Laura Baumeister (they/she) is a freelance movement artist, with a BFA in Modern Dance. They have dedicated much of their independent work to long form improvisational studies in composing movement from a base of imagery, sound scores, environment, and deep feeling. Laura has found that disentangling the brain and personality from how we innately move is a delightfully impossible feat; thus letting them inform and inspire one another lets us explore ourselves and others in an inexplicable profound way. Their most recent projects include, GRIT by Maggie Vannucci, an evening length work created for the Steppenwolf Lookout Series, as well as performing as part of an improvisational multi-disciplinary exhibition with movement partner Katlin Bourgeois, The Rite created by Brendan Fernandes, at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago for the exhibition City in a Garden, from July 2025–March 2026. She also participated as a performer and choreographer for Little Fire Artist Collective in November of 2025. Baumeister has been part of work for Brendan Fernandes at The Driehaus Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Oxbow School of Art and Artists’ residency, and The Raclin Murphy Museum. They have also performed in works by Jessi Stegall, Noelle Kayser, Robyn Mineko Williams, Sophie Allen, Chih-Jou Cheng for the Chicago Cultural Center Artist Residency, Rebecca Aneloski (And Artists Company), and Fever Dream Dance Company. They are currently coming to the end of a two year long process creating an evening length work with their close friend and collaborator Jenna Weatherbie; a premiere of the work in the process of being finalized.
Hanna DiLorenzo is a multidisciplinary freelance dance artist originally from Rochester, NY. She began her formal training at The Draper Center for Dance Education, formerly the school of the Rochester City Ballet. Later, she attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts where she earned her BFA in Contemporary Dance, and completed her academics early before moving to Chicago to join the Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Professional Training Program (HS Pro). There, she completed her degree while performing alongside the main company, and was honored with the 2019 HS Pro Emerging Choreographer Award. Now based in Chicago, DiLorenzo moves fluidly between roles as a performer, choreographer, rehearsal director, and collaborator. She is a company member with Boykin Dance Project, a founding member of Little Fire Artist Collective, and dancer, choreographer, and rehearsal director for Niko8 Performance. Her freelance work has led her to perform pieces by artists including Braeden Barnes, Brendan Fernandes, Abdiel Figueroa Reyes, FLOCKWORKS, Alicia Johnson, Brian Martinez, Jessi Stegall, and Justin Rapaport, and she was also a cover for Robyn Mineko Williams’ Echo Mine. DiLorenzo’s choreographic voice is grounded in a desire to challenge convention—crafting work that moves with cinematic clarity while using staging and lighting as expressive tools. Her choreography has been presented by Chicago Live, Highland Park High School, HS Pro, Little Fire Artist Collective, New Dances 2025, Niko8, See Chicago Dance, and various film festivals. Choreographic residencies on the horizon include the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and Symbiosis Arts.
Kara Hunsinger is a Chicago-based dance artist whose movement lives at the intersection of athleticism, emotional depth, and storytelling. Her work is rooted in presence, curiosity, and the belief that the body holds both memory and meaning. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Arizona School of Dance, where she deepened her understanding of the body as both instrument and narrator. Her training has taken her across the U.S. and internationally, including time with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Ate9 Dance Company, SALT Contemporary Dance, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, and Share Dance Intensive Berlin. Hunsinger is currently a company member with Boykin Dance Project and has previously performed with multiple Chicago based dance companies. Her performance repertoire spans contemporary and ballet-based works by Helene Simoneau, Noelle Kayser, Mike Tyus, Robert Battle, James Gregg, Nacho Duato, Christopher Wheeldon, Alexei Ratmansky, and Ohad Naharin. In addition to performing, Kara is an emerging choreographic voice. She served as Choreographic Assistant with Boykin Dance Project from 2022–2024, contributing to works such as Nonsense! and Smart Mouth. Her own choreography, including Can You Hear Me Now? and Let The River Answer, reflects her interest in physical storytelling, human connection, and the emotional undercurrents that shape modern life. This is her third collaboration with Brendan Fernandes, following his installation Skin in the Game (2024), and the immersive performance 72 Seasons (2021) at Lurie Garden.
