MANY HAPPY RETURNS

BIOS

Monica Bill Barnes (co-creator/performer) is a dancer and choreographer. Since MBB&CO’s founding in 1997, her choreography has been seen in many places, such as New York City’s Bowling Green public fountain, on stage at Carnegie Hall, throughout the galleries of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and in Greta Gerwig’s film “Little Women.” The company has been presented in over 50 cities and internationally in venues ranging from The Kennedy Center to the Sydney Opera House in a collaboration with Ira Glass in Three Acts, Two Dancers, One Radio Host. Barnes began collaborating with Robbie Saenz de Viteri in 2013 at which point the company adopted the motto of “bringing dance where it doesn’t belong.” Recent collaborations include a national tour of The Running Show; a site specific show in a mall - Days Go By; and two online works created during the pandemic - Keep Moving and It’s 3:07 Again. They are currently developing a new show, Many Happy Returns, through a residency at Berkeley Repertory this fall. 

Robbie Saenz de Viteri (co-creator/performer) writes, creates, produces, and performs live theater. He has created performances and toured production throughout the world with the Obie Award winning Nature Theater of Oklahoma and worked with genre redefining artists such as Anna Deavere Smith, Stew, and Ira Glass. He has collaborated with Monica Bill Barnes to create Happy Hour, The Museum Workout, One Night Only (Lilly Award), Days Go By (Bessie Honoree), The Running Show, Keep Moving, It’s 3:07 Again, and Many Happy Returns.  He grew up in New Jersey, holds a BA from Muhlenberg College, where he studied writing with David Rosenwasser, and lives in Greenpoint Brooklyn, which he believes is best reached by bicycle.

Flannery Gregg (rehearsal director/performer) is a performer, movement director, and rehearsal director based in NYC. She has rehearsal directed and performed in Monica Bill Barnes & Company’s productions of The Running Show, Day’s Go By, Keep Moving and It’s 3:07 Again. She has also worked alongside Barnes as a associate choreographer/dancer on the feature film Little Women (dir. Greta Gerwig.) Flannery is the movement director of The Reality Show: NYU (created by Elizabeth Swados), staging performances at the Barclays Center, Radio City Music Hall, and NYU’s Skirball Center for the Performing Arts. She was the assistant choreographer to Sam Pinkleton on the Broadway musical Natasha Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812 and the associate choreographer to Sonya Tayeh for Sing Street on Broadway. Born and raised in San Diego, Flannery got her BA in World Arts and Cultures from UCLA. She is thrilled to be dancing with MBB & Co. !

Mykel Marai Nairne (performer) (she/her) is a Brooklyn-based freelance dance artist, administrator, and creative producer. Born and raised in New York City, Mykel studied at Alvin Ailey, where she was a fellowship student, and later graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in Film & Media Studies. After a long hiatus, Mykel re-engaged with her movement practice through intensives with Earl Mosley’s Institute of the Arts, American Dance Festival, and Movement Invention Project and had the privilege of performing works by Bill T. Jones and Merce Cunningham, among others. She joined Dance Heginbotham soon after in 2018, and since then her freelance performance work has brought her to venues across the city, including St. Ann’s Warehouse in the Off-Broadway revival of OKLAHOMA! (dir. Daniel Fish), the Whitney Museum of Art (2019 Whitney Biennial), Brookfield Place, Marinaro Gallery, Astor Place (Joe’s Pub, Astor Alive!), and Symphony Space, to name a few. Mykel currently collaborates and performs with Dance Heginbotham, Monica Bill Barnes & Company, Jordan Demetrius Lloyd, Helen Simoneau Danse, and Megan Williams Dance Projects. mykelmarainairne.com

Indah Mariana (performer) is a choreographer, performer and dance educator. She has danced in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and across the US. Indah earned a BFA in dance from Purchase College Conservatory of Dance in 2008 and an MFA in dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts in 2014. As a choreographer, Indah was awarded a Creative Engagement Grant from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in 2017. Indah has showcased work at venues and festivals including NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Lawrence University, Danspace Project, The Watermill Center, Seattle Asian Art Museum, LaGuardia Performing Arts Center, Dixon Place, and many others. Currently Indah performs with Monica Bill Barnes & Company as well as Catherine Galasso. She is an Assistant Arts Professor at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Elizabeth Furman is a Brooklyn based administrator, associate producer and creative who has been working with MBB&CO in a variety of roles since 2017. She has supported Happy Hour, One Night Only, The Museum Workout, and The Running Show, both in NYC and on tour. As an associate producer Elizabeth has produced, Days Go By, digital shows Keep Moving, It’s 3:07 Again, and their newer works The Running Show and Many Happy Returns. Elizabeth loves sharing the company’s work with new audiences be them near, far, or via the computer screen. Her own work has been shared in the All Over Westbeth Site Specific Festival 2018. Elizabeth holds a BA in Dance and English from Kenyon College.