I felt really lonely and just had to dance

Born and raised in the Bronx, New York, Rodney Eric López is an experienced dance educator, non-profit leader, and giving and stewardship consultant.

Caroline Fermin is a New York based performer, educator, and choreographer. She attended The Juilliard School (BFA in Dance) and Wilson College (MFA in Choreography). She is a founding member of Andrea Miller’s Gallim Dance where she toured and performed nationally and internationally, at theaters such as Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Joyce, New York City Center, and The Palais de Chaillot in Paris. Caroline later became rehearsal director and Education Chair for Gallim, teaching classes and running residencies at universities across the nation. She has also danced with James Sewell Ballet, Sidra Bell, Damien Woetzel, The Resonance Collective, Chamber Dance Ensemble, Rain Ross, and Jeanette Stoner.

Caroline’s choreography has been presented across the United States and internationally, most often in collaboration with other artists. Her dance pieces have been performed at Stockton University, University of South Carolina, and Mount Holyoke among others. Her collaborative pieces have been presented around the New York City area and in the Dominican Republic. Collaborators include Friends of the Highline, Trinity Repertory Company and Mauricio Salgado, playwright Daniel Talbot, singer Jean-Paul Bjorlin, the band Apollo Run, choreographer Adam Wienert, violinist Lauren Conroy, oral historian Liza Zapol, and violist/composer Jessica Meyer.

Caroline has been a teaching artist for New York City Center and Juilliard, and an advocate for arts in communities. She served as Director of Culture for Dancewave in Brooklyn, developing inclusive company procedures and leadership curriculum. She works with civic engagement programs such as Arts Ignite (formerly ASTEP), to create programming for artists and activists of all ages. Her community projects have taken her to her hometown of New Orleans to bring aid in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. A multi-pronged effort, The New Orleans Project included teaching, manual labor, community concerts, and cultural exchange with locals. It remained a funded project at The Juilliard School for a decade. A recent community-based-learning program, Community Dance Forum, paired young local dancers from Washington Heights with college dancers in order to create community closeness and develop a dance piece.

Caroline currently teaches classical modern and improvisation at Barnard College/Columbia University and Marymount Manhattan College. She participates in the mentoring program at The Juilliard School, and continues to consult with companies and organizations on the intersection of education, dance, community engagement.