Admin

Bianca Cabrera

Director of Education and Operations

(they/she)

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Driven by the bias Bacchus before Buddha, Bianca's work is built by a vibrant amalgamation of baton twirling, burlesque, ballet, go-go, club, cabaret, camp, contemporary, queerness and modern dance. Cabrera directs the Oakland, CA based performance company, Blind Tiger Society which is their main conduit for choreography and performance creation. Her work was nominated for a 2014 Soul of Oakland award and has been supported through the Fleishhacker and Rainin Foundations.

Cabrera (They/She) received early training at the Chicago Academy for the Arts and later studied at the Alvin Ailey School, the Martha Graham Center and Point Park College, before receiving her BFA in Dance from Cornish College of the Arts. Their two decade performing career includes work with many celebrated dance artists and companies including: Lingo Dance/KT Niehoff, Kim Epifano, LevyDance, The Fossettes, Sonya Smith, Erika Tsimbrovsky/AvyK, Flyaway Productions, Cielo Vertical Arts and David Herrera. Bianca is a founding member of Latinx Hispanix Danza Unidxs and served on the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards committee in 2019-20.

Erica Morales

Director of Development and Finance

(she/her)

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Erica Morales initially experienced the true sense of dancing in community as an 8-year-old during Ballet Folklórico classes while growing up in the Northeast of Los Angeles. It was then that she realized dance embodies the movement of spirit for both self and community. Erica went on take dance classes such as tap and ballet and eventually enjoyed varied dance classes at Mills College and UC Santa Cruz as a young adult.


Erica grew into a role as community organizer at a young age, helping her father rally the

community to preserve public spaces as community spaces. This experience led her to work with several California organizations fighting for basic rights in marginalized communities—ranging from working with governmental officials and organizers to legalize queer marriage to helping Spanish/English bilingual families negotiate with corporate banks to help subside the foreclosure process of their homes during the 2008 Housing Crisis.


Over a period of 17 years, Erica taught at several Bay Area progressive private schools and eventually took a leadership role in Equity, Inclusion and Justice at The Berkeley School. She facilitated SEED (Seeking Equity in Education) meetings and created curriculum for project-based learning which allowed her to focus on equitable practices, inclusive engagement, and social justice implementation in education. She has been the Business Manager and Director of Finance of successful Science non-profit organization in Berkeley, California for the past 2 years.


Erica is a connector, community advocate and resource mobilizer who brings a unique experience to SADC. She tries to center radical self-love and community when she dances and she strongly believes that dance mirrors the outside world bringing integrity, intentionality, and embracing the human experience as integral.

Jill Randall

Director of Artistic Programming and Staff Support

(she/her)

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Jill Randall has been a part of the Shawl-Anderson Dance Center community since 1998. During the past 26 years in the Bay Area, she has worked as a performer, teaching artist, arts administrator, and writer. Her experience in dance is wide and varied, from teaching dance in public schools to directing festivals. Jill is passionate about the many ways that dance can be a part of the East Bay community and what dance can offer youth and adults alike. As a performer, she has worked extensively with Nina Haft & Company, Paufve Dance, Martt Lawrence, and Dana Lawton. As a teaching artist, she has worked in K-12 public and independent schools, at Saint Mary’s College, and at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center. She received the Herbst Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence in 2013 for her work at The Hamlin School in San Francisco. With Bridget Frederick, Jill co-founded and co-directed the Dance IS Festival for 7 years in Berkeley. The festival brought together professional artists, college departments, and high school students to dialogue and perform together, involving nearly 100 artists each year. Jill was the Director of Education for the Lincoln Center Institute affiliate in Berkeley from 2004-2006 and then became the first Assistant Director of Shawl-Anderson Dance Center in 2006. From 2006-2010, Jill expanded the Center’s offerings and enrollment for both youth and adults, restarted the master class program with visiting artists, and created the Dance Up Close/East Bay performance series. Jill’s writing covers a variety of topics including careers in dance, dance education, and arts integration. Jill currently writes for Dance Teacher and her own sites, Life as a Modern Dancer and Dancing Words (about children’s books on dance). Jill received her BFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah and her MFA in Creative Practice: Dance at Saint Mary’s College. You can take a look at her website here.

Laya Cooperman

Operations Manager

(she/her)

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Originally from the East coast, Laya Cooperman moved to the Bay Area in 2015. She started taking dance classes as an adult, her first ever at Shawl-Anderson, and developed a passion for movement arts. In addition to dancing and her work in the field of public health, Laya is a collage artist and baker. In her free time she can be found listening to music and practicing improvisational movement in her living room.

