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STAFF and BOARD OF DIRECTORS
ERICA RUBEN, Executive Director, Dancing in the Streets

For 10 years Erica was the Executive Producer of Central Park SummerStage where she launched a dance commission program, global culture education and electronic music series. She produced hundreds of free public programs in Manhattan, Bronx and Brooklyn featuring major modern, American and world music, opera, performance art, spoken word and children’s programs to millions of New Yorkers. Programs she produced included:  the Roots, Common, the Fugees, Rock Steady Crew, Nile Rogers and Chic, Nuyorican Poets, Parliament Funkadelic, a special event bringing together 4 generations of Bob Marley’s family,  body&SOUL, Nuyorican Soul, the first South African kwaito concert in North America (a precursor to amapiano), Angelique Kidjo’s North American debut, and the first performing arts commission of House of Ninja led by vogue innovator Willi Ninja. 


After SummerStage, Erica produced a multi award-winning nightclub party Deep Space with Dj Francois K., for 16 years which brought together dj’s, live musicians, poets and dancers in a unique format.  Special guests included DJ Kool Herc, Grand Master Flash, Abiodun Oyewole (Last Poets), dub icon Lee Scratch Perry, disco innovator Giorgio Moroder, poet Carl Hancock Rux, Afro-Futurist King Britt, and most of the innovators of dubstep and bass music.  Erica is also Director of Club Culture Foundation,  a boutique foundation in support of house music, dance and culture. She has lectured extensively worldwide, and holds a certificate in Creative Placemaking, with a focus on NYC’s nightlife. She has a BA with honors from Vassar College with a major in Film/Drama.

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Cal Hunt,  Artistic & Program Director,

It's Showtime NYC!

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Brooklyn born Calvin “Cal” Hunt began dancing at age 5 and has been practicing flexN for 15 years. During his early years as a dancer, Cal performed on the subways but dreamed of moving from the trains to the planes.  As a teen, he immersed himself in flexN and learned the culture, mindset and essence of the flexN style from OG’s and pioneers includuding Reggie Roc, Jay Donn, Gutta, Kareem Baptiste, Shaneequewa Samuels, Bryan, Storyboard P, Vibez and Deidra Braz. Over the years, Cal has been competing, winning battles, and performing with the street dance platform Battlefest, owned by Kareem Baptiste. In 2015 Cal performed at the Park Avenue Armory with the flexN dance company Dream Ring, and then toured the world with the company.  In 2017 he worked with the Shed in a teaching artist partnership where he instructed students all over NYC, teaching dance and conflict prevention through the arts. Cal trained further as a teaching artist at the National Dance Institute, Lincoln Center Summer Forum, and at 92nd Street Y with Dr. Martha Eddy. He continues to teach private and group classes at notable dance studios. As a dancer, Cal has performed with Wu Tang Clan at Radio City Music Hall, and as a dancer/talent producer for music videos with Lous and Yakuza. In 2019 Cal was honored, at the high recommendation of his mentor Peter Sellars, to perform and choreograph at the Opera National De Paris, resulting in a Cesar Award nominated documentary. During COVID, Cal brought his vision for creating programs to the French Institute Alliance Francaise, in New York, where he created a dance program for young street dancers utilizing the Institute’s theater space. 

Honeychild Coleman
Managing Director, It's Showtime NYC!
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Cal Hunt, Program Director, It's Showtime NYC!

Kentuckian Coleman, former subway busker, mentors for the UPA (Underground Producers Alliance) as Ambassador of New York City Underground Nightlife Culture. At Output (Brooklyn), Coleman Assisted the Director of Operations where she liaised with event promoters, and managed the Box Office/Ticketing staff. Coleman studied art at Parsons School of Design, and graduated from The Grace Institute Administrative Professional Program. Her musical compositions have been featured in The Esopus Reader, Sundance Award winning film 'Pariah" (USA), and documentary "Fireflies" (Austria). She was awarded a fellowship with The Brooklyn Public Library workshop "Hear Me Out"  (UnionDocs/ BKLYN Incubator) where she created the podcast "My Beloved Brooklyn". 

