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ABOUT THE COMPANY:
Rachael Lieblein-Jurbala Dance Works has been creating and presenting narrative-driven, humanistic dances in New York City since 2019. The company's work explores resonant themes from obedience and conflict, to grief, lineage, and connection - using movement and text to grapple with universally relatable ideas and to spark conversation. Our process sources input from audiences: collecting voicemails, family stories, and participatory elements that invite community into the process. We strive to make dances that are grounded in storytelling, carrying audiences through episodic narratives that invite reflection and empathy. If someone turns to a friend or asks themselves a question after a performance, we’ve done our job. It’s about flexing the reflection muscle, which we believe is, over time, strength-training for the empathy muscle. |
photo by Erica MacLean
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ARTISTIC DIRECTOR: Rachael Lieblein-Jurbala
Rachael Lieblein-Jurbala (she/her) is a New York City-based dancer, choreographer, producer and arts administrator. She holds a B.A. in Dance and Sociology from Connecticut College, studied costume design at Arts University Bournemouth in England, and trained at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. She has had the great privilege of performing works by David Dorfman, Heidi Henderson, Rachel Boggia, Ronald K. Brown, Roni Chadash and Ohad Naharin. In 2018, her work, “...and I will never, ever let you down.” was presented at the National American College Dance Association Festival where jurors praised it as “a sophisticated and relevant statement in a charged political moment… revealing its social commentary through masterful layering." Rachael is the director of Rachael Lieblein-Jurbala Dance Works - a company creating narrative-driven, socially-engaged performance since 2019. Her choreography has been presented at venues across NYC including WAXworks, the Tank Theater, 7 Midnights Physical Research, Uptown Rising, the Spark Theatre Festival, WestFest Dance Festival, and Arts on Site. Rachael’s first evening-length piece, fifty degrees - inspired by the genetic estimate that everyone on earth is, at most, fiftieth cousins - premiered at Arts on Site in November 2024. Her second evening-length work, "the last supper - exploring the ripple effects of individual choice - premiered at Arts on Site in November 2025. Rachael serves as Associate Director, DEL and Artistic Programming at the 92NY Harkness Dance Center. She is a co-producer and curator of the WestFest Dance Festival, a curated festival presenting emerging and established movement artists in the historic Westbeth Artists Residence in the West Village, NYC. Across her roles, she is committed to supporting meaningful opportunities for artists. |
photo by Whitney Browne
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