BESSIES STAFF

HEATHER ROBLES Executive Director

Heather Robles (she/her/ella) is a nondisabled queer Latinx cis woman of indigenous Mexican descent who lives on the stolen land of the Lenape and Canarsie peoples in what is now called Brooklyn. She has worked at The Bessies since 2010- the first year they were independently produced with Lucy Sexton. She is the Founder and Artistic Director of Alma Dance Company, a certified birth doula at Our Birth Doula and Artistic Programming Manager at BAAD! Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance. A Brooklyn-based choreographer and performer, she has worked with many artists including Yvonne Rainer, Sidra Bell, Pavel Zûstiak, Nathan Trice, DANCENOISE, André M. Zachery, Buglisi Dance Theater, Soluq Dance Theater, Alison Cook Beatty Dance, Fredrick Earl Mosley, Suzzanne Ponomarenko Dance, and The Equus Projects. Heather is also a dance educator, teaching artist, producer, and advocate for mental health in the dance field. She is a 2025 Executive MBA candidate at IE Business School and Brown University.

DALIA ENGELBERG Associate Manager

Dalia Engelberg (she/they) is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher. She became the Associate Manager of the Bessie Awards after working as the Program Manager in 2023. She is a company member for RACHEL: dancers, as well as a Pilates instructor. Dalia graduated from NYU Tisch in 2023 with a B.F.A in Dance and a Minor in History. During her studies, she had the privilege of working with choreographers Bill T. Jones, Sidra Bell, and Rafael Cañales. Originally from Montclair, New Jersey, she studied at Sharron Miller’s Academy for the Performing Arts as well as the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. Dalia lives in Brooklyn and is grateful to be a part of the NYC dance community!

GABRIELLE BURGESS Social Media Manager

Gabrielle Burgess (she/her), originally from Dracut, MA, has worked with The Bessies since 2019. She holds a BA in Dance from Hofstra University, and has worked with a number of artists as a freelance performer, including the Moving Architects, the Chamberlin Collective, Joan Bradford and Collaborators, and kamrDANCE. Gabbie has worked for many years as a dance educator in Brooklyn and the greater New York area, and is currently studying at Columbia University to become a licensed occupational therapist.

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