https://www.sfdanceworks.org/sfdw daily 1.0 2023-01-20 https://www.sfdanceworks.org/donate-today daily 0.75 2024-11-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/58f3b96b-6010-480d-949f-9aa76384054d/DSCF5430.jpg DONATE - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1641960059459-I0T4GHVKU5E46Q6HXX25/SFDanceworks_Katerina+Eng_photo+Madison+Keesler.jpg DONATE https://www.sfdanceworks.org/new-page daily 0.75 2021-10-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1606270012332-9CYZ463EVDN25L1M49DO/Royce+Vavrek.jpg EVIDENCE OF IT ALL - Royce Vavrek Royce Vavrek is a librettist who has “shaken up the timid, backward-looking business of American opera” (The New Yorker). He has been called “an exemplary creator of operatic prose” (The New York Times) and “one of the most celebrated and sought after librettists in the world” (CBC Radio). His opera Angel’s Bone, with composer Du Yun, was was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Music. His collaborations include operas with Missy Mazzoli (Breaking the Waves, Proving Up and Song from the Uproar), David T. Little (Dog Days and JFK), Ricky Ian Gordon (27 and The House Without a Christmas Tree) and Gregory Spears (O Columbia); concert works with Paola Prestini (The Hubble Cantata), Julian Wachner (Epistle Mass), Ellen Reid (Knoxville: Summer of 2015) and Matt Marks (Strip Mall, A Song for Wade (This is Not That Song)); and a musical with Joshua Schmidt (Midwestern Gothic). Recent and upcoming projects include an adaptation of Carlos Reygadas’ Silent Light with Paola Prestini and director Thaddeus Strassberger, developed at the Banff Centre for the Arts and Creativity; Crypto, a contemporary dance creation with choreographer Guillaume Côté and composer Mikael Karlsson for Canadian Stage; new operas with Julian Wachner (Broadview Christ) and Mary Kouyoumdjian (Adoration) for Beth Morrison Projects; a grand opera with composer David T. Little for The Met/LCT commissioning program; and two grand operas with Missy Mazzoli: an adaptation of an original story by Jordan Tannahill for Opera Philadelphia and the Norwegian National Opera entitled The Listeners, and an adaptation of George Saunders’s Booker Prize-winning novel Lincoln in the Bardo for The Metropolitan Opera. Royce is an alum of Concordia University (Montreal), NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program and American Lyric Theater’s Composer Librettist Development Program. Twitter/Instagram: @rvavrek \\ www.roycevavrek.com https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1606267721275-1NH4KRCP9PW8R7RSMWMJ/Drew+Jacoby+Headshot.jpeg EVIDENCE OF IT ALL - Drew Jacoby Photography by Rahi Rezvani https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1635381334366-9UFOP383OOZJ6JMZ3UYM/EVIDENCE_Still%2BFrames_1.16.1.jpg EVIDENCE OF IT ALL - Meredith Webster Meredith Webster grew up in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. She worked with Sonia Dawkins Prism and Donald Byrd's Spectrum Dance Theatre in Seattle, and earned a B.S. in Environmental Science from the University of Washington before moving to San Francisco to work with Alonzo King LINES Ballet. She worked with Mr. King for 15 years, 6 of which were as Ballet Master. Meredith has also performed with Ledoh/Salt Farm and Maureen Whiting Company, collaborated with David Harvey to create the site-specific Ladysmith Draw, and co-created Empress Archer for The Cambrians of Chicago. She recently choreographed and starred in the short film Mirrors, written and directed by Mary Marxen. @MeredithTWebster Photography by Genesis Sorrick https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1606270135795-O50WPTBMIWI05MCXFRBQ/Mikael+Karlsson%2C+Photo+by+Niklas+Alexandersson.jpg EVIDENCE OF IT ALL - Mikael Karlsson Mikael Karlsson writes music ranging from orchestral music, modern ballets at major opera houses to chamber music, operas and orchestral music. His music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, Paris Opera, Le Poisson Rouge, Vienna State Opera, Lincoln Center, MoMA, the Ecstatic Music Festival and the PROTOTYPE festival. His pieces with celebrated choreographer Alexander Ekman have premiered at Royal Swedish Opera (Eskapist, 2019, Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2015), the Oslo Opera (A Swan Lake, 2014), the Semperoper (COW, 2016), and the Paris Opera Ballet (Play, 2017). His many collaborators include ICE, ACME, Isabel Leonard, Mivos Quartet, Claire Chase, Callie Day, Anna von Hausswolff, Lykke Li, Mariam Wallentin, Alicia Keys, and Lydia Lunch. www.mikaelk.com Photography by Niklas Alexandersson https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1606269890669-0426GEKM6NO2W02H4ZO1/Rosamund+Pike%2C+Photo+by+Francois+Berthier.jpg EVIDENCE OF IT ALL - Rosamund Pike Rosamund Pike is an international stage and screen actress, who is best known for her work as Amy Dunne in David Fincher’s GONE GIRL, for which she received an Academy Award nomination. She