Copy of Red Black Minimalist Dance Acade

Welcome to Shifting Canvas - an evening where movement meets brushstroke, and dance becomes a living gallery.

This production was born from a question: In curating this show, we invited our choreographers and dancers to explore the many ways that visual art — from Gothic architecture to classical paintings to modern installations — can intersect with the world of contemporary dance.

Each piece in Shifting Canvas draws inspiration from a different artistic lens. Some are direct responses to specific eras of art; others echo the process, emotion, or abstraction behind visual creation. Throughout the evening, you’ll witness how stillness gives way to motion, how texture can be embodied, and how form and line find new expression through the human body.

We believe that art doesn’t belong only on gallery walls — it breathes, it transforms, and tonight, it dances. Thank you for joining us in this celebration of cross-disciplinary creation. We invite you to lean in, let your imagination roam, and see what stories unfold on our moving canvas.

With gratitude,

Amanda Browning

Artistic Director, Pulse Dance Theater

PROGRAM

Echoes in the Dust

Choreographer: Amanda Browning

Dancers: Amanda Browning, Sarah Butts, Zych, Sarah Farnsley, Morgan Johnson, Margo Korn, Katrin Roach

Music: Serenity by Ola Gjeilo, Nulla e risolto by Massimilano Mechechilli, La Maison de Diane, by Jerome Lemonnier, Sacred Heart by Ola Gjeilo.

"Echoes in the Dust" explores the enduring imprint of trauma and the resilient journey toward healing. Inspired by the sacred architecture and iconography of gothic cathedrals, the choreography evokes soaring arches and stained glass. Bodies move like fractured light, piecing together a shared mosaic of grief, resilience, and hope. Healing here is not forgetting, but moving forward with the past in hand.

Anteaters and Mustaches

Choreography: Amanda Browning

Dancer: Katrin Roach

Sound Score: Salvador Dali on Anteaters and Moustaches, The Dick Cavett Show

Taking its cues from Salvador Dalí’s unforgettable and absurd appearance on The Dick Cavett Show, “Anteaters and Moustaches” is a surreal portrait of an artist who blurred the boundaries between genius and spectacle, elegance and absurdity, sense and nonsense. This solo channels the bizarre charm, unpredictable rhythms, and eccentric brilliance of Dalí himself — from cryptic philosophies to flamboyant gestures, symbolic animals, and the carefully curated curve of his iconic moustache.

My Healing

Choreography: Morgan Johnson

Dancers: Sarah Butts Zych, Morgan Johnson, Margo Korn, Ana Iovino, Daniella Sibley, Katrin Roach

Music: My Healing by Sophia Spallino

Drawing on the principles of art therapy, this abstract dance work delves into the body as both canvas and storyteller—where movement becomes a means to process, express, and release what words cannot. Through layered gesture, texture, and rhythm, “My Healing” embodies the slow unfolding of emotion, the tension between vulnerability and control, and the quiet revelations that emerge in the act of creating.

Shifting Canvas

Choreography: Amanda Browning

Dancer: Mariel Greenlee Lungu

Music: Flight by Oliver Davis

Costume Designer: Kelvin Burzon. Costume sponsored by Vital Insurance Partners.

Projection: Artwork by Liz Hamstra, projection designed by Mustafa Kamal and Amanda Browning

Inspired by the colorful and vibrant paintings of local artist, Liz Hamstra, “Shifting Canvas” is an interdisciplinary work where movement and media converge in a mesmerizing form to explore the fluid boundaries between body, environment, and identity.

INTERMISSION

Pop

Choreography: Amanda Browning

Dancers: Amanda Browning, Sarah Butts Zych, Sarah Farnsley, Morgan Johnson

Music: Crawl by Albert Mathias

Bold. Bright. Brash. This piece dives headfirst into the vibrant world of Pop Art, a movement that blurred the lines between high art and mass culture. Inspired by the iconic works of artists like Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, the choreography reflects Pop Art’s explosive energy, repetition, and unapologetic celebration of the everyday. Through exaggerated gestures, rhythmic precision, and a playful use of space, the dancers embody the glossy surface and hidden critique that defined the movement only to be deconstructed, reimagined, and danced through a contemporary lens.

Behind the Canvas: The Making of Charcoal Lines

Choreography: Movement exploration led by Amanda Browning and visual artist Elaina Robins with Sarah Butts Zych, Sarah Farnsley, Morgan Johnson, and Katrin Roach.

