About Us
Dual Rivet
DUAL RIVET is a women-led dance company focused on creating and sharing highly physical contemporary dance to a wide audience. Based in NYC, Dual Rivet creates work for stage and film that exchanges a cinematic and visceral language to influence both platforms. Directors Jessica Smith and Chelsea Ainsworth have been making and presenting work since 2017. They have performed and set work at Festival PRISMA (Panama), Centro Cultural Los Talleres (Mexico), Oklahoma International Dance Festival, Barnard College/Columbia University, West End Theatre, Kittery Maine, Musikfest Pennsylvania, Peridance Capezio Center, CreateArt, Arts On Site and many more. The company teaches a myriad of classes, throughout the United States and internationally, with an emphasis on contemporary partnering and floorwork. Dual Rivet is currently on faculty at The Juilliard School, Gibney, Peridance, SUNY Purchase and Marymount Manhattan. The company hosts an annual choreography festival, MADE BY WOMEN, highlighting women choreographers and creators.
Chelsea Ainsworth
Co-Artistic Director
CHELSEA AINSWORTH is a graduate of the Dance Department of The Juilliard School. After graduating she worked with Johannes Wieland/StaatstheaterKassel in Germany, Lorena Egan, Flexicure, Amber Sloan, Bryn Cohn + Artists and was on the modern/ballet dance faculty at Cap21 musical theater school and Chen DanceCenter. Currently she is dancing with The Bang Group, as well as ZviDance. She’s also the co-founder and Executive Director of Arts On Site, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting artists of all disciplines by offering affordable studio space and hosting monthly events to encourage community collaboration. She also built and curates residencies at a retreat and residency center in the Shawangunk mountains in upstate New York. In 2020 she joined the Dance Advisory Board of Marymount Manhattan College.
Jessica Smith
Co-Artistic Director
JESSICA SMITH (she/they) is a New York City based dancer from New Orleans, Louisiana. She studied at New Orleans Center for Creative Arts, London Contemporary Dance School, and received her BFA in dance from the Department of Dance at Purchase College. She has performed with companies such as Punchdrunk's Sleep No More NYC, Vim Vigor Dance Company, ZviDance and Kizuna Dance. She continues to teach and set work at schools, festivals, and training programs throughout the U.S. and internationally including: Purchase College, Princeton University, Springboard Danse Montreal (Canada), Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts Camp, Peridance Certificate Program, Blois Danse Festival (France), and DanzaMed Temporada Internacional de Danza de Medellín (Columbia). Jessica is the Associate Director of Arts on Site NYC, a non-profit arts organization, as well as Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Dual Rivet, a highly physical contemporary dance company based in NYC.
Collaborators
Briana Del Mundo
Performer
BRIANA DEL MUNDO (she/her), of Filipino decent, is a native of Calgary, Canada, and is a fourth-year student pursuing her BFA in Dance at The Juilliard School. Within her years of study, she has performed works by an array of choreographers such as Medhi Walerski, Ohad Naharin, Jermaine Spivey, Spenser Theberge, Andrea Miller, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar. Upon graduation, Briana will be joining Ballet BC as an Emerging Artist for the 2023-2024 season. Additionally, she has worked with Juilliard’s costume department, more recently as a stylist and worked as a movement director for fashion designer, Delfina Balda. She also enjoys choreographing, creating projects in film, and involving herself in outreach.
Quaba Ernest
Performer / Teacher
QUABA VENZA ERNEST is a St.Lucian-American dancer, choreographer, musician, filmmaker and teacher, originally from Brooklyn, New York. He began his training at Dance Theatre of Harlem under the direction of Arthur Mitchell & later Robert Garland. He is a graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia Arts High School, and SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance where he was selected as a recipient of an Adopt-A-Dancer Scholarship & The Thayer Fellowship in the Arts for Choreography/Dance. He began his career at Ballet BC in 2019, and later began working with Doug Varone and Dancers in 2021. He has danced in works by Kimberly Bartosik, George Balanchine, Ronald K. Brown, Sidra Bell, Norbert De La Cruz lll, Sharon Eyal, Johan Inger, Loni Landon, Sidi Larbi, Ana Maria Lucaciu, Ohad Naharin, Staycee Pearl, Crystal Pite, Jerome Robbins, Ted Shawn, and Medhi Walerski.
Matthew Johnson
Performer
MATTHEW JOHNSON (he/him) is a Brooklyn, New York native. Johnson trained at Edward R. Murrow High School and The Ailey School, and attended summer programs at Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Springboard Danse Montreal. At Juilliard, he performed works by Ohad Naharin, Jawole Willa Jo Zolar, Spenser Theberge and Jermaine Spivey, among others. Johnson made his Broadway debut as Baby John in the revival of West Side Story in 2019 and enjoyed several immersive theater opportunities in 2021 and 2022. He was featured in a Dance Spirit Magazine article titled “The Look-Back Trap: How Dancers can cope with fears of falling behind.” He recently performed a self-choreographed solo in collaboration with the Merce Cunningham Trust at Baryshnikov Arts Center.
