Leslie Scott, Festival Director (She/her) is an Associate Professor of Dance and New Media at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, where she specializes in intersecting dance with film, choreography with cinematography, and philanthropy with social change through community-engaged research. She is also the Founder and Artistic Director of BODYART Dance Company, a multimedia dance and visual art company that combines live performances and projected videos in non-traditional spaces.

Scott’s innovative approach to dance has led to the creation of site-specific works that honor the unique architecture of various locations. Her choreography has been performed in notable venues worldwide, including REDCAT in Los Angeles, Summerhall in Edinburgh, Arts Centre in Christchurch, Joyce Soho in New York, The Ailey Citigroup Theatre in New York, Jazz @ Lincoln Center, Bass Performance Hall in Texas, The National Gallery in Durban, and Rimbun Dahan in Kuala Lumpur. In 2018, she launched a cultural exchange program between BODYART and Chilean dance companies Corredor de Danza Valparaíso (CDV) and Centro de Experimentación Escénica (CEE), which included teaching dance-for-camera workshops and creating new site-specific dance films in Chile.

In January 2022, BODYART traveled to Valparaíso and Valdivia to engage with local communities and develop dance films featuring Chilean sites and cultural spaces. Most recently, Scott and BODYART launched the first International Dance Festival New Orleans in 2023, highlighting cross-cultural collaborations between Gulf South and international movement artists. The festival featured performances by 15 local artists and three Chilean artists, attracting over 350 attendees and 50 masterclass participants.

As an educator, Scott has taught Creative Entrepreneurship, marketing, and branding workshops at the Center for Cultural Innovation and has been a guest artist and teacher at leading universities and institutions across the country. She regularly combines her decades of experience in producing and non-profit development with her teaching and consulting activities worldwide.

Scott created The Decay Project (TDP), a dance film residency program focusing on the beauty in derelict spaces, partnering with local communities globally. TDP recently completed its fourth international collaboration in Christchurch, New Zealand. Her films have been screened at the Portland Dance Film Festival, London International Film Festival, and Screen Dance International.

Leslie Scott holds an MFA in Choreography from the California Institute of the Arts and a BFA in Modern Dance with an emphasis in photography from Texas Christian University. Additionally, she is a certified sommelier, incorporating all five senses into her choreographic projects to create immersive and multi-sensory experiences.

As the Artistic Director of BODYART and the Festival Director of the International Dance Festival New Orleans, Leslie Scott continues to champion the growth of contemporary dance by fostering collaboration, cultural exchange, and community engagement.

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Melanie Greene, Masterclass and Community Curator (She/her)
Melanie (2017 Bessie Recipient) is a mischief maker (performer), content creator (choreographer), daytime dreamer (writer), and movement schemer (organizer). She is no stranger to swirling on the edge of impossible…swimming in the sea of the minority. Conjuring creative offerings around the U.S and abroad, she has received generous support from Contemporary Arts Center - New Orleans, National Performance Network, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Foundation, Keshet, MANCC, Marble House Project, Brooklyn Studios for Dance, Movement Research, Mount Tremper, New York Live Arts, Gibney Dance, Entertainment Community Fund (formally Actors Fund), Brooklyn Arts Exchange, Dancing While Black Fellowship, Bogliasco Fellowship, and Brooklyn Arts Council. Greene has contributed written works to Dance Magazine, Dance Enthusiast, and The Routledge Companion to African American Theatre and Performance. She was a co-organizer of the Dance Union (featured in The New York Times) through 2024, and was named among Dance Magazine: 2021 "25 to Watch".

As an organizer, and art policy advocate, she had the pleasure to participate in Creative’s Rebuild New York (CRNY) Think Tank, The Field’s Artist Council, Dance/NYC’s Taskforce, and many other arts and culture initiatives. Stay tuned. www.methodsofperception.com

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Rachel Slater, Film Festival Director (She/her) is an award-winning dance artist, filmmaker and educator who currently spends time in both Portland, OR and New Orleans, LA, USA. She is the Co-Artistic Director of Muddy Feet Contemporary Dance with Suzanne Chi. With Muddy Feet she has produced, choreographed, performed in productions across North America as well as four dance films which have screened in 25 countries and at over 45 festivals worldwide, garnering awards such as Best Dance Film, Best Experimental Film and Best Pandemic Film. Rachel has also performed with Minh Tran & Company, Franco Nieto of Open Space, and Tracey Durbin, among others. She has worked with BODYART since 2022, in multiple capacities. Her work as an educator has included time at Tulane University, Reed College, Pacific College, the National High School Dance Festival, Jefferson High School/the Jefferson Dancers, Vancouver School of the Arts, and more. She has received artist residencies from the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity (Canada), Hambidge Center (Georgia), New Expressive Works (Oregon) and Sou’wester (Washington). Rachel believes artmaking can be a radical, humanist act which can support and amplify stories and empathy, when at its best. Inspired by lived histories, interpersonal relationships, and location-specific filming, she is deeply committed to respectful, safe, genuine creative spaces.

