PLACE Members
Sue Roginski (she/her)
graduated from Wesleyan University in 1987 with a BA in Dance and from the University of California-Riverside in 2007 with an MFA in Dance (experimental choreography). She is a dance artist and educator who has produced her own work as well as performances to benefit Project Inform, Breast Cancer Action, and Women’s Cancer Resource Center. In the past several years, Sue has had the opportunity to share choreography locally, in San Francisco, in Los Angeles, and Pasadena. Before moving to Riverside, Sue lived in San Francisco where she had a ten year career as dancer and collaborator with the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. Sue has had the opportunity to work with Dandelion Dancetheater, STEAMROLLER, Christy Funsch, Kathleen Hermesdorf, Stephanie Schaaf, Anne Bluethenthal and Dancers, and NavaretteXKajiyama.. Her recent work is influenced by her dancing and improvising with Susan Rose and Dancers in Riverside, CA. She creates choreography and teaches improvisation with local dance artists with the collaborative projects open process, counterpoint/shift, and Peer Practice. Currently she teaches dance at Riverside City College and is a teaching artist at McCallum Theatre Education. As Organization Director for P.L.A.C.E. Performance Sue has volunteered since 2011 to maintain the operations and programming. P.L.A.C.E. Performance received non-profit status after taking on Trolley Dances, a trademark of Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater. P.L.A.C.E. Performance, an artist run and all volunteer organization is dedicated to providing opportunities for local dancers and choreographers. P.L.A.C.E. Programming also includes between the tables, Leaving Fear at the Door, in addition to offering free master classes, workshops and supporting other local dance events.
Megan Fowler-Hurst (they/them)
is a Dancer, Choreographer, Director and Educator from Riverside, Ca. Megan curated between the tables (2018-2021), a local event put on by PLACE Performance every three months at Back To The Grind coffee shop. They are currently the program Director and Curator of the Some Dance Screen Fest. Megan is a co-founder of the Los Angeles based dance collective, Tales Between Our Legs (TBOL). In 2017 TBOL was chosen to share their work A Dismal Glimpse at a Script We Create to Keep Us Moving Forward at REDCAT’s New Original Works Festival. TBOL has also shared work at the McCallum Choreography Festival, Breaking Ground Dance and Film Festival, between the tables, Renaissance Arts Academy, University of Redlands, DanceSTORM, Sorority, and the Satellite. In 2019 Megan directed, choreographed and danced in the music video “WEAPONRY” by art punk band OBJECT AS SUBJECT. “WEAPONRY” has been shown at Highways Performance Space, Motion Capture movement film series. In that same year they traveled to NYC where they were the creative director, choreographer and dancer for the music video “New Year” for the artist known as Bitch. They have been a featured dancer in numerous music videos for artists including UTK and Pussy Riot. Megan has taught dance throughout Southern California. They have worked as an after school dance teacher with the Arts and Minds program through the Riverside Arts Council. They are currently on dance faculty at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, guest faculty at Chadwick School in Palos Verdes. Megan holds a BFA in Dance and a Math/Science Minor from California Institute of the Arts.
Mads Irving (they/them)
is a local artist who will soon graduate from Mt. San Jacinto College (MSJC) with an Associates Degree in Dance, Theater Arts, and Liberal Arts. Their work has been shown in several dance concerts at MSJC and recently their dance film Remembrain was shown at the virtual dance concert in 2020. Their dance film was also shown in the between the tables virtual event put on by PLACE Performance. Mads has had the opportunity to work with artists such as: Alfonso Cervera, Megan Fowler-Hurst, Kirsten Johansen, Julie Freeman, Lindsay Blue and Irvin Gonzalez. Mads is also a writer who loves to incorporate writing into their art works. They are passionate about working with a camera and are now, as a part of PLACE Performance, Associate Director of Some Dance Screen Fest, as well as part of the production team.
