
TOM PEARSON is Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of Third Rail Projects, Director of the Global Performance Studio, and co-creator of the immersive theater hits Then She Fell and The Grand Paradise. He is the recipient of two New York Dance and Performance (BESSIE) awards, a Ford Foundation and National Museum of the American Indian’s IllumiNation award for his work in native theater, The Kingsbury and Cody Harris Allen writing awards, and others. Tom holds an MA in Performance Studies from New York University and was recently named as one of the 100 most influential people in Brooklyn culture by Brooklyn Magazine. He is interested in mythos and magic, archetypes and depth psychology, as well as ceremonial and ritual experience. His work draws from these as well as his Tsalagi (Eastern Band Cherokee) heritage and its focus on right relationship and story as medicine.

Yulia Bylenok (Participating Artist, Russia), is an independent contemporary dance artist and curator. She has assisted with coordinating international contemporary art festivals in St. Petersburg, including 'Art Prospect' public art festival and 'The Body Word' dance festival. She has been a contact improvisation and composition teacher and previously worked at the Iguan and Lesnoy dom dance theatres in different capacities. She has completed a somatics education module with the Moving On Center and a Masters level course in Theory and Workshop in Contemporary Dance Forms. Yulia was previously awarded a CEC Artslink fellowship in festival management and a SLEIPNIR travel grant for the arts from the Nordic Council of Ministers. She graduated from Vaganova State Ballet Academy in St. Petersburg with a Masters Degree in Cultural Studies with a specialization in the history and theory of choreography. Prior to that, she obtained a Spetsialist Degree in Social and Cultural Management from the St. Petersburg University of Culture and Arts.

Joshua Dutton-Reaver (Participating Artist, U.S.), a graduate of the Florida State University School of Dance, has been collaborating with Third Rail Projects since 2013 on various performances including Then She Fell, Sign of the Times, Anthem, Midnight Madness, The Grand Paradise, and various other projects. Joshua has also had the opportunity to perform with Dishman + Co., Amalgamate Dance Company, and Kaley Pruitt Dance. In the past, Josh has worked with such prestigious artists as Gerri Houlihan, Dan Wagoner, Suzanne Farrell, Bulayoung Pagalava, Alan Danielson, and Clay Taliaferro. In his spare time, along with being the Marketing Associate for Third Rail Projects, Joshua freelances as a technologist. He collaborates in various technological mediums including web design, graphic design, and video editing. His past clients include Shen Wei, Shen Wei Dance Arts, Julie Tussey, Zvi Gotheiner, Ariane Reinhart, and the Pema Chödrön Foundation.

Renata Zhigulina (Participating Artist, Russia & U.S.) is an actor and performer from Saint Petersburg, Russia, currently based in NYC and LA. Introduced to the profession of acting at the age of 10, Renata embarked upon 6 years of intensive conservatory acting training starting in Saint Petersburg, continuing at Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) London; New York Film Academy (NYFA) and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York. Deeply drawn to the power of Shakespeare's language, Renata formalized her study of English classical text with British voice coach, author, and theatre director Patsy Rodenburg. Since 2010, Renata has performed in various theater, film and dance productions in New York City. Inspired by immersive, interactive, and site-specific performances, she was a member of international experimental theater ensemble "Dzieci" which utilizes techniques garnered from Jerzy Grotowski's Polish Theater Laboratory, Eugenio Barba and Peter Brook. She has performed with such immersive site-specific companies as Punchdrunk (Sleep No More) and Third Rail Projects. In the past 5 years she is been discovering the world and culture of Argentine Tango, both in U.S. and Buenos Aires. She is currently exploring the intersection of immersive interactive performance and tango.



