JUST KEEP WAITING
2026 — NEW YORK CITY

From New York to Italy to Japan.
Now, back to New York.

Following its journey across three countries,
JUST KEEP WAITING returns in a reimagined full-length production.

Six dancers. A new cast. New choreography.
A transformed theatrical experience.

The waiting continues. But the experience is never the same.

Dates:
Wed, Nov 4, 7:00 pm 
Sat, Nov 7, 3:00pm

​Venue:
The Tank (312 W 36th street, NY10018)

Early Bird – Available with the discount code
“donotwait” through October 28

JUST KEEP WAITING

JUST KEEP WAITING

everyone waits —
For something to begin,
to change,
to arrive..
But what happens
when waiting never ends?

about the work

JUST KEEP WAITING explores the universal human experience of waiting — the hope, frustration, uncertainty, and persistence that come with anticipating something beyond our control.

Waiting can be hopeful. It can be exhausting. Sometimes, we wait for someone else to act, for circumstances to change, or for a moment that may never come.

Through physical expression, theatrical imagery, and moments of humor and vulnerability, the work examines the many ways waiting shapes our emotions, behaviors, and relationships.

What begins as an ordinary human experience gradually reveals its contradictions — between patience and desperation, action and inaction, individual desires and collective expectations.

How long do we keep waiting? And what are we really waiting for?

waiting for the first domino to fall

REIMAGINED FOR 2026

A familiar theme. A new theatrical experience.

Following its performances and creative development across New York, Italy, and Japan, JUST KEEP WAITING returns to New York in a newly reimagined full-length production.

The 2026 production brings together six dancers with a different cast, newly developed choreography, restructured scenes, and staging designed around the distinctive theatrical environment of The Tank.

Originally created through a collaboration between sarAika movement collective and Italian choreographer Katia Tubini, the work continues to develop through their shared artistic exploration.

For this production, both Katia and sarAika have revisited existing material and created new choreography, weaving their distinct movement languages into a more unified theatrical work.

Rather than simply restaging what audiences have seen before, this production offers a new encounter with the same central question: what does it mean to keep waiting?

THE JOURNEY

2025 — NEW YORK CITY

November 19, 2025 · Speyer Hall The beginning of the work's international performance journey, bringing sarAika and Katia Tubini's collaborative creation to New York audiences.

2025 — VERONA, ITALY

November 30, 2025 · Fucina Culturale Machiavelli The work continued in Italy with a different group of dancers, bringing new bodies and perspectives to the shared artistic vision.

2026 — OSAKA, JAPAN

Presented in Japan as part of the festival's international residency program, the work reached new performers and audiences in another cultural setting.

2026 — NEW YORK CITY

The Tank Returning with six dancers, new choreography, and a reimagined structure, the work enters its next chapter as a full-length production shaped by a new theatrical space.

Choreographers

Katia Tubini

Katia Tubini is an Italian choreographer, director, and educator based in Verona. She began her professional career performing with the Ballet of the Arena di Verona Opera and has directed LPP Ballet Studio since 1999. In 2010, she founded LPP Project Dance Company, where she continues to create original contemporary dance productions and nurture emerging dancers.

Her artistic background includes collaborations with Damiano Ottavio Bigi, a longtime performer with Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, through whom she studied original Pina Bausch technique. She has received international choreographic commissions, including from the National Operetta Theater of Kyiv, and has presented work and led workshops across Europe and in New York.

In 2026, she was commissioned to participate in the closing ceremony of an Olympic cultural event at the historic Arena di Verona. Her work bridges contemporary dance, theatrical expression, and international artistic collaboration.

Sara Pizzi & Aika Takeshima

sarAika movement collective is a NYC–based contemporary dance collective founded by immigrant choreographers Sara Pizzi (Italy) and Aika Takeshima (Japan). Interculturality is central to their artistic identity; cultural difference functions as a creative engine shaping choreography, collaboration, and leadership through shared authorship and lived experience.

Drawing from distinct cultural and physical lineages, sarAika creates physically rigorous, concept-driven work that balances structural clarity with sensorial depth. Their choreography transforms migration, identity, and cultural memory into embodied performance, positioning the body as a site of exchange between global perspectives and local realities. 

sarAika fosters international artistic exchange through collaborations, festivals, and cross-border projects. Since 2021, they have performed across the U.S. and internationally, receiving commissions from organizations including IATI Theater, Kyoto University, Stony Brook University, and the Museum of the City of New York. They have held residencies at Dance Base Yokohama, University Settlement, Jamaica Arts Center, and Spoke The Hub, with work presented at major NYC venues such as New York City Center, Judson Church, Movement Research, HERE Arts Center, and Symphony Space, as well as in Sweden, Italy, and Japan. In 2025, sarAika founded Osaka International Contemporary Dance Festival, further advancing their mission to connect communities globally through dance.

Dancers

Aly Candland

Dancer

Avery Boose

Dancer

Casey Leyden

Dancer

Faustine Lavie

Dancer

Gabriella Alleyne

Dancer

Sonya Speizer

Dancer

CREATIVE & PRODUCTION TEAM

Scenography Designer and Lighting Director:  Grady Shea 

Lighting Designer/Operator: Audrey Paige Robinson

Gallery

gallery

by BECCAVISION & Studio Gunjo

Special Thanks

Early Bird – Available with the discount code
“donotwait” through October 28

Aly Candland

Aly Candland grew up in St. George, Utah, with a background deeply rooted in dance and music. She studied contemporary dance at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, graduating in May 2023. Post grad, Aly was awarded a fellowship with Lincoln Center Education, which brought her to New York in July 2023. There, she worked alongside Lincoln Center Teaching Artists and co-choreographed a duet performed at Lincoln Center in January 2024 and Arts on Site in May 2024. She joined Peridance Contemporary Dance Company in September 2023, and has since performed works by Yue Yin, Roderick George, Igal Perry, and Dolly Stier.

