CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
presents

MOMIX
Alice

7:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Eisenhower Auditorium
 

The program runs approximately 100 minutes, including a 15-minute intermission.
 

 All ticketholders are invited to a free, pre-performance reception in the Eisenhower Auditorium Conference Room hosted by Penn Highlands Healthcare: Penn Highlands State College. In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, we encourage attendees to wear pink. 

Sponsor

Support provided by
John L. Brown Jr. and Marlynn Steele Sidehamer Endowment
McQuaide Blasko Endowment
 

Accessibility services supported by
Sidney and Helen S. Friedman Endowment
 

The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State receives arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Acknowledgement of Land

The Penn State University campuses are located on the original homelands of the Erie; Haudenosaunee (Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk, Seneca, and Tuscarora); Lenape (Delaware Nation, Delaware Tribe, and Stockbridge-Munsee); Shawnee (Absentee, Eastern, and Oklahoma); Susquehannock; and Wahzhazhe (Osage) Nations.

As a land grant institution, we acknowledge and honor the traditional caretakers of these lands and strive to understand and model their responsible stewardship. We also acknowledge the longer history of these lands and our place in that history.

Written by PSU Educational Equity in collaboration with the Indigenous Peoples Student Association and the Indigenous Faculty and Staff Alliance

Why do we make an acknowledgement?

The Center for the Performing Arts at Penn State gathers people together to foster communities, learn from our unique differences, and participate in civic engagement through the arts. We leverage the act of acknowledging the land to spark curiosity and conversation about our nation’s past, present, and future. This ongoing process can change our learning and healing journey as individuals and as a nation, and it is not meant to be resolved. We are not checking a box; we are living in the questions and the possibilities.

Visit Land Acknowledgment for more information.

The Program

MOMIX 
Alice

Founder and artistic director 
Moses Pendleton

Associate director 
Cynthia Quinn

With
Jared Bogart, Heather Conn, Nathaniel Davis, Madeline Dwyer, Derek Elliott Jr., Aurelie Garcia, Seah Hagan, Oksana Horban, and Adam Ross

Travel down the rabbit hole MOMIX-style, with Moses Pendleton’s newest creation, Alice, inspired by Alice in Wonderland. As Alice’s body grows and shrinks and grows again, MOMIX dancers extend themselves by means of props, ropes, and other dancers.

“We don’t intend to retell the whole Alice story,” Pendleton says, “but to use it as a taking-off point for invention. I’m curious to see what will emerge, and I’m getting curiouser and curiouser the more I learn about Lewis Carroll. I share his passion for photography and his proclivity for puns.”

The Alice story is full of imagery and absurd logic. Before there was surrealism, there was Alice. Alice is an invitation to invent, to let the imagination run wild. “Go Ask Alice”, sang Grace Slick in “White Rabbit.” She also said “Feed your head.”

“You can see why I think Alice is a natural fit for MOMIX and an opportunity for us to extend our reach,” Pendleton says. “We want to take this show into places we haven’t been before in terms of the fusion of dance, lighting, music, costumes, and projected imagery. Our puns are visual, not verbal. It’s not modern dance, it’s MOMIX — under the spell of Lewis Carroll, who was under the spell of Alice — who was still learning to spell.”

As with every MOMIX production, you never quite know what you are going to get. Audiences will be taken on a journey that is magical, mysterious, fun, eccentric, and much more. As Alice falls down the rabbit hole and experiences every kind of transformation, we invite you to follow her.

We see Alice as an invitation to invent, to dream, to alter the way we perceive the world, to open it to new possibilities. The stage is our rabbit hole, we welcome you to drop in!

 

Alice conceived and directed by 
Moses Pendleton

Associate director 
Cynthia Quinn

Assisted by 
Anthony Bocconi, Beau Campbell, Jennifer Chicheportiche, Samantha Chiesa, Heather Conn, Gregory De Armond, Jonathan Eden, Matt Giordano, Seah Hagan, Hannah Klinkman, Sean Langford, Heather Magee, Sarah Nachbauer, Jade Primicias, Rebecca Rasmussen, Colton Wall, and Jason Williams

Production manager and lighting supervisor 
Woodrow F. Dick III

Production stage manager/front of house engineer 
Colin Neukirch

Production electrician
Alexa Denney

Lead carpenter/rigger 
Austin Downes

Lighting design 
Michael Korsch

Music collage 
Moses Pendleton

Music editing 
Andrew Hanson

Video design 
Woodrow F. Dick III

Spider puppet design 
Michael Curry

Costume design 
Phoebe Katzin

Costume construction
Phoebe Katzin and Beryl Taylor

Ballet mistress 
Victoria Mazzarelli

Research consultant 
Philip Holland

Communications manager 
Quinn Pendleton

Company manager 
Paula Budetti Burns

This production of Alice has been funded, in part, by a contribution from Next Move Dance.

