ABOUT

Our Mission

Finleigh Zack Dance, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization believes that through the language of physical movement, artists can find clarity and a new ways to express themselves. Our mission is to bring perspective, awareness, and inspiration to mental health through dance, and give voice to young adults that have been personally affected or know someone affected by mental health. Dance is the only language that speaks to every culture and age group. FZD's audience receives an authentic experience that is honest, edgy and raw. 

The company

A DANCE COMPANY FOR THE MIND

Our organization strives to use art and movement to explore ideas around mental health  by offering resources in a creative space.

MEET THE DIRECTOR

I am a creator, inventor, and dreamer


  • Founder/Artistic Director

    I am the artistic director of FZD as well as a dancer & choreographer based in London, England. My work is heavily influenced on collaboration, personal experience, and the outside eye. I work to incorporate a mindful approach to creation in and out of the studio as a way to work on the physical and emotional body. I do this through artistic direction and collaboration with the artists around me.

    I received my BFA in Dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts under the direction of Sean Curran and am a previous member of WHITE WAVE Young Soon Dance Company and Second Avenue Dance Company.

    My work has been selected and performed at Gibney Dance Center, Center for Performance Research, The Mark O’Donnell Theater, New Century Dance Project, Boink! Dance Film Festival, Arts on Site, as well as Club Evasion Detente Sante in Le Pontis, Verteillac, France.

    I have worked with various companies and artists who have influenced my work including Luna Cenere, Sophia Nappi, Rena Butler, Alonzo King, David Parsons, Yin Yue, Dwight Rhoden, and many more.

    My love for creating has not only influenced me as an artist but as a human. I want my work to influence others and how they view dance and performative art as a whole. With my creations, I strive to leave the audience inspired to change the world.

    I express my gratitude to each and everyone of you for visiting my site.

NYC artists

  • Company Member

    Catheryn Clifford is a 22 year old dancer, interdisciplinary creator, and model based in Brooklyn, New York. She received a BFA in contemporary dance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 2020, where they developed a passion for transdisciplinary collaborative creation, choreography, and film. Catheryn’s work spans several mediums, including experimental film, live performance art, sound design, avant-garde dance, and visual art. In addition to creating and performing their original work, Catheryn has performed works by Anouk van Dijk, Vim Vigor, Asheville Contemporary Dance Theater, Jace Wayant, Francesca Dominguez, has choreographed and performed in several music videos and films, and most recently has begun working with Finleigh Zack Dance Inc. As a queer and neurodivergent creator, their work has an emphasis on inclusion and diversity of thought, fostering a space for those who often feel unsafe or discarded in traditional dance spheres. Catheryn is a founding member of Body Non-Profit, a close-knit collective of transdisciplinary artists researching mixed media and performance mediums. The work is ongoing and centers around the collaborative creative process rather than production of content, to form a more honest and long lasting artistic statement.

  • Company Member

    Rachel Calabrese is a freelance dancer residing in New York City. She grew up in New York and went to Jersey for her undergrad, graduating in May 2020 from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University with a BFA in Dance. While at Mason Gross, Rachel had the opportunity to train with and perform works by choreographers: Shannon Gillen, Alexandra Beller, Christian Von Howard, Chein Ying-Wang, and Kimberly Bartosik. She was a company member with Wasatch Contemporary Dance Company in Provo, Utah for their 2020-2021 season and Sonia Plumb Dance Company for their Summer and Fall 2021 dance projects. She has her own company with her partner, Sawyer Newsome, called NewBrese Dance Project where they have been creating and presenting works throughout NY and NJ, Utah and Wisconsin. She is committed to researching physical dance theater and finding new ways to show the inner workings of the mind. She loves the process of collaboration and improvisation, as they both allow the artists individual freedom within the creative process. She is excited to be on board with Finleigh Zack Dance in this new process!

