Pioneer Winter Collective Makes ADF Debut with “Apollo”

Co-Presented by the Carolina Theatre and American Dance Festival

DURHAM, N.C. — May 18, 2026 — Pioneer Winter Collective announces its American Dance Festival debut with “Apollo,” a queer, intergenerational dance-theater performance, June 25, a co-presentation by ADF and the Carolina Theatre in Durham, NC. Featuring a multigenerational cast, “Apollo” explores queer dynamics, memory, HIV/AIDS, and legacy while also confronting ageism in the performing arts and reimagining who gets to be seen and celebrated on-stage.

Pioneer Winter Collective (PWC) is a critically acclaimed Miami-based dance company known for creating queer, intergenerational, physically integrated (disabled and non-disabled performers), and experimental work that reimagines the possibilities of dance. This performance marks PWC’s first engagement at American Dance Festival, a weeklong affair including community workshops, classes for the pre-professional students of ADF, and the June 25 performance.

“We’re proud to partner with the American Dance Festival to bring ‘Apollo’ to the Carolina Theatre. Pioneer Winter Collective’s work reflects a deep commitment to expanding who is seen and celebrated on stage, and that resonates strongly with our mission as a community-centered nonprofit. This performance invites audiences into a powerful exploration of identity, memory, and legacy, and we’re excited to share it with Durham,” comments Randy McKay, President and CEO of the Carolina Theatre of Durham.

Event Details

“Apollo” by Pioneer Winter Collective

Co-Presented by American Dance Festival and The Carolina Theatre

Thursday, June 25, 7:30pm

The Carolina Theatre, Fletcher Hall

309 W Morgan St, Durham, NC 27701

Tickets $30

https://carolinatheatre.org/events/live-event/pioneer-winter-collective-apollo/

In the performance, Pioneer Winter is joined by dance artists Clarence Brooks, Frank Campisano, and Octavio Campos. Original composition and live performance by sound artist, Diego Melgar. 

Pioneer Winter describes “Apollo” as a biomythography, a style of composition that weaves myth, history, and biography in epic narrative. The work draws inspiration from Greek mythology’s Apollo (god of the sun, music, prophecy, and healing), George Balanchine’s 1928 ballet “Apollo”, and the cast’s lived experience. Where Balanchine’s Apollo character encountered three ageless Muses, Pioneer Winter’s Apollo encounters three queer elders, each a past iteration of Apollo himself. Together, these dancers meet, compete, and find strength in their tensions as they try to understand each other and themselves. As Apollo’s story unfolds, questions emerge: of community, queering the classics, HIV/AIDS and the Missing Generation, and the importance of legacy.

“At Pioneer Winter Collective, we strive to expand the definition of all that dance is and can be so that all bodies survive, thrive, and are witnessed. We push against the constant erasure of certain bodies, performances, and voices based upon race, body type, age, and ability,” shares PWC Artistic Director Pioneer Winter. “In ‘Apollo’ we explore identity, personal story, mentorship, and rebirth. This is something queer people have always done: reshaping themselves, forging their own paths. We are honored and excited to bring this work to the American Dance Festival and the Carolina Theatre for our ADF debut.”

Artists of the Pioneer Winter Collective will also teach free workshops especially for adults and elders on June 20, 21, and 23. This workshop is for folks who are curious to explore movement in a supportive space. After viewing excerpts from “Apollo,” participants will be guided through accessible ballet-inspired movement, choreography, and discussion to create their own “movement portraits.” No prior dance experience is needed — just curiosity and a willingness to try. Participants should dress comfortably in clothing they can move in.

Pioneer Winter (b. 1987; he/they), Choreographer, Director, Performer
Pioneer is a choreographer, dancer, and artistic director based in Miami. Winter creates intergenerational, queer, and physically integrated dance-theater rooted in community, care, and social change. Their work challenges dominant notions of beauty and belonging, while expanding what dance is and who it’s for.

Winter is the founder of Pioneer Winter Collective (PWC), a platform that supports artists living at the intersection of dance, identity, and public health. Through PWC’s performances, workshops, and artist development programs, he creates space for queer, elder, disabled, and system-impacted artists to be seen as essential culture-bearers. Pioneer’s choreographic work blends movement, text, and film, with recent projects including “Apollo” and “In the Belly of the Bird/Godmother.”

