My name is Ngone (pronounced “Gonay”) Mbaye. I am a New York City-based yoga instructor. My yoga journey started 6 years ago while working as a French language and dance teacher for a prestigious Manhattan-based preschool. Once each week, a yoga instructor taught the children yoga movements. I was inspired by the way the instructor guided the children with games, music, and books while teaching various yoga poses and stretches. A short while later I received my children’s yoga certifications from Little Flower Yoga, Urban Yoga Foundation and Rainbow Kids Yoga. In 2015, I completed my 200-hour yoga certification at Three Sisters Yoga in New York City. November 2016, I wanted to deepen my yoga knowledge and practice, I completed a 300-hour yoga certification with Three Sisters Yoga. July 2017, I completed a 300-Hour Hatha teacher training in Rishikesh, India. During my 500hr yoga certification, I became so devoted to assisting yogis on their journeys, that I opened my own yoga studio. With the collective, the studio will serve as a supportive space for new and advanced teachers to connect and share the gift of wellness with the community. My intention is to create a community open to a different style of yoga that help us all be creative. Namaste!

mother, artist, crone. I'm mostly in mother and crone mode these days. And art making. The art is what holds it all together. The timeline meanders through modes of being a dancer, actor, dancer, mime, performance artist, teaching artist, choreographer, director, stage combat director, teacher, potter, jeweler, bread baker, gardener, print maker. And always the through line is mother.

Tara Cariaso is a Baltimore-based Mask Maker, performer, Founder of Waxing Moon Masks Company (www.waxingmoonmasks.com), Teaching Artist, and adjunct professor of theatre at the University of MD, Baltimore County. She works locally and across the US sharing new mask/physical theatre performance pedagogy for actors and non actors, most recently including new research in the fields of Archetypes for actors, Emotional Intelligence in elementary classrooms, and using masks for social justice play making. Her ongoing non-profit collaborative project, "Masks for Good" provides materials, performance curriculum, and opportunities for her B4 YouthTheatre students in Liberia, West Africa.

Sophia Dawson, 29, is a Brooklyn based artist who dedicated her life’s work to exposing the stories and experiences of individuals who strive to overcome the injustices the face both individually and collectively. Her multidisciplinary practice includes painting, mural making, performance art and installation. By raising awareness of individual narratives, she aims to humanize social justice issues. She received her bachelors degree in fine arts from SVA and her masters in visual arts administration from NYU. Her work has been exhibited in both the Bronx Museum and the National Art Gallery in Kingston, Jamaica biennials. Her anti-police brutality roller skate piece has been enacted via flash mob at the Brooklyn Museum and at Afropunk. Sophia is currently a participant in the Whitney Independent Studio program.

Kelly King is a creator. She generates movement, dialogue, and joy. Kelly makes dances for theater, film, stage, and street... and all the places people go in-between. Recent Dance & Theater choreography: 28 (!) productions for Contradiction Dance Theatre (2006-2017); Open Circle Theatre & Dance Exchange: Unreachable Star; Taffety Punk Theatre Company: Trojan Women, Phaeton (Helen Hayes Award Nominee); Round House Theatre: Stage Kiss. Company work: Contradiction Dance Theatre, BodyWise Dance, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Cirque Du Soleil, Echo Park Contemporary Ballet, City Dance Ensemble, JazzDanceDC. Kelly serves the creative community as a choreographer, performer, educator, consultant, advocate and audience member. Kelly is the Artistic Director of Contradiction Dance & Co-Founder of The Movement Movement.

I have been alive for 6 decades, a visual artist for 5, a wife for 4, and a mother for 3. My work is about humans toiling, rescuing, connecting, and surviving. For me, human contact, making art, and making art about human contact, is what bails me out time and again, and gives me hope.

Sarah is an Australian performance maker who devises new media dance, instigates inter-disciplinary practices and invests in multi-platform processes and production outcomes. Her new media choreographic practice is grounded in the art of designing movement to communicate concepts and stories of the world; contemporary concerns, age old mythologies and futuristic prophecies. Sarah has created works for the Adelaide Festival, The Australian Choreographic Centre, Dance House, Strut Dance, Australian Dance Theatre’s Ignition Season and Corazon de Vaca. Sarah is a co-tutelle PhD student between Deakin University in Australia and Coventry University in the UK, researching Dance Transmission within Digital Simulation Environments and Virtual Reality Platforms.