April C. Taylor

Communications & Marketing Manager

(she/her)

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Movement, breath and flow are three things that inspire April C. Taylor, a Bay Area transplant from Los Angeles who 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, she has been performing her entire life and working in a variety of artistic and event areans. Her passion for the expressive arts and education have led her to teach children and adults for the past twelve years at Bay Area schools and studios. April is glad to be serving as part of the administrative team as SADC emerges from 2020 and 2021. She looks forward to more dancing and creativity while always supporting the mission of the Center where she has been an active community member since 1997.

Eli Zepeda

Youth Program Coordinator

(she/her)

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Eli Zepeda is a Bay Area native and Shawl-Anderson has been her dance home for over 20 years. She is a proud graduate of the Saint Mary's College (SMC) and Mills College dance programs. After graduating from SMC, she taught dance and pilates. For the last few years she has been doing communications work for schools and non-profits. Most recently Eli performed with Paufve Dance and with Nancy Karp + Dancers. In addition to dance, Eli enjoys sewing, reading, cooking, and hanging out with her family which includes a really cool third grade son, awesome husband, and adorable dog.

Madeline Lawder

Adult Program Coordinator

(she/her)

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Madeline Lawder is a dancer and movement specialist. A graduate of the Performing Arts & Social Justice program at the University of San Francisco, Madeline has taught aerial dance, acrobatics, and contemporary in private studios across the Bay and guest lectured at UC Berkeley and University of San Francisco. She has performed locally and nationally with aerial dance companies Flyaway/Jo Kreiter Productions and BANDALOOP. She currently choreographs and produces outdoor site-specific performances in northern California as part of DIRT & GLITTER.

Zoë Quon

Stewardship Coordinator

(she/her)

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Zoë Quon wears many hats, including: dancer, choreographer, barista, steward at SADC, and lighting technician/stagehand. Her movement style is gestural, slinky, and adaptive. Much of her art stems from her lived experiences of queerness and her Chinese-American heritage. She recently completed her B.A. in Performing Arts and Social Justice with a concentration in dance at USF. She finds joy in many things: jazz cd’s, jasmine flowers, and tank tops, to name a few.

Noelle Campos

Summer Camp/Intensives Coordinator

(she/her)

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Noelle Campos is a mover, creator, and educator based in the Bay Area. She started with Shawl-Anderson during the summer of 2022, and has also become a part of the Youth staff . For the summer of 2023, Noelle will be the Youth Program Summer Camps & Intensives Coordinator!

Noah James III

Development Associate

(he/him)

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Noah James III has esteemed over two decades of intentional dance work here in THE OHLONE. A movement journey that includes performance installations and partnership with Urban Jazz Dance Company, honoring his family origins and heritage from the Point Shipyard Project in Push Dance Company to co-developing and directing a wonderful garden with Visceral Roots Dance Company. In 2015, while home at Shawl Anderson Dance Center, Noah picked up The Collaborative Habit by Twyla Tharp. His life was forever impacted and in constant motion toward being an artist of servitude. Noah has worked over thirty different jobs while courageously carving out a dance journey of his own-at times- even against doctors' advice. While growing up with Sickle Cell Disease, Noah discovered he was deaf and hard of hearing. He learned early on to embrace the differences against societal norms and pressure by choosing joy. A quote by Rabindranath T., "I SLEPT AND DREAMT THAT LIFE WAS JOY. I AWOKE AND SAW THAT LIFE WAS SERVICE. I ACTED, AND BEHOLD, SERVICE WAS JOY.” May the dance continue! Here are some ways to connect with Noah: https://linktr.ee/Inoahplace

Zohra Ashpari

Administrative Associate

(she/her)

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Zohra Ashpari is a Steward and Teaching Assistant at Shawl-Anderson with a special love for working with kids and ballet. On the side, she moonlights as a freelance children's book editor, and is especially keen on giving voice to BIPOC experiences.

Ash Brown

Administrative Associate

(they/he)

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Ash Brown is a multi-disciplinary artist based on the unceded land of the Lisjan, Ohlone people, also known as Oakland, CA. They received their B.A. in Theatre Arts with a minor in Dance from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2020. He is primarily fascinated by all their various practices' intersections and how those connections bring together a diverse community. Now to be joining the Shawl-Anderson Dance Center team, they are excited to expand their community within the East Bay dance community.