also received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Marie Colvin in A PRIVATE WAR and most recently won an Emmy for the short form series STATE OF THE UNION wth Chris O’Dowd. Other notable roles have included Jane in Joe Wright’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, Rosalee Quaid in Scott Cooper’s HOSTILES, and most recently Marie Curie in Marjane’s Satrapi’s RADIOACTIVE. Rosamund is currently living in Prague working on an adaptation of Robert Jordan’s WHEEL OF TIME series for Amazon Studios. Photography by Francois Berthier https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1618992249558-ZK7Y09LDP0PILJS2E15Y/Poster%400.5x.jpg EVIDENCE OF IT ALL - EVIDENCE OF IT ALL Choreographer Drew Jacoby (Nederlands Dans Theater, Royal Ballet of Flanders) directs her first short film for SFDanceworks. She commissioned Pulitzer-winning librettist Royce Vavrek to create a story and text based on the concept of the seven cardinal sins through the lens of a woman in solitude, pulsating through her memories. Drawing inspiration from iconic artists Maya Deren and Peter Lindbergh, Jacoby's graphic movement style and aesthetic give the dance film an eerie, absurd, and sometimes surreal sensuality. With narration by Golden Globe-winning and Oscar-nominated actress Rosamund Pike and sound design by the brilliant composer Mikael Karlsson (Alicia Keys and Lykke Li collaborator), dancer Meredith Webster takes the viewer on an intimate and riveting journey through her troubled mind, shedding light on the perpetual inner carnal struggle. https://www.sfdanceworks.org/artists daily 0.75 2025-07-04 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/9249da7e-c4c4-499f-a519-cf978db62cf6/Nat+Headshot+-+Dwiartanto.jpg Artists & Collaborators - NAT WILSON DANCER AND STAGER, A MEASURABLE EXISTENCE Nat Wilson (they/he) is a Brooklyn-based freelance dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Their main work is with YYDC, performing with the company in New York and internationally, and assisting Yue Yin in staging repertory and creating new work. They are in the first generation of certified FoCo instructors, and have already led FoCo workshops in Peru, Los Angeles, and Chicago, in addition to ongoing classes in New York. Their other freelance work includes kNoname Artist/Roderick George, Boca Tuya, ate9 Dance Company, and More Fish Dance. Before moving to Brooklyn, Nat worked abroad dancing with Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, where they had the opportunity to perform and teach masterclasses around the world, including China, Colombia, South Korea, and India. They are always happy to connect via Instagram through the handle @natattax. Photo Credit: Joan Dwiartanto https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/f50bbe2d-daf4-423e-94b8-2a83ac7eff83/IMG_0399.jpg Artists & Collaborators - BRETT CONWAY DANCER AND COSTUME DESIGN ADVISORY Brett Conway is from Ft. Wayne, IN, where he began his dance training at Fort Wayne Ballet and graduated from Virginia School of the Arts. Brett started his professional career in San Francisco, dancing for Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet for eight years. He then moved to Europe to join Nederlands Dans Theater for five years, where he had the pleasure of working with many influential choreographers, including Jirí Kylián, Paul Lightfoot, Sol Leon, Mats Ek, Crystal Pite, Marco Goecke, and Ohad Naharin. In 2015, Brett returned to San Francisco, where he danced with LINES Ballet for one final season before transitioning into teaching, choreographing, staging, and freelance work. Brett has worked with SFDanceworks, Opera Parallel, and is currently a dancer with San Francisco Opera. Since 2017, Brett has been a faculty member of LINES Ballet’s Training Program, BFA Program, and Dance Center. From 2019-2021, Brett served as co-artistic director of SFDanceworks, during which he choreographed his first work for the company, The Bedroom, and produced Drew Jacoby’s short film, EVIDENCE OF IT ALL. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/05e4561f-1c45-483b-82a6-fbc38251e8a5/Asami_Morita_Headshot_2025.jpg Artists & Collaborators - ASAMI MORITA LIGHTING DESIGN, A MEASURABLE EXISTENCE Asami Morita is a lighting designer, primarily for dance. She has worked with choreographers such as Peter Chu, Hilary Easton, Gina Gibney, Mthuthuzeli November, Gustavo Ramirez Sansano, Makiko Tamura, Makini, Sonya Tayeh, Caleb Teicher, Gwen Welliver, Nami Yamamoto, Yue Yin among many others. Her designs have been seen nationally and internationally at venues including the Joyce Theater, New York City Center, ICA Boston, Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur (Canada), Meridian Hall (Toronto, Canada), Montréal Arts Interculturels (Canada), Suzzane Dellal Hall (Tel Aviv, Israel), Theater Ann Het Spui (The Hague, The Netherlands). Other recent work includes the Off Broadway Play: My Man Kono (Pan Asian Repertory