I am a Creative Arts Therpist and a somatic trauma therpist. I use art to help people express what is not easily said with words. Once upon a time I was a theatre artist. Today I make living room theatre with my three year old and husband. My own art is private, and usually involves themes around motherhood/womanhood/marriage/therapy/humanness.

Lisbon, Portugal native, Sara Serpa is a singer, composer, improviser who implements a unique instrumental approach to her vocal style. Recognized for her distinctive wordless singing, Serpa has been immersed in the field of jazz, improvised and experimental music since first arriving in New York in 2008. Described by JazzTimes magazine as "a master of wordless landscapes" and by the New York Times as "a singer of silvery poise and cosmopolitan outlook,” Serpa started her recording and performing career with jazz luminaries such as Grammy-nominated pianist, Danilo Perez, and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow pianist, Ran Blake. Her ethereal music draws from a broad variety of inspirations including literature, film, visual arts as well as history and nature. As a leader, she has produced and released seven albums; the latest being "All The Dreams" in collaboration with guitarist André Matos. Serpa has collaborated with an extensive array musicians including John Zorn, Mycale Vocal 4tet, Guillermo Klein, Mark Turner, Zeena Parkins, Andreia Pinto-Correia, Derek Bermel, Aya Nishina, Tyshawn Sorey, Nicole Mitchell, Kris Davis, among many others.

Imani Shanklin Roberts is a Washington, DC native currently based in New York. Roberts earned a BFA/MS in Art Education upon graduating from Pratt Institute in 2014. As an artist and enthused educator who peels apart topics on race, gender, and identity, she seeks to create and facilitate socially responsive work that encourages ideas of self-realized liberation. Using the traditional mediums of oil paint on canvas, she has entered the arts realm once dominated by a ruling minority to express the language of the oppressed and unheard. She draws inspiration from African American artists that have visually explored identity using figures and identifiable color choices in her work to reflect how she experiences the world. Roberts recently has been noted for her execution in creating a Mural in conjunction with South African Tourism x CitiBike, dedicated to the world-renowned artist, Esther Mahlangu in Manhattan, New York. Roberts has coordinated Five solo exhibitions, most recently “Pan-Washingtonian”, and has exhibited in various spaces including The Anacostia Arts Center, Weeksville Heritage Center, Blue Door Art Gallery, Busboy’s & Poets, Karrot and the eco-eatery and community gathering space, Habana Outpost. The Brooklyn community has also gotten a glimpse of the artist’s work in three recent shows: After Afropolitan, Out of Bounds: Freedom of Expression, and Myrtle Avenue Brooklyn Partnerships Black Artstory Month. Huffington Post recently recognized her as a “Rising Art Star” and CBS DC honored her as one of the “Best Up-and-Coming Artists in DC” in 2012. Roberts’ distinct aesthetic empowers her viewers to deconstruct limitations and think beyond while embracing their cultural identities.

Eleanor Rosenberg is an award-winning illustrator. Her editorial drawings and paintings illuminate the defining characteristics of small everyday moments that often fall in between the cracks of more celebrated milestones. Her work is published nationally in The Globe and Mail newspaper, in Yukon North of Ordinary Magazine and in advertising campaigns.

I am a Theatre Artist wife and mommy of 2 young boys. My oldest son is 3 (almost 4) and my youngest son is 2. They are both filled with joy, music, and play and share that in their own way. The oldest is nuerotypical and he takes good care of his little brother who happens to have Down syndrome. They both inspire my work as I direct, perform and teach young artists.

Héloïse Godet grew up in the Paris suburbs. She studied theatre at Censier University (Paris III) and graduated from Jacques Lecoq international theatre school. She has worked for theatre, tv and movies. In 2010, she was a member of Talents Cannes Adami. In 2014, she starred in the Cannes competition entry by Jean-Luc Godard, "Goodbye to language". She received a Golden Thumb Award at Ebertsfest - Roger Ebert's Film Festival (Illinois, USA) in 2015.