Andrinea Murphy

Administrative Associate

(she/her)

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Andrinea Murphy is an Oakland native who works as a steward for Shawl-Anderson. Fashion has been her niche since a young girl playing in her mother's closet. Her interests have revolved around anything creative that allowed her to self-express. Growing into a teen she fell in love with dance at her high school, Oakland High, where she studied Jazz dance for the first time then decided to expand her knowledge learning different styles after graduating. From that point on she fell in love with the structure and community that comes with each style of dance and the idea of movement in general. Ever since she has always felt most comfortable working and dancing around such inspiring people. Andrinea enjoys the arts and is currently a Liberal arts major at San Francisco State University while also studying dance in her free time, hiking, and participating in anything that involves self-expression through art.

Olivia Sander

Administrative Associate

(she/they)

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Olivia Sander is an Oakland-based movement artist with roots in the Pacific Northwest. In 2021, she graduated from the University of Washington with a BA in Dance and medical school prerequisites. Olivia’s current practice is notably influenced by her training in modern, house, and improvisation styles. They have presented choreographic work across the US and France and delivered lectures on their artistic research at the University of Washington. Currently, they teach, perform, research, and create in the Bay Area and Europe, driven by curiosity and a desire to connect. Olivia is honored to be on the team.

Faculty

Alaja Badalich

Teen Ballet

(they/she)

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Native to Eugene, Oregon A(laj)a Badalich (they/she) is a black-queer neurodivergent dance artist, choreographer, and co-founder of Fermata Ballet Collective. She trained at the Alonzo King Lines Ballet training program, across the United States and internationally. Laj's role as a guest choreographer/faculty member for the LINES ballet training program, multiple collectives, public school programs, and competitive dance studios demonstrates their commitment to nurturing and paving the way for the next generation of dancers.

Alexa Coleman

Kids Hip-Hop

(she/her)

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Born and raised in San Francisco, Alexa has been dancing for approximately 12 years. Her dance journey began when she joined a hip-hop team. There she was also introduced to Jazz, African, and Pom, all while being able to perform, travel, and compete. After about 5 years she expanded and began to see dance as more than just a hobby. She began traveling for classes, conventions, and auditions. It wasn’t until high school that Alexa trained in ballet and contemporary.

Andrew Merrell

Teen Contemporary & Adult Modern

(he /him)

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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.

Annalise Constantz

Creative Movement

(she /they)

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Annalise Carrillo Constantz (she/they) is a dance artist and early childhood educator. She is passionate about the connection between movement and early childhood development as well as ways in which dance empowers and fosters community. When not dancing or teaching, Annalise loves swimming in the bay and saying hello to all the neighborhood dogs and cats!

Antoine Hunter

Adult Jazz

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A Bay Area native, Antoine is an award-winning American Deaf and Hard of Hearing choreographer, dancer, dance instructor, actor, poet and deaf advocate. The founder and artistic director of Urban Jazz Dance, Antoine has also performed with Savage Jazz Dance Company, Nuba Dance Theater, Alayo Dance Company, Robert Moses’ KIN, Man Dance, Sins Invalid, Zaccho Dance Theatre, Amara Tabor-Smith, Kim Epifano and many shows produced by the Lorraine Hansberry Theater, performing throughout the Bay Area and the world including, Cuba, Rome and Paris.

April C. Taylor

Dance With Me & Kids Contemporary

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Movement, breath and flow are three things that inspire April C. Taylor. 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 twenty years at local schools and studios. April currently is the Communications and Marketing manager for the Center. She has been a part of the community since 1998.

Carol Kueffer

Kids Contemporary

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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.

Carolyn Goto

Adult Ballet

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Carolyn Goto’s early training and performing experience began with Merriam Lanova and the Ballet Celeste of San Francisco. Other Bay Area influences were Alan Howard and Richard Gibson. Her teaching approach was influenced by the highly regarded Maggie Black in NYC. She was a principal dancer with Oakland Ballet and Ballet Met in Columbus, Ohio. As a teacher, it is her desire to do more than demonstrate what dance and technique look like, but rather to impart an understanding of how to achieve desired results. Her teaching seeks a blending of artistry, integrity and musicality along with a knowledge of movement, placement and technique.

Catalina O'Connor

Kids Contemporary

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Catalina is a modern/contemporary dancer and teacher. She attended Saint Mary's College of California and studied modern dance, as well as Mexican Folklórico and Flamenco, along with Hispanic Literature, and Art History. She is currently teaching with HeART with LINES and the Shawl-Anderson Youth Program. She has had the honor to work with Lenora Lee, Rogelio Lopez & Dancers, Andrew Merrell, Chingchi Yu, Liz Duran/Piñata Dance Collective, Davalos Dance, and Andi Salazar.

Chelsea Hill

Kids Hip-Hop

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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.