  • Company Member

    Born and raised in the north suburbs of Chicago Sara danced for Extensions Dance Company under the creative direction of Lizzie Mackenzie. She continued her dance career at the University of Michigan where she had the opportunity to train with: Shannon Gillen, Ron De Jesus, Peter Sparling, and Jillian Hopper. She also had her own choreographic work shown throughout her time at Michigan, and during her senior year, she became the President of Cadence Dance Company, a student lead dance company on Campus. Since graduation, Sara has moved to NYC where she has had the opportunity to perform works with Tracie Stanfield and Mathew James. Sara has recently joined the WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company as an apprentice. She is so excited to be working with Finleigh Zack Dance in this most recent work and has greatly valued her time learning and dancing with Finleigh and the other dancers in the project.

LONDON artists

  • London Company Member

    Hello! I am a dance artist originally from Leeds who moved to France at a very young age, where I took my first contemporary dance class. I went on to train at a Conservatoire in Strasbourg, where I grew up. The training program there exposed me to other dance styles such as classical ballet and jazz, sparking my interest in choreography.

    In 2015, I returned to England to train at the Hammond School in Chester, where I significantly improved my ballet technique. The training I received helped me secure a place at Rambert School, enrolling in the degree program. I graduated in 2021, two years after the unfortunate onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the challenges, the experience helped me gain confidence as a choreographer, thanks to the diverse and talented artists I had the privilege of training with.

    Currently, I am freelancing in London and have recently co-founded a dance collective called 'Twofold Dance Theatre' with Laurie Case. Our most recent performance, 'Forward To Nowhere,' was showcased at Resolution Festival 2024, and we have also conducted workshops at Trispace and The Playground, Rambert. I enjoy collaborating with other dancers through social media platforms. Currently, I am working on a series of short reels, where the concept involves meeting other dancers and creating spontaneously. These dances often revolve around improvisation, something that I find very inspiring. I believe something beautiful happens when two dancers converse without preemption, and I am eager to explore that further in my practice.

  • London Company Member

    Eloise is a French dancer who has trained in Cunningham and ballet for 13 years at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg in her hometown in France, before moving to London to attend the BA Hons in Contemporary Dance at the London Contemporary Dance School, which she graduated from First Class in July 2023. Having always had an interest in cinema and photography, she is now an MA Screendance postgraduate student at the same school, looking to further explore the connection between dance, film and photography.

FZD STAFF

  • Rehearsal Director

    Lili is originally from Hamburg, Germany, and graduated from the Martha Graham School under the artistic direction of Janet Eilber, where she danced principal roles in several of Graham's ballets, including "Woman in White" in Diversion of Angels and "Pioneer Woman" in Appalachian Spring. She danced for RIOULT Dance NY, Sensedance, CES Danceworks, CRDance Company, has performed works by Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Pascal Rioult, Jacqulyn Buglisi, Virginie Mécène, Henning Rübsam, Caterina Rago, and collaborated on projects with Alastair Macaulay, New York Theatre Ballet, and the Buglisi Dance Theatre. Lili was the director of the modern dance department at TANZWERK School for Ballet and Movement, served as the rehearsal director for Sensedance and CES Danceworks, and was awarded a residency at K3 Center for Choreography at Kampnagel. Her work as a choreographer was featured at Tanztheater Wuppertal create and presented at the Martha Graham Studio Theater. In the USA, Lili taught at Peridance, 92Y Harkness Dance Center, New York Theatre Ballet School, Western Connecticut State University and was a teaching artist with the DanceREACH program. From the age of ten, Lili studied Hula under Kumu Hula Kalei'ulaokala Makekau to later join her company in Hawai'i and toured Europe and the USA.

  • Finleigh Zack

    President

  • Abigail Curran

    Vice President

  • Avery Looser

    Secretary and Treasurer

  • Gabby Flanders

    Board of Director

  • Catherine Drury, LCSW

    Advisory Board Member

  • Marty Cooper, PhD, LMCH, NCC

    Advisory Board Member