Dancers & Choreographers
Maria Caprio, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, started her dance training at the age of ten at the Franklin School of Performing Arts and continued to dance there until college. She has performed in productions by the Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre and Dance Alabama! She is one of the choreographers for Yonder Contemporary Dance Company, and she also choreographed Bloom, a screendance made for Dance Alabama! Film Festival. She has trained during her breaks from school with companies like Alvin Ailey, staibdance, Interlochen Arts Camp, and Joffrey South. In her free time, she teaches yoga classes and is president of a yoga club on UA’s campus. She also volunteers with Unity Dance Tuscaloosa and Move Inclusive Dance to share a love of movement with kids with special needs in the community. She hopes to dance professionally in a contemporary company after college, but her heart is set on teaching dance to kids and promoting dance companies. She was awarded Most Outstanding Sophomore and Freshman by UA’s Department of Theatre and Dance.
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Born in Blue Springs, MO, Gwynevere Deterding began her dance training at Tajazz School of Dance in a variety of styles. She went on to join City in Motion Dance Theater’s apprentice company, and later became a company member with Blue Springs Ballet under the direction Melissa Morris, performing in ballets such as Peter Pan. She has also appeared in several performances at the Kansas City Fringe Festival as a guest dancer with VidaDance Company. Gwynevere currently studies dance and computer science at The University of Alabama. Here, she has danced with Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre and in productions of Dance Alabama!
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Morgan Holder, a native of Scottsboro, AL, began dancing at the age of four and has trained under the direction of David Herriott and Keren Gibb Hillard at the Alabama Youth Ballet School. Morgan was a member of Alabama Youth Ballet Theatre where she performed in a wide range of principle, soloist, and corps de ballet roles from the classical ballet repertoire. Morgan is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in dance and English at the University of Alabama where she is a member of Alabama Repertory Dance Theater. Other performance credits include Dance Alabama! and the MFA Dance Concert. Her choreographic works have been showcased in Dance Alabama! as well as Alpha Psi Omega’s Greater Giving philanthropic concert.
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Anna Lindsey is from Madison, AL where she grew up dancing at The Dance Company, Inc. While there she performed in an annual production of The Nutcracker staged by Jon Upleger and Alexandra Meister-Upleger, and performed multiple soloist roles including Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen, and Clara. She has competed at YAGP and multiple other national and regional dance competitions during which, she received multiple scholarships and awards including some for a neoclassical pointe duet she choreographed and performed. She has worked with and performed choreography by Qianping Guo, Anna Foshee, Erica Sobol, Joy Spears, and Nadia Iozzo. Anna has trained during her summers at Nashville Ballet’s Summer Intensive and most recently as an apprentice with Bluebird Uncaged’s Summer Intensive. Currently studying dance at The University of Alabama, she is a member of Alabama Repertory Dance Theater, Dance Alabama!, and the Dance Alabama! Film Festival.
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Haylee Elizabeth Pack (She/Her) is a Nursing and Dance major at The University of Alabama. At UA she is involved in a variety of dance-based organizations such as Dance Alabama!, Dance Alabama! Film Festival, and the Dance Honors Society of Alabama. Liz made her choreographic debut with Sever in The University of Alabama’s final Dance Collection concert and has danced in nine separate pieces in a variety of the college’s renowned concerts. Most recently, Liz spent her summer with Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, New York training under Stephanie Godino and working with administration on a variety of intensives including ballet, musical theater, tap, hip-hop, jazz, and contemporary.
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Originating in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Mary Payne started boogieing when she was born. At DeFrances Academy of Dance, she began exploring her passions for learning, teaching, performing, and choreographing. Continuing to the University of Alabama, she has developed these skills as a performer and choreographer in Dance Alabama!, Dance Collection, and Yonder Contemporary Dance Company. She is heavily devoted to her studies in both dance and history, receiving the opportunity to study at the University of Oxford and beginning the process of writing an undergraduate thesis.
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Allison Swinney grew up in Hamilton, Alabama. She began taking ballet and tap at the age of four and continued to dance because of her particular passion for the structure and beauty of ballet. As she grew older, she studied many other kinds of dance, including contemporary, modern, jazz, hip hop, acro, ballroom, lyrical, and musical theater. Allison is now studying dance and international studies at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. While there, she had the opportunity to perform in the Vision Scene from Sleeping Beauty Act II under the direction of Rita Snyder. She has also performed in various screendances and choreographed and directed one herself.
