LiquidBody works are created collaboratively.  Caryn Heilman's role as "choreographer" functions much the same way as a collage artist.  She scouts out very interesting territories, assembles a team, leads everyone to the respective areas, putting the pieces together according to an initial vision that then transforms responsively as the elements begin to interact together.  Then like a conductor she helps everyone work together harmoniously.

Caryn Heilman is the Artistic Director of LiquidBody media, movement and dance and Topia Arts Center, a green arts and education center in development in the Berkshires and LiquidBody’s second home.  As a “standout dancer” she performed for ten years with the Paul Taylor Dance Company before founding LiquidBody.  With Taylor, Caryn performed as a soloist in over 50 countries at such venues as Paris Opera Garnier, New York City Center, Kennedy Center and London's Sadler's Wells.  She collaborated on over ten new works, directed rehearsals for several revivals and represented the United States as a cultural ambassador in Japan, China, India, Egypt, Greece, Russia, Turkey and Hungary and is featured in the Oscar-nominated documentary Dancemaker Having received a direct choreographic tutelage from one of American Modern Dance’s recognized masters, Caryn has taken this formidable foundation into more experimental territory, focusing on the fluid systems of the body and choreographic structures that include audience interaction, multimedia, live music and aerial dance.  LiquidBody has been presented at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Dixon Place and BRIC in NYC, SOMA Fest in L.A., at the Electronic Festival in Warsaw, at spas in Mexico and Italy and at a 2000 seat amphitheater in Greece.  She has choreographed for Julianne Moore in The Forgotten, for animations by DorosMotion and Volvox, and for the theater company Mad Woman of the Woods and was hired for The Acting Company's production of American Dreams. She created multimedia for the premiere of award-winning hip-hop choreographer Rennie Harris's Something to Do with Love.   Recent choreographic commissions include Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth and Sola Fest for students at Orange County High School of the Arts.  Her multimedia work has recently been commissioned in New York and L.A. and is currently on exhibit at the networked art site turbulence.org ~ http://turbulence.org/Works/touching_gravity and at Greylock Arts Gallery in the Berkshires.  Caryn has an MFA from the University of California, Irvine and has taught graduate classes in multimedia and multidisciplinary performance at the University of California, Irvine in the Studio Art, Drama and Dance departments and has been an artist in residence and has taught master classes at Princeton, Hollins, Texas Christian and Dennison Universities, Smith College, Beijing Dance Academy, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Orange County and LaGuardia High Schools of the Arts, SOMA Fest L.A. and more.  She has taught with and been mentored by Continuum Movement founder Emilie Conrad, award-winning filmmaker and postmodern dance icon Yvonne Rainer, intermedia artist Annie Loui, John Crawford, founder of the Embodied Media + Technology Performance Lab and Emmy-nominated choreographer Paul Taylor.  She has received scholarships, fellowships and grants from the American Dance Festival, Alvin Ailey, UCI, TCU, The Andy Warhol Foundation, Turbulence.org, Medici Circle and more.  She has served on the Professional Advisory Committee of the Dance Notation Bureau and the Somatic Movement Arts Festival.

Nana Simopoulos, composer and musician (sitar, bouzouki, voice, didgeridoo), draws her music's melodic color from the map of world cultures. She artfully blends sounds and textures from around the world.  Indian sarangi master Ustad Sultan Khan accompanies her on her last two releases, After The Moon and the new Daughters Of The Sun #1 on the New Age and World radio charts.  Other albums include Pandora’s Blues, Wings and Air, Still Waters and Gaia’s Dream.  Performances include appearances with Oscar winner Tan Dun as a soloist on sitar in Marco Polo with the New York City Opera and the RAI Symphony Orchestra in Torino, Italy.  She has also performed widely with her ensemble in venues such as Montreux and appears on their compilation CD Live at the B&W Montreux Music Festival, Vol. II.  She performed at Symphony Space in the Wall to Wall Joni Mitchell event and at the Kennedy Center for the Women in Jazz Series.  She has written numerous commissions for films and dance companies for festivals and choreographers such as Peter Pucci for Pucci Plus Dancers and the Joffrey Ballet, North Carolina Dance Theater, American Dance Festival, Ballet Hispanico, and LiquidBody.  She has conducted and performed her original music with ensembles at the Joyce Theatre, on Broadway, at the American Dance Festival and Jacob’s Pillow.  She recently wrote music for opera diva Lauren Flanigan and performed with her at the Met and Symphony Space.  Last May Nana wrote the music for the TONY winning Acting Company's adaptation of American Dreams, Lost and Found.