ChingChi Yu

Creative Movement

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ChingChi Yu is a dancer, choreographer, and dance educator. She performed in Taiwan’s LanLing Theater before relocating to California in 1986. ChingChi discovered choreography at UC Berkeley, and upon graduating with degrees in Dance and Linguistics joined Asian American Dance Performances as resident choreographer. ChingChi has danced in works by many Bay Area choreographers and is a founding member of Dandelion Dance Theater. Her choreography has been presented throughout the Bay Area. In January 2023, she joined Dance Generators, an intergenerational dance troop aging from 18 to 91.  

Chris Lam

Adult Ballet

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Christopher Lam was born in Brisbane, Australia and studied with Betsy Sawyers before joining the Australian Ballet School. A recipient of the prestigious Graeme Murphy Scholarship Christopher graduated from his studies passing the Royal Academy of Dancing's Advanced examination with Honours. Since retiring from the stage he has taught dance and staged works internationally. A resident of the Bay Area since 2016 he has taught in youth and adult divisions as well as the professional companies.

Crystaldawn Bell

Teen Ballet & Contemporary, Director of SAYE and Ballet Perf Group

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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.

Dana Lawton

Adult Modern

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Dana Lawton fell in love with dance in College and never stopped. Her journey over the past 40 years has led her to earn a BFA in Dance from California Institute of the Arts, an MFA in Dance from Mills College and is a Full-Professor of Dance at Saint Mary's College. Teaching is her passion and she has been on faculty at Shawl-Anderson since 1998, as well as Artist/Company in Residence with her professional troupe, Dana Lawton Dances.

Elena Martins

Adult Contemporary

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Elena Martins is a dancer, dance instructor, and arts administrator from Boston, MA. She received her early training at Donna Miceli Dance Center and The Academy of Ballet Arts and went on to graduate from SUNY Buffalo with a BA in Dance and a minor in speech and hearing science. Elena has taught at many prestigious dance schools including The School of Classical Ballet, Jeannette Neill Dance Studio, Dana Hall Upper School, Boston Dance Company, and Berkeley City Ballet.

Erik Wagner

Adult Ballet

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Erik Wagner is a dance artist, educator, and choreographer based in San Francisco, California, where he leads both ballet and contemporary movement practices. He was a company member with San Francisco Ballet, Béjart Ballet Lausanne, Ballet X, and the Stadttheater Bern, in Switzerland. Since 2012 Erik has been on faculty with the Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Training Program, and Dance Center. From 2013-2015, he guest lectured at Stanford University, during which time he was selected to perform in Jerome Bel’s, The Show Must Go On.

Javon Mabon

Kids & Teen Hip-Hop

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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.

Jessica Damon

Pilates

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Jessica Damon is a dancer, choreographer, video artist and teacher of dance and somatic therapies. Her work with young children emphasizes the joy and wonder of movement, encouraging the individual artistry of each child. As a young dancer she had the honor of working with Mel Wong and later performed with a handful of Bay Area companies before pursuing her MFA in Performance and Choreography from CU Boulder.

Jill Randall

Creative Movement

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Jill Randall (she/her) is one of the co-directors at SADC and is happy to teach in the youth program. Jill first started teaching at the studio in 2000 and has taught every level of creative movement and youth/teen modern. She is passionate about teaching, learning, and moving together. Jill performed for 18 years in the Bay Area. She writes on dance and also is an adjunct professor at Saint Mary’s College. jillrandalldance.com

Juliana Monin

Creative Movement, Dance With Me & Adult Yoga

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Juliana took her first modern class at Shawl-Anderson and is thrilled to be here combining her love 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. 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.

Julie Crothers

Kids & Teens Contemporary

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Julie Crothers is a white, queer, disabled performer, choreographer, and community educator based in Berkeley, CA. Her solo choreographic work has been presented on stages throughout the Bay Area and beyond. In 2023, Julie was a visiting artist at MANCC (Maggie Allesee National Center for Choreography), where she developed an evening-length one-man dance theatre show, titled Holy Crap, which premiered in June 2023 at ODC Theater in San Francisco. In 2020, Julie was named one of Dance Magazine's "25 to watch."

KJ Dahlaw

Adult Ballet

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​​KJ Dahlaw is a bay area dance artist and makes work under the name of Unruly Body Tanztheater. They hold an MFA in Dance from Saint Mary's College of CA and a BFA in Dance Performance from Northern Illinois University. KJ teaches ballet, contemporary dance and improvisational practices tending to the Aliveness of the dancing body.

Karma Smart

Adult Afro Dance Workout

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Karma Smart is a Bay Area based dancer, choreographer and educator and is passionate about dance fitness. In 1996, Karma started studying and performing West African dance in Hawaii. Since then, she has had the opportunity to learn from many of the prominent choreographers from West Africa, Brazil, and the Congo, in addition to other parts of the African diaspora. This has informed how she teaches and helped her develop her unique style of dance fitness.