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Lucy Vanderbrook, Festival Assistant / Marketing Coordinator (She/her)
Lucy is a recent graduate of Tulane University from Louisiana. She loves to cook, travel, do art, and explore New Orleans. At Tulane, she studied Communications and Dance and is excited to be using her skills to head up the graphic design for the festival. She has worked for the dance festival since the Fall of 2023 in various roles and is very excited to see the future of the festival unfold.

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Sarah Scribner, Operations Manager (She/her) Sarah is a dancer and arts administrator in New York. Sarah trained with the non-profit Project Moves Dance Company, under the direction of The GOLD School Dance Art and Rennie Gold, based in Boston, MA. With Project Moves, she performed at The Joyce Theater, Calderwood Pavilion, and the former Cedar Lake Theater as part of Dancers Responding to AIDS. Sarah graduated magna cum laude with a BA in philosophy and dance from Tulane University and received the Jill Karp Prize in Dance Choreography. She then moved to New York to pursue an editorial career at the Columbia Publishing Course but soon realized that she missed the dance community. Sarah works in operations with BMCC Tribeca Performing Arts Center and in development with New Orleans contemporary company BODYART Dance.

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Brett Garfinkel, LDA Director (He/him)
Brett is from Long Island, New York. He received is BFA in Dance from Adelphi University and an MFA in Dance Performance;Teaching from Purchase College, SUNY. Brett is a certified GYROKINESIS® & GYROTONIC® trainer. He has performed with numerous companies in and around NYC. Brett was a member of BODYART Dance Company for 6 years and continues to work with them in production.

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Carina Kroff, Intern (She/her)
The Community Coordinator for IDFNOLA, Carina is a senior pursuing Dance and International Relations degrees at Tulane University. Her role is to connect as many members of the New Orleans community as possible to the festival. She is incredibly grateful to be joining the festival team and cannot wait to experience the incredible art that is being presented.

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Rxchel Abrahams, Artist Liaison (They/them)
Rxchel is a multidisciplinary artist and somatic facilitator living in New Orleans by way of Brooklyn, New York. They have performed in the U.S. and abroad with companies such as Fuerza Bruta, Shen Wei Dance Arts, and Third Rail Projects. Rxchel has been a performing collaborator and teaching artist with BODYART Dance 2011.

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Iona Nicolas, Intern (She/her) is a senior at Tulane University, double-majoring in Psychology and Dance. As the festival’s Social Media Manager and Film Festival Assistant, she uses her creativity with strategic storytelling to showcase the dynamic nature of the International Dance Festival New Orleans. Grateful to be part of the festival team, she looks forward to the year ahead.

International Dance Festival New Orleans was founded in 2023 by BODYART Dance and its Artistic Director, Leslie Scott. Originally rooted in a long-standing partnership with two Chilean arts organizations—Cooperativa Corredor de Danza Valparaíso and Centro de Experimentación Escénica—the festival has since expanded to include a diverse network of international collaborators.

Each year, IDFNOLA celebrates cross-cultural exchange between local and global artists, making a dynamic contribution to New Orleans' rich artistic landscape.

IDFNOLA Timeline:

2023:

• Leslie Scott, Artistic Director of BODYART Dance, founds IDFNOLA to foster artistic collaboration between Gulf South artists and international counterparts.

• The inaugural festival welcomes 350 attendees, 50 masterclass participants, 11 masterclasses and 18 artists and companies.

2024:

• IDFNOLA expands to include a dance film festival, showcasing films from around the world.

• First gathering of the Louisiana Dance Alliance

2025:

• IDFNOLA hosts its first Summer Residency Program which furthers its commitment to supporting the professional growth of dance artists and increasing access to contemporary dance.

• The festival returns for its third edition from September 4-7, 2025.