Nick Kearns, originally from Williamsburg, VA, began dancing at age 15 under the direction of Shelly Isler at SI Dance. A graduate of James Madison University, Kearns performed with the Virginia Repertory Dance Company, a select ensemble that provided him the opportunity to collaborate with renowned companies such as the Ballet Hispánico, DanceWorks Chicago, and Eisenhower Dance Detroit. He had the privilege of working with acclaimed choreographers Lucinda Childs, Norbert De La Cruz III, Rubén Graciani, Monique Haley, and Jessica Hendricks while at JMU. Following graduation, Nick joined DanceWorks Chicago (under the direction of Julie Nakagawa) in 2024, where he had the opportunity to collaborate with choreographers/works by Joshua Manculich, Charissa Lee Barton, Hanna Bricston, Jessi Stegall, Demis Volpi, and more. In addition, Kearns performed with the New Dances 2025 company, a collaboration between Thodos Dance Chicago and DanceWorks Chicago, where he performed works by Hanna DiLorenzo and Xenia Mansour. Nick currently dances with Symbiosis Arts, under the direction of Braeden Barnes.
Princess Reid grew up in Jacksonville, Florida, and began dancing at age seven at The Florida Ballet under the direction of Laurie Picinich-Byrd and Linda Jenkins. At age 18, Reid left Jacksonville to join Orlando Ballet’s second company where she studied for three years. Reid attended USA IBC in 2018 and was offered a contract with The Joffrey Ballet in Chicago. During her time at the Joffrey Ballet she had the opportunity to work with Chanel DaSilva, Yuri Possokhov, Christopher Wheeldon, Cathy Marston and John Neumeier, to name a few. She was also honored to perform the role of cupid in Possokhov’s Don Quixote. In 2021, she was given the opportunity to attend USA IBC’s gala where she performed a variation from Gerald Arpino's Kettentanz. Reid left the Joffrey Ballet in 2024 to pursue freelance dance endeavors, and is a frequent collaborator of Brendan Fernandes.
Brian Josiah Martinez is a Colombian-American choreographer, movement director, and the founder and artistic director of Boykin Dance Project, a Chicago-based contemporary dance company. His choreographic practice centers collaboration, dancer autonomy, and cinematic storytelling, often exploring themes of intimacy, presence, and human connection. Martinez approaches creation as a facilitator rather than sole author, building work through dialogue, shared authorship, and deep engagement with the communities he works within. Through Boykin Dance Project, he is committed to expanding access to contemporary dance by pairing live performance with education, digital resources, and community outreach initiatives.
Xenia Mansour is a movement-based performer, director, and coach. She holds a BFA in Dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and has performed with NYC-based choreographers and collectives, including HIVEWILD, HOLDTIGHT, Sikora + Dance, and Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Riener. Most recently, she has performed in Brendan Fernandes’ "In Two" at the Pulitzer Arts Museum and choreographed and performed in Grammy-nominated musician Nico Segal’s "Welcome Home" at Steppenwolf Theatre. Her work has been presented by Thodos Dance Chicago/DanceWorks Chicago for New Dances 2025 at The Ruth Page Center for the Arts, and has also been commissioned by Grammy-winner Kalia Vandever and MOMENTA Dance Company. Through her company, Philoxenia Movement LLC, Mansour also works as a movement director and coach, collaborating with Chicago-based musicians, photographers, models, and visual artists. Her movement direction spans live performance, music projects, and fashion and editorial contexts, including ongoing collaboration with Greek-American pop artist Tommy Bravos and leading model movement workshops with photographer Anna Blank. Her work is guided by curiosity, play, and intentionality, using movement as a tool for dialogue, presence, and honest exchange between performers, collaborators, and audiences.