DAWNED traces a community’s emotional and physical transformation as they navigate the tension between darkness and light. Through virtuosic contemporary dance layered with projection, six performers move with urgency, vulnerability, and resilience. Set to a dramatic, luscious score by Eric Dietz, the work is both a reckoning and a release.

*DAWNED was supported, in part, by an O’Donnell- Green Music and Dance Commissioning grant. This presentation was supported by William Burke, Barbara + Sabatino Verlezza and Megan Williams, among many other generous donors. We thank you for your continued support!

THE ARTISTS OF DAWNED

Robert Mark Burke, choreographer

Choreographer and performer Robert Mark Burke (he/him) has worked with 10 Hairy Legs, Megan Williams Dance Projects, Pascal Rioult, among others and is currently a member of the Lucinda Childs Dance Company. Burke has been a guest choreographer and instructor at Marymount Manhattan College, Rutgers University, Montclair State University and Rider University. He has taught professional and collegiate workshops both nationally and internationally, including in South Africa and the Cayman Islands.

As Artistic Director of Robert Mark Dance, Burke has presented his work across the US, including South Orange Performing Arts Center, the wild project, Dixon Place, Paramount Theater (Boston), Hofstra University, Rutgers University, Rider University, Dance New Amsterdam, Jersey City Theater Center and New Jersey Performing Arts Center. His choreographic accolades include the 2015 Dance on the Lawn Emerging Choreographer Grant (under the direction of Charmaine Warren), the New Jersey Performing Arts Center Jersey (New) Moves Fellowship (2015 and 2017), the 2016 CoLab Arts Space Grant, and the 2017 Eryc Taylor Emerging Choreography Grant. In 2020, Robert was awarded the New Jersey State Council of the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship in Choreography, which has allowed him to continue working with his dancers virtually during the pandemic. In 2022, Robert Mark Dance presented its first New York Season at Culture Lab LIC in Long Island City, Queens. That same year, Robert Mark Burke and Eric Dietz received an O’Donnell Green Music and Dance Foundation commissioning grant for their collaboration, “Dawned”. @robertmarkburke @robertmarkdance

Eric Dietz, composer
Eric is a composer, lyricist and writer working in musical theater, dance, and film. Dance credits include original scores for Robert Mark Dance’s Dawned (published as The Dark Dances), Olivia Palacios’s film girl in summer (winner: “Best Made in Coney Island” at the 2024 Coney Island Film Festival), Derek Crescenti’s Converge (published as Two Ways Out: Shapes for Piano), and The Chase Brock Experience’s The Girl With the Alkaline Eyes and Dancing in My Head, commissioned by Works & Process at the Guggenheim. Other work includes musicals Luna & the Gold River Docks and Delirious Berlin and screenplays Starlite and Cherry.  itsericdietz.com

Mary Lyn Graves, dancer

Mary Lyn Graves (she/her) is a dancer and teacher. Her performance credits include Lucinda Childs Dance Company, Megan Williams Dance Projects, and the Mark Morris Dance Group, as well as works by Robert Mark Burke, Joanna Kotze, Thryn Saxon, and Helene Simoneau. From 2012-2018 she danced with Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, originating roles in over 25 works and touring across the US and internationally. As a teacher, Mary Lyn specializes in facilitating movement exploration with young dancers. She is a faculty member of Ballet Tech and PS 56 in Brooklyn. A sixth-generation Oklahoman, Mary Lyn is from Tulsa, OK.

Sarah Hillmon, dancer

Sarah Hillmon is a native of Rochester, NY. There, she trained with Garth Fagan, Timothy M. Draper, and the Rochester City Ballet. She graduated with a BFA in Dance from NYU'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. While in New York, Sarah has worked with artists such as Solange Knowles, and has danced for Lucinda Childs Dance Company, Mark Morris Dance Group, Robert Mark Dance, Suzanne Beahrs Dance, BodyStories, Daniel Gwirtzman Dance Company and DanceBoissiere. Sarah Hillmon appears courtesy of the Mark Morris Dance Group.

Sarah Housepian, dancer

Originally from Southern California, she holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from California State University of Fullerton. In New York City, she has engaged with BARE Dance Company (Mike Esperanza, Battery Dance Company, Brian Brooks Moving Company, YY Dance Company (Yin Yue), Michelle Thompson Ulerich, Erica Essner Performance Co-Op, Indelible Dance, 10 Hairy Legs Projects, NOW Dance Project, Shawn Bible Dance Co, Gabrielle Lamb, Spark Movement Collective, Rutkay Ozpinar, Damani Pompey, Dolly Sfeir, Ana Maria Lucaciu, Tsai-Hsi Hung, Christopher Núnez, Tadej Brdnik, and Julia Ehrstrand. She has toured, performed, and conducted workshops in over 20 different countries. 

Erin Love, dancer

Erin Love is originally from Hawaii, where she trained at Honolulu Dance Theater and at Mid Pacific Institute School of the Arts. She earned a BA in History from Whittier College before returning to Hawaii to become a dance educator. Since moving to NYC in 2012 she has been a company member with BARE Dance Company, and working as a freelance artist with several other companies including Robert Mark Dance, Dalit Ahava & Dancers, Shawn Bible Dance Co., Bom Diggs, The Wolfe Project, Metaphors & Similes, and TREES collective.

Jared McAboy, dancer

Jared McAboy, originally from Kent, Washington, holds a BFA in Dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Since moving to New York in 2013, he has danced professionally for Jennifer Muller/The Works and 10 Hairy Legs, and performed works by José Limón, Larry Keigwin, Megan Williams, Yin Yue, and Chase Brock, among many others. Alongside his performance work with Robert Mark Dance, Jared teaches dance across the Tri-State Area, sharing his expertise in a variety of styles.

Allegra Persico, dancer

Allegra Persico received her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from East Carolina University where she received the “Mavis Ray Award for Achievement in Dance Arts” in 2021. During her time there she performed in works choreographed by Merce Cunningham, Andrea Guajardo, John Dixon, David Ingram, Eimile Davis, and Mackenzie Simons. She also completed Trinity Laban Dance Summer School’s Hofesh Shechter repertory workshop (London, UK) and STRUT Dance’s Crystal Pite Master Workshop (Perth, AU) in 2019. Currently, she is a freelance dance artist in New York.