 

The Artists

MOMIX, a company of dancer-illusionists founded and directed by Moses Pendleton, has been presenting work of exceptional inventiveness and physical beauty for more than forty years. From its base in Washington, Connecticut, the company has developed a devoted worldwide following.

In addition to stage performances, MOMIX has also worked in film and television, as well as corporate advertising, with national commercials for Hanes and Target, and presentations for Mercedes-Benz, Fiat, and Pirelli. With performances on PBS’ Dance in America series, France’s Antenne II, and Italian RAI television, the company’s repertory has been beamed to fifty-five countries. The Rhombus Media film of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition with MOMIX and the Montreal Symphony was the winner of an International Emmy for Best Performing Arts Special. MOMIX was also featured in Imagine, one of the first 3-D IMAX films released in IMAX theaters worldwide.

MOMIX dancers Cynthia Quinn and Karl Baumann, under Pendleton’s direction, played the role of “Bluey” in the feature film F/X2. “White Widow,” co-choreographed by Pendleton and Quinn, was featured in Robert Altman’s movie The Company.

With nothing more than light, shadow, fabric, props, and the human body, MOMIX continues to astonish and delight audiences on five continents.

MOSES PENDLETON (artistic director) has been one of America’s most innovative and widely performed choreographers and directors for over fifty years. He co-founded the ground-breaking Pilobolus Dance Theater in 1971 while still a student at Dartmouth College. Pilobolus shot to fame in the 1970s. By the end of the decade, Pendleton had begun to work outside of Pilobolus, performing in and serving as principal choreographer for the Paris Opera’s Intégrale Erik Satie in 1979, and choreographing the Closing Ceremony of the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid in 1980.

That same year, Pendleton created MOMIX, with Alison Chase, which rapidly established an international reputation for inventive and often illusionistic choreography that pushes physical boundaries and defies imagination. The troupe has now been creating new work under his direction and touring worldwide for over four decades.

Pendleton has also been active as a performer and choreographer for other companies. He has worked extensively in film, TV, and opera, and as a choreographer for ballet companies and special events. He staged Picabia’s Dadaist ballet Relâche for the Paris Opera Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet; and Tutuguri, based on the writings of Artaud, for the Deutsche Oper Berlin. He created the role of the Fool for Yuri Lyubimov’s production of Mussorgsky’s Khovanschina at La Scala, choreographed Rameau’s Platée for the U. S. Spoleto Festival. He also contributed choreography to Lina Wertmuller’s production of Carmen at the Munich State Opera. Pendleton also has created new works for the Arizona Ballet and the Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. He teamed up with Danny Ezralow and David Parsons, both former MOMIX dancers, to choreograph Aeros with the Romanian National Gymnastics Team. He also choreographed The Doves of Peace, featuring Diana Vishneva and fifty Russian ballerinas, for the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi.

His film and television work includes the feature film F/X2 with Cynthia Quinn; Moses Pendleton Presents Moses Pendleton for ABC ARTS cable (winner of a CINE Golden Eagle award); and Pictures at an Exhibition with Charles Dutoit and the Montreal Symphony, which received an International Emmy for Best Performing Arts Special in 1991. He has also made music videos with Prince, Julian Lennon, and Cathy Dennis, among others.

Pendleton is also an avid photographer whose work has been presented in Rome, Milan, Florence, and Aspen. He was a Guggenheim Fellow in 1977, a recipient of the Connecticut Commission on the Arts Governor’s Award in 1998, received the Positano Choreographic Award in 1999, and the 2002 American Choreography Award for his contributions to choreography for film and television. In 2010, he received an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he delivered the commencement address. In 2021, Pendleton received the degree of Doctor of Arts, honoris causa, from Dartmouth College, for his lifetime contributions to the arts. In 2024, he received the prestigious Taobuk Award, a recognition given annually to intellectuals and artists who have left a remarkable cultural message on the global scene. 

CYNTHIA QUINN (associate director) grew up in Southern California, where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of California at Riverside. She then continued on to earn an associate in dance. As a member of Pilobolus in the 1980s, she performed on Broadway and throughout the United States, Europe, Canada, Israel, and Japan. Quinn began performing with MOMIX in 1983 and has toured worldwide with the company. She has appeared in TV programs, films, and music videos, and has assisted Moses Pendleton in the choreography on numerous projects. She has appeared as a guest artist with the Ballet Théâtre Française de Nancy, the Deutsche Oper Berlin Ballet, and the Munich State Opera; as well as at galas in Italy, France, and Japan. Quinn is a board member of the Nutmeg Conservatory in Torrington, Connecticut, and she is on the advisory board of Torrington’s Susan B. Anthony Project. She was featured with Ru Paul and k.d. lang for M.A.C. Cosmetics’ “Fashion Cares” benefit in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada. More recently, Quinn co-choreographed The Doves of Peace, featuring Diana Vishneva, for the Opening Ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics. Her most rewarding and challenging role, however, has been as a mother to her daughter, Quinn Elisabeth.

