Team Group: Staff

Veronica Bone (she/her) is a dance artist born in Indiana and currently based in the Berkshires of Massachusetts. She graduated from Indiana University in 2018 with a BFA in Contemporary Dance and a certificate in Arts Administration. While in school she had the opportunity to learn from Bill T. Jones, Gallim, Batsheva, and Vertigo company members, study the Gaga technique in Israel for 6 months, and co-direct collaborative shows with fellow dance and theater students. Veronica moved to the Berkshires to work at Jacob’s Pillow for the summer of 2018. She has been a member of the “Qualia Dance Collective” since the winter of 2020 and has created and performed as a freelance artist since 2019. She has performed at Jacob’s Pillow, the Foundry, Berkshire Theater Group, and Chesterwood, to name a few. Veronica is also a teaching artist working mostly with pre-teens to adults and focused on Contemporary Dance. She is also a 200-hour Yoga Certified Instructor. She is the Community and In-school Program Manager at Berkshire Pulse, where she’s working to better and more equitably serve each day.

Benjamin Court is dancer, musician, writer, and educator in Western Massachusetts.

I grew up in Western New York, where I played in several punk and experimental music groups. From 2010-2020, I lived in Los Angeles, where I studied Musicology and received my Ph.D. (UCLA, 2017). My graduate research explored the politics of musical “amateurism” – music by individuals who claimed not to know how to play music, but nevertheless became musicians. Among other topics, I have published articles about the semiotics of punk in the UK, racial formation in rap and punk in New York City during the 1970s, and the Scratch Orchestra’s politics of music education. I have also taught several courses in music, critical theory, and broadcast media for UCLA and Woodbury University. While In Los Angeles, I recorded music with the Unthem collective and began learning to dance Chicago Footwork. In 2021, I joined the Chicago Footwork crew Creation Global and began releasing self-produced Footwork music. My current projects focus on bringing together Chicago Footwork dancers and producers around the globe, as well as creating new educational opportunities for artists from Chicago to share their craft. In 2021, I joined the staff at Berkshire Pulse, where I love to take classes in music, hip hop, modern, and contemporary!

Madeline is an RSMT/E (Registered Somatic Movement Therapist and Educator), certified in SomaSoul®: Somatic Therapy and Shake Your Soul®, a somatic movement-dance practice by LIFE Movement: Leven Institute for Expressive Movement.

She is registered through ISMETA, the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association, and is working towards becoming an MSMT/E (Master Somatic Movement Therapist/Educator).

Currently, Madeline is a full-time graduate student at Antioch University New England, pursuing an M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a concentration in trauma. She has a passion for trauma studies, Polyvagal Theory, the mind-body connection, somatic movement, dance, expressive arts, and social justice.

Her journey between undergrad and grad school led Madeline to move to Shanghai, China, where she taught children English, dance, and drama performance for four years. During this time, she also taught Shake Your Soul® at local studios.

As a Somatic Movement Therapist and Educator, she helps others discover greater awareness and understanding of their lives through a mind-body healing modality that combines elements of Body-Centered Gestalt Psychotherapy and Polyvagal Theory with expressive arts and mindfulness.

In her practice, she uses tools like body scanning, journaling, sensory drawing, visualizations, movement, and nervous system education to help clients strengthen their mind-body connection and integrate their body’s story, creating new neural pathways of healing.

Madeline teaches Shake Your Soul® on Thursdays and works with clients virtually in her private somatic therapy practice. Additionally, she assists the LIFE Movement SomaSoul® Somatic Therapy Clinical Training and will assist the Level 1 Shake Your Soul® Teacher Training this summer at Won Dharma Center from July 19-26.