Videography and Film Editing: Amanda Hoover

Music: Guarding the Invitations by Julia Kent

Film maker Amanda Hoover captures a behind the scenes look at the exploratory process of creating the initial movement vocabulary of Amanda Browning’s dance work, “Charcoal Lines” and launching Elaina Robin's newest collection of charcoal portraits. The evolving dialogue between dance and drawing, interweaving rehearsal footage with interviews that reveal the artists’ inspirations and intentions. Together, Browning and Robins explore the reciprocal relationship between body, gesture, and material in the creation of both choreography and visual art.

Charcoal Lines

Choreography: Amanda Browning in collaborative exploration with the cast.

Dancers: Amanda Browning, Sarah Butts Zych, Sarah Farnsley, Morgan Johnson, Katrin Roach

Music: Concerto in D minor for two Mandolins by Antonio Vivaldi, Yo-Yo Ma, Bobby McFerrin, Sleeping Giant by Jonsi, Alex Somers, Music for 18 Musicians: Section IIIB by Steve Reich

Through the interplay of visual art and movement, “Charcoal Lines” explores identity, connection, and the impermanence of human experience. It demonstrates how we leave traces on one another through interaction, like smudged lines on a canvas. The choreography reflects the marks we make, the boundaries we draw, and the evolving nature of our relationships.

Silent Auction

View Artwork and Start Bidding

Keep the Pulse Alive

Donate Here

A special thank you to...

Elaina Robins and Liz Hamstra for your eagerness to collaborate and create with PDT. Thank you for your generosity in donating work to our silent auction to help fund future artistic and collaborative explorations.

Open Stage and its partners and sponsors for this wonderful opportunity to experiment, collaborate, and create in new ways. I am especially grateful to the Indianapolis Movement Arts Collective for their openness and support of work that challenges the conventions of the proscenium stage—encouraging explorations that blur the boundaries between traditional concert dance and more immersive, interdisciplinary experiences.

Dance Magic Performing Arts Center, Stage 1 Dance Academy, and Metropolitan Youth Ballet for your generous use of rehearsal studio space.

Volunteers Gabrielle Brock, Jordan Browning Katie Lea, and Virgil Lungu.

The Indy Dance Council for helping promote and advertise tonight’s event.

Stay up to date on all upcoming Pulse Dance Theater performances, events, and collaborations at www.pulsedancetheater.com and @pulsedancetheater.

Performers

Amanda Browning

Amanda Browning is an Indianapolis-based dancer, choreographer, and educator with a passion for creating meaningful, movement-driven work. She holds an M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and a B.F.A. in Dance from Belhaven University. Her performance career spans a wide range of companies and collaborative projects, including Ad Deum Dance Company (Houston, TX), Front Porch Dance (Jackson, MS), Kim Robards Dance (Denver, CO), Ormao Dance Company (Colorado Springs, CO), Moving Collective (Louisville, KY), and Phoenix Rising Dance Company (Indianapolis, IN).

Amanda’s choreographic work has been presented by numerous organizations, such as Mississippi Metropolitan Ballet, Louisville Ballet Student Company, Moving Collective, Relevations Dance, and the Belhaven University Dance Ensemble. Her piece Shift was selected for performance at the South East Regional Ballet Association Festival, and her screen dance ENOUGH was featured at the 2024 Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival. In the same year, her MFA thesis project and film collaborations led to the founding of Pulse Dance Theater, which has since been invited to perform at both the Indy Dance Festival and the Indy Fringe Festival.

Beyond the stage, Amanda is a dedicated teacher. She has taught and choreographed for a range of academic institutions and pre-professional training programs, including Belhaven University, Pikes Peak State College, the Ballet Magnificat! Trainee Program, and Kentucky’s Governor’s School for the Arts ARTShops. Currently, she serves as adjunct faculty at Taylor University, where she teaches Modern, Ballet, Improvisation, Composition, Dance History, and Pedagogy. In addition to directing the university’s performing dance ensemble, Amanda recently began creating for TU’s theater department, choreographing Guys and Dolls and Shrek!.

Sarah Butts Zych

Sarah Butts Zych is a local Indianapolis dancer, originally from Battle Creek, Michigan. Sarah received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance Performance from Anderson University in 2018. Since then she has been performing locally in the Midwest area, including performances with the Louisville Dance Series, Flourish, and Phoenix Rising Dance Company. On top of performing, Sarah is also the Artistic Director at Dance Connection in Indianapolis. She is thankful for the opportunity to cultivate local art to give to the community and to perform alongside such talented artists.

