HOT Dance! evening at Dixon Place, provides opportunities for choreographers of queer identity, working in all dance forms to workshop new dance works that run 12 to 15 minutes.

Featured Choreographers: 
*Claudio Caverni presenting ‘Exosuia’
*Dominique M. Fontenot presenting ‘Do You Get It?’
*Gray Laxton presenting ‘Hive’
*Peter Alfred Elizalde presenting ‘the discotech is where i go to experience unmatched joy and profound sadness’ 
*Sharp presenting ‘Gender Dysphoria’

About The Artists

Claudio Caverni – Choreographer
Claudio Caverni, originally from Siena, Italy, graduated in 2021 at Ateneo della Danza. In 2021, he moved to New York to train at The Ailey School, as a student, Claudio performed with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in Bird Lives, Festa Barocca, and Chasing the Spirit. He also performed in Memoria during AAADT’s 2023 NYC season and at BAM in 2024. Claudio has worked with choreographers like Amy Hall Garner, Christopher Huggins, Norbert De LaCruz III, and participated in intensives like FLOCK, Orsolina28 with Juliano Nunes and FLOCK, ChoreoLab He has performed with the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado and joined inDANCE, and Tabula Rasa. Claudio is also a choreographer.
Photographer Credit: annix.photo

Dominique M. Fontenot – Choreographer
Dominique M. Fontenot is a Louisiana-born educator, choreographer, and visual artist. She holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and an MA in Dance Education and Ballet Pedagogy from NYU in partnership with ABT, where she earned an award for community building. She most recently taught and coordinated arts programming at Achievement First Ujima High School. She is the founder and artistic director of The R.E.A.C.H. Collective, a nonprofit for Black and Brown performing artists. She currently serves as a Fellow for the 2025 NYU Artist Development Program for Dance! A longtime coach of the Dazzling Dolls dance team, Dominique uplifts her community through the arts and lives by the mantra: “You live to create another day.”
Photographer Credit: Rebecca Oviatt 

Gray Laxton – Choreographer
Gray Laxton is a multidisciplinary artist, performer, and choreographer originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, now based in New York City. Gray will be graduating in the Fall of 2025 with a BFA in Choreography, a BA in Graphic Design, and a minor in Psychology—an academic blend that fuels their layered approach to storytelling and creation. Throughout their training, Gray has had the opportunity to present original work in student choreography showcases and set choreography for dance companies such as Baran Dance. Their work reflects a deep curiosity about the human experience, conveyed through a dynamic and thoughtful artistic lens.

Peter Alfred Elizalde – Choreographer
Peter Alfred Elizalde is a Filipino/a/x/? Nonbinary dance artist, choreographer, and DJ residing in Lenape-Canarsie land currently known as Brooklyn, NY. They have appeared on stages and not stages in the five boroughs and abroad and are excited to share their brand of queer magic and unfiltered emotion with you.
They have performed under the direction of choreographers Ljuba Castot, John Alix, Brendan Fernandez, and Julia Ehrstrand. Most recently, they have presented their choreography at Triskelion Arts, the Mark Morris Dance Center, Julia Ehrstrand’s summer workshop in Styggbo, Sweden, Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, and THAT SHOW NYC.
Photographer Credit: Effy Grey

Sharp – Choreographer
Sharp (They/Them) is a nonbinary dancer and choreographer from Monmouth County NJ. They are currently a senior honors student of Dance Science at Rider University with a minor in Philosophy. They have performed at various festivals including Montclair Dance Festival and previously at Dixon Place with the ReDef company led by John “Comix” Barella. They have choreographed multiple works within their surrounding the queer identity including “Gender Dysphoria”, “Ode to Sappho”, and “Unspeakable” which debuts in October of 2025.
Photographer Credit: Pete Borg