Theater). https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/a2be44e7-9b44-4921-9abb-8184542a0abb/Bates-Vinueza%2C+Isaac+Headshot+BW.jpg Artists & Collaborators - ISAAC BATES-VINUEZA DANCER Isaac Bates-Vinueza was born in New York City and raised in Louisville, Colorado. He received his initial dance training at Boulder Ballet School with Ana Claire and Becky Jancosko. He then went on to train at Pacific Northwest Ballet School in Seattle. Isaac has danced professionally with Sacramento Ballet, Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, LED Boise, Post:Ballet, and SFDanceworks. Throughout his career, he has originated and performed leading roles in works by Natasha Adorlee, Bryan Arias, George Balanchine, Lauren Edson, Laura O’Malley, Penny Saunders, and Amy Seiwert, among many others. Isaac made his professional choreographic debut in 2022 at Sacramento Ballet, and that same year, was awarded the Ann and Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship at Jacob’s Pillow. A passionate teacher, Isaac frequently teaches company class for SFDanceworks and is on faculty at Berkeley Ballet, where he teaches advanced ballet, men’s technique, and contemporary dance. In 2025, Isaac received a Bachelor of Arts with honors in English from UC Berkeley, and upon graduation was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He lives in San Francisco. Photo Credit: Frances Powless https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/fd5fd5a5-33ac-45a2-8441-e4c5064faeb7/JaMoon_Jones_Headshot_2025.jpg Artists & Collaborators - JA’MOON JONES DANCER Ja'Moon is a conjurer of movement, channeling ancestral memory through ritual, dance theater, and immersive experiences. His work invites audiences into the liminal—where history, fabulation, and the present converge. Ja’Moon’s performances have spanned Senegal, NYC, Colorado, and California. He is the inaugural Resident Choreographer at Ballare Carmel. A Juilliard graduate, he has performed in Sleep No More NYC and danced works by Crystal Pite, Bill T. Jones, and Kyle Abraham, among others. Honored with the Max Mara Young Visionary Award, YoungArts Gold Medal, and a residency at École Des Sables, he continues to shape new futures through motion. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/b21b59de-9b1f-4de2-b726-d3086a8aa235/IMG_2965.jpg Artists & Collaborators - CORRIDA GODBOLD WARDROBE MANAGER Corrida is pleased to be once again working with SFDanceworks! Raised in Northern California, Corrida has been sewing since the age of 12. What started as a hobby turned into a career in 2010, when she started making costumes for theater productions around the Bay Area. Corrida has worked with Starbound Children’s Theater, New Conservatory Theater, African American Shakespeare Company, Magic Theater, Altarena Playhouse, and dressed for other theaters. She currently works for San Francisco Ballet as the Head of Men’s Wardrobe. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/bd89f118-62eb-4f27-b80e-1a68e45ad0af/DSCF2520.jpg Artists & Collaborators - SARAH CHOU DANCER Sarah Chou is originally from San Diego, California and received her early training at Southern California Ballet and Danceology. She is a graduate of the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program, under the direction of Karah Abiog. Throughout her career, she has performed works by Rena Butler, Edward Clug, Laura O'Malley, Yue Yin, Helen Pickett, Gregory Dawson, David Harvey, and Chuck Wilt, among others. This is her fourth season with SFDanceworks. Sarah graduated Cum Laude from Wellesley College in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in Economics. As a student, she danced, choreographed, and produced extensively for dance groups in the Boston area. Her most recent work, “there’s a chance we may change,” commissioned by Harvard Ballet Company, premiered in November 2023. In addition to her performance career, Sarah bridges her passion for creativity, change, and equity as part of the Finance team at Intersection for the Arts. Photo Credit: Peter Wei https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/3db9e059-f9d8-4e68-814b-b1a60e9660cd/QBW06650.jpg Artists & Collaborators - Artists & Collaborators https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/f80bbb00-94ac-4f78-8ff2-d163d8f6de9a/Lani_Headshot_2025.jpg Artists & Collaborators - LANI YAMANAKA DANCER Lani Yamanaka is a fourth-generation Japanese American artist with a history in both concert and commercial dance industries. She began training in Judo and Dance and graduated from UC Irvine with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography. She’s equally at home on stage, in rehearsal, or helping someone break their fall—with proper ukemi, of course. As a storyteller and collaborator, she has performed works by the late Donald McKayle, JA Collective, Jennifer White, Bryan Arias, Edward Clug, Yin Yue, Daniel Ezralow, Alba Castillo, Kate Weare, Kat Burns, Yayoi Kambara, and Shanda