Choreography/Direction/Performance
WENDY REIN (she/her) 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, ODC/Dance, 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. Wendy moved to NY’s Hudson Valley in 2019 as the company expanded to two locations.
RYAN T. SMITH (he/him) 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.
Performance/Collaboration
KELLY DEL ROSARIO (he/him) 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) 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, & 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 Bellwethers Dance Project, dazaun.dance, Fullstop Dance, Garrett + Moulton Productions, Liv Schaffer, Nicole von Arx, and RAWdance.
YEBEL GALLEGOS (he/him) is a multi-faceted dance artist from El Paso, TX. He played an important role in founding Cressida Danza Contemporánea in Yucatán, Mexico. During his time with Cressida Danza, Yebel was a dancer, company teacher, and rehearsal director. More recently, Yebel concluded a six-year tenure dancing full-time with the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, based in Salt Lake City, UT. Yebel has also traveled globally as a performer and educator and has recently earned his MFA degree from the University of Washington. He currently serves as a Visiting Assistant Professor at Bard College.
CARLY WILLOW JOHNSON (she/her) is a California native, receiving 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, Guilty Pleasures Cabaret, RAWdance and had the opportunity to perform as Baryshnikov’s silhouette in his show Letter to a Man at Zellerbach Theater. In addition, Carly is also a yoga teacher and Reiki healer.
W hy a referral Process
KYLE LIMIN (they/them) is an educator, choreographer, and performing artist with a focus on contemporary and hip hop dance. They continue to contribute over fifteen years-worth of art to their hometown, San Francisco, and the greater Bay Area. Kyle runs the dance program at Creative Arts Charter School and teaches at several studios in the city.
TAJH MALIK STALLWORTH (they/them) 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.
JULIANN WITT (she/her) was born in Marin. 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, she has had the pleasure of dancing with artists and companies including DTSF, Nol Simonse, 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.
STACEY YUEN (she/her) 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) 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 B.A. 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.
Music
JOEL ST. JULIEN (he/him) 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. Loving Still marks Joel’s 10 years of collaboration with RAWdance. JOELSTJULIEN.COM
KUI DONG (she/her) is described in publications such as The Washington Post, Gramophone, and The Boston Intelligencer as “ceaselessly compelling” and of “exceptional beauty and imagination,” Kui Dong’s music is praised for its “21st-century sensibilities.” Her works have been performed and commissioned by numerous ensembles. She has received honors and prizes from a wide range of prestigious institutions, including Opera America, the Koussevitzky and Fromm Foundations, Meet the Composer, ASCAP, Austria’s Ars Electronica, the Tanglewood Music Center and Festival, the Spoleto Festival USA, the Other Minds Festival, the Arditti and Del Sol Quartets, Volti, San Francisco Contemporary Music Players, Alea III, Third Coast Percussion, Slagwerkgroep Den Haag, Spain’s Tenerife Symphony, Japan’s Fukuyama Arts and Public Interest Incorporated Foundations, Hong Kong-based Phoenix Television, the Central Ballet Group of China, and The Orchestra and Chorus of the National Performing Arts Center of China. Dong’s music is available on four full-length portrait CDs: “Painted Lights,” “Since When Has the Bright Moon Existed,” “Hands Like Waves Unfold,” and “Pangu’s Song,” as well as on various compilation albums. She is also the author of a novel titled “The Story of Little Soldier Duo Duo,” written in English and published in translation in China. Kui Dong is a Professor of Music at Dartmouth College. As a 2024 Guggenheim Fellow, she will spend a year in the Bay Area working on a new theatre project.