Katana Pop

Adult & Kids Hip-Hop

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Katana is a Chicago born dance performance artist, battle dancer, choreographer, and teaching artist residing in the Bay Area. Throughout her career, Katana has trained in all different styles including studio styles and then transitioning to street dance in her professional career. All though she has explored many styles in dance, Katana is heavily rooted in the style of popping, Egyptian bang tutting, and waving, with over 10 years of professional experience. Katana battles internationally and has been in major competitions such as Redbull BC One, and Redbull Dance Your Style, and Snipes.

Katherine Orloff

Adult Ballet

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Katherine Orloff received her formative training at the Contra Costa Ballet Centre, with additional studies at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, North Carolina School for the Arts, and the University of California, Irvine.She has served on the faculty for several schools in the Bay Area and currently teaches for the Youth and Teen program at ODC/Dance. Having always found that her artistic and academic interests drive and complement one another, she is a strong advocate for interdisciplinary education and strives to remain engaged in the subjects that deeply move her.

Katie Lawson-Gill

Creative Movement

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Katie obtained her B.A. in Dance: Choreography & Performance from Saint Mary’s College of California. After graduating, she was invited to join Dana Lawton Dances (DLD). With DLD, she performed in “The Farallonites,” which was a Semi-Finalist at Cannes Film Festival under the category “Best Dance Film.” Katie has also completed artist in residence programs internationally in Cork, Ireland and Bangkok, Thailand. In Cork, Katie trained through the Firkin Crane Centre and premiered her first work entitled “One Way or Another.” In Bangkok, Katie taught at the International School of Bangkok with DLD. They also led movement workshops and performed at Bangkok Arts & Culture Center.

Koozi

Kids Hip-Hop

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Koozi is a Bay Area dancer born in San Francisco and currently lives in Oakland. He has been dancing for 11 years his main styles are turfin, bonebreaking, and other sub styles of street dance. Koozi has performed in music videos with many Bay Area artists such as E40, G-Eazy, Kehlani, H.E.R and many more, and has also been a part of the MOCAP for Star Wars. Koozi hopes to spread his knowledge in dance and help expand Bay Area culture while becoming one of the greatest battle dancers ever.

Lindsay Leonard

Creative Movement

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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 holds a BA in Environmental Studies from her alma mater, UNC Chapel Hill. In her free time Lindsay loves to garden and hike.

Louisa Mann

Kids & Teens Ballet

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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.

Maddie Friedman

Creative Movement

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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. Parallel to her Duncan education, Maddie trained in both Balanchine and Vaganova styles at Manhattan Youth Ballet throughout her teen years. 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.

Mae Chesney

Adult Ballet

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Mae is a lifelong student of movement and a classically trained ballet dancer. Following in the footsteps of her mentor, Augusta Moore, Mae offers space to practice ballet as a means of self exploration and healing. With over 15 years of teaching experience, she continues to fall deeper and deeper in love with the power of dance to bring us home to ourselves and connect with each other.

Marcia Cantillana

Teen Ballet

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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.

Maurice Charriere

Kids Contemporary & Creative Movement

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Active in the Bay Area for many years both as a performer and a teacher, I have called Shawl-Anderson home for a long time. My classes are designed to reflect a "whole child" approach to dance education, taking into consideration emotional and intellectual as well as physical aspects of development. Each class will pay attention to technique, posture, musicality and the communication of ideas through playful choreography and improvisation.

Melecio Estrella

Adult Modern

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Melecio is a Bay Area born and raised artist with a background in dance theater, aerial dance and contact improvisation. Melecio is the co-director of Fog Beast, the Artistic Director of BANDALOOP and a former member of Joe Goode Performance Group. He is thankful to have worked with Scott Wells, Rachael Lincoln, Erika Shuch, Frieda Kipar, Jesse Hewit, Carol Swann, Nancy Stark Smith and others over the years. Melecio is a graduate of the Moving On Center School for participatory arts and research and he relishes in a somatic, community based approach to dynamic embodied practice.

Miriam Peretz

Integral Dance

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Miriam Peretz weaves movement and ritual together to create safe, communal spaces for healing and empowered embodiment. She is a life-long dancer who has immersed herself in the study of dance forms and sacred movement practices from around the world, focusing on contemporary dance, Central Asian dance and the mystical practices of Sufi whirling. Miriam sees dance as a uniquely powerful means of expressing deep emotion and spiritual yearning, and therefore the perfect embodiment of prayer.