"First month of pregnancy, I was sick and wanted to throw up in the face of kids who were watching my puppet show. This long theatre road trip by myself was extremely hard. Two months after Rose’s birth, I kept travelling with her, to do some promotion or to be a juror at film festivals : having her with me was supposed to be more comfortable. But I was dressed with expensive borrowed dresses and still breastfeeding, dripping milk all over the place... I was supposed to look fancy, clever and fresh, but I just couldn't sleep. These last 2 and a half years, I have been very busy finding resources within myself and trying to gain inner-peace as a shiva artist mama."

Julie Rose Bower is a University of Oxford linguist and a Lecoq-trained theatremaker. Her performance events and experiences explore the body as mise en scene and encourage heightened awareness. Through enjoyable and unusual interventions she seeks to make something unique happen live in the space, often with immersive and participatory elements. Ongoing research interests include sensory science, behavioural economics, heritage sites, dancing technologies and metacognition. 

I took a career break to have my son and starting to make work again is totally different to how it was before. In some ways harder (financially, time-wise) but in other ways easier (I am by definition more mature). A parent's role is to make the world safe for their child. So first the parent has to make the world safe for themselves. It's a very interesting performance day on day and it has definitely helped me grasp what the point of my having an artistic practice is. The object of this life is not mere survival.

Actor, thinker, mover, doer. Co-Founder and Education Director of Portland Playhouse. Graduate of The Australian Academy of Dramatic Arts, BFA & The Shakespeare Theatre, MFA. Nikki is a motivated mover and has completed 12 marathons, has taught yoga (in another life) for over ten years, and is a massage therapist (in all my free time), and continues to lead international retreats on creativity. 

I joined the motherhood tribe in 2012 when I gave birth to Margot, and again in 2014 when Elliette popped out of my body.I lost my own mother at the age of ten in a quick ten day period. I often wonder whether I am doing it "right", as if there is a right. Motherhood has been the longest improv lesson of my life, and I'm still in class. It has made me find more humanity, more humility, more humor, and more play in my life. My girls see me live a passionate, chaotic, dedicated life that is full of a messy art making practice. I'm grateful for what they teach me and all that they give me.

Nora Achrati is a serial toe-dipper who took the leap into acting after testing the waters in careers like journalism (too hot!) and academia (too cold). She performs on stage in and around DC, where she also narrates books for the Library of Congress and does other voice work. Occasionally she dips her toes into writing, devising, and editing. She is married to one of her favorite artists in the world. They became parents to a bobble-headed child in 2015.

Well time and history and the relationship of all things to all other things shifted, to begin with. / And / I got bigger. the scope of me widened. / I'm less afraid / more terrified. / I made friends with exhaustion and pain. They help me focus, help me out of my own way. / I made a better friend out of the word "no"; No, I can no longer accommodate what you are offering. You must change your terms. I can no longer change mine. / I'm lonelier. I grieve more. I think that comes with love. / I'm in touch with new powers. ancient powers. all my mothers' powers. / and, like, time has become a real thing and a tyrant and I'm trying to secede from her.

STEPHANIE HAYES is a Swedish/British Brooklyn-based performer & writer. She is currently starring in Slow Machine, a feature film by Paul Felten. Other credits include THEATER: The Select (Elevator Repair Service) February House (The Long Wharf Theater) Fairytale Lives of Russian Girls (Yale Rep) February House (The Public) Old Fashioned Prostitutes (The Public) Illusions (Baryshnikov Art Center) Stupid Little Girls (Canada), Shreveport, Texas! (Canada) FILM: Acts of Imagination (Official Seleetion at Toronto Film Festival) PLAYS/OTHER WORK: Exit, Commander Kitty! (Tigermilk Collective, Canada), Vaska, Vaska Glöm: A tale for Forgetters and Fish (Yale Cabaret). Stephanie was a co-artistic director of the Vancouver based performance company Tigermilk Collective for 5 years. She has taught theater and created work in Sweden, UK, Siberia, Canada and the US. Last year, Stephanie was an artist in residence at Mabou Mines. She is the Co-Artistic director of newly formed HORSE with Emily Reilly. Stephanie has an MFA in Acting from Yale School of Drama.

