SLAM Show Season
November 19-December 18, 2022
Saturdays at 5pm and Sundays at 3pm
More information coming soon!
STREB Extreme Action Company
For over forty years, STREB has performed in theaters large and small, served as artists-in-residence at the world’s top art museums, and taken its work into the streets and sports stadiums. The company’s extensive international touring calendar has included presentations at the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the Théâtre du Châtelet, the Musée D’Orsay, Greece’s Summer Nostos Festival, Théâtre de la Ville, Lincoln Center Festival, the Park Avenue Armory, the Fall for Dance Festival, Wolf Trap Foundation, the Walker Art Center, Los Angeles MOCA, the Wexner Center, Spoleto USA, the River-to-River Festival, the Brisbane and Melbourne Festivals and in Chile, Singapore and Taiwan. The company has received commissions to perform publicly at the 2012 London Olympic Festival, the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the Whitney Museum of American Arts groundbreaking, the Pan Am Games Arts Festival in Toronto, and the 2004 Cirque du Soleil 20th anniversary celebration performed in front of 250,000 people on the streets of Montreal. The company has also taken their signature extreme action to iconic locations including Grand Central Station, Coney Island’s fairground, the Brooklyn Bridge Anchorage, Madison Square Garden, the mall outside the Smithsonian Institution and more.
In January 2003, STREB moved into a vacant former loading facility and transformed 51 North 1st Street into the STREB LAB FOR ACTION MECHANICS (SLAM). In 2007, STREB purchased SLAM with unprecedented support for building acquisition from the New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs, City Council, Mayor’s Office and Brooklyn Borough President’s Office ensuring its future as the home of STREB EXTREME ACTION, the STREB PopAction School and the España-STREB Trapeze Academy. As a performance and presenting venue and an open access education and rehearsal space, SLAM creates community through interaction and experimentation.
Elizabeth Streb
Extreme Action Heroes
Cassandre JosephAssociate Artistic DirectorCassandre Joseph (She/Her/Hers) was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Her investigation in movement began at the age of four with the sport of gymnastics. Over a span of twenty years as a competitive gymnast, she earned several state and regional titles. She graduated from Cornell University with a B.A. in English Literature and studied journalism at Temple University’s graduate communications program. She joined STREB in 2007 as an instructor and company member. In September 2017, Cassandre Joseph was appointed Associate Artistic Director of STREB Extreme Action, and also oversees SLAM’s education program. As a performer, she has been seen ziplining across the Park Avenue Armory, scaling the walls of the Bergdorf building and dancing on the spokes of the London Eye. Cassandre has been the Creative Director of the STREB Kid Company since 2010 for which she has choreographed and self-produced three evening length works: Heroes (2015), Momentum (2016) and Navigation (2017). She is a strong believer in the transformative power of movement and is passionate about empowering young people to push boundaries and expand their notions of what is possible. When she is not seen in a rehearsal, teaching classes or creating action events at SLAM, she can be found training her daughter Nia to be a mini-action hero.
Jackie CarlsonSenior Action HeroHailing from Detroit, Michigan, Jackie Carlson (She/He/They) has studied ballet, jazz, lyrical, tap, and gymnastics since the age of 6. She’s won many awards and scholarships in the dance competition world, including Miss Dance of Michigan in 2000 and “Most Outstanding Dancer ’01” with NYC Dance Alliance. She spent five consecutive summers on full scholarship at The Milwaukee Ballet School, before moving to New York City right out of high school to join Dance Theatre of Harlem, a professional ballet company founded by Arthur Mitchell. Jackie’s dream came true when her lifetime goal of becoming a stunt double and her love of dancing COLLIDED in 2008 when she joined STREB Extreme Action!
Justin RossAction HeroJustin Ross (He/Him/His) hails from the mysterious State of “Great Faces, Great Places”… South Dakota! After taking Beginning Modern Dance as a fine arts elective at George Mason University, Justin fell in love with movement and began his journey into the world of concert dance. At George Mason, Justin was fortunate to work with an amazing faculty who took a great risk in letting this prairie boy into their program. Post college, Justin began choreographing and creating site-specific performance art works. When not at SLAM, Justin can be found teaching indoor cycling at Vital or taking pictures of his plant collection. This is Justin’s fourth season with the company, and he is beyond excited to be flying with the best!