Laia Cabrera, is a filmmaker and video artist born in Spain and based in New York since 1997. As a filmmaker and visual artist she uses a variety of media—music, video, storytelling, projected imagery merging cinematic arts; dance, music; photography; theater; visual arts; voice; writing. Sense of timelessness, human landscape: faces, fragments of the body. She graduated from the Conservatoire of Lleida, Spain, has a MFA in Audiovisual Communication and a BFA in Media Studies from the Autonomous University of Barcelona, Spain, and in Film Production at the New School University in New York. Ms. Cabrera is the recipient of several awards including the KrTU to Young Creators by the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Kodak and Color Lab award for Best Cinematic Film for Under Influence. Her work as a filmmaker includes Singularity (inauguration of the International video animation festival “Animac” in Spain), Invisible, Under Influence, Lines and Dropped (mix-media) among others. Her latest film-video piece “Is There an Edge of Belief?” premiered at the International multidisciplinary art festival “Jaen en Femenino” in Spain, May 2009. Her visual art work credits includes “Claim your Place”, a large scale video-installation-performance presented in the USA and Europe, “For Feather” a two-video streams projected live in conjunction with live musicians performed at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), November 2008, “LA JAULA BAJO EL TRAPO” multimedia theater play, Festival Teatro Vivo @ King Juan Carlos Center, NYC, “Touching Gravity” dance video in collaboration with Dancer/Multimedia Artist Caryn Heilman, “New York” video-installation @ Institut d’Estudis Ilerdencs, Lleida, Spain, “Life is a dream”, multimedia theater play @ Festival de Teatro Clásico de Almagro 2008. She is also an award winning visual effects artist, director, editor, writer, playwright and composer. As a film-video artist she has collaborated with Arts International, New Stage Theatre Company, World Music of Nana, Liquid Body Media, Movement and Dance, Cinema Tropical among others. She recently edited the Docu-Concert “Cachao” with Andy Garcia and Cachao, the Feature Film “Shut Up and Do It” and the documentary The World of Vija Vetra. Her artwork in film, video, and performance has been presented in Europe, the USA and Latin America. She is currently working on her latest video-art-music installation “Shifting Gaze” to be premiered in Times Square in October 2010.

Linda Ivarie- Kaplan, dancer, is a graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and Tamalpa Institute for Expressive Arts, and was a scholarship student at the Alvin Ailey School in NYC. She has danced with Dance Theatre of Iowa, and DanceQuake Hawaii, as well as numerous improv dance companies in Ohio, California, & Colorado. She is the owner and founder of Ayapis Malibu Canyon Retreat, a two acre haven for dance, drumming, voice, and healing modalities in Calabasas, CA.

A classically trained dancer since early childhood, Lilly Bright, dancer, spent the first two decades of her life dancing and performing in traditional ways. While a Dance & Theater major at Northwestern University, Lilly discovered the rich and growing field of Somatics. Ever since, she has been deeply immersed in the mystery and wonder of the living body as movement, intelligence, and a path for empowerment and awareness. Combing a more structured dance background with highly attuned states of inner-movement awareness, complexity, play, and presence while performing is her passion. With expertise ranging from Continuum Movement, Body-Mind Centering, the Feldenkrais Method, Bartenieff Fundamentals, contact  & improvisational dance, and Choreographic Theatre, Lilly most recently became certified as a Laban Movement Analyst and is currently pursuing a MA in Dance and Somatic Well-Being (the first and only program of its kind in the world).   She has previously danced and performed with Caryn Heilman’s LiquidBody in various locations in NYC and at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.  Lilly currently lives and works in Los Angeles where she has owned and operated a film production & distribution company (Curiously Bright Entertainment / Arthouse Films) for the past eight years. Her passions include spending time with her husband and their 16 month old son and cooking creatively delicious macrobiotic meals.

Melanie Gambino's performing and healing arts background as a dancer, actress, singer, teacher, choreographer and healing minister and expressive therapist spans over 30 years.  Melanie's core philosophy is based on her own life experiences, and extensive study and practice of multi-traditional healing and performing arts.   Melanie has been studying  and practicing Continuum Movement with its founder, Emilie Conrad for over 22 years and has been teaching Continuum for much of that time. Melanie has worked in clinical, therapeutic and educational settings as well as professional performing arts venues for the last 30 years. Melanie is presently a full time teacher at The Harvey School in the Performing and Movement Arts and Health and Wellness Departments. Melanie lives in Somers NY with her loving husband Michael, a naturalist, writer, artist and curator of a Westchester County Nature Sanctuary. Melanie is a graduate of the Ohashi Institute of Shiatsu and  holds a BFA in Dance from SUNY Purchase and a MA in Natural Theology and Sacred Healing from HLCC

