Crystaldawn earned a BFA in dance, composition, and performance from California Institute of the Arts. Since relocating to the Bay Area, she has worked with Labayen Dance/SF, Anne Bluethenthal and Dancers, Stranger Lover Dreamer, and as a guest artist with ODC. She is currently a member of Robert Moses' Kin and, since joining the company, has performed works by Molissa Fenley, Sidra Bell, and Greg Dawson. Outside of the performance community, Crystaldawn is a certified personal trainer and enjoys helping people reach new goals.

Noelle is a mover, creator, and educator based in the Bay Area.  She comes from a long line of educators in her family, therefore teaching comes naturally for her.  Noelle believes in shaping the future generations so that they can normalize inclusivity in all dance forms.

Marcia was born in Santiago de Chile, where she was trained in classical ballet and modern dance at the Arts Conservatory of the Universidad de Chile and Ballet de Santiago. Later, she broadened her focus to include dance pedagogy in addition to her continued training in ballet, modern, and choreography. Beginning her career in the last years of the Pinochet dictatorship, Marcia found in dance a vehicle for personal expression and collective reconciliation. Marcia traveled the world as a dancer and choreographer with a variety of dance companies in Europe, Latin America, and North America. She has also worked as a ballet and modern dance teacher in multiple countries and languages. Making inclusion a pivotal part of her dance career, Marcia partnered with Amnesty International and centers for rural communities in Latin America to bring dance to underserved communities. Marcia moved to the Bay Area in 2005 to study at UC Berkeley, and has taught at Shawl-Anderson, Berkeley Ballet Theater, and Orinda Ballet.

Maurice has danced and taught in the Bay Area for over 20 years, including Berkeley City Ballet and Shawl-Anderson. He has performed many duets with his wife, Reenie, and was a member of the RPMs, Jade Dance, Sara McLennan and Rebecca Saltzer Dance Theater and more. His exposure to European Dance theater (Pina Bausch, Maguy Marin & more) has made him a natural fan of that form and infuses his teachings with its energy.  Adept at both classical and modern styles he designs his classes as a laboratory for both technique and improvisation, on the principle that there's only one lesson: to learn how to learn. He is also the drama teacher at Ecole Bilingue.

Annalise Constantz is a performer, dance maker, and teaching artist based in Berkeley. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Annalise has always been captivated by the magical, ephemeral nature of dance, as well as the healing power that physical embodiment holds. She graduated with honors from UC Santa Cruz, where she received a B.A. in Modern English Literature and a minor in Dance. She is a collaborator with the improvisational performance group, Big Plate Dance, and has performed in works by Gerald Casel, REYES Dance, Alex Law, Chloe Rosen, and Amelia Nommensen. Additionally, Annalise has presented her own work at Motion Pacific in Santa Cruz, SAFEhouse Arts in San Francisco, and experiments with other mediums including writing, visual art, and film.

Julie Crothers is a freelance dancer, choreographer and teacher based in Berkeley, CA. Born and raised in Nashville, TN, Julie grew up training in ballet, jazz, tap, and contemporary. In 2014, she graduated from Elon University in North Carolina, earning a BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography and a BA in Arts Administration. Following graduation, Julie moved to the Bay Area to join AXIS Dance Company, where she worked for 3 years- performing, teaching, and touring nationally and internationally. Professionally, Julie has also danced for Renay Aumiller Dances (RAD) based in Durham, NC, and has presented her choreography on stages throughout the southeast United States. Julie is an energetic and passionate teacher who is dedicated to making dance accessible to all people.

Onara was born and raised in Sri Lanka and moved to San Francisco in 2019 to further pursue her career in dance. While in Sri Lanka, she performed for Mesh Dance Theatre and taught for their school platform- Meshground. Their works included “Deconstructing the Embody” (2016), “Seven: the Seeker, the Thinker” (2017) and “Pluralism” (2019).

Moving to San Francisco, she graduated Summa Cum Laude from San Francisco State University and was named Dance Honoree for the School of Theatre and Dance. While at SFSU, she was also president of the Student Dance Alliance- a student run organization that provided a community for dancers from all paths of life. 

