live music by Eddie Dunlap. "Peace Chain" was invited for encore performances at The Modern in 2008. "Freedom Blues" was featured on CD/FW’s spring concert in 2009 at the Sanders Theater. Wanting to make a statement about our impact on the environment, Lori developed "Footprints" in collaboration with poet/performance artist Tammy Gomez and composer/musician Chris Curiel. "Footprints" was performed in 2008 at PrairieFest in Fort Worth, Barefoot Brigade Festival in Dallas and the DFW Fringe Festival. Lori has also worked in public relations and marketing for twelve years. She received her BFA in Modern Dance from Texas Christian University and her MA in Dance History from the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance, University of London. Lori considers it a privilege and an honor to work with live music. She has worked with area composers and musicians Eddie Dunlap, Scott Lennox, Johnny Case, Wayne McKinzie, Chris Curiel, Lars Soderbergh, David Tipps, Peter Lufkin, and Harry Hoggard.

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