MIDDAY
SHUFFLE
MIDDAY is now accepting applications to teach MIDDAY SHUFFLE!
MIDDAY
Short Series
Consider making a donation towrads MIDDAY’s mission.
TUESDAYS
@ 6:00 - 7:30 PM
Rough Drafts
​​​
Join us for MIDDAY’s 2025 Rough Drafts Showcase on
Saturday, July 19 @ 2 PM + 8 PM
at Arrow St. Arts
(2 Arrow St. Cambridge, MA 02138)
Program Description:
Up to six artists/companies will be selected to participate in this pilot program. All program components (classes, showings, and showcase) will take place at Arrow Street Arts, 2 Arrow St, Cambridge MA. Pending funding, program artists will receive high-quality photos and video from the final showcases to use for their own promotional materials, grant applications, and more.
NOTE: This program is meant to supplement artists' current plans to create, continue developing, or re-investigate a choreographic project. Rough Drafts is not a choreographic residency and does not provide funds or rehearsal space; rather, it is a professional development opportunity intended to support artists in optimizing their current projects as a tool to reach future artistic goals.
Eligibility Criteria:
Contemporary/modern dance-makers with 1-10 years of professional experience are invited to apply to this program. Artists may apply alone or with collaborators, although all members of the choreographic team must have a minimum of one year of professional choreographic experience. Choreographers must be at least 20-years-old and based in the Boston area (inside of the 495 loop). Applicants may propose a solo work or group works with up to 8 artists, including the choreographer(s), if performing. Proposed works may be at any stage of development. Work shown in this program may not exceed 15 minutes, although this may be an excerpt of an evening-length work.​​​​​
Rough Draft Series Recipients (2024-25)
Andrea Muñiz
Andrea Muñiz(they/she) is a Boston-based dance artist from San Juan. Their creative practice is centered around collaboration and improvisational inquiries on relational dynamics. Andrea holds a B.F.A. from The Boston Conservatory. Their work has been presented at MELLE’s WIP, NACHMO Boston, Modern Connection’s DIP, JP PorchFest, and as part of the Dance Lab residency at the Boston Center for the Arts. Their work is often described as dynamic and fresh. Andrea is currently developing new work as a Midday Rough Draft artist and teaching contact improvisation at Contact Improv Boston.
Zaquia Mahler Salinas
Zaquia Mahler Salinas, is a dance artist working at the intersection of performance, social practice, education, and advocacy; she finds joy in cultivating community, and lives for the magic inherent in collaboration. With movement as the central medium, her work often blends dance, text, and video, connecting audiences to visceral, intimate, thoughtful, and introspective narratives. Zaquia is a lifelong student and holds a BA in Dance with Honors from UC Santa Barbara (2011), an MFA in Dance: Creative Practice with Honors from Saint Mary’s College of California (2017), a certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of San Diego (2021), and a California Single Subject Teaching Credential for Dance (2022). In 2018, she founded DISCO RIOT, a nonprofit organization that supports radical dance and creative possibilities in San Diego. In 2023, Zaquia was awarded one of San Diego’s inaugural Far South/Border North grants for artists working in socially engaged practice. She recently relocated to Boston, and is currently serving as a Resident Curator with ODC Theater in San Francisco. Outside of dance, you can find Zaquia teaching yoga – she is a dedicated practitioner and 500 hour E-RYT certified instructor. For more information about her and her work, visit zaquiasalinas.com
​
Miranda Lawson
Miranda Lawson (she/her) is a performer, choreographer and educator based in the Greater
Boston area. She received her BA in Dance and Psychology from Mount Holyoke College in
2022, where she was recognized with awards in choreographic excellence and leadership through
social justice work. She has performed in works by Stefanie Batten Bland, Shura Baryshnikov,
Shakia Barron, Chloe London, and Jenna Riegel. She currently performs with Urbanity Dance
and Phunk Phenomenon Urban Dance Theater in addition to making and performing in her own
choreography. Her own work has been presented at the School for Contemporary Dance and
Thought (Northampton MA), the Multicultural Arts Center (Cambridge MA), Tufts University
(Medford MA), and The American College Dance Association Conference (Middlebury VT).
Miranda was a mentee of MIDDAY Movement’s BIPOC Professional Dancer Mentorship
program from 2022-23, an Urbanity X resident in 2022, and the recipient of Mass Cultural
Council’s Pandemic Relief Grant and the Somerville Artists Fellowship both in 2023
Jassi Murad
Jassi Murad (They/ them) is an inter-disciplinary artivist, healer, teacher and student. Native to Jerusalem, Palestine— they perceive art as a means of non-violent, archival resistance, and expression as a tool of healing. Their practice is guided by a research of intersectional liberation through Somatic Abolition and co-creation of alternative realities. They received a BA in Contemporary Dance and Performance from PERA Cyprus, 200hr Yoga teacher, Reiki practitioner, and community embodiment facilitator. They are currently freelancing and moving with Danza Organica, Kairos Dance Theatre, Urbano Project, Midday Movement Series, and administrating for Free Gaza Circus.
Carmen Rizzo
Carmen S. Rizzo, from São Paulo, Brazil, is a freelance dancer/choreographer and a company member of Kairos Dance Theater and Abilities Dance Boston. She graduated from the Boston Dance Theater trainee program and from Manhattanville College with a Summa Cum Laude and highest honors double degree in Dance and Theatre (Dance concentration) and Business Management (Psychology minor). She successfully completed the 8-year professional training program at Escola de Dança de São Paulo (EDASP), culminating in experience with Balé da Cidade de São Paulo and Ballet Stagium. At Manhattanville she had the opportunity to work with choreographers such as Shannon Gillen, Shawn Bible, Mike Esperanza, Leah Ives, Michaela McGowan, Yoshito Sakuraba, Julia Ehrstrand, Max Stone among others. She also performed works by Martha Graham, George Balanchine, Itzik Galili, Yin Yue, and Ohad Naharin and was featured in performances with Shawn Bible, CKDC and Modaté (Leuven, Belgium). Carmen’s dance films have been featured on OnStage Dance Co.’s 22nd season and in festivals such as Homegrown, Shut in Dance Festival, Manhattanville’s Film Festival and the DFA College Exchange. She is also currently a dance teacher, Pure Barre instructor, Boston Dance Alliance’s Operations and Membership Associate and collaborating with other local artists on individual projects such as Rachel Linsky’s ZACHOR, Grant Jacoby’s Surrender Dorothy, Chavi Bansal’s/Vimoksha’s Salt Soaked, and Kristin Wagner’s/Bodies Moving’s For you I dream of me. Carmen’s most recent live works have been performed at Salem Arts Festival, Nozama’s Autonomy, ArtBeat Festival, NACHMO Boston, Boston WiP and her very first evening length production: "Unchosen". She has also recently been awarded the Creative Soul Residency and the WeCreate Fellowship, and is excited to be a part of this year's Rough Drafts cohort. Carmen is passionate about discovering and exploring dance in everything “non-artistic”, especially in science.