Staff and PAIR

Halley Willcox is a dedicated performing artist, choreographer, teacher and all round dance nerd. Most of the time, Halley is working as a dance adjunct at Arizona State University and Grand Canyon University, as well as teaching pilates and working on community movement projects. She is motivated by her question: How do we communicate our imagination? She uses her independent creative projects to articulate this question, make the world a better place and have a little fun. She is inspired by curiosity, legacy, cities, preservation, the 1970’s, memory, conversation, shadow, community and binoculars.

Staff and PAIR

Zarina Mendoza is a passionate artist, a Mexican immigrant with a desire to share knowledge, experiences, culture and points of view through movement. She is a sucker for intense, fun acrobatic partnering, speed and taking risks in her movement and classes. She teaches contemporary, Latin Rhythms and Nourish Yoga Flow. Zarina is the Founder of Tranze Danza Contemporanea a project where she actively cultivates a community that sparks meaningful conversations; her work prompts introspection on themes of identity, immigration, empathy, and solidarity, inviting individuals to engage deeply with these significant subjects. 

Artist Support Director

Ellen is a professional dance artist with roots in NYC, currently based in Phoenix. In her freelance career, after obtaining a BFA in Dance, she has performed in esteemed venues throughout NYC and Europe and has worked for artists including Janice Rosario, Bryn Cohn, Yoshito Sakuraba (Abarukas), Mathew James (Urban Tribe Co.), Luke Murphy (Attic Projects), and more. Ellen has been a world-touring cast member of Israeli choreographer Nadine Bommer's "INVISI'ball" since 2015. She is a certified instructor of Nadine's renowned movement method; Kinetica, which she taught to professional dance artists from around the world while performing with the company in Israel for two years. Ellen has fulfilled many residencies and has taught master classes to universities and studios in 9 states. In 2017 in NYC, she founded a project-based contemporary dance company; DEPTH. The company has been commissioned for split-bill shows throughout New York and has presented work in venues including Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater, Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, Dixon Place, Peridance Salvatore Capezio Theater, Herberger Theatre Center (Phoenix), The Huntington Theatre (Boston), Southwest Arts Center (Atlanta), Dock11 (Berlin, Germany), and Suzanne Dellal (Tel Aviv, Israel). Ellen's work has been described as "hauntingly beautiful" and "captivatingly chilling" [BWW Reviews] with "stunning and economical" partnering [The Dance Enthusiast]. DEPTH has collaborated on two dance films, one of which has been awarded Audience Favorite at three different festivals throughout the U.S. Since returning to America in January, 2022, Ellen was selected for nueBOX's 6-month StudioLAB Residency and is now a Permanent Artist In Residence there. She continues to create, present and perform throughout the Valley.

Headshot is by Luis Torres 

PAIR, Photography ​

 Daniela Prieto from Lima, Peru started her dance training at the age of 14, then later on in the dance program at Scottsdale Community College where she studied in modern, ballet, hip-hop, jazz and contemporary. Focusing now on contemporary modern dance, Daniela was the former Co-Director of Phoenix dance company; BA Dance Company, where she danced, choreographed and organized for the company. She has performed in many shows around the valley; BlakTinx Dance Festival, Breaking Ground, Caminando and has worked with local choreographers such as Steven Redondo and Liliana Gomez. Daniela who is also a photographer, spends her time photographing dance & special events along with dancing and choreographing independently. She plans on merging the two worlds of dance & photography. 

Staff and PAIR

Sam (They/Them/Theirs) grew up dancing in Yuma, AZ and graduated from the U of A with a BFA in Dance, then continued to PT school and is now a pelvic floor physical therapist. Sam’s micro-activisms are at work at the intersection of their passion for dance and knowledge of pelvic floor anatomy and function— educating individuals about their bodies empowers Sam and everyone they reach. As a foundation in their work and private life, Sam above all prioritizes the upliftment of queer voices. 

PAIR/Artist Support Director 

Takela is a movement artist and choreographer, native to Phoenix, Arizona. Takela's creative work explores the complexities of humanity with a focus on interpersonal interaction. These ideas are often brought to life by contemporary choreography, with hip hop movement influences, and improvisational dance structures. She obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance and a Certificate in Ethics from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State where she performed and worked with artists such as Adam McKinney, The Dance Exchange, Alicia Nacimiento, and Liz Lerman's Wicked Bodies. Following graduation, Takela completed a residency with Nuebox through the SEED Artist Residency program where she began working on a piece entitled "tHe sCieNce of the noN-lineaAr" seeking to question the relationship between one's internal monologue and their physical being, through lense of chaos theory. Currently, Takela continues to perform and connect communities as a freelance creative through her work with The Be Kind People Project, Nuebox, Blending the Moves Dance Festival and local choreographers.

Social Media/Task Support

Steven, a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, has built a distinguished professional artistic career through collaborations with many local organizations. His journey in the world of dance began in high school, igniting a passion that led him to pursue education at Arizona State University for a couple of years. Steven’s professional career took off when he started showcasing his solo work at Experimental Art Nights with [nueBox]. His initial pieces, titled “One,” “Two,” and “Three,” were innovative explorations of audience engagement and improvisational skills. By 2019, Steven presented his seventh work, “Seven,” at the Blaktinx showcase, held at Phoenix Center for the Arts. In 2020, his choreographic work “Eight,” was featured on the Breaking Ground main stage. Moving to early 2024,  Steven spent most of his time curating “In The Round,” an intimate dance showcase presented at various venues across the City of Phoenix. Most recently, Steven presented a duet titled ‘Fourteen’ at the Blaktinx showcase, for the second time in his career. In November 2024, Steven completed the SEED Residency with [nueBox], exploring his evening length work ‘115 Degrees’ which will be presented spring/summer 2025.

PAIR, Grant Writing and Marketing

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As a child growing up in Austin, Texas, a city filled with culture and art, from a young age I knew I wanted to pursue a creative career. I don’t remember ever saying I wanted to be a doctor, lawyer, or anything else. I told my mom I wanted to be an actress. My mother supported me in all of my endeavors, introducing me to a whole world of art. I was lucky enough to try out a few things ranging from different instruments, to theater, to all kinds of dance styles. In 2014, my family and I packed our bags, shoved them in a car, and moved to Arizona. Upon arriving here, my family was struck with financial hardship which left me abandoning a lot of my creative outlets. It wasn’t until 2019/2020 when I started to reevaluate my interests and fall in love with creating again, and start to think about who I really am. Since then, I have made it my mission to become my childhood’s wildest dreams. Instead of ignoring my passions, I want to exchange them for getting rid of fear. My work as an emerging artist exploring my craft, is representative of my childhood, culture, and life experiences as a Black femme navigating the world, through interdisiplinary movement and performance.