About

Laura Colby founded Elsie Management in 1995 for the sole purpose of representing her contemporary dance friends and peers at the annual Arts Presenters conference – APAP. Today, Elsie Management promotes the careers of national and international performing arts companies on stages and performance opportunities across the globe.

Offering a combination of management and development services, along with artist representation, Elsie Management consists of President Laura Colby, Vice President, Anna Amadei, and Contracts Manager, Jimena Alviar. Dedicated to developing the next generation of arts workers, we also maintain an on-going internship program.

Elsie currently represents twenty companies, artists, and projects. With its office located in between the DUMBO and downtown neighborhoods of Brooklyn, we are members of the North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents (NAPAMA), Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP), Dance/USA, Fractured Atlas, The Field, Western Arts Alliance, International Society for the Performing Arts, and International Performing Arts for Youth. We regularly attend national and international performing arts convenings.

Staff Bios

Laura Colby, President
Anna Amadei, Vice President
Jimena Alviar, Contracts Manager

Laura Colby, President

I am APAP, Jan 2017, Laura Colby video

Recipient of the 2016 Liz Silverstein Award for Agent-Manager of the Year, Colby began her arts administrative career in New York City in the early 1980’s while dancing for several contemporary choreographers. She formed Elsie Management in 1995 specifically to provide representation to several friends at the annual APAP (Association of Performing Arts Professionals) conference.

Since forming Elsie Management, Colby has represented performing arts touring companies from five continents, coordinating tours to over two hundred global venues. She has served as Project Manager, forming presenter and funding consortiums to support the development, creation, and touring of new works. She has served as Tour Coordinator for numerous National Dance Project supported projects including Ann Carlson’s “Doggie Hamlet” and Union Tanguera and Kate Weare Company’s “Sin Salida/In Love I Broke Beyond.” Currently, she is serving as Tour Coordinator for the National Theater Project supported work, “The End of TV” by the Chicago-based theater company, Manual Cinema. Colby has raised commissioning funds from performing arts venues, private and public foundations, and organizations in support of new works for her clients. She has secured, organized, and produced showcases in New York City, throughout the United States, and globally for her clients. Colby has secured and produced New York City seasons at such theaters as The Joyce Theater, The Public Theater, Dance Theater Workshop, Joe’s Pub, the New Victory Theater, Symphony Space, Aaron Davis Hall, Central Park Summerstage, and PS122 for her client roster.

Presently on the Executive Board of the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP), Colby’s recent board service has focused on the formation of  JanArtsNYC, a partnership of industry conveners and festivals. Colby served on the board of NAPAMA (North American Performing Arts Managers and Agents) for six years from 2002-2008, and as its President in 2007 & 2008. In 2001, Colby founded Dance/USA’s Agents and Artist Representation Council. She served as the Council’s Founding Chair for three years and on the board of Dance/USA for four years. Colby has been an invited speaker for APAP’s Winter Institute, The Joyce Theater Foundation, Southern Arts Federation, Western Arts Alliance, Australian Performing Arts Market, Dance/NYC, Dance Theater Workshop, Florida State University, Fordham University, University of Kansas, and UMass Amherst, among others. In 2002 Colby co-curated Boston’s Dance Straight Up series. She has regularly attended the Australian Performing Arts Market as an international delegate. She has been an invited delegate to the Shanghai Performing Arts Market (2016), New Zealand International Arts Festival (2010), Tokyo Performing Arts Market (2003), and the Tanzmesse (2002 & 2004).

Committed to the development of policy for the not-for-profit performing arts field, Colby served on APAP’s Ethics Task Force (2005), Dance/USA’s Definitions Committee (2004-2005), and directed the updating of NAPAMA’s Ethical Guidelines (2005). She was the initiating facilitator between Dr. Edward Fishkin, Medical Director at Woodhull Hospital and Medical Center and the performing arts community in the creation of ArtistAccess, the groundbreaking healthcare program for artists and arts workers begun in May, 2005 that was launched at other New York City hospitals (pre-dating the Affordable Care Act).

Colby’s early administrative work includes serving as Administrative Director of Mark Haim & Dancers (1985-1987). In the 80’s she also worked for choreographer Patricia Hoffbauer and Nancy Duncan’s CoDanceCo. She served as Company Manager for Neo Labos Dancetheater (Michele Elliman, Artistic Director) from 1993-2000 and was the Founding Company Manager (1997-2003) of Seán Curran Company.

