Irvine Barclay Theatre

Event Guide

Table of Contents

A Note From Molly Lynch, Artistic Director

Program for July 26

Molly Lynch, Artistic Director

Choreographers

NCI 2025 Dance Ensemble

Design Team

NCI Advisory Committee

NCI Donors

Past NCI Choreographers

National Choreographers Initiative

NCI Discovery - July 26, 2025

A Note From Molly Lynch, Artistic Director

Welcome to the 21st anniversary of the National Choreographers Initiative! We are excited to be here sharing the joy and creative process of dance with you. Thank you for joining us and supporting the artists and their collaborations.

Over these 21 years, NCI has hosted 84 choreographers (37women), 185 dancers from 60 different companies, and showcased new works – 36 of which have been produced by companies throughout the United States. We have raised $2.6m in support of the creative process.

When I first began the initiative, I wanted to create a laboratory that would foster the development of new works without the strict deadlines and expectations of a premiere.

This project is made possible through the vision and commitment of the NCI Advisory Committee. The partnership with Irvine Barclay Theatre has been central to the success of NCI, as they act as our fiscal agent and present the Discovery showing. We are also grateful to UC Irvine’s Claire Trevor School of the Arts - Dance Department, which provides the studio space for our rehearsals. And thanks to the Claire Trevor School of the Arts - Props Department and South Coast Repertory.

NCI Discovery showing features new work from four innovative choreographers – Natasha Adorlee, Glenn Edgerton, Makino Hayashi and Morgan Sicklick – created during a three-week intensive process with 16 professional dancers from 13 different companies. I hope you will engage in the creative process and join our discussion at the conclusion of the showing.

I extend my sincerest thanks to all of the individual donors who contribute to this project! We could not do NCI without your continued support and involvement!

Thank you for joining us and for supporting dance!

Program for July 26

NCI DISCOVERY '25
21st Anniversary

Molly Lynch: Artistic Director
Monique L’Heureux: Production Director/Lighting Designer
Kaity Kistler: Costume Coordinator
Brooke Lester: Assistant & Social Media
Skye Schmidt Varga: Photographer
Terry Gordon: Videographer

Choreographers

Natasha Adorlee, Glenn Edgerton, Makino Hayashi, Morgan Sicklick

Dancers

Brooke Gilliam, Amelia Grubb, Elizabeth Kanning, Alyssa Manguiat, Darcy McLoughlin, Gabrielle Mengden, Rachele Perla, Emily Speed

Nicolas Bierwagen, Julian Goodwin-Ferris, Logan Hillman, Isaac Jones, Sean Sessions, Hunter Solomon, Spencer Wetherington, Nathan Young

PROGRAM

You Never Know

Choreographer: Glenn Edgerton

Music

Max Richter: “Beginnings and Endings,” “Wershe & Son,” “I Will Not Forget You”; Vicente Avella: “Infrared”; Message To Bears: “Closed Doors”

Dancers

Brooke Gilliam, Elizabeth Kanning, Alyssa Manguiat, Darcy McLoughlin, Rachele Perla, Emily Speed, Nicolas Bierwagen, Julian Goodwin-Ferris, Isaac Jones, Sean Sessions, Hunter Solomon, Spencer Wetherington

‘past’ unfinished love letter

Choreographer: Makino Hayashi

Music

Robert Bush: “Between Worlds”

Dancers

Amelia Grubb, Logan Hillman, Gabrielle Mengden, Nathan Young

-INTERMISSION-

Armor Off

Choreographer: Morgan Sicklick

Music

human gazpacho: “Dusty Cartridge”; Sergey Cheremisinov: “Crystal Echoes,” “Lavender”; Kirk Osamayo: “Autumn Leaves,” “Polaroids,” “Melancholy Fear,” “Shooting star”

Dancers

Spencer Wetherington

Amelia Grubb, Logan Hillman, Elizabeth Kanning, Rachele Perla, Sean Sessions, Emily Speed

The Word Was Made Flesh

Choreographer: Natasha Adorlee

Music

Ben Frost: “All That You Love Will Be Eviscerated”; Rival Consoles “Unfold”; Souad Massi: “Raoui”; Ran Bagno: “Masculine”; Samuel Barber: “Agnus Dei”

Dancers

Brooke Gilliam, Alyssa Manguiat, Darcy McLoughlin, Gabrielle Mengden, Nicolas Bierwagen, Julian Goodwin-Ferris, Isaac Jones, Hunter Solomon, Nathan Young

We carry grief in our bones.
Ancestral, unspoken, alive.
It speaks in breath, in touch, in the way the body yields or resists.
Still, we move. Not to resolve, but to listen.
To trace where it lives and maybe, for a moment offer it back to the earth.
Love is made flesh. Grief is made flesh. Resistance is made flesh.

Q & A with Molly Lynch, Natasha Adorlee, Glenn Edgerton, Makino Hayashi, Morgan Sicklick

Molly Lynch, Artistic Director

Choreographers

NCI 2025 Dance Ensemble