Sarah Farnsley

Sarah Farnsley is a choreographer, dancer, and advocate for dancers’ rights. She earned a BFA in Dance Performance from Butler University and an MA in Dance Politics & Sociology from University of Roehampton. Her writing has been published in the Journal of Performing Arts Leadership in Higher Education. Sarah has choreographed for Louisville Ballet, Ballet Memphis, and Ballet Theatre of Indiana. In 2017, she co-directed the dance film Absolution, which premiered at Dances With Films Festival in LA and has won awards for Best New Director. Sarah began her career in the US with various ballet companies and was a guest artist with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal for 3 years before moving to London. There, she performed with English National Ballet at Royal Albert Hall and with New English Ballet Theatre. In 2019, she was invited by Édouard Lock to assist in restaging his work at the Paris Opera Ballet. During the pandemic, Sarah joined the Mayor of London’s Creative Freelancers cohort, leading research groups. She is currently the Managing Director of the Indy Dance Council, creators of the annual Indy Dance Festival.

Morgon Johnson

Morgan Johnson grew up dancing in Greenwood, IN, due to her love for Stage 1 Dance Academy. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Contemporary Dance and a minor in small business management from Indiana University in Bloomington, IN. Currently, she teaches dance to all ages at Stage 1 and shares her passion with young minds. Morgan has enjoyed dancing with Phoenix Rising Dance Company, where she met Amanda Browning, and is excited for everyone to see this production. She thanks her family, friends, fellow dancers, and Amanda for their endless support!

Katrin Roach

Katrin Roach grew up dancing at Community School of the Arts in Marion, IN and attended high school at The University of North Carolina School of the Arts. She continued her dance education at SUNY Purchase College in Purchase, NY, spending one semester abroad in Perth, Australia to study at Western Australia Academy of the Performing Arts. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2020 with a concentration in Choreography. While at Purchase College she performed new works by Nora Petroliunas, Doug Varone, and Annie Rigney, as well as repertoire by Trisha Brown and Ohad Naharin. Katrin has attended Bodytraffic’s company summer workshop, Transformation Danse Montréal summer program, Doug Varone and Dancers winter and summer programs, and B12 contemporary dance summer workshops in Berlin, Germany. Katrin taught at the Colorado Conservatory of Dance from 2023-2024 and was a company dancer for Brandon Welch’s BW Collective for two seasons. She is now teaching at Taylor University as an adjunct professor and dancing with the Pulse Dance Theater.

Margo Korn

Margo Korn, originally from Indianapolis, IN, earned her BFA in Dance and BA in Health & Human Physiology from the University of Iowa. After graduating, Margo started as a work-study with Hubbard Street’s Lou Conte Dance Studio and began her professional career as an apprentice with the Cambrians for their 2018-19 season. While in Chicago, she also free-lanced as a performer in the American Dance Guild Festival 2019 in NYC, Emergence Dance Festival, and Harvest Dance Festival 2019. Margo has spent summers with various training programs including: chuthis., The Cambrians, DanceWorks Chicago, and BalletMet. Since re-joining the Indianapolis dance community, Margo has choreographed and performed with Phoenix Rising Dance Company under artistic director Justin David Sears-Watson and has choreographed in collaboration with IUPUI’s DisEnsemble. She also teaches open classes at DanceWorks Indy.

Mariel Greenlee

Mariel Greenlee, from Vestal, NY, holds a B.A. in Dance from Point Park. She was a professional contemporary dancer with Dance Kaleidoscope for 15yrs, then served on their board of directors for the following 6yrs. She continues her work in dance as a freelance choreographer and teaching artist, specializing in ballet, contemporary, Graham modern, musical theater dance, and stage movement. She has choreographed more than 100 professional works for dance and theatre companies such as: Dance Kaleidoscope, Indianapolis Ballet, Indiana Repertory Theater, The Phoenix Theater, Indy Summer Stock Stage, Summit Theater, the Civic Theater, the Pittsburgh Public Theater, and is a proud member of Indy Shakes. Mariel has received the Individual Artist Grant and was also a fellow for the OnRamp Entrepreneur Accelerator Program from the Indiana Arts Commission. She also received the Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis and was chosen as a project choreographer for the Regional Dance America National Choreographers Initiative program. She is also the founder and Artistic Director of the Indy Dance Council, a nonprofit dedicated to elevating the profile of dance in Indy and the surrounding region. More info is available at www.indydancecouncil.org or on Instagram @indydancecouncil. Her most important job by far is being Alex’s ‘Mom.’

Ana Iovino

Ana Iovino is from Bloomington, IN and is a Sophomore at Bloomington High School North training in ballet and contemporary dance at MotionArts Dance Academy. She has danced in numerous productions with MotionArts including The Children’s Nutcracker, Alice in Wonderland, Coppelia, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty. Ana has also had the opportunity to perform in contemporary dance pieces by choreographers from the IU Contemporary Dance Program including Morgan Johnson. She has attended summer intensives at Indianapolis Ballet and most recently at Sarasota Ballet. As a young dancer with Juvenile Arthritis, she is an advocate for the Indiana Arthritis Foundation, working to raise awareness and funds for Arthritis research. Ana was named the 2023 Indiana Arthritis Foundation Youth Honoree.