Colby graduated with a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School, under the direction of Martha Hill. She was a member of Mark Haim & Dancers, the Limón Dance Company, CoDanceCo, and Seán Curran Company. Colby has also performed with Sara Rudner, Ann Carlson, Patricia Hoffbauer, and Mark Taylor, and has assisted choreographers Ann Carlson and Mark Haim in restagings. She trained extensively with Elizabeth Streb’s Ringside Inc, performing as an extra in their 1994 Joyce Theater season, and assisting the company in their Kid Action program.

Prior to moving to New York City, Colby attended the University of California at Irvine as a dance major, then under the direction of Eugene Loring. It was at Irvine that Colby created the student organization, START (Support The Arts), as an early fundraising effort. She graduated from Berkeley High School – where she was first introduced to modern dance as a member of Dance Production, under the direction of Marcia Sigman. She began her early ballet training with Patricia Schuster in Ridgefield, CT, before moving to the Bay Area where she trained as a scholarship student at the San Francisco Ballet from 1975-1978. For three years, she performed with the company in the annual stagings of Lew Christensen’s The Nutcracker, performing the roles of Clara, numerous children’s roles, and as a member of the corps de ballet. Instrumental teachers in her dance training included Alfredo Corvino, Risa Steinberg, and Hector Zaraspe.

An avid cyclist, Colby has ridden her road bike over 3,000 miles for AIDS charities and served as bike support for the 2003 Breast Cancer Walk and the 2005 & 2006 New York City Marathon. A member of the New York Cycle Club, Colby served as a volunteer leader for the club’s spring A19 SIG training program from 2004-2006. Colby has taken up the social dancing forms of Argentinean tango and east coast swing. She lives in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope. Her son, Colby Marple, is the Director of Lifestyle Development, Team In Training for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

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Anna Amadei, Vice President

Anna Amadei joined Elsie Management in May, 2008 – then as a Contract Manager, later as Artist Representative, and now as Vice President. Amadei signed Spellbound Contemporary Ballet (IT), Union Tanguera (FR & ARG), eVenti Verticali (IT), Sankofa Danzafro (COL), and fuse* (IT) to the Elsie Management roster. She has been awarded multiple grants from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals in support of her international travel and has served on grant panels. She was a 2010 APAP Emerging Leaders Institute Fellow.

A native of Italy, Amadei worked for Daniele Cipriani Entertainment from 2004-2008. With a special focus on dance, Amadei was responsible for international relations and tour coordinator for Cipriani working with such companies as the Martha Graham Dance Company, Limón Dance Company and Susanne Linke, among others. She also produced major dance events, and evenings of ballet performed by etoiles of the most recognized ballet companies all over the world. From 2010 – 2014 Amadei was the International Booking Agent for the Limon Dance Company. She toured with the company throughout Latin America, Asia, and Europe.

Amadei entered the world of dance as a child and trained in ballet, yoga, contemporary and jazz and danced with Surya Dance Company, in Italy. In 2004 she graduated from the University of Bologna (Italy) with a BA in Communication and an MA in Performing Arts Management. After moving to New York in 2008, Amadei has returned to performing with her husband Daniel Fetecua and his dance company, Pajarillo Pinta’o fusing traditional Colombian dances and modern technique. A mother of two marvelous creatures, Amadei speaks fluent Italian, English, and Spanish. She loves to travel and to discover other cultures. She’s and avid social dancer and her hidden passions (aside for her children) are tango and salsa.

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Jimena Alviar, Contracts Manager

Jimena Alviar, originally from Bogotá, Colombia, joined the Elsie team in October 2016 as Marketing Manager. Since the end of June, she is working as Contracts Manager, remotely. She holds a MFA in Dance Choreography from Temple University (2009) and a BFA in Performing Arts from the Universidad Distrital-ASAB in Colombia. She has been awarded with the Fulbright Scholarship (2006-2008), the Rose Vernick Choreographic Achievement Award (2009), and IDARTES grants (2011). Jimena is the founder and artistic director of ja dance company.

Jimena’s passion for dance and the arts finds its niche as a dancer, choreographer, educator, lighting designer, production manager, and arts administrator.

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