![]() ![]() ![]() Next began a love affair with the smooth dances of Waltz, Foxtrot, Rumba & Nightclub Two-Step - her favorite dance forms to choreograph. to inform her dancing and teaching of Salsa & Bachata. After five years of African dance study & performance, she found herself on the lindy hop floor and it was love at first swivel! A PNW lindy champion, Jodi had the great honor of partnering and performing with the legendary Frankie Manning & other lindy greats for a decade before she hip-jiggled into the world of Latin dances, traveling to Cuba, Puerto Rico & L.A. Jodi has always said she is happiest while dancing. Abdiel currently is an MFA candidate at the University of Washington - Department of Dance expanding their research on hustle dance and club culture of the 70’s. Beyond the concert dance theater, Abdiel has been featured in original musical theater and opera productions including "Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise" directed by Chen Shi-Zheng with choreography by Akram Khan for The Shed NYC, "Hatuey: Memory of Fire"directed by Mary Birnbaum with choreography by Maija Garcia, and more. Abdiel was a guest artist with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, Buglisi Dance Theater, Cecilia Marta Dance Company, Movement Migration and in Diana Vishneva’s "Dialogues" concert. They have performed many lead roles in Graham's iconic repertoire as well as original works by Nacho Duato, Robert Wilson, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Sonya Tayeh, and more. Abdiel is also a Fulbright Specialist and a former Principal dancer of the Martha Graham Dance Company. They have taught their gender neutral approach to partner dance at The Juilliard School, Harvard University, Stanford University, University of California Irvine and currently teaching as a Pre Doctoral Lecturer at the University of Washington. In 2019, Abdiel and their dance partner, Kristine Bendul, made history becoming the world’s first professional “male-female" couple to compete as Gender Neutral in DanceSport ballroom competition. Abdiel (they/them) is an avid Hustle dancer, educator, researcher and community leader dedicated to the cultural preservation and creative expansion of Hustle.
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