Avery Boose

Avery Boose is a New York City-based freelance dance artist. Originally from Chicago, she trained at The Dance Colony under Seth Robinson and Jeff Wolfe before earning a BFA in Dance from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. During her time at NYU, she worked with companies such as Limón and Gallim. Since graduation, Avery has collaborated with renowned choreographers and companies including Liz Gerring, Tabula Rasa Dance Theater, Saraika Movement Collective, and Natalia Nikitin Dance Works. A passionate movement artist, she also teaches yoga, continuing to explore and expand the boundaries of dance and wellness.

Casey Leyden

Casey Leyden is a freelance dancer based in New York City. She graduated from Adelphi University obtaining a BFA in Dance with a minor in Environmental Studies. Casey has worked with various companies and choreographers such as APoint5 Dance Company, SarAika Movement Collective and Lawton Dance Collective, Omar Román De Jesús, Doug Varone, Larry Keigwin, Isaac Lener and more. She has also done additional training with Gallim, Doug Varone and Dancers and Take Dance Company Intensives. She is estatic to be back working with SarAika for this project!

Faustine Lavie

Faustine Lavie, a native of Toulon, France, discovered dance at 3-years-old. She trained at the Paris Opera Ballet School before moving to New York, NY in 2015. In 2018, she graduated from The Ailey School’s Certificate Program, where she performed works by Darrell Grand Moultrie, Manuel Vignoulle, Winston Dynamite Brown, Amy Hall Garner, Fredrick Earl Mosley, Clifton Brown, and Shay Bland. Professionally, Faustine danced with iKADA Contemporary Dance Company, LaneCoArts and Keiko Fujii Dance Company. She is a company member with The DynamitExperience, sarAika Movement Collective and Six Degrees Dance. She founded Faustine Lavie Dance Project (FLDP) in 2020. FLDP continues to present work across New York and Philadelphia, including the KnJ Theater at Peridance Center, TADA! Theater, Steps on Broadway, New York City Center Studios, Bridge For Dance and the Universal Preservation Hall in Saratoga Springs, NY. Faustine was awarded the 2023/2024 Artist-In-Residence at University Settlement. She was a guest choreographer for One Day Dance for their 2024 season.

Additionally, Faustine discovered The Hustle in the streets of NY in 2020. Immediately fascinated by its energy, joy and music, and under the influence of both OG dancers and the New Generation, Faustine quickly became an integral member of NYC’s Hustle community. Under the mentorship of Billy Fajardo, Faustine and her partner recently placed 2nd in the Pro Just Hustle at NJ Hustle Congress 2025, 3rd at Disco America 2025 and 2nd at the International Latin Hustle Festival 2025. They placed 1st in the Pro Just Hustle at NJ Hustle Congress 2026. She and her partner are also competing in the Professional Latin Hustle Showcase category, in which they recently placed 2nd at the International Latin Hustle Festival 2025.

Gabriella Alleyne

Gabriella Alleyne is a creative, performer, and choreographer born and raised in New York City. She is currently a freelance dancer and social media strategist based in NYC, represented by Go 2 Talent Agency. Gabriella began her training at Alvin Ailey and the Dance Theatre of Harlem, and earned her BA in Dance from Loyola Marymount University, where she received the John Todd Award for Merit in Performance. She has performed at The Apollo Theater, New York City Center, the Disney Street Games, the Lincoln Center Summer Stage Series, and The Bessies. Her performance credits include works by Alexander Anderson, Arnie Zane, Bernard Brown, Doug Varone, James Gregg, Lea Ved, Maleek Washington, Noa Zuk, among others. Beyond performance, Gabriella is a passionate advocate for representation and visibility of young people of color in the arts. Since 2016, she has served as an ambassador, mentor, and intern with Brown Girls Do Ballet, and is the founder of Kaleidoscope Teen Magazine, an online platform for female-identifying and nonbinary teens of color. Gabriella strives to promote diversity and expand visibility for people of color in the media and the arts.

Sonya Speizer

Sonya dances to listen, connect, and expand her capacity to feel. She is from Chicago, where she began her training in ballet at Ruth Page. She then received a degree in Dance and Anthropology from Fordham University and The Ailey School in New York City. While in New York, she danced in original works by artists including Annie Rigney, Ingrid Kapetyn, and Alexander Anderson and performed in Bad Binch TongTong’s New York Fashion Week show with Stefanie Nelson Dancegroup. She continued her practice at Nuova Oficina della Danza in Italy, under the direction of Tom Weinberger, where she had the opportunity to collaborate with international artists including Ella Rothschild and Paxton Ricketts. She later went on to work closely with Ella Rothschild on her latest creation for Festpielhuas Baden-Baden and Kammerballeten. She then spent three months in Paris as an apprentice for Theatre du Corps Pietragalla-Deroualt, before returning to New York. She has since continued to work with Annie Rigney, Stefanie Nelson, and SarAika Movement Collective, as well as create her own work.

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