June Dance 2026

Jim Self, described as a “post-modern bad boy” and a “uniquely eccentric artist,” by the Village Voice works in dance, painting, performance, writing, and installation. A New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) winner, and Cornell dance faculty from 1989- 2014, he’s been a member of the NYS DanceForce since 2007. In 2021 he created June Dance at the Cherry in Ithaca featuring artists from Tompkins County and NY State.

Self danced with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company (1976-1979), choreographed and performed with Robert Wilson / Byrd Hoffman School for Byrds, founded the touring company Jim Self and Dancers, and with Frank Moore created BEEHIVE, a film and ballet depicting the stories of a worker bee and a drone. His work has been commissioned by the Boston Ballet, the Rome Opera Ballet, American Dance Festival, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Dance Theater Workshop, the Serious Fun! Festival, Centre National de Danse Contemporaine d’Angers/France, WerkCentrumDans/Rotterdam, Sundance Institute/Ballet West, and Cornell University

Mark Schmidt, BA, New School for Social Research, MFA, SUNY Brockport, is a choreographer, curator, educator and DJ who first found solace on the dance floors of New York City’s queer nightclubs and underground house scene in the 1990s. He is a co-founder of JoyFlux, a performance production collective that engages communities through live performance and social dance. As a choreographer, Mark has presented work at Dixon Place, Arts On Site, Triskelion Arts, Sia Gallery, Chen Dance Center, Center for Performance Research, Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit, Bol Theater, and the Rockwell Museum. As a guest artist, he has taught master classes and lectured at Hofstra University, Springfield College, Nazareth College, SUNY Brockport, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Alfred University and the online platform FreeSkewl. He is a (2026) New York State Choreographers Initiative awardee and (2026) NYSCA Community Arts Grant recipient. Currently Mark is a performance curator for the Southern Finger Lakes Pride Festival, held yearly in Corning, NY.

Danielle Russo is a choreographer and performer, artivist and community organizer, and scholarly educator working in aesthetics, philosophies, and thresholds of experimental dance and performance on the continuum of intermedia and socially engaged artwork. Since founding Danielle Russo Performance Project (DRPP) in 2010, she has been producing large-scale performances and experiential artwork in public spaces, for public audiences, and frequently, through public collaborations. As a choreographer, she has been presented nationally at the American Dance Festival, Detroit Institute of Arts, Jacob’s Pillow, Lincoln Center for Performing Arts at Damrosch Park, The Oculus at the World Trade Center, and The Yard; and internationally in Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, Panama, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Trinidad and Tobago. Residency and fellowship awards have included C.N.N. – Ballet de Lorraine (FR), Danscentrum Jette (BE), Nadine Laboratory for the Contemporary Arts (BE), Independent Artists Initiative WUK (AT), Jonah Bokaer Arts Foundation (US), Kaatsbaan (US), LEIMAY (US), Mana Contemporary (US), Nadine Laboratory for the Contemporary Arts (BE), New York Community Trust (US), and Yaddo (US) among others. She is a multi-year grant recipient of the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs, Carnegie, Dance/NYC, Harkness Foundation for Dance, One Brooklyn Fund, and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. Additional highlights include Armory Arts Week, Julian Schnabel’s Casa del Popolo, Governors Island, HERE Arts Center, The High Line Nine, La MaMA (fabNYC), LMCC River to River with Amy and Jennifer Khoshbin, Moynihan Station, Place des Arts, and Solange Knowles’s Saint Heron, to name a few. Outside of her own devising, Russo danced with The Metropolitan Opera for several seasons. As an educator, she is Assistant Professor of the Practice of Dance & Critical Dance Studies in the Department of Performing & Media Arts at Cornell University. Previously, she was faculty at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, CUNY Queens College, University of Iowa, and The Joffrey Ballet School BFA and Professional Divisions.

Jason Collins is the curator of the Spiegeltent at Bard Summerscape and producer at the Fisher Center at Bard (FCB). While at FCB, he has produced works by artists across all performing arts disciplines, including world premieres by Pam Tanowitz, Caroline Shaw, David Lang, Justin Peck, Jackie Sibblies Drury, and Elevator Repair Service, as well as Spiegeltent seasons ’22-’25 and the FCB LAB Biennial Festival ’22. He has also produced FCB tours around the world, including at La Biennale di Venezia, Barbican Center, Royal Opera House, New York City Center, and BAM. Before joining the Fisher Center in 2022, Collins was an independent producer and company manager with Pam Tanowitz Dance, Pavel Zustiak, and Big Dance Theater. Collins is a Juilliard graduate and danced professionally for over a decade, most notably with Pam Tanowitz, Wally Cardona & Jennifer Lacey, Ryan McNamara, Danielle Russo, Metropolitan Opera, and The Merce Cunningham Trust.

Rik Daniels begins his bio with the following acknowledgements: Jim Self, Artist, Producer and Mentor, along with the NYS DanceForce, for their steadfast commitment, mentorship, and support! Thank you Jim, for believing in me, affording me “permission” for self exploration and self expression, and for teaching me “all movement is dance!”🎶
You will forever be my “Dance Daddy”! 💞

Amy Cohen, founder and Executive Director of Circus Culture, for her invitation to “Circus” with our community, her unwavering love, and enthusiastic wisdom and support! I couldn’t have asked for a more magical “Circus Mom”!🎪💫

Steven Stull and Jeanne Goddard, Artistic Co-Directors of Triphammer Arts, for their generous contributions and support of this project, my artistic endeavors, as well as those of our collective arts community! 💝

Finally, and most significantly, my faithful and dedicated husband, Marc Mauzy, for his remarkably invaluable devotion and partnership! ❤️‍🔥 “My cup runneth over…”🌈🥹❤️‍🔥🙌

Rik is a speaker, model, dancer and performance artist. “All the world’s a stage”… has been his life’s experience! So, while one could say “Rik’s been ‘performing’ throughout his life”, he began his intentional artistic journey in 2012 when collaborating with Jim Self on his first solo movement project titled “Celebration!”

Rik has since worked with many incredible artists and organizations, appearing throughout the United States and is scheduled to perform in Toronto, CA this August with Omnium Circus, of which he is a company member, marking the beginning of his international career! 🎉

“The Light We Shine” is dedicated to his mother, Pastor Donna Daniels, grandparents, Oscar and Thelma Patterson, brother, Robert Daniels, and sister, Cheryl Daniels-Cripanuk, for their many sacrifices, which he remains forever grateful for! 💘 And, to all those who champion for others to have the opportunity to live and succeed!