Mya Maddox (she/her) P.L.A.C.E. Intern
holds a B.A. in Theatre, Film, and Digital Production from University of California, Riverside. Mya first started training in dance her Freshman year of high school. Unfortunately, she injured her knee in her senior year and it has slowed her dancing down ever since. But she will forever have the passion, respect, and love for dance as much as she does for all of her other crafts. Along with dance, Mya likes to participate in plays and short films as a writer, actor, and/or director. Although, she identifies as a storyteller. Because in all these aspects of performance they’re all just sharing one life experience to another.
PLACE Founding and Consulting Members
April Rhodes
graduated from the University of California, Riverside, Department of Dance, and examined intersections of dance and visual art and site specific choreography. It was during a collaboration on site specific dance in Idyllwild, Ca., that April reconnected with her beloved mentors at Mt. San Jacinto College and met Sue Roginski. It is with great pleasure in the meeting of dance minds that April is a member of P.L.A.C.E!d has since worked as a dance teaching artist for various art councils, museums, and presently for the McCallum Theatre Institute in Palm Desert, Ca. An emphasis in experimental choreography at UCR’s dance department afforded opportunities for April to examine intersections of dance and visual art and site specific choreography. It was during a collaboration on site specific dance in Idyllwild, Ca., that April reconnected with her beloved mentors at Mt. San Jacinto College and met Sue Roginski. It is with great pleasure in the meeting of dance minds that April is a member of P.L.A.C.E!
Alexis A Weisbrod
received her BFA in Dance from University of Minnesota and her PhD in Critical Dance Studies from UC Riverside. Alexis has studied through the United States and Europe including University of Minnesota, CalArts, Alvin Ailey School, and Edge Performing Arts Center, Broadway Dance Center and Steps on Broadway. She has performed at venues nationally and internationally, including Highways Performance Space (Los Angeles), The Southern Theater (Minneapolis), Tanzsommer (Innsbruck, Austria) and her choreography has been seen at the University of California, Riverside, Mt. San Jacinto College, and University of Minnesota. Currently Alexis is Associate Director for ORT America – Michigan Region.
Preet Mutneja
enjoys dance. Whether it be taking a challenging dance class, attending an inspiring performance, or supporting local dance, Preet does not miss an opportunity. Preet fell in love with dance while taking his first dance class at MSJC Menifee in 2009 (Beginning Jazz, taught by Alexis Weisbrod – who remains his favorite dance teacher). Preet has performed at an MSJC dance concert (under the direction of Alexis). In 2011, Preet facilitated the establishment of Dance Theatre Collective of Southern California. He was an apprentice with the Avocado Dance Theatre for the 2011-2012 season, and performed at the Old Town Temecula Community Theater. In 2013, Preet helped to establish the Alias Movement Center, a dance and fitness studio in Murrieta that gave the local community an opportunity to dance. Through his engagements with dance, Preet has met some lovely people who educate and inspire. Preet is honored to be a part of P.L.A.C.E. and, from the looks of it, will continue to enjoy and support dance.
Misty Lynn Taylor
has recently obtained her Bachelors Degree in Dance at University of California Riverside. Before the age of twelve she collaborated, organized, taught, and performed hip-hop in youth groups. In her late teens, Misty Lynn studied Bellydance and yoga to relieve degenerative arthritis in her spine. This led her to pursue dance at Mt. San Jacinto College where she studied Ballet, improvisation, choreography and Modern Dance. Taylor has happily interned for P.L.A.C.E. Performance, this particular non-profit organization as a grant writing assistant, she is now proud to be a member for P.L.A.C.E. She is also a Licensed Vocational Nurse who loves to find and nurture individual talents amongst people she meets, her peers and dancers. Taylor is exploring how her body has interpreted the movement information she has received from all her amazing dance instructors. Misty aspires to enrich our ever-changing culture through dance.