Winter holds an MFA in Choreography and a MPH in Epidemiology. He was named in Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” and was named a Dance/USA Fellowships to Artists recipient in 2025, in honor of his work at the intersection of movement and social change. Winter has received awards from Creative Capital, NEFA, National Performance Network, MAP Fund, and the Mellon Foundation. Pioneer has directed and curated the ScreenDance Miami Festival since 2017, and mentors artists across the country.

Clarence Brooks (he/they), Performer
Clarence toured North America, Western Europe, Japan, and South Korea with 90 plus companies performing works by more than 130 choreographers. A former associate professor, who has lectured, choreographed, and taught in institutions across the nation, founded the Repertory Dance Theatre Ensemble which performed in curated festivals from Miami to Boston. They can be seen in the 5-part video documentary “The World of Alwin Nikolais” and their essay, “Dancing with the Issues,” was published in “One Teacher in 10: LGBT Educators Share Their Stories.” Additional distinctions include induction into the OCU Performance Hall of Honor, two Atlantic Center for the Arts Associate Artist-in-Residences, a Japan Foundation Grant to study Butoh, and the Library of Congress recorded their interpretation of Talley Beatty’s masterpiece “Mourner’s Bench” for the national archive. A founding member and past president of the Florida Dance Education Organization, Clarence holds advisory positions with FDEO and Natural Movers Foundation and sits on the boards of the Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble, danceTactics Performance Group, Miami Dance Futures, and Doris Humphrey Foundation for Dance. A high school dropout, they hold an MFA, a bachelor of performing arts, and several somatic certifications including Laban Movement Analysis, yoga (200 hour), and the Evans Method of Teaching Dance Technique. Clarence currently works with the Dance Exchange, Pioneer Winter Collective, Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble, danceTactics performance group, Megan Williams Dance Projects, and David Parker & The Bang Group. Clarence has performed with Pioneer Winter Collective since 2022, originating roles in “Birds of Paradise” (2022-2023) and touring with the company.

Frank Campisano (he/him), Performer
Frank is originally from New Jersey, and he received his early ballet training at the New Jersey Ballet under the direction of Edward Villella and the Garden State Ballet under Constantine Casanova. Campisano later studied with Tampa Concert Ballet under Ric Brame, Nevada Dance Theatre under Vassili Sulich, the Darvash School of Ballet under Gabriela Darvash, and Broadway Dance Center under Ron Forella. Campisano has performed in Las Vegas, The Follies at The Tropicana Hotel and Casino, and with several major dance companies: Boston Ballet II, Anna Myer and Dancers, Festival Ballet Providence, and Island Moving Company, as well as Summer Stock at the Barn Theatre and Off-Broadway tours. Campisano has previously worked with Pioneer Winter Collective in the 2011 premiere of “42: A Stonewall Prospective” at the Bass Museum of Art and in the 2017 premiere of “Forced Entry and Other Loves Stories” at the Light Box at Goldman Warehouse, and 2018 and 2019 performances of Reprise at Miami Dade County Auditorium, Spinello Projects/Brickell City Centre, and Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival (San Antonio, Texas), and Birds of Paradise (2021) at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. In addition to being a performer, Frank has participated in two of PWC’s artist accelerator programs, “Grass Stains” (2022) and “Creative Connections” (2022-2023).

