The Work
About
The Music
Investing in Dance
The Artists
Choreographer and Composer
Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Dancers
Musicians
Partners
Commissioning and Funding Credits
American Dance Festival
BAM
Banff Centre / Sony Centre
Cal Performances
Celebrity Series of Boston
City of Liverpool
Dance Consortium UK
Hopkins Center
International Festival of Arts & Ideas
Kennedy Center
Krannert Center
La Jolla Music Society
Meyer Sound
Seattle Theatre Group
Segerstrom Center
UCSB Arts & Lectures
White Bird
Multimedia
Behind the Scenes
Production Photos
Audio and Video
Press
Reviews
Quotes Sheet
Performances
Contact

Pepperland

The Work
About
The Music
Investing in Dance
The Artists
Choreographer and Composer
Costume Designer
Lighting Designer
Dancers
Musicians
Partners
Commissioning and Funding Credits
American Dance Festival
BAM
Banff Centre / Sony Centre
Cal Performances
Celebrity Series of Boston
City of Liverpool
Dance Consortium UK
Hopkins Center
International Festival of Arts & Ideas
Kennedy Center
Krannert Center
La Jolla Music Society
Meyer Sound
Seattle Theatre Group
Segerstrom Center
UCSB Arts & Lectures
White Bird
Multimedia
Behind the Scenes
Production Photos
Audio and Video
Press
Reviews
Quotes Sheet
Performances
Contact
MICA BERNAS

MICA BERNAS

originally from Manila, Philippines, received her training at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Dance School. She later joined Ballet Philippines as a member of the corps de ballet and rose up the ranks to Soloist. While at Ballet Philippines, she also studied at De La Salle University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communication in 2006. Upon graduating, she moved to New York and joined Carolyn Dorfman Dance. She was a guest artist with the Limón Dance Company and worked with Karole Armitage, Gallim Dance, Marta Renzi, and Connecticut Ballet. As an educator, she has taught all levels of dance, including after school programs, pre-professional, and master classes. She has taught at the Limón Institute and formerly ran the dance program at BIMA at Brandeis University. She joined MMDG as a company member in 2017.

KARLIE BUDGE

KARLIE BUDGE

grew up in Knoxville, Tennessee, training and performing with the Tennessee Children’s Dance Ensemble. She attended Case Western Reserve University on a full scholarship from the department of dance, graduating magna cum laude with a B.A. in dance and a B.S. in statistics in 2016. Budge has performed with Graham 2, Merce Cunningham Trust, and in her own solo and duet choreography. Budge joined MMDG as an apprentice in September 2018 and became a company member in November 2019.

Sarah Hillmon

Sarah Hillmon

was born and raised in Rochester, New York. There she trained with Garth Fagan and Timothy M. Draper and was a member of the Rochester City Ballet. She graduated with a B.F.A. in dance from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she had the privilege of performing works by talented artists including Sidra Bell, Lucinda Childs, Gus Solomons Jr., and Charles Weidman. After college, she became a member of Lucinda Childs Dance Company, where she toured the world performing classic works. While in New York City, she has also had the honor to perform with artists such as Solange Knowles as well as a number of dance companies including Robert Mark Dance, Suzanne Beahrs Dance, BodyStories: Teresa Fellion Dance, DanceBoissiere, and the Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company. She joined MMDG as an apprentice in September 2023 and became a company member in 2024.

Courtney Lopes

Courtney Lopes

is originally from Bermuda, attended the University of North Carolina School of the Arts for her high school education and focused on contemporary dance, and graduated magna cum laude with a B.F.A. in dance from SUNY Purchase in 2012. She had the opportunity to study abroad in Taiwan at the Taipei National University of the Arts. She has performed works by choreographers such as Lar Lubovitch, Paul Taylor, Jessica Lang, and Huang Yi of Cloud Gate Dance Company. She is delighted to currently be working with the Mark Morris Dance Group, Dance Heginbotham, Megan Williams Dance Projects, and MeenMoves. Lopes teaches at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, the Limon Institute, and the Harkness Dance Center at 92nd Street Y. She first performed with MMDG in 2018 and became a company member in 2023.

TAÍNA LYONS

TAÍNA LYONS

is a San Pedro, California, native who began her dance training at the San Pedro Ballet School at the age of four. Her professional dance training started at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy, eventually being mentored by Debbie Allen herself. She graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a B.F.A. in dance and a minor in Spanish in 2020. There she performed in guest works by Ronald K. Brown, Wayne McGregor, and Lar Lubovitch. In the spring of 2019, she also had the pleasure of studying abroad at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, Czech Republic. Since graduating, she has had the honor of being a founding member of the Limón Dance Company’s Limón2 (L2) company, an apprentice with Ronald K. Brown’s Evidence, as well as performing and touring with Kyle Marshall Choreography. She joined MMDG as a company member in 2022.

Griffin Massey

Griffin Massey

was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After training in Oklahoma and Texas, he moved to New York City where he earned his B.F.A. in dance in 2023 from The Juilliard School under Alicia Graf Mack, Dean and Director of the Dance Division, and Mario Alberto Zambrano, Associate Director. While at Juilliard, he had the opportunity to perform works by Sonya Tayeh, Donald McKayle, Ohad Naharin, Aszure Barton, Spencer Theberge, Jermaine Spivey, and Hofesh Shechter. He has also studied at Springboard Danse Montréal under the direction of Alexandra Wells. He joined MMDG as an apprentice in August 2023.

