ABOUT

Born in Tübingen, Germany, Fiona Scruggs is a dancer, choreographer, researcher, educator, and writer.  Fiona's choreography has been presented at the 5x5 Dance Festival (CT), The Foundry (MA), Bard College at Simon's Rock (MA), Berkshire Theatre Group (MA), Chesterwood (MA), Berkshire Busk (MA), Choreography on the Edge (NY), the New Rochelle Arts Fest (NY), Salzburg International Ballet Academy Gala (Austria), Hudson Valley Academy of Performing Arts (NY), and Radford University (VA). She is currently a Teaching Artist Fellow through the Massachusetts Cultural Council Creative Youth Development program and is an American Ballet Theatre Certified Teacher for Pre-Primary through Level 5. Fiona is a teaching artist at Berkshire Pulse, the Director of Communications & Marketing at Bard College at Simon’s Rock, and a contributing writer for The Berkshire Edge. She is the former School Programs Coordinator at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, where she researched, wrote, and curated an archival collection about The School at Jacob’s Pillow’s 90-year history and legacy. Fiona received a bachelor's degree in dance education, summa cum laude, from Radford University, where she received several fellowships and grants to conduct research and choreography in France and the U.S. on the life, career, and legacy of Josephine Baker, which she has presented at numerous regional conferences.

Veronica Bone is a Pittsfield-based choreographer, teacher, and performer. After achieving her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Dance at Indiana University, Veronica moved to Western Massachusetts to work at Jacob's Pillow. She then worked at Berkshire Theatre Group as the Fundraising and Outreach Associate. While there, Veronica served as an artistic associate for the Actor Intern Program. She taught daily dance classes and choreographed site-specific performances. She now teaches at Berkshire Pulse and works on artistic projects with local dance artists.

Laura Coe is a dancer and choreographer from Los Angeles, California and Chatham, New York, and a proud member of the Chickasaw Nation. Creating at the intersection of street and concert dance, she has over ten years experience with stage, video, and site specific work.  She has performed work by Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Bill T. Jones, Isadora Wolfe, Corpi di donne, Jill Johnson, and Sidra Bell, collaborated on music videos and performance art installations, and received commissions from Choreography on the Edge, Theater Festival of Hudson, WordxWord, New England Conservatory, and the Chesterwood Estate. She holds a BFA from Harvard University where she was responsible for the creation of HomeStyle, an initiative to bring dance into the Harvard House system, and was awarded the National Collegiate Breaking Association’s “Floor Angels” award for Representation and Empowerment as the social chair of Harvard Breakers, responsible for community outreach. Laura values rigorous athletic and conceptual creation rooted in social justice and community engagement. Centering perception and identity through relationality, she enjoys work which which revolves around difficult questions and how our answers define our us.

Jordyn is a multidisciplinary creative artist—working in film, word, theater, and movement. She earned her BFA in Contemporary Dance from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, where she had the honor to perform the timeless works of Jose Limon, Anna Sokolow, and Alwin Nikolais. Her first foray into filmmaking was her thesis project, A Piece for Assorted Lunatics (a feature-length silent dance film, set to a live jazz trio performing Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon), which premiered in Boston to wide acclaim. Since then, Jordyn has enjoyed a uniquely wide breadth of creative work—from copywriting to theatrical movement coaching to managing the production of an indie film with an Oscar-winning director. In 2017, she founded her company—Whimsy Media—through which she has created numerous short dance and narrative films, written 900+ published articles, and developed engaging brand voices for multi-million dollar companies. As a freelance performing artist, she has performed with Prometheus Dance, Anna Reyes Dance, Jo-Me Dance Company, and as an independent artist in site-specific improvisational works. She is excited to be moving with Qualia Dance Collective. 

Gillian Ebersole (they/them) is a dancer and choreographer, as well as a poet, dance critic, and researcher. Gillian graduated Summa Cum Laude from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a dual degree in Dance and English. Performed on stages in Los Angeles, Denver, and Paris, as well as across Berkshire County, their choreographic work merges a love for language and for movement. Gillian trained with Denver contemporary dance company Wonderbound, Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Whyteberg, Gibney, and Bill T. Jones. Most recently, Gillian has performed and presented work at multiple venues in Berkshire County, including Jacob’s Pillow, The Foundry, and Chesterwood. Their work explores queer whimsy, vulnerability, and gentleness. Currently, Gillian works for Berkshire Pulse and is a member of their Modern Dance Faculty. (Photo credit: Jamie Kraus)

Born and raised in the beautiful Berkshires, Kendra was captivated by the world of dance and the arts at an early age. Classically trained in ballet from the age of four, Kendra continues to enjoy the ongoing pursuit of arts and movement education through performing and teaching with local dance companies. She also enjoys traveling and exploring unique and beautiful places with her family.

Shannon Nulf is a movement artist and arts administrator whose work reflects her commitment to human connection and community building. A graduate of the University of Michigan with a BFA in Dance and minors in Movement Science and Performing Arts Management, Shannon spent her time pursuing her degree as a dedicated community member and attentive mover. At U-M, she has worked with artists Urban Bush Women, Rosie Herrera, and Joel Valentin-Martinez, U-M Faculty Missy Beck and Charli Brissey, and MFA candidates Fabiola Torralba, Sydney Schiff, Kelly Hirina, Jen Peters, and Melissa Brading. She is also a dance educator and has taught a wide variety of styles and levels at various locations, including at Berkshire Pulse, having studied dance education and pedagogy at U-M. Currently, she is working at Jacob’s Pillow as a Community Engagement Fellow and rehearsing, teaching, and creating work locally in the Berkshires, including with artists Gillian Ebersole and Fiona Scruggs.

Hannah Gellman (she/her) is a theater-maker, arts educator, and dramaturg. Previously, she has worked across the Berkshires with BODYSONNET Dance Collective, Berkshire Theatre Group, Shakespeare & Company, Berkshire Playwrights Lab, and at the Great Barrington Farmers Market. As a current MFA student in the Dramaturgy and Dramatic Criticism program at Yale University, she been the dramaturg for productions of Twelfth Night, Hedda Gabler, and soft apples. She holds a BA in English from Carleton College. Developing new work and being part of the local artistic community are two of her favorite things, so she is thrilled to be on the Qualia team!