Virtual DAnce Film Gallery
November 1st, 2025 - December 31st, 2025
Meet the Artists
Saige Doré Rook (she/her) is a dance artist and movement instructor based in Lakewood, Ohio. She holds a BA in Dance in Community and a BS in Health Sciences from Cleveland State University where she had the opportunity to perform works by and receive choreographic guidance from artists such as Antonio Brown, Annie Morgan and Teena Marie Custer. After graduation she has had the opportunity to deepen her connection with a myriad of dance and allied health and wellness mentors as well as continuing her education in becoming a certified yoga instructor, becoming certified in thai yoga massage, and is currently in the process of becoming a certified physical trainer through NASM. As a movement instructor, she teaches barre, ballet, pre-pointe, and beginning pointe as well as somatic workshops for adults where she is passionate about utilizing a functional, sustainable and whole person approach to create spaces that feel open and safe for anyone inclined to participate. Her choreographic works serve as an extension of these ideals and have been presented at The Beck Center for the Arts, Cleveland Dance Project Showcase, Cleveland State University, as well as captured in a short film Casualties in collaboration with local film-makers and local musicians. She looks forward to seeing her student base expand and to continuing to create in collaboration with local artists of all kinds.
CDF 2025 Dance Film Artist - Saige Doré Rook
DRIFT DANCE COLLECTIVE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in northeast Ohio. We first met as members of our college dance company, and although we have each since moved into different career paths, we wanted to find a way to keep dance as a part of our lives. We believe that artistic expression, physical movement, and dance specifically are not things to grow out of, and should not be reserved for a particular age or demographic. We meet regularly to choreograph new work, rehearse, and explore new ways of moving. Our primary movement styles are modern, postmodern, and contemporary, and we function as a "collective” instead of a hierarchical company structure. We are currently working on our fourth dance film, and are always exploring other ways to spread an appreciation of dance to our community and beyond. Our mission is to promote artistry at all stages of life through innovative choreography, community outreach, and multimedia performance. As a collective, we function as a place for ideas, using dance as a way to tell stories and find meaning through movement. In our broader community, we strive to create accessible environments that promote curiosity, exploration, and appreciation for dance as an art form. Artists include Emily Baird, Gabrielle Croes, Madi Hunt, Claire Smrekar, and Maria Witt-Kelly.
JENNIFER KELLER is an American educator, choreographer, and performer. Her work is inspired by collaborative practices, improvisation, contemporary partnering, and interactive technology. Her first film experiments and live performances in the late 1990’s explored the spherical nature of Contact Improvisation and a curiosity to share the dancer’s point of view via live projection. Jennifer has been making short dance films since 2014, exploring composition within the frame and the relational possibilities between subjects and the camera. Jennifer has screened films in North and South America, Europe, and East Asia; and has served as cinematographer for four films under the direction of Marta Renzi. Jennifer teaches on the faculty of Slippery Rock University, where she chairs the Department of Dance. In 1997, she served as a co-curator for CI25 at Oberlin College. In 2022, she returned to Oberlin to serve as a panelist for a contemporary film festival “Critical Mass: CI@50” that celebrated the intersection of Contact Improvisation and film.
GENEVIEVE JENCSON & BRIAN MCCORMACK
GENEVIEVE JENCSON is a poet and performance artist based in Cleveland, Ohio. Her interdisciplinary approach to art-making combines poetry, visual imagery, and dance. Genevieve has been performing with The Birds Who Walk at Night butoh collective since 2015. Genevieve also creates and performs solo work. She recently presented her choreographed solo, The Little Bird Ascends as part of Excavate: Butoh Works in Progress at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn, NY in February 2025. She presented Incantations, spoken word poetry and improvised dance, at MicroTheater Cle in November 2024. Her chapbook of poems Lanugo was published by Dancing Girl Press in 2015. Genevieve holds an MFA in creative writing from Cleveland State University and the NEOMFA and a BA in English from Hiram College. She is a dedicated student of Vangeline of the Vangeline Theater/ Butoh Institute New York. Genevieve also sings harmony for the band Mulberry Moon.
