In Bloom

An evening of art and community celebrating creativity and process in bloom. Artists Sugar Vendil, Marie Lloyd Paspe, and Barkha Patel share works in progress, followed by a reception with food & drinks.

Co-Presented by Gold Standard Arts Foundation and Isogram Projects, an outfit of The Nouveau Classical Project

Organized by Sarah McCaffery

Flyer design by Sugar Vendil

Wed, May 28, 7 - 9 pm

RSVP required

Suggested donation:

Artists and Art Workers: Free

Friends: $15

BFF (Supporter Ticket): $100

• Donate at this level via our website.

Donations will support Gold Standard Arts Foundation and Isogram Projects

Address:

Center for Ballet Arts at NYU

16-20 Cooper Sq, New York, NY 10003

Space kindly sponsored Center for Ballet Arts at NYU

Photo credits:

Sugar Vendil photo: Titilayo Ayangade

Marie Lloyd Paspe photo: Maria J. Hatchett

Artist Bios:

Sugar Vendil (she/they) is a composer, pianist, and interdisciplinary artist who is forging new creative pathways as a second generation Filipinx American and future ancestor. She started her artistic life as a classical pianist, and after spending nearly a decade searching for her own voice, her practice evolved into experimenting with the physicality of producing sound, making music and performances that integrate sound, movement, and unconventional approaches to the piano. A self-taught choreographer and dancer, her practice is rooted in an aesthetics formed from her 90’s childhood, her former life as a volleyball player, and instrumental practice. She is currently in residence at TOPAZ Arts and CUNY Dance Initiative (York College/JCAL). Her forthcoming work, Antonym: the opposite of nostalgia was a two-time NEFA NTP Finalist and will premiere in January 2026. Vendil grew up in the East Bay and lives in Brooklyn with her partner and young child.

Marie Lloyd Paspe (she/her) is a Filipina-American dance artist, choreographer, vocalist, and educator re-rooting the brown Asian body in the liberatory practice of kapwa -- Tagalog for "I and the Other are One." Marie’s multi-faceted and dynamic choreographies, vocal scores, and performance-making merges the ancestral with the future, creating work that engages with the queer, decolonized narratives of us yearning for home. She has been awarded a Harlem Stage WaterWorks Emerging Artist Fellowship (2024), Target Margin Theater Institute Fellowship (2023-24), GALLIM Moving Artist Residency (2023), Asian American Arts Alliance Jadin Wong Fellowship (2022), and TOPAZ Arts Artist Residencies (2022, 2025). She was a former performer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company from 2018-2024, having received a Bessie for Outstanding Choreography for contributions to Deep Blue Sea (2021). www.marielloydpaspe / IG: @mmmlloyd

barkha patel is a kathak dancer, choreographer, and educator. Her works uphold the traditional lineage of kathak while mindfully creating contemporary works that uncover new movement possibilities and means of storytelling within the form. barkha’s work has been presented at venues such as Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out, Little Island, 92Y, and Chelsea Factory among others. barkha was a Dance/USA Institute for Leadership mentee and a recipient of the 2023 Juried Bessie Award. Through support of the New York State Dance Force, barkha completed her first tour to western NY. She was a recipient of the Princess Grace Award 2024 and a Harlem Stage WaterWorks Fellow in 2024 where she developed a part of her new full-length work called Ramti Aave - Her Playful Arrival. She has been a recipient of residencies with Movement Research residency (‘22 - ‘24) and Topaz Arts (‘25). She recently completed her first five city India tour and currently is a NYSCI choreographic resident.