Profiles

cindy brandle (artistic director)

Cindy Brandle is the Artistic Director of the Cindy Brandle Dance Company. CBDC incorporated in 2004, became a non-profit officially in 2005 in Chicago, and is now a Boulder, C0-based company. Cindy danced for ten years with the Chicago Moving Company and served as Co-Artistic Director with founder Nana Shineflug for five of those years. She has been awarded two scholarships from the Dance Center of Columbia College as both a performer and choreographer. In 1999 and 2006 Cindy received fellowships for choreography from the Illinois Arts Council. Her work has been presented at Dance Chicago, The Storefront Theatre, Harold Washington Library, The Dance Center of Columbia College, throughout Illinois, the Midwest and internationally in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador, Brazil. In November of 2001, Cindy’s dance “Duplicate” was presented in the XXII INBA/UAM Choreographic Festival in Mexico City. Her dances were produced in some of Chicago's most exciting, experimental and exhilarating dance festivals, such as Chicago's NEXT Dance Festival, Estrogen Fest, Spectrum Dance Festival and The Other Dance Festival. Since relocating to Boulder, Brandle's work has been produced at the University of Colorado, Boulder department of Dance, The Denver Independent Choreographer's Project and twice in the Boulder International Fringe Festival. Cindy lives with her beautiful family, Ashay, Akasha and Sami the Shih Tzu!

nicole zozulia (dancer, artistic collaborator)

Originally from Naperville, Illinois, Nicole began dancing at the age of 3, with her real interest in dance beginning at the age of 7. She grew up engaged in all styles of dance such as tap, jazz, ballet, hip hop, lyrical and pointe, but found modern dance to be her true calling in college. She attended school at the University of Iowa where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, a minor in Exercise Science, and a 200-hour certification in Hatha Yoga in May 2015. Immediately following college, she decided to stay in Iowa City to pursue massage therapy at the East West School of Integrative Healing Arts. While attending school she performed with New Territory Dance Company directed by Analia Alegre- Femenias Weber. Once she received her 650 hour massage certification and license, she decided to make the move to Colorado to gain more experience in both massage and dance. She has been living in Louisville, Colorado for 2 years now and has the joy of dancing with Mercury Dance Company andT2 Dance Company, and is now in her third season with CBDC. Nicole is also the lead therapist at Elements Massage at the Orchard Town Center.

bridget heddens (dancer, artistic collaborator)

Bridget grew up in Iowa which led her to Iowa City to attend college at the University of Iowa. In 2016, she received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance and Bachelor of Science in Therapeutic Recreation. While at the University, Bridget worked with choreographers Armando Duarte, Maurice Watson, Jennifer Kayle, Nicholas Leichter, and Melinda Myers. She had the pleasure of being a member of Dancers in Company while at the University under the direction of Charlotte Adams. Through learning the therapeutic value of creative expression and movement during school, Bridget moved to Boulder, CO in hopes to meld her two areas of study together. She is currently working at a non-profit called, Out & About where she facilitates dance, art, and other activities to people with developmental disabilities. She is excited to begin her performance career with the Cindy Brandle Dance Company.

arianna stout (dancer, artistic collaborator)

As a small child regularly witnessing Hopi Kachina ceremonies, Arianna was mesmerized by therhythmic footwork of moccasins and bare feet on earth. In subsequent childhood years, she studied ballet and jazz, although she truly discovered her passion when dancing barefoot to live drumming for the first time. Modern dance became the thread of her youth and her major in college, accompanied by kinesiological studies. Arianna's love of movement informed her Pilates and Massage Therapy certifications; she has practiced both modalities throughout the states and Europe. Arianna danced as a guest artist with CBDC in March 2017, and she is thrilled to participate as a company member this season. Beyond dancing and teaching, this mother of two spirited boys can be found backpacking, expedition canoeing/kayaking, and doing photography on various wilderness adventures with her family.

jessica riggs (dancer, artistic collaborator)

Jessica Riggs is a Colorado Native hailing from Golden, Colorado. She possesses Bachelor’s degrees in both Dance and Dietetics from Colorado State University, as well as a Master’s degree in Food Science and Human Nutrition. Jessica is a Registered Dietitian and holds a personal training certification through the American College of Sports Medicine. She also teaches dance classes at the Lakewood Cultural Center. In 2009, Jessica founded Life/Art Dance Ensemble, a 501(c)3 registered nonprofit dance company that focuses on artistic collaboration and making the arts more accessible to the community. Jessica's choreography and performance has also been featured in Ascential Dance Theatre's Assemblage, Transition Theater's Kali Creates Fate, GAMMA-UT's New Music Festival at the University of Texas, the Dairy Arts Center’s Women in Classical Music Soundscape concert, and in Prague at the American Music Festival in collaboration with Stratus Chamber Orchestra. Jessica is in her 2nd season dancing with Cindy Brandle Dance Company!

victoria stone (dancer, artistic collaborator)

