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First Amendment: Dancemaking Concept
2020
Consecration
2017
Consecration
2017
Sarah Baker
Dancer | Performer
Sarah Baker is originally from Clayton, Michigan, and graduated from Chapman University in Orange, CA with a B.F.A in Dance Performance and B.S. in Business Administration. During college, Sarah assisted at Joffrey Ballet’s Jazz & Contemporary Summer Intensive, interned with Thodos Dance Chicago, and trained at American Dance Festival. Her choreographic work, Directions of Expectations, received the Outstanding Choreography Award at Chapman and performed in the MixMatch Dance Festival and Chapman’s Dance Tour in Las Vegas and San Diego. Sarah graduated Suma Cum Laude with honors and received the Donna Cucunato Award—an honor presented to one graduating senior in the Dance Department for outstanding contributions. After graduation, she danced with Inaside Chicago Dance for 4.5 years and freelanced, performing works by Robert McKee, Jessica Deahr, Martin Ortiz, Ricky Ruiz, Elysia C. Banks, and Oscar Ramos. Her choreographic work, Identity, won Inaside’s 2018 Choreographic Project and was added to the company’s repertoire. Sarah now does college campus ministry and enjoys project-based teaching, choreographing, and performing. She is so thankful for the opportunity to dance and experience the collaborative process in Sat in a Boat.
ABOUT COLLABORATORS
Sarah Freeman
Dancer | Performer | Lighting Designer
Sarah Freeman is a dancer and stage manager working in Chicago, IL. Originally from Hampton Roads, VA, she studied under Sandra Balestracci and Adrienne Dellas Thornton (Kirov Academy of Ballet). Freeman went on to obtain a BFA in Dance and an BS in Arts Administration from Belhaven University where she served as president of the Dance Department student leadership. There her teachers included Revenna Tucker Wagnon (The Royal Ballet) and Henry Danton (Sadler's Wells Ballet) and had the privilege to perform in works by Doug Varone, Marius Petipa, Vincent Hardy, Cynthia Newland, and others. Since 2020 she has been the Stage Manager for Ballet 5:8 and loves getting to serve the dancers there in a behind-the-scenes capacity.
Elijah Richardson
Dancer | Performer
Elijah Richardson, originally from San Jose, California, is a Filipino-American dancer, choreographer, and educator based in Chicago. His primary training consisted of musical theatre, classical choir, and figure skating before discovering dance at age 12. He went on to earn a BFA in Dance Performance from Chapman University in 2018. Supplemental training includes San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Zion Dance Project. Professionally, Elijah has danced with DanceWorks Chicago, The Cambrians, and is currently a guest artist with South Chicago Dance Theatre. His own works have been presented at Second City Dance Ministry, Mobile Dance Film Festival, Trifecta Dance Festival, and Loyola University Chicago, to name a few. He is blessed to share this work with such talented, Spirit-filled artists.
Marceia L. Scruggs
Dancer | Performer
Marceia L. Scruggs is a a Chicago based dancemaker, creator, and collaborator. As a creative, Marceia values writing, performance, and storytelling and is rooted in high energy movement practice. Her recent work has been presented at Holding Common Ground: Pathways to Cultural Exchange in Vietnam 2021 (Virtual), RAD Fest (Kalamazoo, MI), and Links Hall (Chicago). She is a 2019 Links Hall Co-Mission artist and Chicago Dancemakers Forum (CDF) Greenhouse recipient. She is also a graduate student of Governors State University in the Marriage, Couple, and Family Counseling sequence. Marceia is elated to bring joy and healing to those she encounters through her creative and therapeutic work in pursuit of the Kingdom of God.
Jordan Medina & Carlos Medina II
Spoken Word Artists | Performers
Jordan and Carlos (stage names LDJ and CM2Live) are a married couple currently residing in Chicago whose artistic backgrounds include live poetry and spoken word, music, clothing design and visual arts. They regularly perform in open mic events throughout the city and globally, in addition to hosting concerts and pop up art showcases to promote local up-and-coming-talent. Their mission is to serve, heal, and create through poetry. art and music, and have brought their performance to unorthodox places from churches to high schools to the Cook County juvenile detention facility on the near west side.
Aly Noël Raden
Animation Artist | Graphic Designer
Aly Noël Raden is a Chicago based artist who specializes in illustration and design. Aly holds a Bachelor degree in Integrated Marketing Communications with a minor in Graphic Design from Loyola University Chicago. Her biggest passion is bringing accessibility to the arts and the world at large. She strives to create community through art in every aspect of my life.
Christa J. Sangster Monroe
Song Writer | Singer
Christa J. Sangster Monroe is a Chicago musician, worship leader, and artist. Christa has long used her poetry to create lyrics for her songs as a means of self and communal expression. Her work as a worship leader has spanned half of her lifetime where she has sought to create musical connections between God, the community, and the Earth. Christa cherishes working with artists across various mediums, backgrounds, and beliefs to create connections and opportunities for growth. Recently, Christa was honored to present at The Parliament of the World Religions Conference for 2021 (Virtual) and she collaborates with the music group The Many. Christa received her Bachelors of Music from Southern Illinois University of Carbondale in 2010 and is currently working towards her Masters of Divinity at Chicago's McCormick Theological Seminary. Christa seeks to be a life learner of who God is while helping others earnestly seek truth apart from the confines of racially biased theology.
Donavahn Frierson
Musician
Donavahn Frierson hails from Indianapolis, Indiana and has lived in Chicago for the last 10 years. Here he studied graphic design at Columbia College Chicago adding that skillset to his musicianship. He began playing music in kindergarten and over the years specialized in percussion. From scoring choreographies to composing sound design for the U.S. women's soccer team, he enjoys translating stories and emotions through his music.
Emmanuel Lifschultz
Literary Artist
Emmanuel Lifschultz is a Chicago native, familiar with the many cuisines and cta train lines. Emmanuel is a hobbyist reader and writer, and an avid lifelong learner. He has a passion for religious studies, philosophy, history, the humanities, and the sciences. He has an eager desire to discover truths, to promote love and goodness, and to find and bring wisdom as a lifestyle. Emmanuel contributed to portions of the research and written materials for this production, in addition to assisting with sound and lights.
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