The MoveMessenger(s) is a contemporary dance project based in Northern Virginia, embracing artists in their journey to find voice through body language. Led by founding artistic director and choreographer Angela Dice Nguyen, the company seeks to build community through artist exchange, audience conversation, and collaboration.

Our Story

The MoveMessenger(s) grew from a duo debut in 2015 to a diverse ensemble of collaborators performing for three seasons throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. With ten original works, the company received invitations to REVERBdance Festival (New York), Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program’s Alumni Evening (San Francisco), McCallum Theatre’s Choreography Festival (Palm Desert, CA), sjDANCEco Festival (San Jose), SpectorDance Choreographer’s Showcase (Marina, CA), Dance Brigade’s D.I.R.T. Festival (San Francisco), and Yerba Buena Gardens Festival’s ChoreoFest (San Francisco), among others. In 2017, the company offered its first full evening of dance as a free public event in partnership with Sausalito Public Library.

With a focus on collaborative spirit, Nguyen extended opportunities to guest choreographers Stephanie Harvey and Liv Schaffer, who created premieres for The MoveMessenger(s) in 2017 and 2018; Schaffer’s FATHERLAND would re-stage in a new configuration for Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in 2019. Across genres, The MoveMessenger(s) has joined with Sausalito Presbyterian Choir, led by Ralph Hooper, to present a vocal and dance presentation of O magnum mysterium featured live at Grace Cathedral for San Francisco Movement Arts Festival.

New Home in Northern Virginia

The company bid farewell to San Francisco as its home base in 2018, relocating to Northern Virginia with a continued interest in community building and educational outreach through dance. Nguyen produced a six-part “homemade” dance film series during the global pandemic titled There is a season for everything (2020-21), two episodes which premiered at DanceWorks Chicago’s Digital DanceChance in 2020.

From 2021-present, Nguyen’s involvement shifted to teaching opportunities both virtually and in person for DanceWorks Chicago’s Dance360, Shenandoah University, Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program, James Madison University’s Next Steps Summer Dance Intensive and JMU’s Dance Department, a choreographic re-staging commission for JMU’s Associate Dance Company, and the invitation to lead an audition for DanceWorks Chicago’s collaborative residency with Shenandoah Conservatory.

The MoveMessenger(s) re-emerges in 2024 providing space for the creation of choreographic works and dance training for professional and next generation performers.