Mo Miner

Adult Modern

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Mo Miner came to the Bay Area from Illinois where she was an Assistant Professor of Dance at Illinois State University. She received her B.S. in Psychology from Western Illinois University and then went on to get her M.F.A. in Dance Performance at the University of Iowa. Mo was an adjunct faculty member at USF, UC Berkeley, and Sonoma State and currently teaches at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center. In the Bay Area she has performed with many local choreographers and companies.

Molly Levy

Intro to Ballet

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Molly Levy is a performer and dance educator who is drawn to the heart and humanity of dance. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Molly has performed throughout the country and on camera in devised original work, immersive theater, site-specific dance, music videos, and full evening burlesque shows. Her collaborations have included work with Sharp & Fine, Paufve Dance, Post:ballet, Cantankerous Creatures, Undercurrent, Katie Scherman + Artists, Seattle Opera, The Equus Projects, and LROD.

Naila Brown

Teen Ballet

(She/Her)

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Naila Brown (She/Her) began training at four years old at Berkeley City Ballet. She later joined Shawl Anderson's Youth Ensemble before heading to Howard University, where she captained her dorm's dance team and later joined and directed the student-led and sponsored contemporary dance company, 'I.Am.We.' She has taught youth Ballet, Jazz, and Hip-Hop at Princess Mhoon Dance Institute while performing with Dayo ‘n Dance, Black Pearl Dance Theater, and Breathe Dance Project during her time in the DMV. Passionate about social justice and community healing, she explores dance's immense positive impact on physical, mental, and spiritual health.

Neela Reed

Adult Ballet

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Neela Reed received her ballet training from the Petaluma School of Ballet with Ann Derby and Robert Nichols. Her teaching is influenced by her years of work in special education classrooms, degrees in French language and Sculpture, and a passion for increasing body, racial and gender diversity in ballet. This combination of influences gives her an egalitarian and compositional approach to Ballet. Her classes emphasize clean, musical technique and artistry through the cultivation of presence and self acceptance. She is currently the owner and artistic director of Piedmont Ballet Academy.

Noelle Campos

Kids & Teen Jazz

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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.

Nol Simonse

Adult Modern

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Nol Simonse grew up in Washington, D.C., and trained at the Boston Conservatory of Music. He moved to San Francisco in 1997 and is a founding member of Kunst-Stoff, Janice Garrett and Dancers, Garrett+Moulton Productions, and Sean Dorsey Dance. Nol has taught technique, repertory, and choreography workshops for adults and teens. In 2009 he received a 'Goldie' (Guardian Outstanding Local Discovery) in dance, and in 2011 an 'Izzy' (Isadora Duncan Bay Area Dance Award) for individual performance. He was the first to win Luna Dance Institute's Choreofund prize.

Olivia Sander

Creative Movement

(she/they)

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Olivia Sander (she/they) is an Oakland-based movement artist with roots in the Pacific Northwest. Olivia holds a BA in Dance and a pre-medical certificate from the University of Washington. They have presented choreographic work across the US and France and delivered lectures on their artistic research at the University of Washington. Olivia has had the privilege of performing for artists Bianca Cabrera (Blind Tiger Society), Alfonso Cervera, Beth Terwiliger, Rachael Lincoln, Roel Seeber, Helanius J Wilkins, Erika Randall, and Uri Shafir, among others. They teach, perform, research, and create in the Bay Area and internationally, driven by curiosity and a desire to facilitate connection through embodiment.

Robin Nasatir

Adult Modern for Older Movers & Intro to Modern

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Robin Nasatir started dancing at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center as a child and has been performing and teaching modern dance on and off since 1980. In her earlier career, she was a founding member of Mobius Dance Company and then worked with various choreographers in the Bay Area and New York City. She has been performing Dana Lawton Dances, a resident company at Shawl-Anderson, since 2010. In recent years she has also had the pleasure of working with Nina Haft, Kate Mitchell, Carol Kueffer, Mira Katz, Risa Jaroslow, and AXIS Dance Company, among others.

Rogelio Lopez

Adult Contemporary

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Rogelio is a dancer, dance instructor, choreographer, costume, lighting, and scenic designer. He earned his MFA in dance at California State University Long Beach where he graduated with honors in 2005. Presently he is on faculty at Saint Mary’s College of Moraga, and teaches regularly at Shawl Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley. He is currently producing his own work.

Rudy Apffel

Accompanist

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Rudy Apffel began accompanying dance classes as a sideline while in college earning his BA and MFA degrees. Upon moving to the Bay Area in 1975 he played for Margaret Jenkins Dance Company modern classes and performed as musician in collaboration with his long-time friend, choreographer John Henry (1947-1996). By 1976 Rudy began to focus on ballet class as a specialty, playing in many schools and studios throughout the Bay Area, but working more and more at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center through the 80’s and 90’s to today.

