3 PONY SHOW / KEILA CORDOVA DANCES

Keila Cordova is the artistic director of 3 Pony Show, a dance-theatre company centered on embodying untold stories. Her works  - including A Tree When No Moon Shines, KITH, As Pretty Does, Volcano My Love, Agnes Falling, Janet 2.0 - have been performed in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York City, San Diego, Chicago and Toronto. She’s a choreographer, performer, writer and educator. Her short film, “RESIDUALS” was a 2021 Official Selection of the Montreal Independent Film Festival, the DUMBO Film Festival and the Toronto International Women Film Festival. The Philadelphia Women’s Theatre Festival honored her with the Story Changers Award for Outstanding Leadership and for Empowering Women in the Arts in Philadelphia. She’s received funding support from The Foundation for Contemporary Arts, The Leeway Foundation, Small But Mighty Arts, Puffin Foundation, Harlem Stage, the Greenwall Foundation; creative residencies at Saltonstall, the Millay Colony and Norcroft.  A current co-board chair of thINKingDANCE. She has an MFA from The New School for Social Research.

Venrick James is an emerging dancer/choreographer from Allentown, PA. A very versatile mover, Venrick has training in Ballet, Modern, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Jazz, Umfundalai, West African, Capoeira, and Asian contemporary styles. Venrick has collaborated with artists such as Ellenore Scott, LaTasha Barnes, Dara Meredith, Fairul Zahid, and recently finished a high school tour with Sarah Carlson’s Dancelink. He has presented his own choreography through festivals such as the Northeast American College Dance Association Festival and Touchstone Theater’s Festival Unbound.Presently, Venrick is a senior at Temple University pursuing a B.F.A in dance, graduating in 2025. 

ALFONSO GUTIÉRREZ, currently based in Philadelphia, was born and raised in Cádiz, Spain. Alfonso started playing cello when he was only 3 years old under the guidance of his mom, Cristina Moreno. He started taking private lessons shortly after with Carmen Teixeira, from the Royal Seville Symphony Orchestra. He performed in many recitals around the country while studying in the conservatory where he was accepted at the age of 7. In 2014 he was accepted to the Orquesta Beigbeder in Jerez de la Frontera, where he performed in Spain and France. Alfonso moved to America in 2017 to continue his musical studies, where he took private lessons with Jeffrey Hood, from the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from DePaul University and Temple University, where he studied with Brant Taylor and John Koen respectively. Alfonso Gutierrez has won chamber and solo awards in Spain and has participated in many orchestras and concerts in America. He has also received lessons from Benjamín Rodríguez, Walter Gray, Amy Frost Baumgarten, Stephen Balderston and Gethyn Jones.

JUAN YÁNEZ is a Venezuelan violinist. His musical journey began at the age of 6, when he joined Venezuela’s renowned El Sistema. By his teenage years, he had risen to the position of concertmaster of theOrquesta Sinfónica Juvenil de Ciudad Guayana, all while studying at the Conservatorio de Música Simón Bolívar. After completing high school, Juan was accepted to the Liszt Music Academy in Budapest, Hungary. In 2018, Juan was awarded a full scholarship to study in the United States. In 2022, he graduated summa cum laude from Rowan University and was offered a full scholarship to continue his studies at Temple University, where he recently earned his Master’s degree in Music Performance from Temple University. As an orchestra musician, Juan has had the privilege of performing under the batons of esteemed conductors such as Gustavo Dudamel, José Antonio Abreu, Diego Matheuz, José Luis Domínguez, Christian Vásquez, Rodolfo Barráez, and Gavriel Heine, among others. Currently, Juan serves on the violin and viola faculty at Germantown Academy and ArCoNet: The Arts & Community Network. He performs regularly in the tri-state area, both as a soloist and in chamber and orchestral settings.

EMILIANO PARDO-TRISTÁN was born in Panama and has lived in the United States since 1992. He studied at the Royal Superior Conservatory of Music in Madrid, Spain and received a master's degree in performance and a doctorate in composition from Temple University, Philadelphia, and a post-doctorate from New York University. In 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024 he won the Roque Cordero National Musical Composition Contest in Panama. He has written articles about music and literature for the Panamá América newspaper. In 2020, he won the Ricardo Miró National Literature Contest, with his novel Lo blanco y lo negro. Pardo-Tristán has released five CDs, and his compositions have been performed by the Philadelphia Classical Symphony, Delaware Symphony, Grand Rapids Orchestra, Jackson Symphony, Panama National Orchestra, and Temple University Orchestra; and by noted ensembles and soloists from Europe, Latin America, and the United States. He teaches private composition at Temple University, and classical guitar at the Bryn Mawr Conservatory, Haverford College, and AMLA.