Octavio Campos (he/him), Performer
Octavio is a Cuban-American performance artist, choreographer, educator, community organizer, restorative justice circle keeper, and multidisciplinary trickster whose work defies categories and dances on the edge of possibilities, disruption and wonder. Born into a world of contrasts — Cuban, Queer, Buddhist, Positive, Rebellious — Campos’ artistic voice emerged as a force for disrupting norms and revealing the unseen. Over four decades, he has created countless works and collaborated with hundreds of artists across disciplines, forging a path where spectacle meets intimacy and activism meets art and wellness. Trained at the Martha Graham School, SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance, and Germany’s Folkwang Hochschule under the legacy of Pina Bausch, Campos absorbed a movement philosophy rooted in humanity, rawness, and risk. After a decade of work in Europe, he has collaborated with visionary artists including Robert Wilson, Philip Glass, Vivienne Newport, and Yoshiko Waki, leaving his mark on experimental performance, immersive theater, and politically charged rituals. Campos founded Camposition, an interdisciplinary collective in Miami dedicated to creating provocative, site-specific works confronting themes such as HIV/AIDS, religious extremism, and domestic violence. His collaborations with Juggerknaut Theatre Company have redefined audience-performer relationships through immersive, boundary-breaking productions. He is a member of the Pioneer Winter Collective, where he performs, collaborates, and facilitates “Recovery in Motion,” a signature program blending expressive arts, movement, and recovery principles. He is also the architect of LALA Open Studio, an artist incubator and wellness meetup that nurtures a new generation of interdisciplinary artists and expands Miami’s creative landscape. As an educator, Campos has served on the faculty of the New World School of the Arts in Miami and NIDA (National Institute of Dramatic Art) in Sydney, Australia, sharing his dynamic approach to movement, storytelling, and social engagement worldwide. Offstage, Campos is a certified mindfulness instructor, restorative justice circle keeper, somatic practitioner, and peer support worker. He also serves on the board of B. Riley, an LGBTQ+ treatment center supporting individuals in recovery and mental health resilience.

Diego Melgar (he/they), Sound Designer, Composer, Performer
Diego is a Peruvian-born and Miami-raised, idiosyncratic guitarist reflecting the tropical melting pot he calls home. His two most recent albums, “Falling Forward” and “Summer Memories,” reflect the influence of Miami’s underground rave scene through a unique abstract lens coming from Melgar’s involvement in the avant-garde scene. The albums “Noble Savage” and “Mitingu” showcase Melgar’s jazz roots, the prior featuring his American trio and the latter with his European quartet. ‘Where’d You Go’ by Butterfly Snapple, a group of which Melgar is a founding member, features him in the context of an eclectic hip-hop band. Currently, Melgar runs a concert series hosted at Floyd Miami called “Pachamanca,” where artists from the several communities Melgar is a part of collaborate on new music for each concert, creating a one-of-a-kind live musical experience. Diego has been collaborating with Pioneer Winter Collective since 2023.

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Pioneer Winter Collective (PWC), established in 2016, is a physically integrated (disabled and nondisabled artists performing together) and intergenerational dance theater company that creates performances in public spaces, museums and galleries, stages, schools, and film. The work PWC creates seeks to expand the definition of all that dance is and can be, so all bodies survive, thrive, and are witnessed. https://pioneerwinter.com/

About The Carolina Theatre of Durham: Carolina Theatre of Durham is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that manages the city-owned Carolina Theatre at 309 W. Morgan Street, Durham, NC 27701. The Carolina Theatre of Durham is dedicated to presenting vibrant, thought-provoking film and live performances that contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of downtown Durham and the Triangle Region. Visit carolinatheatre.org for more information.

About American Dance Festival: With a legacy spanning 93 years, the American Dance Festival has served as a premier institution for modern dance, attracting artists, audiences, and thousands of students worldwide. ADF fosters innovation by nurturing new works, offering intensive training, and supporting artists at all career stages. ADF has served as a laboratory for experimentation and innovation by promoting the creation of new works and collaborations, educating generations of dancers through intensive training programs, presenting live and screen dance to the public, and developing humanities and international exchange programs. Originating in 1934 at the Bennington School of Dance, ADF relocated to Connecticut College in 1948 and has called Duke University and Durham home for the past 49 years.

Funding Credits

Pioneer Winter Collective’s “Apollo” is made possible by a 2022 Creative Capital Award. “Apollo” is a 2024 National Performance Network (NPN) Creation & Development Fund Project co-commissioned by Miami Light Project in partnership with Carolina Theatre of Durham and NPN. The Creation & Development Fund is supported by the Doris Duke Foundation, the Mellon Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts. Apollo also received support from the National Performance Network (NPN) Artist Engagement Fund and Alternate ROOTS. “Apollo” was created during a series of short, intense residencies at Miami Light Project, The Carolina Theatre of Durham, Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography, Atlantic Center for the Arts, The Movement Lab at Barnard College, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, and The Ringling.