Additional Program Details / Artists & Production Team / About RAWdance / About ODC Theater

Additional Program Details

Team

Co-Artistic Directors

WENDY REIN (she/her) (Choreographer, Dancer) is a native New Yorker and has been dancing and breaking furniture since age 3. With a BA from Brown University, she brings over 20 years of professional experience in the field to her work as a performer, choreographer, producer, curator, and teacher. She worked with Misnomer Dance Theater before moving to San Francisco, where Wendy co-founded RAWdance with Ryan Smith and had the privilege of performing with Amy Seiwert, Deborah Slater, Alma Esperanza Cunningham, Nancy Karp, Mary Carbonara, and Todd Eckert, among many others. She also worked for seven years both in front of the camera and behind the scenes on a series of dance film projects with RJ Muna. Since 2019, Wendy has split her time between urban life in San Francisco and the rural countryside of New York’s Hudson Valley.

RYAN T. SMITH (he/him) (Choreographer) is a queer dance-maker, performer, curator, and connector. A Co-Founder of RAWdance, he has served as Co-Artistic Director since 2004, creating works for stage, alternative locations, and film with creative partner Wendy Rein. He was a member of the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company from 2005-2016, touring nationally and internationally, and participating in collaborations with artists and organizations in Kochin, Kolkata, Guangzhou, and Jerusalem. Originally from outside of Boston, MA, Ryan received his BA in Theatre Arts and French Literature from Brown University before moving to San Francisco. In 2019, after 16 years in the Bay, he moved his primary residence to High Falls, a hamlet in NY’s Hudson Valley.

Collaborators

JESSI BARBER (she/her) (Production Manager) is a queer production manager, technical director, lighting designer and stage manager with over a decade of professional arts experience in the Bay Area/Ohlone Land. She is the co-founder and current co-producer of Shawl-Anderson Dance Center’s Queering Dance Festival (QDF), and was formerly Producing Lead/Interim Venue Manager at the Joe Goode Annex and Shawl-Anderson’s Production Manager. Jessi currently serves on the board of Bridge Live Arts and is a proud member of CounterPulse Workers United.

KELLY DEL ROSARIO (he/him) (Choreographer, Dancer) was born and raised in Mililani, HI. He began his studies in Dance in 2001 at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and received his BFA in Dance in 2005. Upon graduation, Kelly moved to San Francisco where he has worked with various artists including the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, Project Agora, Sarah Bush Dance Project, Robert Moses’ Kin, project.b, and RAWdance.

CLAIRE FISHER-MENDEZ (she/her) (Dancer) was born and raised in Tracy, California. She received a majority of her training from Alonzo King LINES Ballet, San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, and Northwest Dance Project. Now a dance artist in San Francisco, she has appeared in several works and collaborations with wonderful artists and companies such as Bellwether Dance Project, dazaun.dance, Fullstop Dance, Garrett + Moulton Productions, Liv Schaffer, Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, and RAWdance.

AARON M GOLD (he/him) (Composer) makes visceral music that moves. Resident composer for Kristin Damrow & Company since 2014, he’s also been commissioned by punkkiCo, Dance Brigade with Sara Shelton Mann, Sonoma State University with Jennifer Meek, Deborah Slater Dance Theater, Nol SImonse and Christy Funsch, Human Creature Dance Theater, Fall Fast Dance, Twisted Oak Dance Theater, and Coventry and Kaluza. Aaron lives in Oakland with his wife and two cats, casting sonic spells for a happy, healthy, safe and strong world. aaronmgold.com // @aaronmgold

DEL MEDOFF (he/him) (Lighting Designer) is a lighting artist in the Bay Area. He found a passion for lighting dance work in college at Cal Poly Humboldt. In his nearly 2 decade long career in the Bay Area, he has worked with too many companies and people to list here. But some that he has recently worked with are: FACT/SF, Detour Productions, Ars Minerva, Oceanica Ballet, and Bellwether Dance Project. Del is excited to collaborate with RAW again!