Coleman has performed at The Snug Harbor Porch Plays Festival, and Figment NYC After Dark (The Newhouse Center). She has toured on guitar with The Slits, performed/recorded vocals with Mad Professor and Death Comet Crew (feat. Rammellzee), and fronts political punk group The 1865 (Mass Appeal Records). The 1865 have performed at The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art , Afropunk Festival (Brooklyn), Hoodies for the Homeless at Irving Plaza (NYC), PunkBlack (Atlanta), and Lincoln Center New Stages.

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   RHEA 'WIILDKARD' NANCE, Associate Administrative Director
                          It's Showtime NYC!
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Aubrey "Ski" Primus, Rehearsal Captain/Dancer,   It's Showtime NYC!

Aubrey “Ski” Primus, born in Brooklyn, of Guyanese descent, first started dancing in 2017. He was introduced to dance through his cousin who is a member of a flexN crew, MainEventt and the tv show FlexN Brooklyn on BCAT-TV. He was also surrounded by flexN culture in Brooklyn. After high school, life was rough for Ski. Life was calling for a necessary change, and Ski didn’t expect it to be dance. He chose the name Ski, which signifies the way he wants to dance, with the effortless gliding movements of a downhill skier and also for the iconic ski mask that he wears in performances that symbolizes suspense and mystery; a core element of his artistry. 


Ski joined IST in 2018 and progressed quickly in his chosen freestyle form, flexN. Ski performed at the MET Museum, Abrons Performing Arts Center, HarlemStage, Red Hook Festival, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Bridge Residency, Jacob Javits Center, University Settlement,  Park Avenue Armory with Bill T. Jones, Jamaica Center for the Arts, and taught at Gibney Studio, Poster House Museum, Poe Park in partnership with the City of NY Department of Parks, and corporate campaigns for New Balance and Bacardi. He is actively battling in NYC, and won Brooklyn based exhibition battles including OTG (Off the Grid) and KOBK (Killed or Be Killed). He’s also been featured as a dancer/model for the acclaimed photographer Carol Dragon. His work in the IST digital dance piece I Still Love NY  in collaboration with director Kash Gaines is featured on Yak Films YouTube channel. Ski was promoted to Rehearsal Captain in 2022.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Victoria Rosenwald, Acting President & Treasurer, Retired research nurse

Rosa Aliberti, Secretary, Labor Lawyer, Berke Weiss Law, 

Samir Hall, Real Estate Sales, Burkesworks Properties 

Christina Hayes, Commercial Legal Counsel, Criteo

Marcus Logan, Global Marketing Strategist & Cultural Curator

Lamar David Mackson, Executive Producer, Nonstop Show Group, LLC., CEO,  Queen City Film & Television Workshop

Sean Cottman, Director of Technology and Cybersecurity, Lamda Legal, President, Thrillseekers Inc. 

John Rankin, Associate Director of performance programs at All Stars Project 

Erica Ruben, Executive  Director, Dancing in the Streets

Consultants

Mai Le Ho Johnson

Jared Fischer, Grantwriter

Lynn Wichern, Financial Advisor

IT'S SHOWTIME NYC! ARTISTIC ADVISORY BOARD

 

ELISE BERNHARDT

Founding Director of Dancing in the Streets

 

JIMMIE BRIGGS 

Journalist/Activist

 

AVIVA DAVIDSON 

Former Executive Director, Dancing in the Streets

 

GINA FERRARA

Lincoln Center

 

DANNI GEE

Dance Curator at Joyce Theater, former principal dancer at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre

 

RENNIE HARRIS

Choreographer, Rennie Harris PureDance/Visiting Choreographer Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre

 

GEORGE EMILIO SANCHEZ

Performance artist, writer, activist

 

DIRECTOR EMERITA

Elise Bernhardt, Founder, Executive Director, Foundation for Jewish Culture

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