Sara Templeton

Reggaeton

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Sara is a S.F.-based choreographer, teacher, and dancer. She started her professional career as a Hip-Hop dancer and later expanded her expertise to include modern, ballet, dunham technique, and the dances associated with her Puerto Rican heritage. Sara has performed with musical groups Blue Boy and Spanish Fly and presented work at Dance Mission Theater and ODC. Most recently, Sara choreographed the Center Repertory Company’s Spring 2023 musical production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights.

Shaunna Vella

Adult Modern

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Shaunna Vella loves dance. She is a choreographer, performer, teacher and activist that has created work in the Bay Area for over 20 years. She plays with queer performance, community ritual, political art-making, somatics and embodiment. She has taught at SADC in the youth and adult programs since 2004 and is currently serving as the Chair of SADC Board of Directors.

Sky Tan

Accompanist

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Sky Tan is a classically trained pianist and watercolor artist who lives and works in Berkeley, California. She is currently a pianist for the world-renowned San Francisco Ballet and continues to write her own compositions and improvisations. She is also a singing pianist working with vocal artists in Bay Area.

Suhaila Salimpour

Salimpour Belly Dance

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Suhaila Salimpour, a first-generation belly dancer from the SWANA region, is a pioneering force in her field. She created the first certification program in belly dance, revolutionizing performance and instruction. Suhaila leads the Salimpour School of Dance, honoring her mother’s legacy while expanding globally through licensed instructors and an extensive online platform. Alongside teaching and performing worldwide, she earned a BA in Performing Arts in 2024 and is pursuing an MFA in Dance.

Suzanne Beahrs

Adult Modern & Intro to Modern

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Suzanne Beahrs teaches at ODC and Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, and has taught at Elon University, ADF Scripps Studios, Ninth St. Dance (NC); Gibney Dance Center and Mark Morris Dance Center (NY). She has shown work and performed in NY, MA, AZ, and CA. The New York Times said that her movement has a “grounded, silken quality." She holds an MFA in Dance from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and a BA in Geology from UC Berkeley. She is also a consultant with environmental organizations.

Tajh Stallworth

Adult Contemporary and Teen Jazz

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Tajh is a Michigan native who has spent the past 12 years performing, choreographing and teaching across the United States and Internationally. Since moving to the Bay Area in 2020, Tajh has been focused on bringing their love for Jazz dance to students of all ages while also continuing to perform as a freelance performer and commercial actor. Tajh is currently represented by Models Inc. Talent Agency.

Valerie Gutwirth

Yoga

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Valerie Gutwirth began practicing Iyengar-based yoga in 2001 to support her work as a professional dancer and elementary-school dance teacher; she credits her yoga practice with keeping her dancing fulfilling and injury-free ever since. In 2016, Valerie received a 500-hour teaching certification from The Yoga Room in Berkeley. Her main teaching influences are Gay White, Mary Lou Weprin, and Ada Lusardi. Valerie continues to perform professionally as a dancer and body percussionist with Dance Generators at USF, and Evie Ladin/MoToRdance.a

Wendy Diamond

Adult Ballet

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Wendy has trained in the Bay Area, London and New York. She has had a wide range of experience in ballet and modern dance and has performed throughout California, New York, and toured various other states. Her mentors include Sally Streets (ballet) and Terry Sendgraff (aerial modern dance). She believes that elements of many forms of dance are interconnected and that a breadth of training will improve all dancers.

Board of Directors

Shaunna Vella

Board Chair

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Shaunna Vella is a choreographer, performer, teacher and activist that has created work in the Bay Area for over 20 years. As a queer femme artist based in Oakland, her performance work and academic scholarship is an interdisciplinary praxis of queer performance, dance and embodiment, performance studies, and building performance as community ritual. She has been teaching at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center since 2004, and continues to collaborate with wonderful artists and teachers from around the world, many of which have been in proximity to SADC. 

She is the Program Director for LEAP (Liberal Education for Arts Professionals) and is an Associate Professor in the Performing Arts at Saint Mary’s College of California where she teaches courses such as Dance and Social Justice, Art and Activism and Intercultural Choreography, as well as movement technique and production. Shaunna is the co-founder of Vella & Merrell Dance, and was recently nominated by The Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee for an Outstanding Performance Award for the Company in 2019.  Shaunna holds an MFA in Dance from Saint Mary’s College of California.

Suhaila Salimpour

Vice Chair

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Suhaila Salimpour is a second-generation belly dancer from the SWANA region (Southwest Asia and North Africa), renowned as a pioneer in her field. The visionary behind the first certification program & pedagogy in belly dance, Suhaila introduced a revolutionary methodology for both performance and instruction that has inspired a global community of dancers to approach the art form with dedication and depth.

