Grounded Aerial Creative Team

Karen A. Fuhrman - Owner/Artistic Director/Choreographer

Karen A. Fuhrman specializes in modern dance and aerial dance theater that utilizes harnesses and apparatus-based movement for her choreography. As a dancer, her recent performance credits include Pilobolus Dance Theater, Danny Ezrelo (Film: "Love and other Things"), Cavalia of Cirque du Soleil, De La Guarda (off-Broadway NYC), MOMIX dance company's U.S. and European tours, New York Stage Original's DREAM, Ballet Sh'ma at the 92nd Street Y in New York, and the Fourth Dimension Dance Company in the Seoul Opera House, Korea. Ms. Fuhrman has contributed to the choreography for both MOMIX and Pilobolus in both National and International tours. She has performed/choreographed in many other venues throughout the U.S., Europe, and Asia; along with appearances on the VH1/Vogue Fashion Awards, Conan O'Brian Show ('07 and '08), Ellen Degeneres show, Good Morning America, The Academy Awards (Oscars) 2007, MTV, PBS, CBS, ABC, and SHOWTIME. Karen has studied dance, theater, and voice while earning her BFA from Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. She also received her MA from New York University with an emphasis on Choreography and Higher Education.

Aaron Verdery - Director of Production/Aerial Rigging Design

Aaron is very pleased to join forces with Grounded Aerial. With a background in stunt rigging and technical direction, he designed aerial rigs for Cedar Lakes Contemporary Ballet, TimeLapse Dance, Elizabeth Streb and the Yale School of Drama, and has worked with companies such as De La Guarda, Blue Man Group, Action Specialists, ZFX, Roundabout Theatre Company, and Signature Theatre Company. He is an alumnus of the M.F.A program in Technical Design and Production at Yale University's School of Drama.

Contact Aaron at aaron@groundedaerial.com

Richard Szpigiel - Associate Artistic Director, Performer

Actor, dancer, director, aerial & fire artist, designer and rigger. Grounded Aerial company member since 2004. BA in theatre from University of California Riverside. Richard was a member of Stephanie Gilliland Dance Co and a performing co-creator of AWD Performance Band, Genetyx and Xenodrome Collective. He has also been a guest performer with Pilobolus, Cirque du Soleil, Jane's Addiction, Les Claypool, Bernie Worrell and Michael Franti & Spearhead, among others.

Jill Drappo-Harvey - Education Coordinator

Jill Drappo-Harvey comes from a Musical Theatre background, and has been dancing, directing, and choreographing since she was 16 years old. A number of years ago, after teaching Children's Ballet, Jill decided to start working with grown-ups! Now, she teaches Pilates, Redcord Active, and AntiGravity Yoga. In addition, Jill is the Editor of all educational materials for AntiGravity Fitness. She is thrilled to contribute to Grounded Aerial as Education Coodinator for their Pubic Classes!

John Elliot Oyzon - Composer

Choreographer, aerialist, carpenter, dancer, composer, sound designer, musician. Seen in: De La Guarda, Tarzan (Broadway), and Stomp.

Bill Hayward - Motion and Still photography

Bill Hayward is a photographer, filmmaker and painter whose work has featured in numerous national magazines, and his portrait subjects have ranged from Bob Dylan for Interview magazine to President Reagan for the cover of Fortune. Bill's work is exhibited in galleries, museums and film festivals throughout the US and Europe. He is presently at work on a multi-year, multi-media book project entitled bill hayward's the human bible predicated on a process of play and invention called portraits of the collaborative-self, a portrait process which he invented. He is also at work on a feature film entitled "Asphalt, Muscle and Bone." Bill lives in New York City and Montana.
billhayward.com

John Medeski - Guest Composer

John Medeski is a native of Louisville, KY and grew up in Florida where he performed with the likes of Mark Murphy and the late Jaco Pastorius. He is a veteran of New York's '90s avant-garde jazz scene but is known primarily as a 1/3 of Medeski, Martin & Wood, an internationally beloved jazz trio formed in 1991. He plays the acoustic piano and an eclectic array of keyboards, including the Hammond B3 organ, melodica, mellotron, clavinet, ARP String Ensemble, Wurlitzer electric piano, Moog Voyager Synthesizer and the Wurlitzer 7300 Combo Organ.