She is currently a freelance dancer in the Bay Area and is a professional fitter with The Pointe Shop. 

Upon stepping foot in a dance classroom at the age of 3, Maddie (she/her) felt the joys of being connected to the universe around her and within her. Originally from New York- she was introduced to movement with the style of Isadora Duncan, and would continue to dance with the Isadora Duncan Youth Ensemble through high school. Duncan dance harnesses a connection of movement to metaphor, myth, and organic life, which remains the grounding force in the way Maddie approaches dance. Parallel to her Duncan education, Maddie trained in both Balanchine and Vaganova styles at Manhattan Youth Ballet throughout her teen years. This unique combination of expansive technical knowledge of ballet with the playful, sensation and story-based design of Duncan dance led Maddie to further her education with the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA program. She graduated from the LINES BFA program in 2022, equipped with wisdom from an extended sphere of teachers and choreographers. Maddie’s creative practice is driven by imagination, embodiment, and connection. She finds joy in nurturing this love within young dancers, as she knows that these elements of curiosity take credit for her own lasting love of dance.

Lily Summer Gee (she/her) is a hapa movement artist and Bay Area native. She holds a B.A. from Vassar College in Science, Technology, and Society as well as correlates in both Dance Performance and Mathematics. She produced over ten dances while at Vassar, including two longform works, and her piece “Mine, Yours, Ours.” was shown at Battery Dance Festival. Since graduation, she has danced with the NYC-based 46 Minutes Collective, Blind Tiger Society, and dNaga Dance Company. She began dancing at Shawl Anderson Dance Center and continued training at school, joining Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre. There, she trained under Leslie I. P Sachs, Stephen Rooks, Lisa Harvie, and Julian Llanos. Lily believes in the integrity of a dancer’s personhood and creating art guided by both the heart and gut. 

Chelsea fell into a life of creative movement at age 4, when she pierced her ears and joined ballet, devoting her tiny self to being magnetic, outspoken, and wiggling her body.  Since then, her life has changed drastically, but these aspects of Chelsea remain the same.  Chelsea grew up inside her small dance studio in Northern Michigan, and began teaching when she was only 16.  She trained in ballet, pointe, contemporary, modern, jazz, Celtic, tap, and clogging.  At University, she found a love for Contemporary Movement and studies of Dance History.  Chelsea holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Contemporary Dance from Michigan State University, and her Master’s of Arts in Dance Movement Therapy & Counseling from Columbia.  She began studying yoga in 2013 to heal herself from a severe illness, and understand both the science and philosophy behind the human trinity - body, mind, and soul.  Chelsea has lived in the Bay Area for 9 years, performing with Roxanne Gray, Cat Call Choir, Sarah Bush Dance Project, Stephanie Unger & Co., and Caroline Liviakis & Co. She has studied Aerial Dance with Bandaloop and Flyaway Productions, and her own dance film was featured in the Bliss Dance Film Festival.  She has studied and presented choreographic work in Michigan, Chicago, New York, and California, including productions with Loft This, One Billion Rising, Chicago School of Ballet, and the TVC Global: Hair Art Fashion Show.  Chelsea has danced with toddlers, elders, alter-abled bodies, prisoners, and ex-convicts in rehabilitative centers.  As a yogi, poet, dancer, and wellness coach, she urges her students not just to sweat and move, but move with passion and purpose. “Dance and other movement practices help establish healthy boundaries, train you to resource internally, and create a community.  Each day I dance, I fall in love with my body and the endless possibilities.  But no matter how strong, energetic, exhausted, or old you are…remember, you are not just a body, you are SOMEbody”

Javon is a multifaceted artist/dancer who’s been performing for over a decade. He’s danced everywhere from the stage in front of 30,000 people, music videos for platinum recording artists, movies with award winning actors/ production team, tv shows, dance studios and on the nba court with the Sacramento Kings. He specializes in break dance/ acrobatics but is also versed in modern, ballet, tap and various other niche styles. Over the next few years he’s training for the Olympics and to audition for so you think you can dance.

