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annalee traylor
annalee traylor photographed by Owen Scarlett
Annalee Traylor (she/her) is a creator, choreographer, director, and educator whose 16-year career spans New York City, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Atlanta. Her practice moves between dance, theater, sound, and stagecraft, creating performances that invite wonder, contradiction, and connection. Her most recent evening-length work, this thing is real, was named one of Atlanta’s “Notable 9 in Dance” by ArtsATL, which called it “absolutely breathtaking and just a little bit dangerous.”
Traylor’s choreography and direction have been commissioned by Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre, Kit Modus, Periapsis Music and Dance, and Theater Emory, among others. Her work has been presented nationally and internationally, reaching audiences in Los Angeles, New York City, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Italy, Portugal, and the Netherlands. Residencies with The Goat Farm, Dance Lab NY, the UNCSA Choreographic Institute, Highways Performance Space, Kennesaw State University, Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, Dance Gallery Festival, and Emory University have supported her ongoing creative research.
Traylor holds a BFA in Dance Performance from Point Park University and an MFA in Choreography from California Institute of the Arts, where she received the S. Disney Lund Scholarship in Dance. She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Theatre and Dance at Western Michigan University.
PROGRAM NOTE
This piece is a world premiere.
DANCERS
Brandon Wolfington photographed by Owen Scarlett
Brandon Wolfington (he/him) is a dance artist pursuing a BFA in dance at Western Michigan University. He was born and raised in Naperville, Illinois and began his dance career at Steps Dance Center, training for twelve years. While in college, Brandon has performed the works of choreographers Jeremy Blair, Peter Chu, Mike Esperanza, Roderick George, Monique Haley, Seyong Kim, Marissa Peterson, and Christa Smutek. During his sophomore year, he was a member of Western Dance Project under the direction of Kelsey Paschich. Through Western Dance Project, he has performed at dance festivals such as Dance City Festival Detroit, Midwest RADfest, and Grand Rapids Ballet Summer Dance Festival, along with outreach events at elementary, middle, and high schools in the Kalamazoo area. He has also had his work parallel, choreographed and performed with Ashley Boyd, selected to perform at the American College Dance Association East-Central Regional Conference closing gala. In 2025, Brandon joined Movement Reservoir Dance Company under the direction of Lachan Niedbala. With the company, he has performed in their closing showcase, as well as Dancing in Summer Festival by Terpsichore Collective, and West Michigan Dance Festival. Brandon is currently the co-president of 269 Crew, a hip hop dance crew, where he has had his work showcased at Western Michigan University’s student showcase. He has received training from various companies across the country, including Giordano Dance Chicago, BODYTRAFFIC, Flockworks, Detroit Metropolitan Dance, and Staibdance. He is also currently a member of Kreative Design, a mentorship program directed by Angelina and Karlo Familara.
Jake Gamit photographed by Mike Esperanza
Jake Matthew Lazaro Gamit is a current student at Western Michigan University studying Dance and Pre-Physical Therapy. He grew up in Walled Lake Michigan and started dancing at a very young age. He has worked with artists such as Kelsey Paschich, Mike Esperanza, Seyong Kim, Monique Haley, Whitney Moncrief, Kia Smith, Terk Lewis, Brian Nicholson, Christina Grady, Terry Lindholm, Laurie Johnson, Keri Lagrand, Rhonda Miller, Josh Bergasse as well as Annalee Traylor. Additionally, Jake also worked for Tremaine Dance Conventions and has been a part of their Pre-Professional Company, being able to assist faculty on stage as well as work backstage during competitions. Jake plans on getting his Doctorate in Physical Therapy and aspires to inspire others.
Kohen Chin photographed by Kimberly Chin
Kohen Chin (he/him) is a Seattle native and aspiring professional dancer. He is currently a sophomore at Western Michigan University where he is pursuing his Bachelor of Arts in Dance as well as a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science. While training trifocal in Ballet, Modern, and Jazz, he has had the opportunity to work with choreographers including Marlo Martin, Arinze Okammor, Mike Esperanza, Annalee Traylor, Peter Chu, Tyra Rose, and most recently Stephanie Pizzo. He is currently a member of Western Dance Project, WMU’s touring pre-professional dance company and is excited to share the stage with Detroit Metropolitan Dance next month. Kohen is thrilled for the opportunity to return to his hometown to perform in the MEN IN DANCE Festival.
Seyong Kim photographed by Mike Esperanza
Seyong Kim (he/him) is an Associate Professor of Dance at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and an International Visiting Professor at Sungshin Women’s University in Seoul, Republic of Korea. He holds an MA in Dance Education from NYU Steinhardt and an MA in Dance from Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. His professional certifications include Certified Movement Analyst (CMA) from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies, Registered Somatic Dance Educator (RSDE), and Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT) Certified Teacher. He is also an ABT® Certified Teacher, having successfully completed the ABT® Teacher Training Intensive in Primary through Level 7 of the American Ballet Theatre® National Training Curriculum. Additionally, he holds a Diversity and Inclusion Certificate from Cornell University. Seyong is the recipient of the 2023 Maggie Allessee Choreography Award and the 2025 Higher Education Educator of the Year Award from the Michigan Dance Council.
Seyong has taught at numerous universities, professional dance organizations, and arts institutions, including Rutgers University, Kent State University, the University of Georgia, the University of New Mexico, Randolph College, Johns Hopkins University, Lindenwood University, Columbia Ballet Collaborative, Peridance, Steps on Broadway, Libera Università in Italy, World Dance Alliance–Americas (WDAA), Cecchetti Council of America, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, ConteXture, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, Alabama Dance Festival, Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, West Hawaii Dance Theatre, Ohio Contemporary Ballet, East Coast Contemporary Ballet, Chicago Repertory Ballet, Ballet 5:8, South Chicago Dance Theatre, CPR Dance: Inhale Movement, Charlottesville Ballet, Grand Rapids Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Dance Center, Seoul Ballet Theatre, and Ballet Preljocaj.
As a professional dancer, Seyong has performed with The Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center, Albania National Ballet Theatre, Baltimore Ballet, Traverse City Dance Project, Neglia Ballet, TAKE Dance, and Oakland Ballet Company. Seyong’s choreographic works have been internationally presented and invited by leading dance festivals and organizations, including Landestheater Coburg in Germany; Florence Dance on Screen Festival in Italy; International Contemporary Dance Festival of Mexico City; Taiwan JueDai Taipei International Dance Festival; ProArteDanza in Canada; Seoul Ballet Festival; Lebanon International Dance Festival; Battery Dance Festival; Palm Desert Choreography Festival; American Dance Guild Festival; Cleveland Dance Festival; Richmond Dance Festival; Midwest Regional Alternative Dance Festival; Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival; Detroit Dance City Festival; Boston Contemporary Dance Festival; Orlando Contemporary Dance Choreography Festival; Oklahoma International Dance Festival; Breaking Ground Contemporary Dance Festival; Washington International Dance Festival; 92NY Future Dance Festival; CrossCurrent Asian-American Dance Festival; and Movement Research at the Judson Church. Seyong is currently a Resident Choreographer with Wise Ballet Theater in Seoul, South Korea.