Nichole Canuso Dance Company

We are thrilled to share a few photos from our recent work-in-progress showing of Lunar Retreat at Kaatsbaan Cultural Park. We had an inspiring two-week residency with collaborators in Tivoli, NY followed by a weekend of sold-out performances.

Through movement, sound, and shared space, Lunar Retreat invites audiences to explore our interconnectedness with the natural world — and with each other — through care, grief, and transformation in poetic and playful ways. We were grateful for the warm reception and thoughtful reflections from our audiences.

Lunar Retreat will premiere next September 2026 in Philadelphia

Thank you to for supporting this residency and for supporting this project.

CREDITS:
Writer/choreographer
Sound designer and composer
Video and projection designer
Set Designer
Visual artist/ocean explorer .rutstein
Costume designer
Production Manager
Stage Manager
Creative Producer
Sound Assistant
Video assistant
Performers:

Photos by Theo Cote




📍 Kaatsbaan Cultural Park

We’ll be performing in Tivoli NY this coming weekend. If you are in the area we’d love to see you!

Reflecting on 2024 with gratitude and inspiration. This year, The Garden came home to Philadelphia after years on the road, and we had the honor of bringing a new version to life at the beautiful Arch Street Meeting House. With over 500 audience members joining us for our April preview and September Fringe run, it was a season of growth and connection.
As we look ahead to our next project, Lunar Retreat, we’re filled with excitement for what’s to come in the new year. For now, here are a few of our favorite moments from 2024.
Thank you to everyone who made this journey so special. Wishing you all a bright and beautiful start to 2025!

Image Descriptions:
1. Two audience members in silhouette stand with their backs to the camera. They wear headphones while looking out a window toward trees. Photo by Johanna Austin
2. Nichole Canuso, wearing red pants with a black and white shirt, leans her head into the hands of Sigh C. Kiley. Behind them, two blurred dancers lean away from each other with outstretched arms. A bright window is visible in the background. Photo by Christopher Ash
3. Chloe Marie and Dylan Smythe stand among long wooden benches with their arms outstretched, facing a window in the upper right corner of the frame. Photo by Johanna Austin
4. The Garden: River’s Edge collaborators sit on wooden benches with green cushions during rehearsal, looking at a laptop held by Beau Hancock. Photo by Nichole Canuso
5. Rhonda Moore, wearing a purple shirt, stands in an open doorway facing the camera. A dark interior space in the foreground leads to the door. Behind Rhonda, a bright outdoor garden is visible with a tree in the background. Photo by Johanna Austin
6. Lunar Retreat collaborators smile at the camera while huddling on a beach. Sand, shrubs, and ocean waves are visible in the distance. Photo by Nicki Pombier
7. Under a blue and pink sky, ocean water spreads across brown sand. Photo by Nichole Canuso

We are thrilled to announce that our new project Lunar Retreat was awarded a 2024 project grant from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage (PCAH). It is an incredible honor to be among such a fantastic cohort of recipients.

The generous support of PCAH will help us bring this new work into the world. The poetic motor for Lunar Retreat—named for the slow, rhythmic inevitability of the growing distance between the earth and the moon—is the exploration of our individual and communal experiences of the cycles of caretaking, loss, and transformation. We look forward to working with our collaborators to build an accessible interactive space for audiences to explore and reflect both alone and together. 🌖✨

Meet Our 2024 Grantees | The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Get our monthly newsletter in your inbox for the latest on cultural events, ideas, conversations, and grantmaking news in Philadelphia and beyond.

After many months of preparations and three beautiful weeks performing The Garden: River’s Edge, it’s time for us to depart Arch Street Meeting House. NCDC is overwhelmed with gratitude for all who made this work possible—dancers and artistic collaborators, front of house staff, administrative team members, our hosts at ASMH, and . And to our many audience members: thank you for sharing and co-creating this experience! We will carry the memories of these encounters with us.

