2026 recipient

Lyss Bourgeois

Lyss Bourgeois is a native Houstonian, movement artist, and production leader whose work sits at the intersection of expressive choreography and somatic awareness. She holds an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography, with an extensive movement vocabulary spanning ballet, modern, lyrical/contemporary, jazz, and traditional African dance, alongside self-taught fluencies in hip-hop and ballroom.

Lyss’s choreographic approach is deeply infused with the Alexander Technique and somatic practices, an integration that began during her thesis research exploring the neuromuscular and cultural fusion of modern dance with regional Creole dance forms native to Louisiana and Southeast Texas. This focus on kinesthetic alignment, efficiency of movement, and embodied storytelling remains a cornerstone of her creative practice.

Currently, Lyss channels her passion for conscious, habit-breaking movement into her work with youth from Black and Brown communities at Groove With Me Studios in Harlem, where she teaches dance through a lens of somatic empowerment and physical autonomy.  As she continues her training, Lyss's long-term vision is to further bridge the connection between the Alexander Technique and dance performance. She is committed to making this educational practice accessible and empowering for all bodies. Professionally, she bridges the worlds of art and operational execution as an Event Production Manager for the All Stars Project, Inc. In her spare time, Lyss is an avid reader, traveler, and urban explorer, always seeking new ways to engage with the choreography of the city around her.