Dancers
MICHAELA CRUZE
Michaela obtained her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from Chapman University in 2011. Upon graduation, Michaela apprenticed with Kolben Dance in Jerusalem, Israel. Michaela returned to the States in 2012 and moved to San Francisco. She has performed with Scott Wells, Christine Bonansea, and [detour dance]. She is a current company member of FACT/SF and LEVYdance. Michaela is also a Personal Trainer and small business owner.
KELLY DEL ROSARIO
Kelly 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.
JHIA JACKSON
Jhia is an artist, scholar, and organizer who regularly engages in interdisciplinary projects. At the core of her practice is the belief that art and life are not distinct. She has performed with Movement of the People Dance Company, dNaga Dance for the World Parkinson Congress, Alexandra Pirici, and Epiphany Dance Theater among others. She is the founder of Emerging Black Bay Artists, a Joe Goode Co-Production artist, and a doctoral candidate in sociology at UCSF.
CARLY JOHNSON
A California native, Carly received early training at the age of two. She continued her studies at SOTA, Alonzo King LINES Ballet and completed her BFA from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. Carly has had the pleasure of working and performing with various artists including Ja’Malik of Ballet Boy Productions, Carmen Rozestraten, Nelly Van Bommel of NØA Dance, Sidra Bell, Andrea Miller of Gallim Dance, Robert Moses’ KIN, Dexandro “D” Montalvo, Tanya Bello’s Project.B, RAWdance and had the opportunity to perform as Baryshnikov’s silhouette in his show Letter to a Man at Zellerbach Theater.
TAYLER KINNER
Tayler grew up in the cornfields of Springfield, IL. She holds a BFA in Dance and a minor in Advertising & Marketing Communications from Webster University, and has previously worked with Smashworks Dance Collective and Karlovsky & Company Dance in St. Louis. Since moving to SF, she has had the privilege of working with Alyssandra Wu, Catherine Liu, Jocelyn Reyes, Molly Matutat, RAWdance, and Tim Rubel. Alongside Melanie Harvengt, Tayler is the co-artistic director of Big Plate Dance.
NICK WAGNER
Nick grew up in the Seattle area and is a graduate of Chapman University with a BFA in Dance Performance and minor in Kinesiology. Since moving to the Bay Area, he has had the pleasure of working in the dance community as a performer, administrator, and somatic healer. Nick is a Certified Massage Therapist in California (CMT).
ADAM WEINERT
Adam is a dancer, researcher and choreographer based in Hudson NY. He began his training at The School of American Ballet, and continued on to Vassar College, The Juilliard School, and New York University, where he earned a Master’s Degree under the tutelage of André Lepecki. Adam has danced with The Metropolitan Opera Ballet Company, The Mark Morris Dance Group, Shen Wei Dance Arts, and Christopher Williams, and for six years served as the Artistic Associate to Jonah Bokaer.
JULIANN WITT
Juliann 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 incredible artists!
STACEY YUEN
A Bay Area native, Stacey 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.
Designers
DANIEL BERKMAN Composer
Daniel is a Bay Area multi-instrumentalist, composer, electronic musician, producer and innovator of electro-acoustic music. He has several acclaimed albums to his credit including film soundtracks, ballets, works for kora, cello, viola da gamba, guitar, keyboard instruments, ukelin, LyraVR and electronic music under his moniker Colfax. Daniel has been a composer and musical accompanist for the San Francisco dance community since 1998, working with Janice Garrett and Dancers, Lizz Roman and Dancers, Berkeley Ballet Theatre, Post:Ballet, ODC, San Francisco Ballet, and many others. danielberkman.com
DEL MEDOFF Lighting Designer
Del is an Oakland-based lighting designer/technician who has designed for dozens of Bay Area companies including Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, Deborah Slater Dance Theater, Christy Funsch, Peiling Kao, Sharp and Fine, 13th Floor Dance Theater, Bellweather Dance, and many more. He has always felt strongly connected to dance and is grateful to the community for giving him a home. “You can’t have a light without a dark to stick it in.” – Arlo Guthrie
CHAD OWENS Scenic Designer
Chad has created original staged designs for more than 100 productions, for companies including Washington National Opera, Lyric Opera of Kansas City, Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Cal Performances, Aurora Theatre, and West Edge Opera. Set Design and Art Direction for film include Blue Jasmine, Milk (Oscar and Art Director’s Guild noms for best production design), Chasing Mavericks, Haywire, The Pursuit of Happyness (sic), The Wild, Haiku Tunnel, Woman on Top, and Bunraku. Owens has also worked extensively as an Art Director for TV, and an Associate Designer on Broadway. He is based in Oakland.
SURABHI SARAF Composer
Surabhi is a media artist, composer, and performer based in Brooklyn, NY. She is the recipient of the Fleishhacker Foundation Eureka Fellowship Award and the Djerassi Resident Artist award. She is a current resident at Harvestworks NY, and was a 2019 technology resident at Pioneer Works in Brooklyn. Saraf has performed at Soundwave Biennial ((8)); Thessaloniki Contemporary Art Biennial, Greece; Currents International New Media Festival, Santa Fe; San Francisco Electronic Music Festival; and Max Mueller Bhavan Goethe Institut, Mumbai and New Delhi, among others. She has had solo exhibitions at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Mumbai, and Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco. Her work has been featured in the San Francisco Bay Guardian, Blouin Art Info, Art Practical, and KQED Arts. surabhisaraf.net
JOEL ST. JULIEN Composer
Joel is a San Francisco-based composer, musician, songwriter and sound artist who has written music for documentaries, short / feature films, podcasts, and dance. He is a firm believer in experimentation/fusion with acoustic and electronic elements in sound oscillating through escapism and the mysticism of the present tense. www.joelstjulien.com
Photos by Hillary Goidell