ArVejon Jones is a Bay Area freelance dance artist and educator. Originally from Los Angeles, CA he received his B.A. in Dance from San Francisco State University and has performed with Copious Dance Theater, Robert Moses Kin, PUSH Dance, SOULSKIN Dance, ODC Dance/ SF, Concept o4, Sean Dorsey Dance, Prometheus Dance Theater, Jean Appolon Expressions, Kambara+, Garrett+Moulton Productions among others. He has taught for multiple institutions including San Francisco State University, BodyVox, Boston Ballet, LINES/ SF Dance Center, and various private dance studios. 

​Carol is a professional dancer and choreographer teaching in the Bay Area. She holds an MFA in dance from New York University (Tisch School for the arts) and a BA in Theater with a Dance Emphasis from UC Santa Cruz. She was a founding member of the New York based modern company David Dorfman Dance and toured internationally with the company for eleven years. Carol also performed in France with the New York Baroque Dance Ensemble. She has been dancing in the Bay Area with Nina Haft and Company.

As a ballet dancer for her first 13 years of dance, Katie performed around the Bay Area with South Bay Ballet Arts. She soon after obtained her B.A. in Dance: Choreography & Performance, where she received her Modern dance foundation. While in college, Katie completed a residency in Cork, Ireland where she premiered her first work entitled “One Way or Another.” She also had the opportunity to collaborate with multiple guest artists including KJ Dahlaw and Jermaine McGhee. After graduating, Katie was invited to join Dana Lawton Dances, an Oakland-based Modern dance company. She is currently performing and teaching domestically and internationally with them. Katie also teaches at Ace Dance Academy in Walnut Creek, CA. 

Lindsay Grey Leonard, a North Carolina native, relocated to the Bay Area in 2015 as a dance teacher and arts administrator. She is excited to join Shawl-Anderson as an early childhood creative movement teacher. Lindsay began her ballet studies as a student of Marilyn Cloutier and continued her training on scholarship at Ballet Spartanburg, Balance Pointe, Atlanta Ballet, the Joffrey Ballet School, Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Duke Dance, American Dance Festival, and ODC. She has worked and performed with Renay Aumiller Dance (RAD), Helen Simoneau Danse, Nicola Bullock & The People, VECTOR, KT Collective, Deigo Carrasco-Schoh, The Dance Cure, Code f.a.d., and Open Air Dance. Since relocating to California, she has performed with Helen Wicks, Rose Baker, and dana e. fitchett. Leonard was previously the Nursery Aftercare and Camp Program Lead teacher, Co-Director of ODC Step Onstage classes, ODC School Program Associate, ODC Teen Company Manager, Alonzo King LINES Ballet Summer Program Administrator, Administrative Manager for the UNC Chapel Hill Department of Marine Sciences, Student Services Manager for the UNC Institute for the Environment, and has been on faculty at Berkeley Ballet Theater, ODC, Alameda Ballet Academy, RoCo Dance, ADF Scripps Studios, the Ballet School of Chapel Hill, Ninth Street Dance, and Nina's School of Dance teaching creative movement, pre-ballet, contemporary, ballet, modern, and jazz to students of all ages. She holds a BA in Environmental Studies from her alma mater, UNC Chapel Hill. In her free time Lindsay loves to garden and hike. 

Molly Levy (she/her) is a performing artist drawn to the heart and humanity of dance making. Her training has included classical and contemporary ballet, Horton, Limón, Graham, Piso Movil floorwork, Jack Cole based jazz, and improvisation. She has performed with independent artists and companies throughout the Pacific Northwest, East Coast, and Bay Area. Her collaborations include Cantankerous Creatures, Seattle Opera, Katie Scherman + Artists, Post:ballet, Sharp & Fine, and Paufve Dance. Her work has also brought her into live theater, movement direction, burlesque, visual art, and teaching dance to many generations from creative movement for toddlers to classes for seniors with Parkinson’s. 

