Columbia alum Camila Rivero Pooley, who goes by the artist name “INSÉKTA,” transformed her experiences with rage and gender expectations into a dance theater production that premiered this week at the Dance Center.

We’re stepping into dance season. WBEZ chooses eight performances to see this autumn including the Dance Center’s season opener MATADORA:
“Fall’s dance card is filled with action and surprises — from immersive works, to those that require content warnings to a full piece set to the iconic music of Leonard Cohen.”

Artistic Director Meredith Sutton sat down with INSÉKTA (Camila Rivero Pooley) to talk about the world premiere of MATADORA opening Season 53 of the Dance Presenting Series on September 24-26, 2026. 

New City’s Sharon Hoyer picks MATADORA as part of its September 2025 Top Five. The new work by Camila Rivero Pooley, aka Insékta, explores the power of Latine rage in a new Latine Futurist dance theater work.

See Chicago Dance’s Tristan Bruns reviews Michell Haskell’s debut at the Dance Center of Columbia College, Chicago with “Empty Are My Hands,” coming to the conclusion that: “Haskell and dancers pass through creative territory rarely explored (i.e., the synthesis of tap and modern dance) and their solutions to problems noticeable in other tap and modern amalgamations (i.e., how to get on the shoes and what to do with the tap boards) are imaginative and inspired. Haskell is on to something, and ‘Empty Are My Hands’ adds to the canon of tap and modern dance collaborations while finding new ways to innovate within both mediums.”

The Columbia Chronicle’s Nico Waugh covers the recent Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s Rhythm World at the Dance Center. The week-long festival brought together a community of dancers, including audience members with little tap experience.

The Columbia Chronicle features ‘Guardians of the Earth and Sky,’ a performance that blended Asian American history with Chinese culture through dance. Senior dance major Areli Ramirez was assistant producer for the performance.

La Crónica / The Columbia Chronicle's Sofía Oyarzún writes about Compañía de Teatro Físico’s ‘Los Regalos’ (‘The Gifts’): “La actuación de baile contó la historia del ciclo de la vida de dos hijos y su papá, con una escena parecida a la ciudad nativa de la compañía peruana.”