Widening the Circle

Cynthia Adams

Producer, Choreographer, performer
Cynthia Adams is a dance-theater choreographer, poet, and movement educator whose choreography is informed by the German Tanztheatre style, modern and postmodern dance, and avant-garde theater. At the juncture of dance and theater Cynthia Adams, Artistic Director of Fellow Travelers Performance Group creates whimsical yet pushy choreography, blending movement and spoken word into thought provoking playful collages. Her dance theater pieces invite audience members to join the performers on a journey into worlds inspired by women’s issues, climate change, and other current political themes. “Their (FTPG’s) work is smart, idiosyncratic, and carefully crafted. When they use a prop, it’s exactly tailored to the work in question. They know not only how to use text but also how to project it. Irony and wit, staples in their toolbox, are used to explore and illuminate matters of the heart.” Rita Felciano Fellow Travelers Performance Group (FTPG) was formed in 1992 in the San Francisco Bay Area, now solely under the Artistic Direction of Cynthia Adams. FTPG became known to expect the unexpected with concept driven, witty choreography exploring the surreal nature of human experience. FTPG has performed nationally and internationally in festivals including the 2023 Dumbo Dance Festival in May 2023 in Brooklyn, NY and the West Wave Festival, Dancing on the Edge Festival, Vancouver, Canada; Yerba Buena Gardens Choreographers Festival, House Special (2002); Oakland Arts Festival, and others. FTPG has received numerous grants and residencies, most recently a J.W. Fisher Endowed Arts Outreach Fund (2024) and a Creative Catalyst Project Grant from the Iowa Arts Council (2023). In 2028 Ms. Adams received the CHIME grant (Choreographers in Mentorship Exchange) from the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company. Cynthia performed with many other choreographers including Kei Takei’s Moving Earth and Li Chiao-Ping Dance. Cynthia’s inquiry in human movement has led to somatic practices and the mind/body connection. Cynthia completed a Masters in Choreography/ Performance from the U.C.L.A. Cynthia is nationally certified to teach in both Pilates and yoga and is a Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider (YACEP) and certified as a BioMechanics Method Corrective Exercise Specialist. Ms. Adams is currently an Associate Teaching Professor in Dance at Iowa State University in the Department of Kinesiology. As full time Associate Teaching Professor of dance in the Kinesiology Department at Iowa State University. A lifelong learner of mindful movement practices Cynthia loves helping people find their own joy in moving and creating freely.

Paula McArthur

Dancer
Paula McArthur is owner/director of Des Moines DanzArts Studio which she opened in 2011. She has over 30 years of teaching with experience and versatility in teaching many forms of dance. Her range of expertise includes modern, ballet, jazz, tap, ballroom, Latin, creative preschool movement, improvisation, and body conditioning. She taught dance for 17 years for the musical theater department at Drake University; and has also taught for Penn State University and Iowa State University. For over a decade she was the Associate Director for the School of Classical Ballet & Dance and has taught for other schools: Vine Street Ballet, Ballet Iowa, The Dance Place, Central Iowa Dance Central Pennsylvania Dance Workshop, Edmunds Art Academy and Co Motion Dance Theatre. She has worked extensively as an artist in residence within the public schools Paula is a founding member of "Hurley and Dancers" amd continues to perform for them along with choreographer Cynthia Adams (Fellow Travelers Group). DanzArts is proud to be the rehearsal home for these Iowa based companies. Additional companies she has worked for: Pennsylvania Dance Theater, Sandance, Neuman Project and choreographer Shawn Womack Ms McArthur began her professional carrer in ballet, performing with the Des Moines Ballet. she also trained at the Joffrey Ballet School in NYC and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet School in Canada . Ms McArthur earned her BFA from ISU where she turned her attention to modern dance. She was honored with both the Anna R. Toman and Charlotte Wilkason awards from ISU. She continued her study at the Bates Dance festivals, Doug Varone intensives and summer programs at NYU. Since becoming a modern dancer she has worked, trained and/or performed for such choreographers and companies as Bill T. Jones, Bill Young, Doug Elkins, Doug Varone, David Dorfmann, Claire Porter, Kathleen Hermsdorf, Michael Foley, Tony Coray, Kevin Wynn, Ben Munisteri, Joanna Mendl Shaw, Ron K. Brown, Rennie Harris, Larry Keigwin and jazz with Cathy Young.

Michaela Finnegan

Performer

Rachel Tucker

Performer
Rachel is a Twin Cities native and has been dancing for 20 years, spanning a range of styles including ballet, modern, jazz, and hip-hop. She completed a dance minor at Iowa State University, where she was an active member of the student organization Orchesis I Dance Company, serving as president her final year. Outside of dance, Rachel works in the environmental field and sells handmade beaded earrings at local craft fairs.

Kat Culbertson

Dancer
Kat has been dancing for 18 years, primarily modern and contemporary styles. She was a student director of the Dance Collective at the University of Minnesota—Twin Cities for 4 years. These days she works as a clinic assistant at Planned Parenthood and enjoys connecting with the dance community at Zenon Dance School and elsewhere in her free time.