Ariel Rivka Dance
ARIEL RIVKA DANCE | COMPANY BIO
Founded in 2008 by Ariel Grossman, Ariel Rivka Dance (ARD) is an all-female contemporary company with a mission to champion female creatives through original choreography, commissioned music, and family and educational programming. The company creates a community of vulnerability and acceptance through movement, providing opportunities for hope and connection.
ARD has been presented at prestigious venues worldwide, including BAM Fisher, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Bryant Park, New York Live Arts, Sahn Theater, TR, and more. ARD collaborated with companies like Taylor 2, Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company, and Heidi Latsky Dance. Commissions include Ballet Vero Beach, Dance Lab NY NexusLab, Konverjdans, Howard Community College, Skidmore, and more. ARD is the recipient of Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, the Nathan Cummings Foundation, Jersey City Arts Council, The Charles & Joan Gross Family Foundation, the O’Donnell & Green Music and Dance Foundation, and New Jersey State Council on the Arts, among others.
ARIEL GROSSMAN | ARTISTIC DIRECTOR BIO
As a native New Yorker, Ariel Grossman trained at LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and the Performing Arts, and the Joffrey Ballet School under the direction of Gerald Arpino. She earned a B.S. in Dance and a Minor in Women’s Studies from Skidmore College and holds a Master in Early Childhood Education. Ariel Grossman received a 2023 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.
Ariel draws inspiration from the struggles and joys of the human experience, particularly through being a woman and mother —molding pieces that are striking, evocative, and multi-layered.
Ariel’s choreography was honored in 2023 at the Ballet Vero Beach Tastemakers Season. She has been commissioned by Nickerson Rossi Dance, Konverjdans, Ballet Vero Beach, Skidmore College, and more. Her work has been presented internationally, including BAM Fisher, Bryant Park, Detroit Film Institute, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Baruch Performing Arts Center, New York Live Arts, and in Turkey, France, and Israel. Awards include Dance/NYC, Jersey City Arts Council, Princeton Area Community Foundation, and Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. She was named a New Jersey Performing Arts Center (New) Moves Fellow, a Dance Lab NY NexusLab Resident, Mana Contemporary and Nimbus Arts Center artist in residence.
