IN PROCESS: KNONAME ARTISTS | RODERICK GEORGE

Roderick George was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He has trained at Ben Stevenson’s Houston Ballet Academy, The Alvin Ailey School, and the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA). George was a bronze winner of the Youth American Grand Prix in 2005 and a YoungArts Winner and Presidential Scholar of the Arts in 2003. He has danced for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, Basel Ballet/Theater Basel, Göteborgs Operans Danskompani, and The Forsythe Company. In addition, he has performed the work of choreographers such as Marie Chouinard, Peeping Tom, Jorma Elo, Jacopo Godani, William Forsythe, Johan Inger, Jiří Kylian, Sharon Eyal, Ohan Naharin, Benoit Swan-Pouffer, and Richard Wherlock. In 2012, George. was a part of the Emerging Choreographer Series for the Youth American Grand Prix and an Emerging Choreographer for Springboard Danse Montréal in 2013. In addition, he has been commissioned by dance companies, institutions, and festivals, including Bodytraffic, Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Festival Quartiers Danses, Suzanne Dellal, Zurich Tanzhaus, Pavillon Noir| Ballet Prejlocaj, Ballett Basel, L.A. Contemporary Dance Company, Canadian Contemporary Dance Theatre and Fall for Dance North/ NIGHTSHIFT. Most recently, George was a YoungArts Fellow Winner Awardee for the 2021-2022 season. In Jan 2024 he created Venom, a piece commissioned by Gibney as part of the organization’s DoublePlus program in collaboration with New York Live Arts. In August 2024 Roderick was recipient of two major US awards: The Princess Grace Aware – Choreography and the inaugural Jacob's Pillow Men Dancers Award. In 2025, George is an inaugural recipient of The Princess Grace Fellow.

Photo: Monica Nyenkan

kNoname Artist is a Berlin-founded, now New York City-based company created in 2015 by Roderick George. kNoname Artist is a collective that strives to use art as a form of protest and healing method to find agency. The company invests in reflecting the times, both past and current events, and using the culture of origins as a vessel for creative expression. The knowledge of division created by colorism, class, and social-economic differences provoked the mind of George, yet also with joy and hope to motivate the growth of kNoname Artist. The mission of this multidisciplinary company is to gift its spectators’ evocative stories told through raw, percussive, and fluid movement interspersed with dialogue and humor. The iterative and evolving vision for the company melds dynamic movement, music, and scenic landscapes into experiential works exploring themes of queerness, blackness, and human rights. kNoname Artist has performed at festivals such as Festival Quartiers Danses, Suzanne Dellal, Kaatsbaan Cultural Park, Zurich Tanzhaus, Hollins University, New York Live Arts, Pavillon Noir| Ballet Prejlocaj, Sophiensæle Festspiele, Pocantico Art Center, and Fall for Dance North/NIGHTSHIFT.

Photo: Rebecca Hurson

Bill T Jones (Artistic Director/Co-Founder/Choreographer: Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company; Artistic Director: New York Live Arts) was the Associate Artist of the 2020 Holland Festival and recipient of the 2014 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award; the 2013 National Medal of Arts; the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors; a 2010 Tony Award for Best Choreography of the critically acclaimed Fela!; a 2007 Tony Award, 2007 Obie Award, and 2006 Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation Callaway Award for his choreography for Spring Awakening; the 2010 Jacob’s Pillow Dance Award; 2007 USA Eileen Harris Norton Fellowship; 2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Choreography for The Seven; 2005 Wexner Prize; the 2005 Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival Award for Lifetime Achievement; 2005 Harlem Renaissance Award; 2003 Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize; and a 1994 MacArthur “Genius” Award. In 2010, Jones was recognized as Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government, and in 2000, The Dance Heritage Coalition named Jones “An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure.” Bill has been nominated for the 2022 Tony Awards for his work on Paradise Square.

Jones choreographed and performed worldwide with his late partner, Arnie Zane, before forming the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Companyin 1982. He has created more than 140 works for his company. Jones is Artistic Director of New York Live Arts, an organization that strives to create a robust framework in support of the nation’s dance and movement-based artists through new approaches to producing, presenting, and educating.

Bill T. Jones photo courtesy of NYLA.

Since 1998, Pomegranate Arts has worked in close collaboration with a small group of contemporary artists and arts institutions to bring bold and ambitious artistic ideas to fruition. Creative and executive producers Linda Brumbach and Alisa E. Regas, along with their committed team at Pomegranate Arts, have produced the Olivier Award-winning revival of Einstein on the Beach; Taylor Mac’s epic A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, Holiday Sauce, and now – their third collaboration  together, along with composer Matt Ray – a rock opera meditation on queerness called Bark of Millions; the touring production of Ambrose Akinmusire and Aszure Barton’s A a | a B : B E N D; Available Lightby John Adams, Lucinda Childs and Frank Gehry; Robin Frohardt’s The Plastic Bag Store and Home Depot Parking Lot; Phelim McDermott and Julian Crouch’s Shockheaded Peter; and the Drama Desk Award-winning production of Charlie Victor Romeo. In recent years, Pomegranate has expanded into non-performative mediums, including the feature documentary film Taylor Mac’s 24-Decade History of Popular Music (HBO Original Doc), the film short Taylor Mac: Whitman in the Woods (ALL ARTS), and museum installations for Machine Dazzle. Pomegranate Arts is proud to support North American touring for Batsheva Dance Company and Sankai Juku. pomegranatearts.com

Creative & Executive Producer, Linda Brumbach

Creative & Executive Producer, Alisa E. Regas

General Manager, Rachel Katwan

Operations Consultant, Kaleb Kilkenny

Line Producer & Company Manager, Florent Trioux

Administrative Assistant, Elena Messinger

Production Consultant, Jeremy Lydic