Louisa-Marie (She/Her) began her training in Brattleboro, Vermont at the Brattleboro School of

Dance where she studied ballet, modern and jazz. Louisa has a BFA in dance from the University

of Missouri-Kansas City. Louisa continued her dance career in NYC where she lived for ten years

working with physically integrated companies and artists such as Heidi Latsky Dance, Mark

Travis Rivera and Abilities Dance Boston. She moved to the Bay Area in 2021 to dance with Axis

Dance Company. Louisa is passionate about making dance accessible for all children.

TAJH MALIK (they/them) is a Michigan native who moved to the Bay Area in 2020. They studied dance at Western Michigan University where they were able to perform works by Gerald Arpino, Alonzo King, David Parsons, Nelly Von Bommel and Lauren Edson and guest dance for Danceworks Chicago. During their time at WMU, Tajh was also awarded the 2012 Ramon Zupko Enrichment Fund for Collaborative Art. Tajh then moved to Chicago to train and work on projects with groups such as The Seldoms, Mordine + Co, World Wildlife Fund, Inaside Dance Chicago and was able to work with choreographers such as Harrison McElDowney, Alberto Arias and Martin Ortiz Tapia. After leaving Chicago, they spent several years performing with Norwegian Cruise Lines, working on David Ruttura’s adaption of “Footloose! The Musical” (choreographed by Nick Kenkel) , “Palace of Lights” with Warren Carlyle, working as a rehearsal swing on “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert” and serving as a Dance Captain for “Elements” by Patti Wilcox. Tajh has also been lucky enough to work on projects with HBO, McDonalds, Salesforce, Miss Gay America, Busch Gardens, RWS Global, Entertainer of the Year, JINS Eyewear and the Art Institute of Chicago. Since moving to the Bay Area, they have been able to participate in projects with the likes of Sean Dorsey Dance, Detour Dance, Axis Dance Company, Mark Travis Rivera and San Francisco Pride while teaching and choreographing with Berkeley Playhouse, Shawl Anderson Dance Center, COCOSPA, Stoneridge Creek Retirement Home and guest teaching at studios and high schools throughout the East Bay. Tajh is currently represented by Models Inc. Talent Agency.

Andrew graduated from California State University Long Beach with a BA in Dance in 2008. From there, he completed a 200hr yoga certification through Laughing Lotus in San Francisco. Andrew has danced professionally with Keith Johnson and Dancers as well as Holly Johnston’s Ledges and Bones. He shares a Lester Horton Award for Best Group Ensemble for his part in Keith’s piece Presence of Absence. He has also been commissioned to choreograph works for Santa Ana College and Cerritos College. Since moving to Oakland in 2010 he has had the privilege to work with bay are choreographers such as Rogelio Lopez, Catherine Galasso, Abigail Hosein , Cathy Davalos, and Nina Haft.

Juliana took her first modern class at Shawl-Anderson and is thrilled to be here combining her loves of movement and community. After graduating magna cum laude from Amherst College with a BA in psychology, she danced professionally in NYC, before leaving to teach yoga in Europe, Asia, and the South Pacific. In the Bay Area she has danced for Mo Miner, Nina Haft, Randee Paufve, Lizz Roman, and Chris Black, and performed works by David Dorfman, Marc Brew, Yvonne Rainer, and Alex Ketley as a dancer with AXIS Dance Company. She currently heads up the dance program at Bentley Upper School in Lafayette teaching a mix of modern/postmodern/contemporary dance. Here at the Center, her yoga classes emphasize breath and embodiment. She wants all of her students to delight in their simultaneous strength and softness.

