BODYTRAFFIC To Perform At The Wallis This Month

BODYTRAFFIC will return to The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts with a mixed repertory program featuring a world premiere by Creative Partner Trey McIntyre. Additional works by Cayetano Soto, David Middendorp, and Jordyn Santiago will complete the program. Performances will take place December 11–13 at 7:30 p.m.

Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts will present BODYTRAFFIC, led by Artistic Director Tina Finkelman Berkett, on December 11, 12, and 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Bram Goldsmith Theater. The engagement will serve as the second installment of the company’s Los Angeles home season. The program will include a newly announced world premiere by Creative Partner Trey McIntyre along with works by Cayetano Soto, David Middendorp, and Jordyn Santiago.

BODYTRAFFIC Artistic Director Tina Finkelman Berkett said, “Partnering with The Wallis over the last eight years has allowed BODYTRAFFIC to create a true home in L.A. - a space where our audience can grow with us and share in the BODYTRAFFIC journey. The Wallis is more than just a venue to us; it's an intimate and thoughtfully designed space that helps to foster a deep connection between our dancers and the audience. It's a place where the joy of dance can be fully experienced by all present and we are so grateful to be able to share that feeling in this special place.”

WORLD PREMIERE BY Trey McIntyre

The newly announced world premiere by Trey McIntyre will debut at The Wallis in December 2025. McIntyre, who joined BODYTRAFFIC as Creative Partner in 2024, continues to create new work for the company. This piece is set to music recorded by Sam Cooke, including “A Change is Gonna Come,” “Bring It On Home to Me,” “Frankie and Johnny,” “Tennessee Waltz,” “Cupid,” “Nothing Can Change This Love,” and “I Wish You Love.”

McIntyre has worked as a choreographer for more than three decades and has created over 100 pieces for companies including The Stuttgart Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, San Francisco Ballet, BalletX, and numerous others. His early training took place at North Carolina School of the Arts and Houston Ballet Academy, followed by roles as Choreographic Apprentice and Choreographic Associate with Houston Ballet. He later founded the Trey McIntyre Project and has continued to create work for dance, film, and interdisciplinary performance. His honors include awards and fellowships from national arts organizations, as well as recognition for his contributions to choreography. His documentary Gravity Hero premiered at the Dance on Camera Film Festival at Lincoln Center.

FLYLAND — DAVID MIDDENDORP

Flyland, which premiered with BODYTRAFFIC at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival Gala in June 2025, is a duet that merges choreography with projection across the floor and cyclorama. The work explores shifting visual perspectives and the relationship between physical movement and digital imagery.

David Middendorp began his dance education at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague before continuing at Codarts in Rotterdam and gaining additional training experience at The Juilliard School. He performed with Introdans, Saarländische Staatstheater, and Ballet Theater München, where he created several early works. His subsequent choreographic projects have included collaborations with European companies and institutions, with a focus on integrating dance and technology.

SCHACHMATT (CHECKMATE!) — CAYETANO SOTO

Cayetano Soto’s Schachmatt (Checkmate!) will appear on the BODYTRAFFIC program. The work is built around the visual and structural concept of a chessboard and uses sharply defined physicality and precise musicality.

Soto trained at the Institut del Teatre in Barcelona and later at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. He performed with IT Dansa Barcelona and Ballet Theater Munich before establishing an international freelance career. His choreographic work has been commissioned by companies across Europe, North America, and South America, spanning ballet and contemporary repertory. He has received multiple awards recognizing his contributions to choreography and his development of a distinct movement language.

COALESCENCE — JORDYN SANTIAGO

Jordyn Santiago’s Coalescence, which premiered at Avalon Hollywood in June 2025, is a contemporary work shaped by themes of identity, personal grounding, community, femininity, and queerness. The piece incorporates elements of contemporary ballet, social dance, and movement influenced by house culture.

Santiago said, “The piece is about finding my personal self-love and the journey of that search. At the root of it, I've always felt like an alien on Earth, like this is my first time in a physical body form. I'm trying to create is a sense of rebirth, of being born again. At the end of it is where we find our joy, because we finally arrived in accepting where we are in our body.” She added, “In my own life, I've been tackling the main themes of community and my womanhood, trying to find comfort in my femininity, in my sexuality, because I'm queer, and finding community in this world.”