W hy a referral Process

TAJH MALIK STALLWORTH (they/them) (Dancer) is a Michigan native who moved to the Bay Area in 2020. They studied dance at Western Michigan University where they performed works by Gerald Arpino, Alonzo King, David Parsons, Nelly Von Bommel, and Lauren Edson, and performed as a guest with Danceworks Chicago. They have worked on projects with World Wild Life Fund, HBO, The Seldoms, Mordine & Co, Miss Gay America, and Norwegian Cruise Line. Since moving to the Bay, they have been able to work with Sean Dorsey Dance, Detour Dance, Axis Dance Company, McDonald’s, Tracey Lindsay Chan, CBS network, and San Francisco Pride. Tajh is currently represented by Models Inc. Talent Agency.

NICK WAGNER (he/him) (Choreographer, Dancer) hails from the Seattle area and earned a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Kinesiology from Chapman University. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2017, he has had the opportunity to perform with several dance companies, most notably RAWdance since 2017. He is also a certified massage therapist (CMT), Responsive Body practitioner, Barnes-style myofascial release therapist, and is training to become a biodynamic craniosacral therapist (RCST). When not in the studio, Nick manages his bodywork practice based in the Castro specializing in compounding conditions, musculoskeletal and postural issues, and trauma-informed autonomic nervous system regulation. For more information, visit nwbodywork.com.

JULIANN WITT (she/her) (Dancer) was born in Marin and began dancing at the age of three. As a young dancer she trained at the California Academy of Performing Arts and attended summer programs with American Ballet Theatre and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. Juliann received her BFA in Dance Performance from SUNY Purchase and performed briefly in NYC post graduation. Since returning to the Bay Area she has had the pleasure of dancing with many great artists and companies including DTSF, Nol Simonse, Bellwether Dance Project, Dexandro “D” Montalvo, Fullstop Dance, Robert Moses’ Kin, Liv Schaffer, Concept o4, and the San Francisco Symphony. She has been a member of RAWdance since 2018, and is incredibly grateful to have participated in numerous performances with these extraordinary artists!

ERIN YEN (she/they) (Choreographer, Dancer) is a mixed-race professional dancer and choreographer currently residing in San Mateo, CA. Since moving to the Bay Area to be closer to extended family, Erin has had the privilege of performing at events such as Margaret Jenkin’s 50th Anniversary Show and Trolley Dances SF, and at venues including Dance Mission Theater, Oakland Theater Project, CounterPulse, and the Green Room. Erin’s choreography has been featured at the FACT/SF Summer Dance Festival, ODC’s State of Play, ODC Pilot Program 73, RAWdance’s CONCEPT series, SAFEhouse, and Levy Salon. Erin is the founder of contemporary dance company Dragons Dance, 501c3.

STACEY YUEN (she/her) (Choreographer, Dancer) is a Bay Area native and received her BFA in Dance from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She went on to work with Seán Curran and the Santa Fe Opera, and to travel to Greece to perform in works by Johannes Wieland and Stella Zannou at the one small step dance festival. She spent three seasons as a dancer and rehearsal director with the Sticky Trace Company in Germany. Since returning to the Bay, Stacey has worked with Robert Moses, Katie Faulkner, Jennifer Perfilio, Lenora Lee Dance, Alyssandra Katherine Dance Project, and RAWdance.

LEESHA ZIEBER (they/them) (Dancer) is a white-passing QTPOC dance artist based in San Francisco. They grew up moving and grooving in Santa Cruz before graduating summa cum laude from San Francisco State University with a BA in dance and mathematics. Leesha has collaborated with KAMBARA+, ayanadancearts, and Dance Brigade among others. They are excited to be working with RAWdance this season.