Growing up dancing in the foothills of Colorado, Victoria followed her aspiration of dance to Grand Junction and received her BFA in Dance at Colorado Mesa University. Before graduating, she had the pleasure to work with many in resident and visiting guest choreographers such as Jessica Taylor, Melonie Buchanan Murray, Megan Glynn Zollinger, Meredith Lyons, Tracey Bonner, Courtney Jones, Dante Lara, Donald Laney, Rachelle Rak, Mike Esparanza and Ann Sanders. She is currently working as a barista by day at the Chocolate Therapist in Littleton and by night, as a creative director for freelance projects. In addition to dance, Victoria is studying American Sign Language, Italian, as well as following her delight of studio art. After visiting and dancing in Italy with the company Damage Dance, the fervor of travel inspired new and different goals, she firmly believes that no one should ever stop learning so she listens to the art and follows where it leads. Victoria is ecstatic to be a part of her first company and looks forward to her second season with Cindy Brandle Dance Company.

vivian kim (dancer, artistic collaborator)

Originally from Nebraska, Vivian Kim is a choreographer, teaching artist, and performer based in Boulder, CO. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree for dance in 2014 from the University of Nebraska Lincoln, under the direction of Susan Levine-Orada. During her time at UNL, Vivian had the opportunity to present her choreography and perform in faculty and guest artists pieces. She had the opportunity to perform in dance works choreographed by Jenna Riegel (Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance), Kayvon Pourazar, Kendra Portier (David Dorfman Dance), STREB: POP Action Company (Elizabeth Streb), and many others. After graduating from UNL, Vivian moved to Cincinnati Ohio where she performed and taught for MamLuft&Company Dance under the direction of Jeanne Mam-Luft. While in Cincinnati, she also had the opportunity to present her first work as an emerging choreographer in the Cincinnati Area Choreographer’s Festival. In May 2018, Vivian graduated with her MFA in Performance and Choreography in Dance with a secondary emphasis in the Alexander Technique from the University of Colorado Boulder’s Dance Department. During her time at CU Boulder, Vivian had the opportunity to teach classes as a Graduate Part-Time Instructor, TA, train under, and perform for, Gesel Mason, Helanius J. Wilkins, Erika Randall, Larry Southall, and many others. Currently, Vivian is teaching hip-hop as an Adjunct Professor at Red Rocks Community College, teaches for two studios, and is a company member for world-reknown hip-hop choreographer, and performer, Rennie Harris, in his Denver-based company Rennie Harris Grass Roots Project. Additionally, Vivian is continuing to make, and present, her dance works as an emerging choreography locally and also at festivals around the U.S. This is Vivian’s first year with the Cindy Brandle Dance Company.

diana drummond (dancer, artistic collaborator)

A native of Houston, Texas, Diana received her BFA from the University of Oklahoma. While at OU she had the opportunity to perform in works by Austin Hartel, Derrick Minter, and Mary Margret Holt. She has spent summers training at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, River North Dance Chicago, ARCOS Dance, and the American Dance Festival. After graduation, she had the pleasure of working with Esoteric Dance Project in Chicago, IL and The Big Muddy Dance Company in Saint Louis, MO. Since relocating to Denver she has had the opportunity to work with Chadsah Contemporary Dance Movement, DAMAGEDANCE, Industrial Dance Alliance, Maureen Breeze Dance Theater, and Nosilla Dance Project. She is excited for her first season with Cindy Brandle Dance Company!

claire kendall (dancer, artistic collaborator)

Claire Kendall began her dance training in her hometown of Santa Fe, NM at the School of Aspen Santa Fe Ballet. In January 2018, she graduated from SUNY Purchase College with a BFA in Dance and Minor in Biology. Prior to her studies at Purchase, she attended high school at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in the Ballet Department, graduating in 2014. In Fall 2016, her junior year at Purchase College, she was selected to study abroad at Korea National University of Art in Seoul, South Korea, where she focused on Choreography and Dance Performance. Since graduating, she has performed with the Merce Cunningham Trust in NYC and choreographed for the T2 Dance Project in Boulder, CO. Claire began exploring choreography as a sophomore at SUNY Purchase and since then she has created six pieces with the majority being collaborative projects with musicians, actors, filmmakers, and photographers. She is excited to be performing in her first season with CBDC!

alex tomassian (dancer, artistic collaborator)

madison plummer (resident videographer)

Originally from Hanover, Massachusetts, Madison attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York where she studied studio art and served as class president. She was a goalkeeper for the varsity soccer team for the first portion of her college career. Eventually she found circus partner acrobatics and hand balancing and spent her college summers training circus arts in Boston. While at Skidmore, Madison took her first dance class and realized she had a passion for the art form. She was fortunate to have an extremely supportive and encouraging dance department to help foster her growth. Madison graduated in 2017 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Studio Art with a concentration in Digital Media and minors in Dance and Media & Film Studies. In addition to performance she combines these passions to produce dance films. Madison is very excited to begin her dance career with the Cindy Brandle Dance Company.