JARED BOGART (dancer) graduated with a BFA in Dance from Jacksonville University and trained during the summers at Orlando Ballet School, Archcore40, Florida Dance Masters, and Florida Dance Festival. At Jacksonville University, Bogart worked with artists including Jennifer Muller, Robert Moses, Jennifer Archibald, Ronen Koresh, and Stephanie Martinez. Bogart danced five seasons with Ballet Hispánico under artistic director Eduardo Vilaro, where he worked with renowned choreographers such as Ronald K Brown, Gustavo Ramirez-Sansano, and Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. He also performed and taught with PARA.MAR Dance Theater under founder and director Stephanie Martinez. Bogart also performed with Diavolo in Los Angeles under director Jacques Heim. He most recently performed with Dua Lipa as a backup dancer at the 2024 Grammy Awards. Bogart joined MOMIX in 2024.

HEATHER CONN (dancer) is originally from New York. She attended the Long Island High School for the Arts as a dance major and holds a BFA in dance from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. Additionally, she has trained with the Joffrey Ballet School, the Bolshoi Ballet, and the Boston Conservatory, among others. Conn has performed professionally across the United States and beyond, in contemporary dance, musical theater, film, and live production art. She has performed in such notable venues as Radio City Music Hall, the Kennedy Center, the Apollo Theater, Jacob’s Pillow, the Joyce, and the Folies Bergere in Paris. She has danced for Nickerson-Rossi Dance, Schoen Movement Company, and The Orsano Project as assistant to Phil Orsano. She was given a leading role in Busch Gardens Christmastown production of the show Miracles. She performs for TEN31 Productions as a “living art” performer at events and for the live arts company Moving On. Conn is featured in the published photography book Dance Across the USA by Jonathan Givens, as a dancer representing the state of New York. She is a certified yoga teacher, a certified Animal Flow instructor, and an essential oil specialist. Conn has a passion for healing arts and is a strong advocate for social justice, wildlife, and the Earth. She joined MOMIX in 2018.

NATHANIEL DAVIS (dancer) was born in Toronto. He started training at the age of 17 and attended the New World School of the Arts, graduating cum laude in 2015 with a BFA in dance. He has worked with the Peter London Dance Company in Miami, and Artichoke Dance Company in Brooklyn, New York. He has performed works by Robert Battle, Daniel Ulbricht, George Balanchine, Jose Limon, Kyle Abraham, Bill T. Jones, and Darshan Bueller. Davis joined MOMIX in 2017.

MADELINE DWYER (dancer) is a New York-based artist. She began training at Stowe Dance Academy in Vermont and later at the Boston Ballet School Pre-Professional Program under Margaret Tracey. She has studied at the School of American Ballet, the Martha Graham School, and GALLIM. A summa cum laude graduate of the Ailey/Fordham BFA Program in New York, Dwyer performed original works there by Brice Mousset, Darshan Bhuller, Joanna Kotze, Natalie Lamonte, and Jacqulyn Buglisi. She has also performed works by Young Soon Kim, Alec Knight, and Jesse Obremski, and she has danced at the Boston Opera House in Mikko Nissinen’s The Nutcracker. Dwyer is the resident choreographer at Hudson River Opera and a company dancer with White Wave Dance. She joined MOMIX in 2024.

DEREK ELLIOTT JR. (dancer) is a performing artist residing in Pennsylvania. He received his BA in dance and a BA in theater with a concentration in musical Theater Performance from DeSales University. He has been performing in musicals since the age of 13. While in college, he had the privilege of training with Dance Artists Trinette Singleton, Timothy Cowart, Julia A. Mayo, Derek Crisenti, Steven Casey, and Angela Sigley Grossman. He has performed excerpts from Paul Taylor's Cloven Kingdom restaged by Annmaria Mazzini; and A Chorus Line directed, choreographed, and restaged by Luis Villabon as an Offstage Cover/Swing at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival. In addition to dancing, acting, and singing, Elliott holds a black belt in traditional Karate, Jeet Kune Do, and Lee Jun Fan Gung Fu. He also holds an International Parkour Coaching Certification and has additional parkour professional development training in Strength Training for Movement. Elliott joined MOMIX in 2022.