The Garden: River’s Edge credits
Original Composition and Sound Design: Michael Kiley
Performer/Creators: Eun Jung Choi, Rhonda Moore, Chelsea Murphy, Beau Hancock, Nichole Canuso, Simon Canuso Kiley, Dylan Smythe, Chloe Marie Newton
Voice-over actors: Rhonda Moore, Makoto Hirano, Simon Canuso Kiley, Nichole Canuso, Bea Basso
Costume Design: Rebecca Kanach
Props: Emily Schuman & Nichole Canuso
Writing: Nichole Canuso with additional contributions by Jackie Sibblies Drury and Anna McDonald
Dramaturgy: Mieke D.
Lenape language and culture consultant: Opalanietet Pierce
Accessibility consultants: Nicole Sardella & Natanya Sortland
Production Stage Manager: Payton Smith
Project Manager: Sarah Chandler
Photography: Johanna Austin

Image Descriptions:
1. Eun Jung Choi, wearing a yellow shirt, lays on her side across a wooden bench with a green cushion. Her arms are bent underneath her head as she gazes downward. In the background, an audience member wearing headphones and a blue shirt faces the camera. Photo by Johanna Austin
2. Three dancers (Chloe Marie, Simon C. Kiley, Beau Hancock) stand in an aisle at the center of a room filled with wooden benches. The dancers face the left side of the frame with their arms raised in front of their bodies. They each arch their backs slightly while gazing upward. Photo by Johanna Austin
3. Eun Jung Choi, wearing a yellow shirt, stands on the landing of a staircase with her arms raised overhead. Beneath the stairs, an audience member in a blue headset mirrors the same gesture while looking over her left shoulder. Photo by Johanna Austin
4. Rhonda Moore, wearing a purple shirt, stands in an open doorway facing the camera. A dark interior space in the foreground leads to the door. Behind Rhonda, a bright outdoor garden is visible with a tree in the background. Photo by Johanna Austin
5. An audience member wearing a dark shirt sits with her back to the camera in a room full of wooden benches. In front of the audience member, an image of water and rocks is projected across a large white wall. Photo by Johanna Austin
6. Three dancers are framed by an open doorway. Eun Jung Choi stands with her back to the camera and right arm raised overhead, reaching to her left. Rhonda Moore stands in profile touching a column on the right side of the image. At the center, Nichole Canuso dances outdoors in front of a brick wall. Her arms are raised overhead and reaching toward the right. Photo by Johanna Austin
7. Nichole Canuso, wearing a black and white top, sits on a wooden bench while looking to her right. Behind her, a window with many small panels is visible. Colored light reflects off the three bottom panels. Photo by Johanna Austin

A small number of additional tickets have become available for The Garden: River’s Edge during our final week of performances. Head to https://phillyfringe.org/events/the-garden-rivers-edge/ to reserve your spot while you can!

We are having a wonderful time performing this show. Thank you to the audiences that have come through so far. And thank you to Johanna Austin for capturing these photos of the experience!

Image Descriptions:
1. Chloe Marie and Dylan Smythe dance in front of two long wooden benches. In the foreground, Chloe Marie bends forward with their right arm stretched overhead. Behind them, Dylan Smythe bends in the same position beside a higher bench. A window is visible in the background. Photo by Johanna Austin
2. Simon C. Kiley, wearing a black and white dress with blue sleeves, has their back to the camera with both arms outstretched. They face a seated audience member in a black and red top whose arms are outstretched in the same position. Photo by Johanna Austin
3. Nichole Canuso, wearing a black and white top, gazes toward the right side of the frame. Her arms are raised and bent with her wrists resting on her head. Behind her, Chloe Marie mirrors the same position. Both dancers stand among rows of wooden benches. Photo by Johanna Austin
4. Two arms in purple sleeves reach into a framed doorway from an outdoor setting. The hands are held gently with the right palm facing downward as the left palm faces up. Beyond the open doorway and arms, a blurred dancer is seen walking in front of a tree with both arms raised in front of their body. Photo by Johanna Austin

The Garden: River’s Edge is now sold out for our remaining shows, though we may occasionally have last minute tickets to offer! If you’d like to be added to the waitlist for notification when additional tickets become available, please email [email protected] with the subject line: Waitlist.

Our first few days of performances have been beautiful. Thank you to everyone who has come through so far. We’re thrilled to continue sharing this experience with audiences through September 22nd!

