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DAY IN THE LIFE OF DANCE: Preparing for Two Evenings Of Modern Dance with ALISON COOK BEATTY DANCE
By Amy Meisner-Threet
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Published on April 9, 2026
ACB Dance Presented by The Theater for the New City and Executive Director Crystal Field
Alison Cook Beatty Dance Spring Season 2026 at the Theater for the New City
155 1st Avenue (between 9th and 10th Street), New York, NY 10003
April 10 & 11, 2026 | 8:00 PM
The ticket link for April shows https://ci.ovationtix.com/35441/production/1266392
Spring with Alison Cook Beatty Dance.
On Tuesday, March 5, 2026, I attended a rehearsal of Alison Cook Beatty Dance (ACB Dance) at the famed Dance Theatre of Harlem studios in New York City. The company will be performing at Theater for the New City on April 10 and 11 at 8 p.m. Each evening will feature a different program of Cook-Beatty’s work, including a world premiere. Audience members are encouraged to arrive early, around 7:30 p.m., to take part in the silent auctions held in the lobby before each performance. After each show, Cook-Beatty and the dancers will lead a Q&A with the audience.
About the Company
Founded in 2012, Alison Cook Beatty Dance is a classically based modern dance company that explores universal experience through expansive, emotionally driven works. Cook-Beatty holds a BFA with honors in dance from The Boston Conservatory. She has performed professionally with both Paul Taylor 2 and the Paul Taylor Dance Company, and served on the faculty of The Joffrey School of Ballet from 2013 to 2017 and again from 2022 to 2024. A recipient of numerous awards, her work has been commissioned nationally and presented at venues including the Ailey Citigroup Theater, NYU, and Marymount Manhattan College. The company is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts and was recently featured on ABC News.
The Dancers
The current company consists of four principal dancers — Maddie Burnett, Ioanna Ioannides, Ava Trochiano, and Facundo Ferreyra — along with two guest artists, McKenna Zelenak and Marcos Antonio; two apprentices, Owen Lunsford and Chynna Holder; and two understudies, Natalie Aronno and Kaitlyn Henning.
This small group performs a wide range of choreography, and does so extremely well. I was surprised to learn that some of the pieces I saw were being run for the first time during this rehearsal. There is a definite sense of cohesion within the company; the dancers know how to anticipate one another’s movements. That may be due to Cook-Beatty’s ability to maintain a nurturing environment while still pushing her dancers to their limits.
How Are ACB Dancers Chosen?
I asked the choreographer how she chooses her dancers, and she explained that there have been only two formal auditions since 2012. She does not feel that formal auditions reveal the kind of artists she hopes to work with. Strong technique is not the only quality she values; she also looks for dancers with an artistic voice of their own.
Many of the company’s dancers have come through recommendations and introductions from current members. Cook-Beatty wants dancers who function well as a group. She considers them her “team” and looks for “professionalism and a commitment to the process.” She invests in her dancers wholeheartedly, and from what I heard after rehearsal, that investment is deeply felt.
A Conversation with Two ACB Dancers
I had the opportunity to speak with two ACB dancers, Maddie Burnett and Facundo Ferreyra. I first asked about their backgrounds before joining ACB Dance.
Maddie Burnett, from Ottawa, Canada, says, “I have been dancing as long as I can remember.” She mostly studied ballet, but never considered dance as a career. By the end of high school, she had been accepted into a university kinesiology program. She was prepared to go when a teacher mentioned that Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater would be auditioning in Vancouver for its New York City Summer Intensive. Burnett auditioned and was offered a place in the program.
Studying other forms of dance, particularly Graham technique, was eye-opening for Burnett. She loved it. She returned home intending to begin university, but was offered a scholarship to continue her studies at The Ailey School. She originally deferred university for a year but says, with a smile, that “that deferment is still going on.” Her dream was to work with Graham 2, and although it did not happen right away, she eventually danced with the company for two years, often in character roles.
Facundo Ferreyra and Maddie Burnett; Photo: Rob Klein
Ferreyra, who is from Argentina, does not remember a time when he was not dancing. Most of his early work, however, was as a Latin dancer. At 18, he was accepted into a rigorous training program where he studied ballet technique, repertory, and partnering. He struggled, however, with ballet’s delineated masculine and feminine roles. Later, while attending university, he discovered the techniques of Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, and José Limón. He says he felt like “himself” for the first time while dancing those modern and postmodern forms. After graduating, he moved to New York City and found a home with Graham 2. Unfortunately, he later needed two knee surgeries and, because of the financial strain of the pandemic, returned to Argentina.
I asked how each dancer became involved with ACB Dance
Burnett explained that during the pandemic, she discovered ACB Dance online, when very little else was going on. She learned a piece virtually and, when life became more normal, returned to New York City and contacted Alison. After waiting for a spot to open, she joined the company in 2021. “Alison tries to get us as many performing opportunities as she can,” she says.
Once healed and back in New York City, Ferreyra began attending rehearsals with ACB Dance. He explained that Alison likes to invite someone into the group to work one-on-one. After three weeks, she asked him, “What is your purpose in dancing?” He gave the question a great deal of thought and came to feel that dancing was “a very spiritual thing” for him. He officially joined the company last year.
What I learned
What stood out from my observation of rehearsal, and from my conversations with Cook-Beatty and her company, was their passion for movement and their commitment to one another and to the work. The uplift that comes from being in the same room with that kind of spirtual and physical energy is remarkable, and audiences will have a chance to experience it this weekend.