AURELIE GARCIA (dancer) is a dancer, dance teacher, and choreographer. She grew up in southern France, where she first started dancing at a local dance school. At 18, she moved to New York City to attend The Ailey School, graduating from its scholarship program in 2018. She has performed works by Ray Mercer, Elizabeth Roxas, Tracy Inman, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Talley Beatty, Anabelle Lopez Ochoa, Eduardo Vilaro, Michelle Manzanalez, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Pedro Ruiz, and Alvin Ailey. Since moving to New York to pursue her dance career, Garcia has performed with companies such as the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ballet Hispanico, Ntrinsik Movement, Bloodline Dance Theater, Ann Nuo Spiritual Dance Art, and more. Garcia joined MOMIX in 2019.

SEAH HAGAN (dance captain), born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, is a third-generation dancer. She began her training at the Southern Academy of Ballet Arts under the tutelage of Natalia Botha and Charles Hagan. As an advanced company member of the Pas de Vie Ballet, she performed many classical and contemporary soloist and principal roles. In addition to ballet and modern training, Hagan is also an accomplished ballroom dancer, having competed in multiple world championships. At age 16, she graduated summa cum laude from the Florida State University Schools. Before MOMIX, she worked for the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. On her 18th birthday, Seah began her professional dance career with the world-renowned company MOMIX. She has since toured across the United States, Canada, Europe, South America, and Asia, performing in three original shows, Viva MOMIX, Opus Cactus, and Alice, performing featured solos in all three. As dance captain, she was heavily involved in the creation of their newest show, Alice. Hagan joined MOMIX in 2017.

OKSANA HORBAN (dancer) is originally from Kyiv, Ukraine. In Kyiv, she studied pantomime at the Academy of Circus and Variety Arts, where she graduated with honors, and also worked with Bingo Circus-Theatre and artist Mykola Baranov. In 2017, Horban moved to California to pursue dance and became part of the cheerleading team at Palomar College. She graduated from Montclair State University in New Jersey in 2022 with a BFA in dance. She has performed works by Alexander Anderson, Ohad Naharin, Paul Taylor, Bradley Shelver, Larry Keigwin, Maxine Steinman, Fredrick Earl Mosley, and Romeo Castellucci. Horban has performed with Streb Extreme Action Company in Brooklyn and Yara Arts Group at La Mama Theatre in New York. She also has presented her own choreography at the Koresh Artist Showcase. Horban joined MOMIX in 2023.

ADAM ROSS (dancer) began training at a young age in Chesapeake, Virginia. He went on to compete in regional and national dance competitions throughout the East Coast. As a teen, he attended the Governor’s School for the Arts in Norfolk, Virginia, where he focused on ballet and modern technique. Ross earned his BFA in contemporary dance from the Conservatory at Berklee in 2023, where he performed works from Paul Taylor, Erick Hawkins, Martha Graham, Murray Louis, and Gabrielle Lamb, as well as multiple creations from faculty, students, and alumni from the Conservatory. Dance Intensives and workshops include Point Park University, Milwaukee Ballet, RUBBERBANDance Group, and CoMotion. Ross joined MOMIX in 2022.

PHOEBE KATZIN (costume designer). After graduating from Endicott College’s fashion design program, Katzin worked for Kitty Daly building dance costumes and dressmaking. For several years, Katzin lived in New York making costumes for Kitty Leach, Greg Barnes, and Allison Conner, among others. Katzin has been instrumental in designing and constructing costumes for MOMIX and Pilobolus for more than twenty years.

MICHAEL KORSCH (lighting designer) is a lighting and scenic designer based in Philadelphia. He has worked with numerous directors and choreographers, creating visual designs for dance and theater throughout North and South America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. Korsch has been the resident lighting/scenic designer and technical director for Complexions Contemporary Ballet since 1998, and the resident lighting designer for Ballet Arizona since 2001. In addition, he has created original designs for companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Aspen/Santa Fe Ballet, BalletMet, BalletX, Carolina Ballet, Cleveland Play House, DanceBrazil, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Daytona Contemporary Dance Company, Disney Creative Entertainment, English National Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, North Carolina Dance Theatre, Oakland Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Sacramento Ballet, Staatsballett Berlin and Washington Ballet. He has worked with MOMIX on several shows.

WOODROW F. DICK III (production manager and lighting supervisor) is MOMIX’s go-to guy for anything and everything production-related. He has worked on numerous productions, both big and small. Dick joined MOMIX in 2005.

VICTORIA MAZZARELLI (ballet mistress). Following an impressive and extensive professional international ballet career, Mazzarelli returned to her roots at the Nutmeg Ballet Conservatory in Torrington, Connecticut, where she serves as artistic director, training the next generation of dancers.

MOMIX
PO Box 1035
Washington, CT 06793
1-860-868-7545 
info@momix.com 
www.momix.com

representation
Margaret Selby — Selby Artists/Management
262 West 38th Street, Suite 1701 New York, NY 10018
1-212-382-3260 
mselby@selbyartistsmgmt.com 
SelbyArtistsMgmt.com
 

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