Suhaila directs the global Salimpour School of Dance, preserving the heritage and values of her mother, Jamila Salimpour, while expanding its reach through licensed instructors worldwide and an extensive online instructional platform. She continues to inspire students through in-person classes, workshops, lectures, and performances around the world. In addition to her artistic endeavors, Salimpour is committed to academic pursuits, having completed her BA in Performing Arts in 2024 and currently pursuing an MFA in Dance at Saint Mary’s College of California.

Bonnie Lau

Treasurer

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Bonnie Lau is an entrepreneur, 2x founder, and a curious creative known for challenging conventional assumptions and fostering innovation through combinatorial play, combining seemingly unrelated elements to make something new. Her diverse background spans consumer products, operations, and top-tier management consulting, with a specialization in US tax. 

As a board member, Bonnie aims to leverage her entrepreneurial spirit and proven track record of driving sales and fundraising to advance SADC’s mission and expanding dance’s transformative reach. Bonnie holds a BA in Business Administration from Seattle University and is an inactive CPA in CA and WA states.

Emma Schain

Secretary

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Emma Schain is a dancer, choreographer, and the founder of Superbloom Learning, a talent development consultancy. Prior to launching Superbloom Learning, Emma built and led multiple Learning and Development teams at startups, where she focused on leadership development, change management, culture strategy, and workforce training. Emma began her career in K12 public education as a high school teacher, administrator, and teacher development coach. She holds a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Stanford’s Graduate School of Education and a BA in American Studies from Cornell University, where she also participated in the dance program. Emma grew up in Berkeley and studied dance at Berkeley High School, Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, Dancing Grounds in New Orleans, and ODC. She currently lives in San Francisco.

Viniti Mahbubani

Board Member

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Viniti is a Finance professional working with a private software company in the Bay Area, where she has lived for the past 15 years. During her childhood in Hong Kong, Viniti studied Bharatanatyam, a classical Indian dance form that originated in southern India. She participated in various dance competitions and dance performances, which taught her the importance of having a dance community, engaging with fellow dancers, and learning how to perform in public. Public performance through dance gave her the confidence to continue her work in the arts when she shifted from dance to theater and stage acting. Viniti hopes to bring her love for the performing arts, as well as her background in Consulting and Finance, to benefit SADC as a member of its Board. Viniti has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Madras, India and a Master of Business Administration from IESE Business School, Spain.

Snowflake Arizmendi-Calvert

Board Member

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Snowflake Arizmendi-Calvert (she/her) is a Yaqui and Tzotzil Two-Spirit artist, celebrated as a dancer, drag performer, event host, entrepreneur, and filmmaker. Her artistry serves as a platform for political, social, and cultural activism, notably within the LGBTQ+ community. With leadership roles at Groundswell Institute/QUIL and the Yaquis of Southern California, Snowflake demonstrates unwavering commitment to advocacy. Her career spans diverse experiences, from principal ballet dancer to hosting fundraisers and collaborating with esteemed organizations like BAAITS Powwow. Internationally recognized for her dance talent, Snowflake also nurtured budding talents as owner of The Dance Zone Studio. As president of Queers United for Intersectional Liberation, she furthered LGBTQ+ advocacy. Currently, Snowflake co-produces Seeds and Sequins and collaborates with The TRY Project, while contributing to The Queering Dance Festival’s Steering Committee. Additionally, her filmmaking endeavors include co-producing, writing, and acting in the short-film "Chaac + Yum." Through her vibrant artistry, activism, and dedication, Snowflake Arizmendi-Calvert champions inclusivity and leaves an indelible mark on the performing arts landscape.

Julian Pham

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Julian Pham is a filmmaker and dancer based in Oakland and is also the Creative Director for the City of San Francisco's Public Works department, in the Office of Communications and Public Affairs.

As a dancer, he was a company member of Savage Jazz Dance Company from 2010-2014, and in 2013, the company was nominated for an Isadora Duncan Dance Award in the category of Outstanding Achievement in Performance – Company. He has also danced with ahdanco, Push Dance Company with Ensemble Mik Nawooj, and Erika Shuch.

As a filmmaker, he recently completed his first feature film, Owl, in 2024, which has so far been featured at CAAM Fest and Twin Cities Film Festival. He has also directed short narrative and short documentary films that have played in national and international festivals, and was shortlisted for the Orchard Project Episodic Lab in 2023 for a television pilot. He is an avid cinephile primarily focused on screenwriting and directing, but enjoys all aspects of filmmaking.

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