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.

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 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.

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.

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 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’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 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 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 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.  

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 earned her BFA from California Institute of the Arts. Since relocating to the Bay Area, she has worked with Robert Moses’ KIN, Post: Ballet, Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, Garrett + Moulton Productions, AXIS, and ODC, to name a few. She received an Isadora Duncan Award (Izzie) for Outstanding Achievement in Performance for her performance in Todd Eckert’s duet, “First Stab at Closure” and has been nominated on three other occasions for Outstanding Performance-Individual. She is currently working with EIGHT/MOVES. Crystaldawn enjoys teaching and is on faculty at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center and Saint Mary’s College of California.

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.

Dionte has been dancing for 15+ years specializing in the dance style "Breaking” with experience in performing, competing professionally, and teaching for 10 + years. To gain more experience in teaching, Dionte has worked with Organizations like DestinyArts, Mobu dance, Performing Arts Workshop, All The Way Live Foundation, and many others to work with youth and educate them through dance.

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.

Isabella “Bella'' Soo-Hoo (she/her) was born in Oakland, California and grew up training at the San Francisco Ballet School. From 2013-2020 she attended Oakland School for the Arts under the direction of Reginald Ray-Savage and Alison Hurley, and in 2017 she joined Savage Jazz Dance Company, a repertoire dance company, where she performed in multiple shows and dance festivals across the Bay Area. In 2020 she was chosen as a Contemporary Dance BFA candidate at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and was awarded a merit scholarship. At the Conservatory she trained in multiple techniques; ballet, modern, jazz, and improvisation. During her studies, Bella has worked with and performed works by artists such as Aszure Barton, Gustavo Ramírez Sansano, José Limón, and Loni Landon. Bella has furthered her training and artistic growth at programs including Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Orsolina28, b12, Carmel Dance Festival Fellowship Program, Arts Umbrella, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, NorthWest Dance Project, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. After graduating, she returned home to the Bay Area and is currently a freelance artist and has danced for Pearl Street Dance Collective and Dragons Dance. Bella is excited to teach Beginning and Intermediate Ballet at SADC!

Jill Randall  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 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.

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 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.

Kat Brault is an experimental dance artist, choreographer, educator, and arts administrator on the unceded lands of the Muwekma Ohlone aka Oakland, CA. Kat loves to dance. In a way, it’s as simple as that. They’ve been at it for over 20 years now. Dance is their first love. Kat feels strongly about being kind and expressing joy. As an artist and as a person (which are not really ever separate), Kat is interested in living a life that is fully alive with the presence of what is. As a movement educator, they love to challenge students to find their edges and dance there if they can. Kat teaches contemporary and modern dance, Pilates, and improvisation throughout the Bay Area. They are currently on the Youth and Adult Faculty of Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, teaching Teen Intermediate Contemporary and Adult Mat Pilates for dancer conditioning and injury prevention, in addition to being the Rental Program Coordinator. You can also find them teaching Pilates Apparatus classes at L&T Pilates. In all their roles and many hats, Kat is hell-bent on healing the hearts of this and other worlds through movement and helping people connect with their bodies. Kat has had the honor of studying and working with Gerald Casel, Cid Pearlman, Amy Ginther, Alexandra Mannings, Mo Katzman, Andrew Merrell, Ky Russell, Sandy Novembre and many others in the dance and Pilates communities. They have created handfuls of original works, and often collaborate with dear friends. Kat has been a Balanced Body certified Pilates Instructor since 2024 and incorporate their anatomical training into their high-energy dance classes. Their dance classes start with a warm up that contains somatic attunements, improvisational stretching, and Pilates strengthening. Then they move across the floor to various improvisational promptings, sometimes some floorwork technique, and then culminate in a combination of contemporary choreography. As a Pilates Instructor, Kat brings a grounded, thoughtful presence to every class. Their movement background shapes a deep respect for precision, flow, and how the body moves as a whole. Their approach to Pilates is informed by personal experience with a permanent spinal injury and rehabilitation, reinforcing their belief in Pilates as a powerful, practical tool for building strength, awareness, and trust in the body. In class, Kat’s teaching style is creative, clear, and encouraging. Expect intelligent sequencing, athletic flow, and precise cueing—delivered with warmth, humor, and strong instructor energy. Kat’s goal is for clients to feel supported, challenged, and more connected to their bodies every time they step into class.

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.

Kim Ip/Krimm is a choreographer and performer who uses her choreography to undermine the stereotypes and expectations of the performing womxns’ body as it relates to American Pop Culture. Her work critiques the mediated gaze of womxns’ bodies in media through physically exhausting dance and club culture aesthetic. She desires to create alternate experiences on stage that unhinge the viewer from what is comfortable by co-opting familiar imagery and utilizing subtle distortion. Kim Ip/Krimm has received residencies from Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, SafeHouse Arts, and now CounterPulse.

​​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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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 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.

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 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 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 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 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 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 is of Sicilian-Greek descent and a first-generation Kurdish-American on her father’s side. A second-generation belly dancer, she is widely regarded as a pioneer in her field. Suhaila was the house dancer at the famed Byblos nightclub in Beverly Hills and toured with her own band for over a decade, performing in prestigious nightclubs in Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Taiwan, France, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As the visionary creator of the first systematized pedagogy and certification program in belly dance, Suhaila revolutionized both performance and teaching methodologies. She built a global community of dancers inspired to engage with the art form through embodied discipline, anatomical knowledge, and cultural sensitivity. As the director of the Salimpour School of Dance, Suhaila carries forward the legacy of her mother, and expands its reach globally through a robust online instructional platform and a network of licensed instructors.

Suhaila has choreographed three full-length productions and recorded over twenty-three albums with pro/minent Arab musicians. In 2024 Suhaila received the prestigious Gerbode Foundation's grant for dance and movement and the Isadora Duncan Special Award for Outstanding Production for Dancing with Hafez, created in collaboration with Parya Saberi. Suhaila serves as Chair of the Board of Directors at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center, and sits on the boards of World Arts West and Mahea Uchiyama Center for International Dance. To support equity, access, and sustainability in the Bay Area dance community, she produces YALLAH Arts Festival with Ashkenaz Music and Dance Community Center. Suhaila also remains deeply committed to academic growth and will complete her MFA in Dance at Saint Mary’s College of California in 2026. Through teaching in-person and on-line classes, providing workshops and lectures, choreographing performances, and producing festivals, she continues to inspire and educate students across the globe.

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With three decades of modern dance experience and 12 years of teaching, Suzanne Beahrs guides students in exploring movement as a pathway to deeper connection—with ourselves, our surroundings, and each other. Her classes blend technical training, creative expression, and guidance on being intentional with how we are each practicing. Her movement style was described by The New York Times as “grounded, silken.” In addition to modern dance, she is currently heavily influenced by house dance, contact improvisation, and mindfulness practices.
She is currently on faculty at Shawl-Anderson Dance Center and has previously taught extensively at ODC, Gibney, Elon University, ADF studios, and many more. She has shown her choreography in NY, NC, CA, AZ, MA, and MO, and performed in works by Ishika Seth, Mo Miner, and others.
Beyond the studio, Suzanne enjoys exploring visual art, writing, nature, and music. As a facilitator, she works to nurture belonging and inclusion within ourselves, communities, and organizations.  
Education: MFA in Dance, NYU Tisch School of the Arts; BA in Geology, UC Berkeley

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 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 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.