Julie Satow Freeman
is currently Chair of the Department of Dance at Mt. San Jacinto College where she has taught as part of the dance faculty for almost 20 years. She has an avid interest in teaching and in creating choreography and works with students as well as community dancers. She has performed extensively with the companies of Stephanie Gilliland and Dancers, Groundwork, and Liz Davidow and Dancers. Performance highlights include dancing at the Japan American Theatre as part of the Olympic Arts Festival, as well as in the full-length opera, Les Noces, and performing solo work at the Edinburgh Arts Festival Fringe in Scotland where Julie received critical praise for her performance and choreography. In collaboration with Sue Roginski, she co-founded P.L.A.C.E. Performance, a dance collective that is committed to creating community by providing supportive, non-competitive performance opportunities for dance artists in the Riverside County area. Julie recently fulfilled a long held dream and completed an M.F.A. in Dance, with a focus in Experimental Choreography, at the University of California, Riverside. She is a recipient of the Chancellor’s Distinguished Fellowship Award, and an MFA Graduate Fellowship, and is a two-time fellow in the Gluck Fellows Program of the Arts. Currently, Julie is a Brithinee Fellow at the Culver Center of the Arts where she works with two beautiful dancers, Stella Aryan and Casey Auvant, in a process that investigates, twists, and highlights the mundane and the absurd of shared common experience and everyday life. Julie is also the mother of three children who have taught her much about life, love, and living authentically.
C.J. Logel
attended Riverside City College and the University of California, Riverside, where he received his BA in Dance in 2011. He has had the privilege of training with Stephanie Gilliland, Neil Greenberg, Kelli King, Wendy Rogers, Susan Rose and Joel Smith. Since graduation, he has been improvising weekly with Sue Roginski. He was a member of Alias Movement (AD: Natalia Morales and Alexis A Weisbrod), was selected to perform in Trolley Dances Riverside, 2012, and was a member of the Regina Klenjoski Dance Company. C.J. is currently dancing with Julie Freeman, Sue Roginski, and Intersect Dance Theatre (AD: Sofia Carreras). Through his affiliation with P.L.A.C.E. Performance, he has had the opportunity to dance, teach, and choreograph throughout Riverside County. He is so grateful for all of those opportunities and is excited to continue his journey with P.L.A.C.E.
Irvin Gonzalez
is a Ph.D. student in the Critical Dance Studies program at the University of California, Riverside, where he completed his undergraduate work in 2012, graduating with degrees in English and Dance. He is a Gluck Fellow and is a recipient of the prestigious Eugene Cota Robles Fellowship. He has had the honor of presenting dance work at the Society of Dance History Scholars Conference in 2013, and has aided in hosting a variety of contact improvisation workshops within the Inland Empire. He is currently a dancer for counterpoint/shift and WHAT Dance Theatre. Additionally he works as intern for Trolley Dances Riverside and is a member of P.L.A.C.E. Performance, a nonprofit organization working to bring arts to the I.E. community. He, alongside three other dance colleagues, is director of Eloko Dance Company, which has had the opportunity of debuting pieces in the Inland Empire and New York. Irvin is currently researching autobiographical dance, and is interested in exploring the ways marginalized and minority groups are able to use dance and movement as means of creating a voice for themselves within the United States.
PLACE Interns
Ran Tan
graduated from UC Riverside as a double major in Dance and Anthropology with Academic Excellence Award. Ran was trained in Chinese Ethnic and Folk dances throughout her childhood. Later, she developed interests in Chinese Classical Dance and became a dedicated student of Chinese Classical dances. Ran’s movement research explores Minimalism, Feminism, and the diversity within Chinese aesthetics.
Evelin Dianey Parra
received her Bachelor’s Degree in Dance from the University of California, Riverside in 2017. She trained in Ballet, Improv, and Modern techniques, while also training and performing in West African and 18th Century dances. She performed in UCR is Dancing 2016 as well as choreographed and danced in Spring Forward 2016 and UCR is Dancing 2017. Evelin enjoys helping others and this is why she volunteered at the 2017 WonderCon in Anaheim, Ca, assisted other Choreographers with their performances, was a guide for Trolley Dances Riverside 2016, and is now an intern of P.L.A.C.E. Performance. Evelin hopes to continue exploring how moving bodies can be morphed into unique and weird shapes to create dances focused on the unheard voices in history and the human psyche. She hopes her pieces will allow the viewers to become more open-minded and see the world from different perspectives.