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Katy Weske is from Memphis, TN. She started dance after transitioning from gymnastics at age 17. Her choreography has been showcased by several Alabama gymnasts, and her chorographic work has been selected for the Dance Alabama! Film Festival, Dance Alabama!, Dance Collection, and Greater Giving concerts. Katy's film "Dream State" was selected for the American Dance College Association Screendance Gala Concert. Katy's recent work, “Dwelling Existence”, was awarded best cinematography and best of the festival at the Dance Alabama! Film Festival. She is also currently a company member of Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre and Dance Alabama!
Artistic Team
Sarah M. Barry is the Artistic Director of Yonder, a dance educator and choreographer based in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA. Sarah’s choreography has been shown across the U.S. and in Italy, Switzerland, and Scotland. Her dances for film have been selected for numerous screendance festivals. She currently serves as Associate Chair of Dance and Director of the MFA Dance Program at the University of Alabama, where she specializes in contemporary technique, choreography, pedagogy, and Laban/Bartenieff Studies.
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Mark Barry is the Creative Director and Sound Designer for Yonder Contemporary Dance Company. He’s also an Assistant Professor in Advertising at The University of Alabama and the Director of Minerva, the University’s 2-year creative advertising portfolio program.
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Jessica Lee Richardson (Jess/she/her) is from New Jersey, moved from Brooklyn to the Southern wetlands, and is now an Associate Professor at the Cleveland Institute of Art. She is the author of It Had Been Planned and There Were Guides (FC2). Stories have appeared in Adroit, The Commuter at Electric Lit, Gulf Coast, Short Fiction, Slice, and others. More can be found online at www.jessicaleerichardson.com.
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Lyndell T. McDonald, hailing from Montgomery, AL, serves as Assistant Professor and Technical Supervisor at The University of Alabama's Department of Theatre and Dance. He oversees six annual dance productions at UA and has been instrumental in Dance Alabama! and the Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre for over ten years. His guest designs extend to festivals and conferences in Trinidad and Tobago and Texas Tech University, while local engagements include Birmingham Ballet and Birmingham Dance Theatre. His credits range from theatrical classics to concerts like Jay-Z's Holy Grail tour and The World Games. Lyndell's expertise also fuels his event lighting company, 2L7 LLC, specializing in lighting and décor for grand events.
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Marie Bonds holds an MFA in Theatre with a concentration in Costume Design and Production from the University of Alabama. In addition to working with Yonder, her recent costume works include “Imaginary Invalid”, “10 Blocks on the Camino Real”, and “Pippin”. Marie previously worked with Disney On Ice, Disney Live, Ringling Brothers Circus, and Sesame Street Live.
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Renowned for his eclectic influences, Michael Wall is a music and dance innovator with 200 new compositions annually and collaborations with leading dance organizations globally. His work spans commercial success and education, mentoring the next generation at prestigious institutions like Princeton University and NYU. Michael's journey began in Mississippi, with a trumpet at age 9, transitioning to piano after an injury. Today, he not only headlines the Phoenix Synthesizer Festival but also features in the "Moving Together" documentary. His repertoire includes over 500 tracks across 53 albums, and he's developing online resources for composing and teaching dance music.
PR Team
Alaina McDuffie is originally from Slidell, Louisiana. She is a rising senior at The University of Alabama and is pursuing a Bachelor's degree in public relations with a minor in sales. Currently, she is serving as Marketing Director of Platform Magazine, but she has also spent time working as a Podcast Content Captain for the Tuscaloosa Local Entertainment Promotional Team, Liaison for Beyond the Classroom and Contributing Writer for WVUA-FM. She has spent six consecutive semesters on UA’s President’s List and has received the C&IS Award for Academic Achievement. In her free time, she enjoys reading, serving as treasurer in her university’s a cappella group and spending time with loved ones.
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Jenna Richardson is from Hoover, AL. She is a rising senior at The University of Alabama, majoring in Public Relations and minoring in English. Currently, she is an Instagram Manager Intern for LeadAbroad, Account Executive for student-run PR firm Capstone Agency, editorial director for Platform Online Magazine and Chief Justice of her college’s Academic Honor Council. She also does public relations work for Bama Wesley, her student ministry. Awards include Capstone Agency’s Firm Director Award, College of Communications and Information Sciences (C&IS) Emerging Leadership Award, Academic Honor Council Member of the Year, and the C&IS Academic Achievement Award. In her free time, she enjoys singing with her university’s choir program, participating with her student ministry and spending time outdoors with friends.