Catalina O’Connor is a dancer and teaching artist based in the Bay Area. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Saint Mary’s College of California in 2019 where she studied Dance, Hispanic Literature, and Art History. Catalina was an assistant teaching artist for Jia Wu’s AAIACE (American Alliance of International Arts, Culture, and Education) inaugural Summer camp in Suzhou, China in Summer 2019. She is currently an Assistant Teaching Artist with the HeART with LINES program, an instructor at Ace Dance Academy, and subbing classes for the Shawl Anderson Youth Program. She is a member of Davalos Dance Company and has performed their work in Panicale, Italy and around the Bay Area. Catalina has also collaborated with Kaveri Seth, Hailey Yaffee and Andrew Merrell & Randee Paufve. Photo by Andrio Jordan Fong

Katana is a Chicago born dance performance artist, battle dancer, choreographer, and teacher now residing in the Bay Area, CA. She has trained in all different styles of dance such as popping, hip hop, house, ballet, jazz, etc; but has truly found her passion in the street style dance community. Katana’s main style of dance is rooted in popping, waving, and Egyptian bang tuts; a style created by her mentor OG Teabuggz from Chicago. Katana has been traveling and competing in battles all across the country for about 9 years, and she wishes to continue her journey internationally. Katana is also an experienced event host/organizer for the Chicago dance community, hoping to bring that skill forward in the Bay Area. She is the leader of Chicago crew; The Electric Samurais, and a team member of Bay Area crew; IT’s THEM. Katana wishes to continue her training while being able to share the knowledge she has gained. 

Jill Randall (she/her) began teaching at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in 2000. At SADC, she has taught a wide range of classes and ages in modern dance, from preschoolers through adults. Her 26 years of teaching experience includes work in K-12 public and independent schools, dance studios, summer programs, preschools, and teacher training programs through the Lincoln Center Institute. As a performer in the Bay Area for 18 years, Jill worked with Nina Haft and Company, Paufve Dance, Dana Lawton, and Martt Lawrence. As a dance writer, Jill maintains several websites and blogs about professional dance in the United States, arts education, and books on dance, and also writes for publications like Dance Teacher Magazine and Stance on Dance. Jill holds a BFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah and an MFA in Creative Practice: Dance from Saint Mary’s College. In 2013, she received the Herbst Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence for her middle school dance work at The Hamlin School in San Francisco. Jill loves teaching and being a teaching artist.

Natalya Shoaf is a Bay Area teacher, choreographer, dancer, and mentor. Born and raised in North Hollywood, CA – Natalya was inspired by the vibrant culture around her. Movies like Center Stage & The Cheetah Girls and watching Missy Elliot’s infamous music videos are just a few of the things that influenced Natalya to take her first dance lesson, at the age of 11. She is trained in Classical Ballet (French + Vaganova), Contemporary, Tap, Jazz, Tumbling, Lyrical, Hip-hop, Improvisation, and Composition. Since her completion of Alonzo King LINES BFA program at Dominican University of California her choreographic and dancing abilities has allowed her to travel and share her love for dance with many from across the globe! She enjoys teaching at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center because she has a hand in nurturing and mentoring the next generation of dancers. She enjoys inspiring young dancers to honor and hone in on their own innate dancing abilities, move with imagination and honor/love their bodies. Natalya’s love for dance formed in her early years – this is why she strives to be a kind and nurturing inspiration to all her students so that they may too, grow a love for dancing!

Movement, breath and flow are three things that inspire April C. Taylor. A Bay Area transplant from Los Angeles she graduated from Mills College with a BA in Women's Studies and Dance. A performing and ritual artist, as well as a trained actor/singer/dancer, April has been performing her entire life and working in a variety of artistic areas. Her passion for the expressive arts, and education have led her to teach children and adults for the past ten years at local schools and studios. The focus of her teaching is Dance For All, a program she is developing that emphasizes awareness, acceptance and expression for all bodies and all ages. Currently she is a company member of the butoh-based, Bad Unkl Sista under the direction of Anastazia Louise Aranaga and Goyo Aranaga (whose wedding April officiated in 2014). She has worked extensively with the Dandelion Dancetheatre, Mary Armentrout Dancetheater, and Dana Lawton and Dancers. April has guest lectured/taught at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, St. Mary’s College, and the University of San Francisco. A graduate of CIIS's Sound, Voice and Music Healing Certification program, April is adding the magik of sound to her love of dance and theater. She is a teacher and facilitator within the Reclaiming Community and a fifteen veteran performer and participant of the Burning Man festival. For the past six years, April can be seen (and heard) emceeing large-scale performance events.