Having a baby obliterated the lines of my self-percieved identity. Now I am raw and unpredictable. I don't quite know what makes up me anymore, and I feel lost in a way that is unchartered and unmapped. My heart has expanded, but beyond my own body, so I don't know where I stop. I feel a kindship with the world, a sisterhood with other mothers. I feel less unique, but more brave. I think my work will benefit from this. There is no longer time for prolonged worry, because needs have to be met and sleep must be hunted. I can't say yes to all the things I use to, but there is a kind of liberation in that. I long for simplification in my life and in my art practice. One thing at a time. My heart bleeds more. My body aches. I have more to offer, less time to do so. My romanticized vision of what is it to be an artist has been shattered. No more long writing days at a clean desk in the sunlight. I write during naps, I dream during stroller walks. And I call people after 9pm. I am eager for motherhood to find its beautiful and rightful place in the world of art.

Mostly found performing or devising work for young audiences (TYA), very young audiences (TVYA - she was dubbed "Buster Keaton for babies") and physical theatre, Tia is a totally famous actor/creator you've somehow never heard of.

Tiny Play #90 /// Lights up on a woman sitting cross-legged in the middle of a very imperfect rug. She is sculpting something out of found objects. // A boy is running around her. / He hits her on the head. / She discards it. / He throws love at her. / She keeps the "l." / He blows a raspberry. / She discards it. / He climbs onto her shoulders. / She discards it. / He sings his language to her. / She keeps the bits that sound like English. / He takes off one sock and places it on her shoulder. / She discards it. / He pretends to be an airplane. / She keeps one sturdy wing. // Behind her, a sculpture of the discarded bits has grown. It is far more beautiful than the one she is crafting. She feels its glow, and turns around.

Whitney is a Pacific Northwest resident and rainbow hunter. She performed regularly from the ages of 14-35 in theatres, classrooms, on the street and in disguise. She likes delicious food made by other people, is a long time yoga teacher and spends most days playing ref for her 2 young kids. When they are asleep, she writes about awakening through movement, makes quilts, draws and occasionally plays accordion. 

For me, motherhood and artistry are both about our relationship to presence. How I show up to the necessary daily tasks and practices often matters more than the practices themselves. In the beginning, I was upset by motherhood in every way. As a theatre artist, yogi and athlete, I have used my body as the main vehicle for creation and expression since I was young. Neither carrying nor delivering children was easy for me, and I was angry for a long time that my medium had been hijacked. Being a parent has affected how I manage my habits around creativity. It has asked me to be more routine-based, practice compassion with boundaries and to open my eyes to the beauty in the changing phases of us all. In the last 2 years, I’ve gotten into quilting, sewing, drawing, hand lettering and cooking. I don’t know where my creativity will take me next, but I am excited to engage this project with a renewed sense of self.

Choreographer, teacher & generative artist. She performed from childhood with her father, acclaimed mime Mark Jaster. She has worked with Robert Wilson's Watermill Center, the Natanakairali Institute for Sanskrit Theater in India, LaMama's International Director's Symposium, U-Theatre- a Zen-drumming troupe in Taiwan, and the Grotowski-based Teatr Zar in Poland, among others. She attended the Lecoq school for physical theatre in Paris. Audiences have called Emma "stunning," "a walking poem," and "the most expressive communicator I have ever seen." She works regularly as choreographer for Heartbeat Opera. 

I have struggled to find my personal practice. I have re-evaluated my system of self-evaluation. I am slower to judge. My heart is brighter and more vulnerable. My animal instincts, stronger, more enjoyable. I still make because I must. I make dances to put him to sleep and tricks to make him laugh. I make note of the lessons he enforces: eat if you're hungry, sleep if you can, everything is more appealing as a game. I use speakerphone more and email less. Computer time is the hardest to get. I yearn harder for communal living, a sisterhood for a neighborhood. I take my meetings in coffee shops exclusively at naptime. My availability is interlocked with my child's sleeping, nursing, waking needs. I struggle to justify my choice to align my child's needs with mine. Dare I say, prioritize him. Somehow naptime seems an unacceptable conflict. I ask in defeat: how do babysitters demand more for their time than professional artists, dedicated for decades to the practice of their craft? I build a new relationship with feminism, with my body- brand new, still beloved. I know new depths of physical power.