Catalysts

Julia Hendrickson is an artist and theologian with a primary research focus on the intersection of prayer and praxis. Her studio practice provides the foundation for reflection on this topic with an emphasis on opera Divina, daily work as prayer. Alongside this artistic discipline, Julia is involved in various academic communities, as a teacher and student. She has an M.F.A. from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Print | Media & an MDiv from Fuller Theological Seminary, where she became a Fujimura Fellow. While waiting for paint to dry, Julia reads a fair amount, takes very long walks, and documents flowers.

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Andrew Nemr is one of the most diverse tap dance artists today. An international performer, choreographer, educator and speaker, Andrew has played with Grammy Award winning musicians across multiple genres, founded and directed the tap dance company Cats Paying Dues, and co-founded the Tap Legacy™ Foundation, Inc., along with his mentor Gregory Hines.

The artists Andrew has shared the stage with is a venerable list of whose who, including Jazz greats Clark Terry, Jimmy Heath, Hank Jones, James Carter, and John Faddis, Harry Connick Jr., the Duke Ellington Orchestra, the Lionel Hampton Orchestra, and the legendary Les Paul. Similarly, his collaborators are an eclectic group of extreme talent including Nat Adderley, Jr., hammered dulcimer virtuoso Max ZT and House of Waters, cellist Dave Eggar, percussionist Susie Ibarra, and visual artist Mako Fujimura. Andrew was a member of the roots band Holler Jake, and recorded on their debut record, The Wakening (2018). Nemr is also recorded on the Grammy nominated recording Itsbynne Reel by Dave Eggar, the DVD Documentary and companion album Tuesdays at Mona’s by Mona’s Hot Four, and narrates the DanceTime Publications DVD, Tap Dance History: From Vaudeville to Film.

Andrew began the Tap Dance Freedom platform for tap dance education in 2013 hosting online and in-person events, pop-up workshops and intensives, and 1:1 coaching for tap dancers around the world. Andrew was the key consultant in the expansion of the tap dance program at McBurney YMCA (NYC), and took on the role of Executive and Artistic Director of the Vancouver Tap Dance Society during 2018-2020 seasons.

An avid speaker, Nemr combines the story of his personal journey and the craft of tap dance to speak about identity, community, faith, and love. He has presented on Fellow’s Stage at TED, at numerous TEDx’s (TEDxCERN, TEDxPuraVida, TEDxChemungRiver, TEDxSetonHall), Wheaton College, International Arts Movement’s INHABIT Conference, the Gospel and Work Conference, Laity Lodge, the Future of Storytelling and the World Summit on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

In his efforts to continue to champion the art form of tap dance, Andrew co-founded the Tap Legacy™ Foundation, Inc., along with Gregory Hines. The Foundation has produced numerous events, including tap dance festivals, and the New York City Celebration of the National Tap Dance Day, while developing tools that will support the oral tradition of tap dance through times of cultural and social change. These tools include a digital social archive, a traveling exhibit, and a series of online resources.

Andrew holds a BFA in Computer Art from the School of Visuals Arts, is certified in the Active-Isolated Flexibility System by the Wharton Performance Group, and is a card-carrying honorary member of the original Copasetics, Inc.

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Susie Ibarra is a Filipinx composer, percussionist, and sound artist. Her interdisciplinary practice spans formats, including performance, mobile sound-mapping applications, multi-channel audio installations, recording, and documentary.

Many of Ibarra’s projects are based in cultural and environmental preservation. She has worked to support Indigenous and traditional music cultures, such as musika katatubo from the north and south Philippine islands. She also collaborates with The Joudour Sahara Music Program in Morocco on initiatives that preserve sound-based heritage with sustainable music practices and support the participation of women and girls in traditional music communities.

Ibarra’s sound research has advocated for the stewardship of glaciers and freshwaters. Water Rhythms: Listening to Climate Change (2020) is a collaboration with glaciologist, geographer, and climate scientist Dr. Michele Koppes, which maps water rhythms from source to sink. Ibarra’s composition is derived from field recordings of five global watersheds, including the Greenland ice sheet and glacier-fed rivers of the Himalayas. Water Rhythms is an acoustic story of human entanglements with a changing climate and landscape. The premiere of Water Rhythms was presented by Fine Acts Foundation and TED at Jack Poole Plaza, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Innisfree Gardens, Millbrook, NY (2020). It has also been shown at The Countdown Summit, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom (2021); as part of Nothing Makes Itself at the ARKO Art Center, Seoul, Korea (2021); and as a multi-channel sound installation at Fridman Gallery, Beacon, NY (2021).

As a producer, Ibarra collaborates with Splice to create sound packs based in environmental sounds, traditional musical cultures, and her own extended percussion language. Sounds of the Drâa Valley Morocco is a sound pack featuring six traditional ensembles and soloists from South Saharan Morocco (2022). Ibarra has also collaborated with composer and bassist Richard Reed Parry on two sound packs and a new album of compositions focused on breath cycles and heart beats, Heart and Breath: Rhythm and Tone Fields (OFFAIR Records, 2022).

Ibarra is a recipient of the National Geographic Storytelling Grant (2020); a United States Artists Fellowship (2019); the Asian Cultural Council Fellowship (2018); a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant (2017); and a TED Fellowship (2010). She is a Yamaha, Vic Firth, and Zildjian drum artist.

She holds a B.M. from Mannes College of Music and a B.A. from Goddard College.

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CCC SCHOLARS, ARTISTS, AND ADVOCATES