Indy Dance Exchange

Brandon Welch is a dancer, teaching artist and creator with a passion for utilizing movement as a catalyst for social change. He holds a BFA from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance with a semester on exchange at the Western Australian Academy of the Performing Arts. His performance career includes being a company member of Momix Dance Illusionists, Doug Varone and Dancers, Hannah Kahn Dance Company, Helanius J. Wilkins/SALT and Gibney Dance Company. During his time with Doug Varone, Brandon participated in Dance Motion USA’s cultural diplomacy program to South America and performed in Les Troyens at the Metropolitan Opera. As an Artistic Associate of Gibney Dance, Brandon facilitated movement workshops for survivors of Intimate Partner Violence with guidance from Clinical Advisor Beth Silverman-Yamm. In 2017, he began bringing his movement practices into public schools as a teaching artist with the 92nd Street Y, home of the Dance Education Laboratory, and Columbia College Chicago. In 2020, Brandon created Moving Meditations in collaboration with Abby Corrigan, which offered continuing education credits for incarcerated men through the Denver University's Prison Arts Initiative. 

Brandon currently resides in Fort Collins, Colorado and is a dancer, co-conspirator and community engagement coordinator for The Conversation Series: Stitching the Geo-Political Quilt to Re-Body Belonging with Helanius J. Wilkins. His guest artist teaching includes DOCH University (Stockholm), Mimar Sinan University (Istanbul), HIGHFest Masterclass (Yerevan), MuDa Africa (Dar Es Salaam) and Dance Ensemble Singapore. Recent creative commissions include the Lamont Opera Theatre, Mariposa Collective and Whitney Center for the Arts.

For over three decades, I have dedicated my life to the art of dance. My journey began at the Orlando School of Cultural Dance, where I discovered the beauty of African dance in 1993. Since then, I have been a part of esteemed dance companies such as the Kuumba Dance Company and Adefua Dance Company, expanding my knowledge and skills in West African dance under the guidance of masters. My passion for connecting communities to their cultural roots led me to establish a thriving community class that has flourished for 24 years. I have collaborated with local art organizations as a choreographer and instructor throughout my career. In 2006, I founded Epiphany Dance Collective. They continue to perform throughout the state as a professional adult West African dance company. As a graduate of Indiana University with a degree in Fine Arts, I have been a teaching artist with Arts For Learning for over a decade. Currently, I serve as an adjunct professor at Butler University, while also teaching at Believe High School and Rooted High School. My dedication to the arts and commitment to nurturing young talent continues to drive me as I partner with various arts organizations.

Vivian Kim, MFA, is currently based in Indiana where she is a full-time lecturer for the Dance Program in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Purdue University.  Vivian specialized in Modern dance in 2010. In 2017 she began training in House and Hip Hop with Rennie Harris in his Denver-based dance company Grass Roots Project, and then in 2021 Vivian added Popping to her rep. by training with Dassy Lee from Femme Fatale.  Prior to moving to Indiana, Vivian participated in the Denver and Boulder dance communities as a facilitator, dance educator, choreographer, and performer.  Most recently, she performed with New Breed Dance Company in 2023, taught at Front Range Community College, Mi Chantli Art and Movement Sanctuary, and Mayama Movement Studios.  Additionally, she is the former co-Founder and co-Artistic Director of VisKosity Dance Collective, an interdisciplinary dance collective that utilized Modern dance forms and concepts with Street Styles.  Vivian also sits on the Board of Directors for the Boulder Ballet and Mi Chantli Art and Movement Sanctuary.  Stay up-to-date with classes, workshops, and other news at www.vkdances.com or follow her on instagram @vivkimdances.

Lani Weissbach has had a rich and varied career as a director, teacher, choreographer and performer in the field of contemporary dance, somatics and yoga, and her ongoing investigation of the avant garde Japanese dance form butoh has deeply informed her work for over 30 years.  As a devoted educator of mindfulness and movement, Lani has worked in a variety of settings and with a wide range of students, from professional dancers and actors to the elderly.  As founder and artistic director of Shen & Bones Performance Group, Lani created and performed for 17 years in numerous works of “quiet introspection, raw power, evocative imagery and dark themes” (Steve Sucato, national dance writer/critic).   Her work has been presented throughout the U.S., including the Cleveland Public Theatre, The Vangeline Theater in NYC, The D.C. Arts Center in Washington, D.C., the BeBe Theater in Asheville, NC and Links Hall in Chicago.  Lani is the author of a chapter titled Decentering the Human through Butoh in the publication Geographies of Us:  Ecosomatic Essays and Practice Pages (Routledge Press, 2024.) She currently serves as the Director of Embodied Learning for the Indianapolis Movement Arts Collective and teaches for universities, studios, and organizations in the region and nationally.  In January 2025, Lani will graduate from a two-year mindfulness meditation teacher training with world-renowned psychologists and meditation teachers Tara Brach and Jack Kornfield. Lani holds an MFA in dance from Arizona State University, is a Master Somatic Movement Educator/Therapist (MSME/T) with the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA) and is a Registered Yoga Teacher (E-RYT 500) with Yoga Alliance.   For more information, please visit:  www.laniweissbach.com