Tiffany TorresAction HeroBronx native Tiffany Torres (She/Her/Hers) began her curiosity for movement at the age of 7, studying ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, and hiphop dance styles at the Bronx Dance Theater, whilst also dabbling in other areas of movement, including boxing and weightlifting. Tiffany pursued her interest in performance as a commercial dancer and has had the opportunity to perform and appear in Lane Bryant’s This Body campaign, Ladies of Hiphop Showcase , Lip Sync Battle, season 4, and Ailey Summerstage. This year she is ready to embark on a new journey with the STREB Extreme Action company and is excited to be able to combine her passion and curiosity for movement and take it to new heights!
Nailah CunninghamAction HeroNailah Cunningham (They/Them) was raised in the weird city of Portland, Oregon. At a young age, following in their sister’s steps, they began their movement training at a nonprofit arts school, Portland Metro Arts, where they trained in ballet and modern dance. In 2017 they chose to pursue movement as a career and moved to New York to start training on scholarship at The Ailey School. In 2019 Nailah was honored to perform at Lincoln Center with the company in Alvin Ailey’s Memoria before graduating in 2020. Throughout 2021 they worked with 98 Art Collective as their featured movement artist. Nailah joined STREB in March 2022. They are very excited to push their limits and learn to fly.
Darrin KlineAction HeroDarrin Kline (He/Him/His) of Wilkes-Barre, PA, has always been interested in the performing arts. At a young age, circus and pageantry fascinated him and he found himself engaged in color guard to begin his movement journey. He started in the marching drum corps with the Skyliners Drum and Bugle Corps and later with the Bushwackers. But it was with the Reading Buccaneers that he won two Drum Corps Associates Championships. He hunkered down on his color guard commitment by marching indoor color guard with the Q of East Stroudsburg University Winterguard, the Emanon World Winterguard, and the Fusion World Winterguard. Darrin was also a tractor driver, actor, puppet operator, and scare performer with Middle Earth Studios, working at Harbes Orchard in Mattituck Long Island.
Angelica Mondol ViañaAction HeroBorn in Puerto Rico but raised in Brooklyn, Angelica Mondol Viaña (She/Her/Hers) discovered her passion for dance at age 8. Her training began at Ballet Tech, later at Fiorello H. Laguardia High School for Performing Arts and Ballet Hispanico Pre-Professional Program, before graduating with her BFA in Dance & Choreography from CalArts. She has also studied at Bates Dance Festival, the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater’s Raul Julia Training Unit, and University Settlement’s New York Movement Collaborative. Performance credits include Ballet Hispanico as a member of BHdós, Sydnie L. Mosley Dances, Spark Movement Collective, and Emily Johnson/Catalyst. Angelica is currently a 2021 University Settlement Performance Project Fellow and a Pa’lante Scholar at Ballet Hispanico. She is a third-year member of Black Diaspora, curated by Eva Yaa Asantewaa. Angelica is thrilled to join STREB and take her love of movement to new heights.
D’Sherrick WilliamsAction HeroBorn and raised in small town Marshall, Texas, D’Sherrick Williams (He/Him/His) spent his childhood spinning in colorguard and kicking in Karate. This sparked an interest for movement and D’Sherrick eventually pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Dance from Northwestern State University. Holding a passion and drive for learning, creating, performing and serving, D’Sherick has studied various forms such as Hip-Hop, Modern, Tap, Jazz, Ballet, and Partnering. Looking at the world not only from a technical aspect, but also from a perspective of ongoing discovery and exploration; D’Sherrick spent his most recent summer in Canada teaching dance at a camp for the arts. Here, he furthered his pedagogic skills as well as his deep love for choreography and free, raw movement. Involving himself in numerous activities outside of dance, D’Sherrick can be seen spending his free time skateboarding, playing one of his many instruments, or working as a fireman at his local fire station. Embracing his love for meeting new people and filling a space with his eclectic energy, D’Sherrick is one of a kind.