A classically trained dancer since early-childhood, Lilly Bright spent the first two decades of her life dancing and performing in traditional ways.  While a Dance & Theater major at Northwestern University, Lilly discovered the rich and growing field of Somatics.  Ever since, she has been deeply interested in the mystery and wonder of the living body as movement, intelligence and a path for empowerment and awareness.  Combining a more structured dance background with highly attuned states of inner-movement awareness, complexity, play, and presence, while performing is her passion.  With expertise ranging from Continuum Movement, Body-Mind Centering, the Feldenkrais method, Bartenieff Fundamentals, contact & improvisational dance, and Choreographic Theatre, Lilly most recently became certified as a Laban Movement Analyst and is currently pursuing a MA in Dance and Somatic Well-Being (the first and only program of its kind in the world).  She has previously danced and performed with Caryn Heilman's LiquidBody in various locations in NYC and at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival.  Lilly currently lives and works in Los Angeles where she has owned and operated a film production & distribution company (Curiously Bright Entertainment/ Arthouse Films) for the past eight years.  Her passions include spending time with her husband and their 16 month old son and cooking creatively delicious macrobiotic meals.

Isabelle Duverger (St Germain en Laye, France, 1983) is a visual artist and photographer working in New York and Paris.  She has a Masters Degree in Communication and Arts Management from the Audencia Nantes, France. She is also a graduate of the Estienne School of Art in graphic communications. She has worked at Hachette Livre, a Paris publisher and for the international design exhibit "European Way(s) of Life". She also worked as a graphic designer for Altedia Editing, Paris and collaborated with french photographer Michel Azous. She assisted Ms. Cabrera for the “New York” piece, on the presentation of the film piece as an art object and on the venue at the BAM Cafe with live drawing animations. She also collaborated on the multimedia theater-poem play “La Jaula Bajo El Trapo” at the King Juan Carlos Center on the visuals and drawing animations. She focused her work on visual design for the theater festival “Inspiracion” and for the multimedia play "Playing Equality", still photography-live drawing animations for “Walk” at Monkey Town Space, Pianos and sound design for the multimedia installation “Is there and edge of belief?” in NYC. Her latest performance installation collaboration "Claim Your Place" has been presented in New York at the Centro Espanol NYC and in Tournefeuille, France in the festival "Les Nuits Euphoriques".

Gisela Stromeyer, set designer, and New York based architect comes from a family of fourth generation German tentmakers.  Her sensuous creations can be found in a variety of locations such as private homes, stores, showrooms, theater sets, promotional events and office spaces.  "My achitecture training taught me how to perceive and define spaces and to turn my vision into a built form. It was my experience as a dancer, however, that allows me to sense space as movement.  Spaces are fluid.  Architecture can be so linear and rigid. It's usually not shaped like the human body, so it rarely reflects our natural longings for softness, flexibility and flow.  We long for spaces that not only contain us, but allow our spirits to soar as well."  Gisela has been honored with five awards for Outstanding Achievement in Design and Fabrication by the IFAI and Best of Furniture Award by ID Magazine.

Paul Wirhun, set and costume designer, focuses his artwork on eggs.  “I believe that eggs are events – not simply objects.  They are the confluence of primal life-forces, sexual energies, that create new life – new beginnings.  The shells are memories of these events.  I have worked on eggshells since I was a child, learning the traditional Ukrainian art of pysanky from my mother.  Pysanky are talismen created through batiking designs with specific intentions to use the egg's life-power for a desired result.  This cultic use of eggs informs my work to this day – for I consider eggmaking a sacred magical art. Since 1990 I have used this folk art to explore my fantasies, desires and cosmology.  During this period I have manipulated traditional processes with innovative dyeing & brush techniques, etching, and mosaic to forge a new visual language to write on this versatile, organic sphere. Each egg is a spherical space, a continuously turning pictorial plane around which images distort, challenging common perceptions. As a talismanic event, the egg holds the possibility of recreating the known world. I endeavor to combine all these properties to create a new art, a synthesis of ancient design for a new worldview.”  See his work on www.paulwirhun.com.

Philippe Vercruyssen, A.K.A. Philippe Versen, rigger, has performed his single trapeze act in Europe, Canada and the US for the past 25 years.  He is presently a professional rigger in New York City.  He is also the co-founder and co-director of the Circus Arts Camp at Purchase College.  Philippe has opened CIRCUS TOWN in Pelham Manor, a venue to promote and teach circus skills to the public as well as professionals.  For more information please contact Philippe at circusexprerience@aol.com.

Luisah Teish, writer, storyteller and performance artist, is internationally known for her performances of African, Caribbean and African-American folklore and feminist myth. She is the author of Jambalaya: The Natural Woman's Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals and Jump Up: Good Times Throughout the Season with Celebrations from Around the World. She teaches at New College of California, John F. Kennedy University, and Naropa, Oakland. She is vice president of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology and the founder of the School of Ancient Mysteries/Sacred Arts Center in Oakland, CA.