Choreography Showcase is a Home for New Work and Full-Circle Moments

He isn’t performing in the Choreography Showcase — at least not yet — but seven-year-old Luca Marks is already in his fourth year of classes at the Steffi Nossen School of Dance, tracing steps his mother once took. Jessica “Jessie” DiMauro Marks began dancing there at age three, rose through the company, pursued a professional career and ultimately found her way back home. Now, ten years into her role as Artistic Director, she sees the Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation’s annual Choreography Showcase as both “a creative laboratory and a homecoming.”

The Showcase takes place on November 9 at The Emelin Theatre in Mamaroneck. A Q&A after allows audiences to ask questions and choreographers to receive feedback.

“It’s intended to be a platform for emerging and established artists to bring experimental works and new ideas to audiences that wouldn’t necessarily always get to see dance,” DiMauro Marks explains.

This year’s program features professional choreographers, alongside performances by the school’s two pre-professional ensembles: the Company (grades 9–12) and the Dance Theatre Group (grades 7–12).

“We usually select between five and seven professional groups who apply — sometimes they’re established companies, sometimes individual artists,” she said. “It might be a brand-new work they’re testing or an excerpt from something larger. It becomes this mix of experimentation and performance that keeps it fresh every year.”

Generations Sharing the Spotlight

The Showcase unites young and seasoned artists in a creative exchange that fuels growth and inspiration.

Uniquely, three of this year’s presenting choreographers — Alexandra Bilodeau, Bridget Cronin, and Courtney Murray — are also Steffi Nossen faculty.

“It’s a beautiful exchange for our younger dancers. They see their teachers not just as educators, but as artists in their own right — creators, dancers, choreographers. That’s incredibly powerful,” says DiMauro Marks.

Bilodeau’s piece, “Lunch Break in Queens,” is a jazz duet pulsing with the rhythm and energy of city life, whileCronin’s “Unravel,” a solo work-in-progress, is dedicated to “every artist holding onto a dream — and every artist learning to let one go.” Murray is half of the duo MANX (Movement Arts Nature Exchange), which will perform “Letting Go,” a fusion of dance and song that offers “a window into the nonlinear journey of two people trying to shed past demons and move forward with lighter burdens.”

Another ensemble, McKoy Dance Project, presents “Alegría” (“Happiness” in Spanish), an upbeat piece that choreographer Derek McKoy says answers “an inner call to create more love in the lives of others.” Also on the program is “Fire in the Attic,” “a striking expression of female strength and resilience” performed by the Lawton Dance Collective. Professional dancer and choreographer Kat Reese presents “Torrent,” a solo inspired by the power of water, exploring the idea of finding resilience through flow and motion.

In addition to being able to witness these performances, the Steffi Nossen student dancers also have the chance to observe professional rehearsals, share space with professional artists, and experience the atmosphere of a true performance environment. This kind of exposure inspires them to hold themselves to high standards and helps many dancers build the confidence to continue pursuing dance beyond high school.

Nurturing the Creation of New Work

Commissioning new choreography and enhancing opportunities for working artists is central to the Steffi Nossen organization’s mission. On serving emerging choreographers, Community Relations Director Judith Ross explains: “We commission their work, give them studio time, and allow them to develop new pieces with our dance company — resources that can later be presented by professionals. It helps [them] overcome what can be a huge financial burden.”

Two new works—both commissioned by the Steffi Nossen Dance Foundation—anchor this year’s program. Julia Lawton’s “The Midnight Oil,” performed by the pre-professional Steffi Nossen Dance Company, captures the restless, electric energy of the night’s quietest hours. In Kiersten Edore’s “Arpeggio,” seven young dancers from the Steffi Nossen Dance Theater Group become the living embodiment of a piano, each movement echoing the rhythm and harmony of its keys.

“Julia performed at last year’s showcase,” explains DiMauro Marks. “We were so taken with her that we asked her to come back and create something new for our pre-professional dancers. That kind of ongoing relationship — when artists move from performing to mentoring — is what makes this showcase so special.”

Dancers Coming Home

Full-circle experiences are woven throughout the organization’s history. Jessie herself once danced in les enfants qui ne dorment pas, a piece choreographed by longtime faculty member and fellow alumna Annie Doss. DiMauro Marks and Doss were children at Steffi Nossen together. In les enfants, nine dancers from the school’s pre-professional Company ensemble will explore the complexity of sleep and trace the shifting emotional landscape of a sleepless night.

Doss originally created the work in 1998 at Marymount Manhattan College, with DiMauro Marks in the cast. DiMauro Marks later performed it professionally in 2001 and then restaged it — as an instructor — in 2016 for Steffi Nossen’s Master Class II dancers. She is now restaging it again for a new generation, from a new perspective.

For DiMauro Marks, these moments embody the school’s enduring influence. “We have so many former students who come back to teach, choreograph, serve on the board, or bring their own kids,” she says. “Everyone says the same thing — it feels like coming home. That’s the magic of this place.”

That “magic” is what this Choreography Showcase celebrates: a community that grows, evolves and welcomes its dancers back into the fold with open arms.