DALLAS McMURRAY

DALLAS McMURRAY

from El Cerrito, California, began dancing at age four, studying jazz, tap, and acrobatics with Katie Maltsberger and ballet with Yukiko Sakakura. He received a B.F.A. in dance from the California Institute of the Arts. McMurray performed with the Limón Dance Company in addition to works by Jiří Kylián, Alonzo King, Robert Moses, and Colin Connor. McMurray performed with MMDG as an apprentice in 2006 and became a company member in 2007.

BRANDON RANDOLPH

BRANDON RANDOLPH

began his training with the School of Carolina Ballet Theater in Greenville, South Carolina, under the direction of Hernan Justo. At age 14, he was accepted into the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, where he studied with Stanislav Issaev and Bobby Barnett. Randolph received his B.F.A. in dance from Purchase College in 2012. There he had the opportunity to perform with Dance Heginbotham as well as repertory by Stephen Petronio, Lar Lubovitch, Paul Taylor, and George Balanchine. Randolph began working with MMDG in 2013 and became a company member in 2014.

NICOLE SABELLA

NICOLE SABELLA

is originally from Clearwater, Florida, where she studied at the Academy of Ballet Arts and the Pinellas County Center for the Arts at Gibbs High School under Suzanne B. Pomerantzeff. In 2009, She graduated from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA, earning her B.F.A. in modern dance performance and the “Outstanding Performance in Modern Dance” Award. She was a performer with Zane Booker’s Smoke, Lilies, and Jade Arts Initiative. Sabella first performed with MMDG in 2013 and became a company member in 2015. 

CHRISTINA SAHAIDA

CHRISTINA SAHAIDA

grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and began her early dance training at the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School. In 2012, she graduated with honors from Butler University, receiving a B.F.A in dance performance. She has worked with Ballet Quad Cities, Texture Contemporary Ballet, and most recently the Big Muddy Dance Company in St. Louis, Missouri. Sahaida joined the Mark Morris Dance Group as an apprentice in July 2017 and became a company member in February 2019.

BILLY SMITH

BILLY SMITH

grew up in Fredericksburg, Virginia, and attended George Mason University under a full academic and dance talent scholarship. He graduated magna cum laude in 2007 and received achievement awards in performance, choreography, and academic endeavors. While at George Mason he performed the works of Mark Morris, Paul Taylor, Lar Lubovitch, Doug Varone, Daniel Ezralow, Larry Keigwin, Susan Marshall, and Susan Shields. Smith’s own piece, 3-Way Stop,was selected to open the 2006 American College Dance Festival Gala at Ohio State University and his original choreography for a production of Bye Bye Birdie garnered much critical praise. An actor as well, Smith’s regional theater credits include Tulsa in Gypsy, Mistoffelees in CATS, and Dream Curly in Oklahoma!. Smith danced with Parsons Dance from 2007-2010. He joined MMDG as a company member in 2010.

Joslin Vezeau

Joslin Vezeau

is from St. Louis, Missouri, where she trained at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA). She graduated magna cum laude from the Ailey/Fordham B.F.A. program in dance performance in 2018 and while there was awarded the Denise Jefferson Memorial Scholarship. During her senior year in college, she joined Peridance Contemporary Dance Company in New York and danced with that company for six seasons. When not dancing, she is a personal trainer and loves rock climbing, volunteering at Brooklyn farmers markets, and taking care of dogs. She joined MMDG as an apprentice in August 2023 and became a company member in 2024.

NOAH VINSON

NOAH VINSON

is originally from Springfield, Illinois and received his B.A. in dance from Columbia College Chicago. He was named a Dance Magazine “Dancer on the Rise” in 2009 and assisted Mark Morris in the creation of The Letter V for Houston Ballet. He began dancing with MMDG in 2002 and became a company member in 2004.

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MICA BERNAS
KARLIE BUDGE
Sarah Hillmon
Courtney Lopes
TAÍNA LYONS
Griffin Massey
DALLAS McMURRAY
BRANDON RANDOLPH
NICOLE SABELLA
CHRISTINA SAHAIDA
BILLY SMITH
Joslin Vezeau
NOAH VINSON

Pepperland is a Mark Morris Dance Group production in association with American Dance Festival, Durham, North Carolina; BAM, Brooklyn, New York; Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity with the Sony Centre, Toronto, Canada; Cal Performances, UC Berkeley, California; Celebrity Series of Boston, Massachusetts; The City of Liverpool, England, U.K.; Dance Consortium UK; Hopkins Center for the Arts, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire; International Festival of Arts & Ideas, New Haven, Connecticut; The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C.; Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; La Jolla Music Society, La Jolla, California; Meyer Sound, Berkeley, California; Seattle Theatre Group, Seattle, Washington; Segerstrom Center for The Arts, Costa Mesa, California; UCSB Arts & Lectures, Santa Barbara, California; and White Bird, Portland, Oregon.

Music commissioned by the Charles and Joan Gross Family Foundation.
Original music by The Beatles. All Rights Reserved. Used under license from Sony ATV Music Publishing.

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