Mission: We believe in the power of collaboration and community through dance, performance, classes, community events, and wellness services to uplift and unite diverse artists in all stages of their artistic path.

This Body was founded when a group of friends decided to band together in order to overcome the many difficult challenges and the expense of working as a dance artist in New York City. Coming together, This Body is able to share tasks and resources and is able to work together towards our shared vision. This Body believes in the power of the community and that professional dance artists deserve to be paid for their labor. This Body prioritizes BIPOC, queer, female, non-binary, trans, and disabled artists as they are historically left out of the dance canon. This Body is working hard to change the 'starving artist' concept around creating art, by sharing resources and lifting each other up, literally and figuratively. 
This Body hosts a range of events including community potlucks, workshops, performances, classes in dance, acrobatics and aerial, and Thai massage sessions.
This Body's events are open to all people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, body type, level, and ability.

Sara.

Sara Roer got an early start dancing in North Carolina as the southern drawling star of a many a home video.  She became the youngest member of the Wilmington Independent Choreographers and a competitive gymnast before defecting to the North to earn her B.F.A., suma cum laude, at George Mason University. After a colorful college run that took her to China and back, Sara headed North again for a new home on the busiest island in the world.  While becoming a New Yorker, she has had the pleasure of working as a founding dancer with b3w (Emily Berry) and  the rehearsal director/dancer for danceTactics by Keith Thompson. She has also worked on projects with Susan Vencl, Heather McArdle, Karen Malpede  and many others.  She has presented her own work at various venues throughout NYC and NC. 
Sara is certified in both Thai Massage and Sen Theory (advanced practice) through Two Souls Thai Massage and is a registered member of the Thai Healing Alliance International. She has assisted Al Turner II in classes at Two Souls and the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine and substituted at Dance New Amsterdam.  Sara’s background as a professional modern dancer has exposed her to a variety of other somatic practices such as Release Technique, Alexander Technique, Klein Technique, Yoga, Pilates, various breathing exercises, and the Laban Institute's Certified Movement Analysis.  Combined with the rigorous study of Thai, these additional modalities have strengthened her ability to facilitate healthier movement in the body and re-balance problem areas.  In her sessions, Sara balances relaxation with education, as she gently coaches clients to focus on specific holding patterns, using their breath to aid her work in allowing the body to rest more deeply.

Nadia.

Nadia Hannan (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, writer, arts administrator, and arts educator from New York City. She graduated magna cum laude from Brown University with a BA in Performance Studies and is currently pursuing an MFA in Dance at Sarah Lawrence College. Nadia's work at this time is focused on exploring the intersection of abstract movement and personal narrative. Nadia currently works with the American Dance Legacy Initiative, the New York State Summer School of the Arts School of Dance, and as an intern for Movement Research. Nadia has also recently started exploring her passion for tumbling and aerial silks.

Marcie.

Marcie Yoselevsky is a dancer, educator and community builder living in Tel Aviv, Israel. Marcie grew up in New London, CT where she studied dance at Connecticut College. She continued her studies at Trinity College in Hartford, CT where she received her BA. From there she headed south to North Carolina, dancing at ADF before making her way to New York for graduate school. She received her Masters in Public Administration and Masters in Jewish Studies from NYU and made New York her home until her move to Tel Aviv one year ago. In her work with This Body, Marcie is especially interested in making dance performance and dance practice more approachable and accessible.

​

Diane.

Diane Tomasi (she/her) performs on the ground and in the air, as a dancer and aerialist. She began as a gymnast at the young age of 2, and later began to dance and she then was introduced to aerial through an inclusive, abled/disabled body workshop with Blue-Eyed Soul Dance Company in UK. Diane has performed at Galapagos, Slipper Room, Jacob’s Pillow, The Wild Project, Dance New Amsterdam, The Muse Brooklyn among other places and with Phaedra’s Cabaret, Ko-Ryo Dance Theater as well as her own solo work.
Diane began teaching in 2001, and has taught classes and workshops in and around the US, including New York, Alaska, Massachusetts as well as the UK. Diane is currently a freelancer and teaches tumbling, acrobatics, aerial, dance classes and combination classes from ages 5 to adult throughout NYC. Diane’s classes are upbeat, judgement-free and social for all genders, sexualities, body types and levels.
www.dianetomasi.com

Alessia.

A native of Florence, Italy, Alessia Palanti is a queer, feminist choreographer, performer, writer, and teacher. She holds a BA in Dance from Beloit College where she graduated with an award for Highest Achievement in Dance Choreography (2003-2007). Her earliest work was selected to be presented at the American College Dance Festival two consecutive years (2006, 2007). Recent work with This Body has been showcased in New York City at Dixon Place (2019), Gibney Dance Center (2018, 2019), Triskelion Arts (2018), and BAX’s “The Struggle in Us” (2017). She was invited to do a performance residency at Red Gate Gallery in Beijing, China, in July 2020—alas, pandemic-delayed. In addition to performance, she teaches writing and co-directs courses focused in film and the performing arts at Columbia University, where she received her PhD. She wrote her dissertation on contemporary films by Italian female filmmakers. 

Research, teaching, activism, existing in the world as a multi-cultural queer woman: all these facets of Alessia’s life drive her choreography. Therefore, her work does not sit comfortably within a single genre. Each piece balances on the edge between familiar and unfamiliar: What can a gesture communicate when it is displaced from its original context? How does stillness help us understand movement? 

Donate Here:

PayPal