CIRIO COLLECTIVE’S VISION IS TO BRING DANCERS, CHOREOGRAPHERS, AND OTHER ARTISTS TOGETHER TO EXPLORE AND DEVELOP NEW WORKS WITHOUT BOUNDARIES AND WITHOUT FEAR. THEY AIM TO INSPIRE OTHERS, THEIR ART FORM, AND THEMSELVES BY REACHING OUTSIDE OF THE BOX WITH NO INHIBITIONS.
AS An artist Collaborative, CIRIO COLLECTIVE RECOGNIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF USING THEIR UNIQUE VOICE, FOCUSING ON THEIR ABILITY TO MAKE CHANGE, MOVE BEYOND BARRIERS, AND OPEN MINDS.
Cirio Collective's inaugural season was born out of a vision that brother and sister duo Jeffrey and Lia Cirio had to bring dancers and other artists together to create and collaborate. They began in the summer of 2015 at Vineyard Arts Project and finished with a premiere at Cape Dance Festival in Provincetown, MA.
Since 2015, Cirio Collective has worked with numerous dancers, choreographers, musicians, filmmakers, costume designers, photographers, lighting designers, and stage managers. They have held residencies yearly at Vineyard Arts Project and Cape Dance Festival, and have performed in such places as Jamaica Plain, MA, Provincetown, MA, Wellfleet, MA, Edgartown, MA, The Joyce Theater in New York City, Norte Maar's Dance @ Socrates in Queens, NY, the Dancers Responding to AIDS Hudson Valley Dance Festival in Catskill, NY, The Playground NYC Winter Showcase as a part of APAP, Fire Island Dance Festival, the Despertares Impulsa Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico, and the Gogue Performing Arts Center at Auburn University, Alabama. They have also hosted master classes and contemporary ballet workshops for the community on Martha’s Vineyard, at Northeast Arts in Jamaica Plain, MA and Variations Dance Studio in Auburn, AL.
The documentary/dance film “Cirio Collective 2020: There is Beauty in the Dark,” filmed and directed by Quinn Wharton, was created in July of 2020 and depicts the creation of a new work by Jeffrey Cirio, along with company interviews and dance sequences shot on location around Martha’s Vineyard.
Cirio Collective’s 10th anniversary season took place in July 2024, with rehearsals and public classes held at Northeast Arts in Jamaica Plain, MA, and two evenings of performances at the Calderwood Pavilion at the BCA in Boston, MA. The company’s performance featured works by Jeffrey Cirio, Lia Cirio and Emily Mistretta, along with a new work entitled “Loud House” by Gregory Dolbashian.
Cirio Collective: Open Ground, a summer residency of creation and conversation, will mark the company’s return to its creative home on Martha’s Vineyard with a weeklong residency at Vineyard Arts Project in July 2026. During the weeklong residency, Cirio Collective will develop two new works: a continued creation by Jeffrey Cirio and a new work by Lia Cirio. The residency will offer an inside look at how the company builds work, from early movement research and collaboration to the shaping of new choreography. At the culmination of the week, audiences will be invited to experience an informal showing and discussion that highlights the company’s creative process, offering rare access to how the work is made rather than a finished performance alone.
Open Ground is both a season and a long-term vision. The Summer 2026 residency serves as the first phase of a multi-year arc, with the company continuing to create throughout the season and returning in Summer 2027 to present a full evening of work titled Open Ground, featuring these new works alongside an additional new creation.