About RAWdance

RAWdance creates adventurous, thoughtful, and welcoming programming that challenges what contemporary dance is, where it happens, who it includes, and the role it plays in our lives. Now in its 20th year, the award-winning contemporary dance company is known for transforming theaters and public spaces through a mix of performance, curation, collaboration, and film. The company’s charged and nuanced works have been presented by the Joyce Theater, Jacob’s Pillow, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Dance St. Louis, ODC Theater, the Singapore Fringe, Yerba Buena Gardens Festival, ‘62 Center for Theatre and Dance, and more throughout the U.S. and in Asia. RAWdance has presented works by more than 150 Bay Area artists through its CONCEPT series salon since 2007. The company served as the curator for YBG ChoreoFest from 2017 to 2022. In 2021, the company launched Radiate, a fellowship program for emerging Bay Area BIPOC dance artists. A Home Company of ODC Theater,  RAWdance has held the title of Best Dance Company in the 48 Hills “Best of the Bay” for the past six years. Since 2019, the company has flourished on two coasts, staying rooted in San Francisco while also expanding to New York’s Hudson Valley. 

Individual donations are essential to ensure that RAWdance can continue to create and present relevant, accessible, and exceptional dance now and into the future.

Donate to RAWdance

About ODC Theater

MISSION AND IMPACT: 

ODC is dedicated to the lifecycle of the artistic process. Through our company, school and theater, we aim to inspire audiences, cultivate artists, engage community, and foster diversity and inclusion through dance. 

ODC Theater exists to empower and develop innovative artists. It participates in the creation of new works through commissioning, presenting, mentorship and space access; it develops informed, engaged and committed audiences; and advocates for the performing arts as an essential component to the economic and cultural development of our community. This 170-seat venue is the site of over 150 performances a year involving nearly 1,000 local, regional, national and international artists. 

Since 1976, ODC Theater has been the mobilizing force behind countless San Francisco artists and the foothold for national and international touring artists seeking debut in the Bay Area. The Theater, founded by Brenda Way has earned its place as a cultural incubator by dedicating itself to creative change-makers, those leaders who give the Bay Area its unmistakable definition and flair. Nationally known artists Spaulding Gray, Diamanda Galas, Bill T. Jones, Eiko & Koma, Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, Karole Armitage, Sarah Michelson, Brian Brooks and John Heginbotham are among those whose first San Francisco appearance occurred at ODC Theater. 

ODC Theater is currently under the Creative Direction of Chloë L. Zimberg, and is a proud member of the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Western Arts Alliance, and Dance/USA. For more information on ODC Theater and all its programs please visit: odc.dance/theater

ODC Theater relies on the generous support of donors like you. To give to ODC Theater, visit odc.dance/support-theater 

ODC is on the ancestral lands of the Ramaytush People in Yelamu. We pay respects to elders past and present, who are still here and part of our community. We recognize that regenerative land management is not new, but is a continuation of practices from Native cultures and from our own ancestors. It is our responsibility to steward the land with care, as our elders did before us. 

ODC is donating $.50 for each in-person ticket (seat) sold to all performances in the Theater. ODC will donate these funds to the Association of Ramaytush Ohlone land tax fund.

ODC THEATER STAFF: 

ODC Founder and Artistic Director: Brenda Way
Executive Director: Carma Zisman
ODC Theater Creative Director: Chloë L. Zimberg
ODC School Director & Associate Choreographer: Kimi Okada
ODC Theater Resident Curator: Maurya Kerr
ODC Theater Resident Curator: Zaquia Mahler Salinas
ODC Fellow: KT Nelson
ODC Chief of Staff: Garth Grimball
Director of Production: Thomas Bowersox
Production Coordinator: Chris Chamberlin-Miner
Audience Services Manager: Katya Ponomarenko
Theater Associate, Outreach Coordinator: Shayna Ann Hewlett
Director of Marketing & Communications: Sophie Leininger
Publicist: John B. Hill

FRONT OF HOUSE STAFF: 
AJ Ong Cortez, Senior Associate 
Callie Norberg, Senior Associate 
Sophia Grimani 
Sarah Hampton 
Price Little 
Annika Mikk 
Leilana Majri 
Sydney Scott 
Hannah Woolfenden 
brooke terry 
Brian Williamson 
Faith Alexis Dalton 

ODC TECHNICIANS: 
Del Medoff 
Mary Clare Blake-Booth 
Taylor Rivers 
Heather Romanowski 
Shy Baniani 
Patrick Simms 
Krys Swan