Staff and Board
KAY LaSOTA, MANAGER/PRODUCER has founded, produced, and funded many CMC programs, including Dance Shelter, The Echo Project, Artist-in-Residence program, STAIR, D49 Festival, and The Other Dance Festival; developed the Hamlin Park Theater as a dance space; and managed successful tours to New York, San Francisco, Berlin, Mongolia, and Japan. Previously Kay was Co-Manager of Links Hall, an award-winning Chicago experimental arts venue; and was Director of Operations and then Director of Development for MoMing Dance & Arts Center, a nationally-known Chicago performing arts center where she helped produce the Chicago debuts of Mark Morris and Eiko and Koma. She also worked in the National Endowment for the Arts Dance Program on a competitively awarded fellowship. Kay holds a B.A., Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Chicago; an MBA from Tulane University; and is a graduate of New Orleans High School for the Performing Arts (dance). She served on the Chicago Dance Coalition’s board for eight years, holding five vice-presidencies, and has also served as a dance grants panelist for the City of Chicago, Department of Cultural Affairs and the Evanston Arts Council. Kay is recipient of the Chicago Dance Award for Outstanding Contribution.
As a Dancer/choreographer- -“a good girl gone bad . . . especially thrilling. ” (The Village Voice), Kay created 23 original works (individually and collaboratively) that were presented at venues throughout Chicago and on tour (i.e. Dance Center of Columbia College, Storefront Theater for the Arts, Links Hall, Moveable Beast at The Museum of Contemporary Art). Her work received several grants from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs; the Chicago Dance Award; a Ruth Page Award nomination and a National Endowment for the Arts New Forms Grant (both with the Sock Monkeys). She was a founding member of the Sock Monkeys (an acclaimed movement-based Chicago performance group) and the Buster King Dance Club (directed by Timothy Buckley)-- with whom she toured to the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival. Kay danced with many other Chicago artists/companies and was a Chicago-cast member for David Dorfman’s “Underground”, Bill T. Jones’ “Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Promised Land”, and the White Oak Project’s “Past/Forward”. Her artistic work can be found in the John M. Flaxman Library Collection at the Art Institute of Chicago (Randolph Street Gallery Archives) and the New York Public Library Dance Collection (Jacob's Pillow archives); some of her work as an arts promoter/manager is housed at the Newberry Library Dance Collection, Chicago (MoMing archive).
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SUZY GRANT, SPECIAL PROJECTS COORDINATOR is a multi-disciplinary person that has performed under the direction of many choreographers including Peter Carpenter, Matthew Hollis, and Atalee Judy. Suzy has performed improvisation with Donnell Williams, Lisa Gonzales, Jennifer Kayle, The Reciprocities, STD, and Portable Dance Project. Suzy's solo work has been performed in Chicago, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. As an arts administrator and producer, Suzy has worked with numerous dance companies, dance organizations, independent dance artists, and performance festivals including the Open Space Project, the 2011 Chicago Dance Improvisation Fest, Dance Union, and the Other Dance Festival. Suzy is honored to return as Special Projects Coordinator for the Chicago Moving Company. Photo: Ryan Bourque
JESSICA MARASA - ARTISTIC ASSOCIATE has been active in the Chicago dance community since 2007: performing with Onye Ozuzu, Ayako Kato, Kristina Isabelle Dance, Khecari Dance, Same Planet Different World, Collision Theory, and as an ensemble member of Molly Shanahan/MadShak; presenting her own work at Stage 773, Links Hall, Hamlin Park, Signal Ensemble Theater, and Outerspace; teaching modern, ballet, jazz, and yoga as adjunct faculty at The University of Chicago; and cultivating opportunities for the Chicago artistic Community as founder of Watering Can Dance (including her celebrated "Spectrum" and "Set Free" performance series, dance and music improvisations by Chicago masters--a Chicago Tribune "Dance Top 10"). At CMC/The Hamlin Park Theater Jessie spearheaded and directed the expansive residency with dance-icon Nancy Stark Smith and founded the JIM (Joy In Movement) a bold, bi-annual dance project featuring noted artists (faculty and performers) from Chicago and beyond. She was recently honored by NewCity as one of their "Players 50" for 2019 (50 people who are making a difference in the Chicago arts community.
JACOB SNODGRASS - RESIDENT LIGHTING DESIGNER/HAMLIN PARK THEATER - has been designing lights in Chicago since 2000, and is very happy to be working with CMC again. He has worked with Arial Dance Chicago, Links Hall, Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, BONEdanse (tour to Edinburgh Fringe), Thodos Dance Chicago, Concert Dance Inc., Peter Carpenter, Khecari Dance, Instruments of Movement, and the Ruth Page Foundation. Jacob has also designed lights for Chicago’s off-loop theater community and has traveled to England, Italy, Guatemala, Scotland, Turkey, China, Buffalo, Toronto, and Alaska for his work.
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Board of Directors
Jeff Abell
Larry Blust
Chris Gent
Lois Grossman
Carmen Marti