Image Descriptions:
1. A blurred hand in the foreground is held in a curved shape. To the right of the hand, dancer Rhonda Moore can be seen in the distance wearing a purple shirt with both arms raised in the air. She is seated on a long wooden bench. Photo by Johanna Austin
2. Beau Hancock, wearing pink pants with a dark shirt, is framed by a large doorway with his back to the camera. He is standing on his toes and reaching both arms overhead toward the top of the door. Beyond the door frame, a brick wall and trees can be seen outside. Photo by Johanna Austin
3. An audience member wearing dark colors stands in profile on the right side of the image. They are looking at a display board featuring many small cards with images of the moon and multicolored sticky notes with text written on them. Photo by Johanna Austin

The Garden: River’s Edge opens today as part of the 2024 Philadelphia Fringe Festival and we are bubbling with anticipation to share the experience with you! Our first week of shows have sold out so grab your ticket before the remaining two weeks fill up! See you at Arch Street Meeting House, Sept 7-22. Tickets at https://phillyfringe.org/events/the-garden-rivers-edge/

Image Descriptions:
1. Eun Jung Choi, wearing a yellow shirt, leans with her back against a white pillar and her left arm raised overhead. Her head is gently titled and she is bathed in warm sunlight. Behind her, Beau Hancock leans against a wall with both arms raised. Photo by Christopher Ash
2. Rhonda Moore, wearing a purple top, leans her head gently into the hands of Simon C. Kiley who is standing behind her. Wooden benches are visible in the background. Photo by Christopher Ash
3. An audience member in a black t-shirt is viewed from above. Their back faces the camera as they gaze out a window while wearing headphones. Photo by Christopher Ash
4. Nichole Canuso, Chelsea Murphy, Eun Jung Choi, Dylan Smythe, Beau Hancock and Rhonda Moore (left to right) post together on a beige carpeted floor. Each strikes a different pose while smiling at the camera. Photo by Nichole Canuso

NCDC previously translated The Garden into Italian for a recent tour to Argentiera, Italy. Now The Garden: River’s Edge can be experienced in either English or Italian this Fringe! We’re grateful to Bea Basso (pictured here) who translated the script and whose voice is featured in the Italian audio.

We are thrilled to offer The Garden: River’s Edge in Italian and English this September. Several of our Fringe dates are already sold out so secure your ticket soon at https://phillyfringe.org/events/the-garden-rivers-edge/

Image Description: Bea Basso wears a leopard print coat while smiling at the camera. She has shoulder-length hair and is standing in front of wooden walls.

Many of our amazing NCDC collaborators are appearing in other shows this Fringe Festival. Catch them performing, designing, and production managing the following shows!

1. FutureJam ‘94 (created and performed by Chelsea Murphy, Chloe Marie, Dylan Smythe). Sept 28. Tickets: https://www.chelseamoves.com/

2. On Buried Ground (Rhonda Moore, dancer). Sept 4-14. Tickets: https://phillyfringe.org/events/on-buried-ground/

3. Far Edge of Blue (Beau Hancock, choreographer and dancer). Sept 28. Tickets: https://phillyfringe.org/events/far-edge-of-blue/

4. Poor Judge (Emily Schuman, props design). Sept 11-22. Tickets: https://phillyfringe.org/events/poor-judge/

5. Blue Silk (Payton Smith, puppeteer). Sept 10-19. Tickets: https://phillyfringe.org/events/blue-silk/

6. Bears Tonight (Payton Smith, set design). Sept 20-22. Tickets: https://phillyfringe.org/events/bears-tonight/

7. Ghost Ride (Payton Smith, production manager). Sept 6-22. Tickets: https://phillyfringe.org/events/ghost-ride-or-the-play-that-blows-away/

NCDC has been working with Audio Describer Nicole Sardella and Natanya Sortland, a Blind and Low Vision Consultant, to increase our accessibility offerings for The Garden: River’s Edge. We are happy to share the following accessibility options for our shows at Arch Street Meeting House:

- A wheelchair accessible path available at every show
- American Sign Language interpretation on 9/15
- Audio Description available for all shows (except 9/15)
- Audience members with disabilities who are supported by a Personal Care Assistant (PCA) will receive a complimentary ticket for the PCA. Please check the "Companion Seating" box when you purchase your ticket to indicate you will be bringing your PCA.

If you would like to reserve any of the accessible offerings for The Garden: River's Edge, please select "Accessible Path" when you reserve your ticket. We are excited to share this work with all who want to attend!

Image Descriptions:
1. Nichole Canuso (left) and Natanya Sortland (right) smile while sitting on a wooden bench with a green cushion. Natanya holds a white mobility cane in her left hand.
2. Nichole Canuso sits on a wooden bench with her back to the camera. Her right arm is raised overhead. Natanya Sortland sits across from Nichole on a wooden bench with a green cushion, raising her left arm to mirror Nichole's gesture.