Maggie Joy
Performer / Teacher
MAGGIE JOY is a freelance dancer living in New York. A Dallas TX native, Maggie is an honors graduate of Booker T Washington HSPVA. She received her BFA in Dance from NYU Tisch, and also studied internationally at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance. Maggie is currently performing with Dual Rivet, cullen+them, and with Kayla Farrish Decent Structures Arts. She was an inaugural participant in the GLUE x TRISK program. Maggie has presented work at Arts on Site, in a produced and self-curated performance, and at the DiMenna Center. Maggie is an adjunct at Adelphi University and on faculty at the School at Peridance, in addition to guest teaching at various universities and programs.
Issac Martin Lerner
Performer / Teacher
ISAAC MARTIN LERNER is a New York City based dancer, choreographer, educator and director. After graduation from the Hartt School he moved to New York and has been freelancing there ever since. He has worked with Kizuna since 2018 being part of the creative project for multiple projects for Artistic Director Cameron Mckinney, Laja/Martin, and Hannah Garner. He has worked heavily in opera as a performer, choreographer, and most recently assistant director. He is a sought after teacher as an adjunct professor at Adelphi University and his open weekly class at Gibney Dance Center. He is so excited to be joining Dual Rivet for this project!
Codelia King
Performer
CODELIA KING (she/her) is an Afro-Latina New York City based freelance artist. Codelia is a graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High school and recent alumni of SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. She was honored with being a YoungArts award recipient in 2019. She participated in training programs such as Springboard Danse Montreal, MOVE|NYC|, The Ailey School, Ballet Hispanico, etc. She has worked with choreographers such as Linda Celeste Sims, Glenn Sims, Laja Field, Bill T. Jones, Norbert de la Cruz III, Micaela Taylor, etc. She has performed restaged works by Martha Graham, Crystal Pite,and Bill T. Jones.
Beau
Banks
Lighting Designer
BEAU BANKS - Choreographer, Dancer and Production Technician born and raised in Belize, Central America; Beaudau is black, queer, gender non-conforming immigrant artist and Theatre Technician based in New York City.
Marc Cardarelli
Sound Designer
MARC CARDARELLI was born in Toronto and is now based in New York City. While maintaining a career as a performer, Marc is also a sound designer for dance. He curated and created original music for Cinereal Productions and they’re works The Unbrunch and The Acey Deucey Club. He scored the Under Review film series directed by Kelly Todd. Marc collaborated with The Dragon Sisters for their film Quick Flight. He created music for and starred in Elephant in the Room, created by Emmy-award winner Al Blackstone. He has collaborated with Welcome to Campfire on their immersive works The Pigeon & The Mouse and Subject. Marc also DJs and curates music for the dance experiences Momen and Kiss My Face. You can also find Marc's original material on Spotify.
Bryn
Bridgen
Marketing Manager
BRYN BRIDGEN (she/her) is a dance artist based in Vancouver, Canada and New York City. She is currently an apprentice with Vancouver-based company "Dance//Novella" directed by Racheal Prince and Brandon Lee Alley and training in the GibneyPRO Professional Certificate Program 2023/2024 under the direction of Alexandra Wells and Bret Yamanaka. Bryn has also collaborated with Dance//Novella and Lamondance (a North Vancouver-based
Jade McCullough
Intern
JADE MCCULLOUGH is born and raised in Staten Island, NY where she is earning her GED. Jade is interested in business and wants to become a neonatal nurse. She is excited to be Dual Rivet's newest intern! Retrograde Studios
Film Production Company
RETROGRADE STUDIOS is a dance cinema production company founded in 2020. Since its inception, Retrograde Studios has quickly become a go-to collaborator for movement artists in the production of original cinematic works. Their list of clients include BRIC media, Michiyaya Dance, Kayla Farrish/Decent Structures Arts, Sidra Bell Dance New York, Beirut Contemporary Ballet, Double Edge Theater, Project TAG, and Dual Rivet. Retrograde Studios Is committed to finding new and unique ways of elevating dance performance through film.
Producers
Lauren Flack
Lauren Flack is a New York based Director and Producer originally from Kansas City. She is the Co- Founder/EP of Little Blondie Films and by day the Chief of Staff at SELFMADE.
Pinkhouse Productions
Pinkhouse is a production company dedicated to producing meaningful, inspiring, unique work. Led by an all-female team, Pinkhouse strives to empower women in the arts and provide the means by which they can assert their individual voices.
NPAFE
NPAFE supports performing artists, especially in dance, by providing free marketing and promotional services, while helping them find funding from corporate sponsors. Its AALCHEMY Division creates “Immersion of the Mind” TM live performances and videos, uniting storytellers, creators and artists in dance and the Performing Arts, and the filmmakers and streamers with the unique skill to offer you an immersive theater experience right at home without any need for VR goggles.
Past Collaborators
Jennifer Payan - Performer - IN CAPSULE (Film)
Nik Owens - Performer - From The Outside
Noelle Hauptmann-Anderson - Performer - Mourning but she won’t cry
Alejandra Cedeno - Colorist - Rabbithole & IN CAPSULE (Film)
Nicole Davis - Director of Photography - bear(v.) (Film) &
Sound designer - IN CAPSULE (Film)
Tim Vassallo - Director of Photography - Rabbithole (Film)
Lauren Flack - Film Advisor - Rabbithole (Film)
Ben Federman - Colorist - bear(v.) (Film)