View Madeline’s ISMETA Profile

Born in Portland, Oregon, and raised in Denver, Colorado, Gillian Ebersole (they/them) is a dancer and choreographer, as well as a poet, dance writer, and researcher. Gillian graduated Summa Cum Laude from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles with a dual degree in Dance and English. Performed on stages in Los Angeles, Denver, and Paris, as well as across Berkshire County, their choreographic work merges a love for language and for movement. Gillian trained with Denver contemporary dance company Wonderbound, Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Whyteberg, Gibney, and Bill T. Jones. Most recently, Gillian has performed and presented work at multiple venues in Berkshire County, including Jacob’s Pillow, The Foundry, and Chesterwood. Drawn to the communal embodied experience. Gillian is a certified yoga instructor and has taught both dance and yoga in studios and community spaces. After moving to Western Massachusetts to work for Jacob’s Pillow, Gillian became a Teaching Artist Fellow as part of the Massachusetts Cultural Council Creative Youth Development program. Currently, Gillian works for Berkshire Pulse as the Youth Performing Arts Program Coordinator and is proud to be a member of their Modern Dance Faculty.

Sara Kiesel is a seasoned educator specializing in arts for the young child. She has worked as a dance/movement specialist and Arts administrator, workshop leader, and teacher trainer. Her background in dance, movement therapy, creative arts and performance has given her a breadth of experience while working with hundreds of children, families and teaching professionals. Sara has recently been studying the effects of trauma on children and youth, with the aim of teaching simple techniques for self-care.

Sara is a gifted teacher with an empathetic and perceptive ability to meet the child where he/she is. Sara brings her knowledge of the child’s developmental, social and emotional needs to the table as she guides parents and teachers to better understand the child in their care. An experienced speaker and workshop leader, Sara engages audiences with her enthusiasm, joy for the role of the arts in education, and respect for the journey of the child whose perceptions and abilities are ready to be expressed. Understanding that all children have individual learning styles enables Sara to work effectively with all populations.

Shannon Nulf (she/her) is a movement artist and arts administrator whose work reflects her commitment to human connection and community building. She is a graduate of the University of Michigan with a BFA in Dance and minors in Movement Science and Performing Arts Management. At U-M, she worked with artists Urban Bush Women, Rosie Herrera, and Joel Valentin-Martinez, U-M Faculty Missy Beck and Charli Brissey, and MFA candidates Fabiola Torralba, Sydney Schiff, Kelly Hirina, Jen Peters, and Melissa Brading. After graduating in 2021, Shannon worked as a Community Engagement Intern for the 2021 Summer Festival at Jacob’s Pillow and then as Community Engagement Fellow until September 2022. She has performed and presented work at multiple venues in the Berkshires, including Jacob’s Pillow, The Foundry, and Chesterwood. She currently teaches Ballet, Modern, and Contemporary at Berkshire Pulse, having studied dance education and pedagogy at U-M.

Madison Palffy is a performer, dance-maker, and multi-disciplinary artist based in western Massachusetts. She holds an MFA in Dance and Choreography with an emphasis in Somatics and Improvisation from University of Colorado, Boulder. Her work is driven by a sense of experimentation and artistic cross-pollinationand has taken the form of films, installations, and evening length performances. Her work has been shown at Studio 303 (Montreal), The Iron Factory (Philadelphia), Ponderosa (Germany), The School for Contemporary Dance and Thought (Northampton, MA), GreenSpace (NYC), AS220 (Providence, RI), The Dairy Arts Center (Boulder, CO), and throughout New England. As a collaborating artist, she has had the pleasure of performing in work by Anya Cloud, Wendy Woodson, Lailye Weidman, Katie Martin, Chris Aiken, Angie Hauser, Kathleen Hermesdorf, and Paul Matteson (among others). Other collaborations include movement direction for Sleater Kinney’s music video “High in the Grass”. As an educator, Madison has been on faculty at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts High School, Berkshire Pulse, School of Contemporary Dance & Thought, Northampton Center for the Arts, Block 1750, Ape Co Movement School, and The Spark Performing Arts Center. She was a graduate teaching assistant at University of Colorado Boulder and has been a guest teaching artist at Keene State College, Amherst College, Hampshire College, Moving Target Portland, Earthdance Workshop & Retreat Center, and the Williston Northampton School. She is currently an adjunct faculty member in the dance program at Keene State College and teaches at Berkshire Pulse and Loculus Studios.