Daniella Sibley

Daniella Sibley is from Las Vegas, Nevada and began her training under Kaydee Francis and Jami Artiga at The Dance Zone. She continued her training at many summer intensives including Cincinnati Ballet. Daniella graduated from Las Vegas Academy of the Performing Arts with a major in dance. Following, she continued her education at Butler University where she studied Biology, Dance, Education, Neuroscience, and Diverse Learning.

Collaborators

Liz Hamstra

Liz Hamstra (Visual Artist) is a multi-talented artist hailing from Fishers, Indiana. She graduated from Herron School of Art and Design with a BFA degree, specializing in ceramics, photography, and art history. Liz’s passion for art and creativity is evident in her vast body of work that spans across various mediums and genres.

With ten years of experience teaching art at the Indianapolis Art Center, Liz has emerged as an accomplished teacher and mentor to several of her students. Her commitment to teaching and sharing her knowledge has helped push her own personal artwork into many directions.

Liz’s work has been showcased in several exhibitions and galleries and has gained recognition for its intricate detailing and high-quality craftsmanship. Her passion for creating art that ignites emotions and inspires creativity is evident in her work.

Elaina Robins

Elaina Robins (Visual Artist) is a visual artist based in Indianapolis, specializing in mixed media and hyper-realistic charcoal portraiture. Her artistic style explores the delicate balance between beauty and power, as she seeks to capture the unique personalities and innate character of her subjects. Originally from the Northeast, Elaina earned her BFA in Studio Fine Arts from Juniata College in Pennsylvania, graduating cum laude with distinction in 2012. After relocating to Indiana, she dedicated eight years to working in special education before fully committing to her artistic pursuits.Since embracing her passion for art, Elaina has exhibited her work at several notable venues throughout the Indianapolis area, including the Murphy Art Center, Storage Space Indy, Third Floor Gallery Irvington, and the Hamilton County Community Foundation. She truly values Indianapolis' vibrant, artistic community and the opportunities it provides for creatives.

The works on display for Shifting Canvas aim to capture moments and movements in time. Much like a snapshot taken at an ambiguous shutter speed, these pieces explore the malleability of the medium to convey not only depth of motion but also the underlying structure of the artwork. My journey with charcoal thus far has been characterized by a focus on detail and precision. This collaboration allowed me to experiment with charcoal by starting with the bodies of others, ultimately creating a framework beyond my control. The resulting canvases reflect a history of creativity and layers of emotion. From these foundational elements, I was able to develop the gestures into more defined and cohesive pieces. Each artwork has been titled an “Arrangement,” echoing the adaptation of a preexisting composition.

Amanda Hoover

Amanda Hoover (Film Maker), a dancer herself, has a passion for displaying dance on film in unique ways that push the boundary of how dance has traditionally been perceived. She graduated with dual degrees in Contemporary Dance and Cinema and Media Production from Indiana University in 2019. She has had five years in the professional filmmaking field as video editor at Paradox Post in Vineyard, Utah. While working there, she had the opportunity to direct, choreograph, and edit a dance film which won Best of Special Effects at the Utah Dance Film Fest in 2023. She also had the opportunity to work with renowned clients such as Panasonic, The Chosen, and push her knowledge and skillset of the post production world. She has recently moved back to Indianapolis, where she has continued her work in freelance filmmaking with a specialization in screendance.

Kelvin Burzon

Kelvin Burzon (Costume Designer) is an interdisciplinary artist, designer, educator, and performer whose work blends visual art and movement to explore identity, culture, and expression. His costume design has graced the stages of local and regional dance companies and have been featured on international stages and television. He holds a bachelor’s degree in studio art and music from Wabash College and a Master of Fine Arts from Indiana University’s School of Art + Design.

Kelvin is currently an adjunct instructor for the School of Art at George Mason University and serves as a Dance Teaching Artist with Kids Dance Outreach, bringing inclusive arts education to young communities. He also performs as a dancer with Seda Negra/Black Silk Dance Company, where his practice merges dance with cultural narrative and storytelling through costuming.

Open Stage is a new opportunity for local dance makers, presented by Indianapolis Movement Arts Collective and made possible by the Allen Whitehill Clowes Charitable Foundation. Open Stage is presented in partnership with the Indianapolis Opera & Indy Convergence.