ABOUT
Mission Statement
Flow by Lian is a NYC-based dance company dedicated to exploring social and environmental justice through dance, movement, and other visual and tactile artistic mediums. We believe in the limitless potential for growth and change through collaborative creation and community connection.
Our Story
Flow by Lian, originally founded as SteLi Dance by longtime collaborators Stephen Galvan and Lian Kizner in 2019, began after the resounding success of their debut showcase in June of that year, supported by the B. Wilson Foundation.
Our Approach
Flow promotes awareness and action through embodied storytelling, visual imagery, and education—exploring both charted and uncharted territories of human experience. Our core themes include environmental and social justice, water conservation, and the mind-body connection. The company’s repertory blends sharp, angular house dance with smooth, expansive contemporary movement—rooted in vibrant physicality, emotional nuance, and a commitment to storytelling through the body. At the heart of our mission is the commitment to holding space for artists. Through performances, interdisciplinary events, and community-rooted workshops, we create platforms that amplify diverse voices, nurture collective creativity, and invite meaningful exchange. We believe movement is both a mirror and a pathway—a way to reflect the world we live in and reimagine what is possible through the body.
Lian Kizner
Founding Artistic Director
Lian Kizner is a Queens-bred dancer, choreographer, and the director of Flow by Lian. Kizner's keen eye for character interpretation and direction earned her the Choreography Award from Lehman College in 2019. Since graduating, Lian has led Flow by Lian as Founding Artistic Director, guiding an NYC-based dance company that explores the mind-body connection in relation to social and environmental justice through workshops, performances, and events. Some of her choreographic credits include Dixon Place, IATI Theater, The Players Theater, Gibney Performing Arts Center, among others. Since 2021, she has facilitated her movement workshop rooted in self-awareness and connection, "Into-You-I-See," where choreography is built through conversation. Lian's work has also taken her beyond New York: in 2024, she was selected for the Camino al Arte residency in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where she brought her Into-You-I-See Workshop to the local community, and for WADE Dance HUB: Italy.
Back home, 2025 proved a milestone year: her self-produced, choreographed, and directed dance film "Negiot" was featured on a Times Square billboard through Artistic Tribe NYC, and she received the Lehman Alumni Choreographic Fellowship, choreographing for the annual "Dance in Dialogue" showcase. Most recently, Flow by Lian was named to the NYC DOT Public Realm Partner List for 2026-2027, and selected to present new work at the International Human Rights Arts Festival in December 2026. Lian has a deep passion for the arts and exploring the beauty of the human experience through connection, listening, and mind-body oneness.
What we do
Since our founding, Flow by Lian has grown into a vibrant community-centered dance company, creating meaningful experiences through performance, workshops, and collaboration. Here’s a snapshot of what we’ve accomplished together:
58
ARTISTS & COLLABORATIONS SERVED
1,015
AUDIENCE REACH
414
WORKSHOP ATTENDEES
Performances
DIXON PLACE
DREAMYARD PROJECTS
GIBNEY: AGNES VARIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
GROUNDSWELL SERIES
IATI THEATER
KRAINE THEATER
LEHMAN COLLEGE
MOONZESCOPE
THE PLAYERS THEATER
THE VA (NY)
TIMES SQUARE BILLBOARD via Artistic Tribe NYC
THE STREETS OF NYC (E 26TH 5TH AVE) with support by Open Culture NYC