CLAIR DECKER is an Ohio-based dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker who often creatively combines performing arts with visual arts. She is currently working towards a BFA in dance with a concentration of performance and choreography at Slippery Rock University. Through SRU Dance Theatre, she has performed in multiple pieces choreographed by students Skylar Ankrom, Gianna Dobrich, and Mari Sprague. Through classes, she has trained under Erin Kouwe, Jennifer Keller, Irishia Romaine, and Emmalee Hallinan. Claire has also performed in a piece created by Staycee Pearl from PearlArts Movement & Sound at SRU’s Emerging Artist Concert. In Columbus Ohio, she has attended the Ohio State Dance Summer Intensive at the Ohio State University as well as Whirlwind Dance’s Lab, The Maker’s Intensive. She also attended Point Park University’s International Summer Dance in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Her interest in choreography was first represented in her dance film titled Past Your Prime. She then recently created a second dance film titled what exactly did you expect to find here? that was screened at the American College Dance Association this spring. She is also looking forward to perform in pieces made by Lily Staib and Kailey Fraer for a BFA Capstone Concert in late April. Claire aims to focus her passion for dance in the world of screendance, and to further express alternative ideas artistically.
CDF 2025 Dance Film Artist - Norah Spradling
NORAH SPRADLING, a native of Nashville, TN, is a dancer and filmmaker. She began dancing at a young age and completed much of her training at Centerstage Performing Arts Academy. She has worked with artists such as Staycee Pearl, Laja Fields, Lindsay Viatori, Irishia Romaine, Jennifer Keller, and Erin Kouwe. Norah’s choreography involves improvisational generation and gestural movement to explore abstract pathways and experimental choreography. As a filmmaker, she has showcased her work at festivals like ADF: Movies for Movers, and filmed projects for renowned artists like Cameron McKinney and Shakia Barron. Norah enjoys creating films that bend reality and explore subconscious thoughts. Currently, Norah is studying at Slippery Rock University to obtain a B.F.A. in Dance with dual concentrations in Performance and Choreography and Dance Entrepreneurship.
CDF 2025 Dance Film Artist - Elyse Morckel & Denzel D. Washington
ELYSE MORCKEL & DENZEL D. WASHINGTON
ELYSE MORCKEL (she/her/hers) is a dance artist from Akron, Ohio. She earned her BFA from The Ohio State University with concentrations in choreography and dance technology. In 2017, she joined The Movement Project and became Associate Director in 2022. She has performed works by Dianne McIntyre, Pam Tanowitz, Kimberly Bartosik, and others. Her choreographic works—including Sixes & 7’s, the end, this is a victory dance, and Carnival of the Animals—have been presented at the Ohio Dance Festival, Cleveland Dance Fest, and Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival. In 2024, she was named an Artist in Residence and selected as an Ann Amer Brennan Resident through Akron Soul Train, where she is reimagining VOID as a dance film, Wanderlust Blue, in collaboration with Denzel Washington. She recently relocated to southern Vermont, and is studying Authentic Movement with Carolyn Shakti Sedah while remaining deeply invested in the northeast Ohio dance community.
DENZEL D. WASHINGTON is a professional cinematographer and photographer. Currently, he works for University Hospitals and runs his own photography and video LLC. Washington produced and shot a nationwide commercial for the NFL BROWNS in collaboration with University Hospitals. He was the Cinematographer and Producer for 412 Thrives Cancer Awareness Campaign and won a silver telly award for his independently produced music video, So Long. Washington also worked on productions with clients like the Cavs, Playhouse Square, The Cleveland Ballet, Purell, and VITAMIX. Washington specializes in the art of storytelling and artistic media development and uses his expertise to educate, inspire, and help others connect on a deeper level.