Sawyer, et al. As a company member, she’s danced with Akram Khan Company in Jungle Book Reimagined, Father: Vision of the Floating World and Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise, EightMoves, ODC Dance, and Entity Contemporary Dance. You can also find Lani dancing on screen in Move, The Sympathizer, Interior Chinatown, and on tour with Basement Jaxx. Beyond performing, Lani is passionate about educating future movement artists. As a certified personal trainer (NASM) she has collaborated with DancePrehab, emphasizing injury prevention and wellness, carrying these principles into all her teaching—whether in dance, personal training, or martial arts. Lani strives to instill safe, sustainable movement practices that support long-term health and performance. In her free time, she is working toward her next black belt degree in Judo. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/c8d9f8c8-a3bc-4a18-9980-0c9cef2fe251/A9_04216+square+crop.jpeg Artists & Collaborators - EMILY HANSEL DANCER Emily Hansel is a San Francisco-based dancer, choreographer, dance teacher, arts administrator, and artist advocate. Originally from Rochester, Minnesota, Emily received their BFA in Dance from the University of South Florida. Emily has danced with SFDanceworks, Post:ballet, Christy Funsch, Mark Foehringer Dance Project, Robert Moses’ KIN, Garrett-Moulton Productions, Rebecca Fitton Projects, David Herrera Performance Company, Jennifer Perfilio, FACT/SF, and ZiRu Dance, among others. Emily has also performed in Alexandra Pirici’s Re-collection at SFMOMA and in Cunningham repertory in Signals from the West. For their choreographic work, which is centered around dismantling systems of oppression in the concert dance field, Emily has received a San Francisco Artist award from the San Francisco Arts Commission, was selected to participate in MANCC’s Forward Dialogues program, received an ODC Theater RDI Award, and was named an Individual Artist Fellow by the California Arts Council. Through their choreography, writing, speaking engagements, teaching, and other creative work, Emily advocates for healthy and equitable working conditions for dancers. Photo Credit: Robbie Sweeny https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/222ad032-b2fb-4419-99d6-0bcb41bcc194/HeadshotRileyO%27Flynn.jpg Artists & Collaborators - RILEY O’FLYNN Riley O’Flynn, a San Francisco native, earned his BFA from The Juilliard School. He was honored as a Princess Grace Award recipient in 2016, nominated by Juilliard. From 2017 to 2024, he danced with GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, collaborating with choreographers such as Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Hofesh Shechter, Sharon Eyal, Maxine Doyle, Paul Blackman & Christine Gouzelis, Alexander Ekman, Imre & Marne van Opstal, Tom Weinberger, and Emma Portner, among others. Most recently, O’Flynn performed in Kyle Abraham’s latest work at the Park Avenue Armory and with Kidd Pivot for their 2025 tour of Assembly Hall. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/313ebd7a-26e0-412b-af25-91e4e1cfd4f5/Emma+Portner_Headshot_David+Kim.jpg Artists & Collaborators - EMMA PORTNER DANCER AND CHOREOGRAPHER, elephant A prominent voice in the movement industry, Emma Portner has become widely known for her inimitable quality and complex devotion to the craft of dance. The actor, dancer and director-choreographer has been recognized for her unique and “almost-paranormal” ability. Born in 1994, Emma Portner's dance training was influenced by summer courses at the National Ballet of Canada and in 2012, Emma moved to New York City to study at The Ailey School. Soon thereafter she choreographed the musical Bat Out of Hell, making her the youngest woman in history to choreograph a musical on London’s West End. Before the age of 20, she’d garnered millions of international views through dance on film and worked with some of the music industry’s biggest names including Maggie Rogers, Blood Orange, FKA Twigs, and Sylvan Esso. Her most recent work includes collaborations with Apple, Netflix, Vogue, Adidas, The Norwegian National Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, Sony Studios, and indie music stars. Emma’s work has been featured by the Guggenheim Museum, Jacob's Pillow, New York City Center and Théâtre Champs-Élysées, to name a few. She has been hailed as “beguiling” by the NY Times and was listed as one of Paper Magazine’s “100 people to watch in 2019.” Most recently, Emma’s work Bathtub Ballet premiered to critical acclaim at the Royal Swedish Opera and her ballet islands shared a tour with quintessential choreographers Crystal Pite, Jiří Kylián and Ohad Naharin. Emma’s newest work for Göteborg Danskompani Forever, Maybe premiered to critical acclaim in Spring 2024. Emma portrayed Gozer the Gozerian in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and stars in A24’s festival darling I saw the TV Glow (2024) directed by Jane Schoenbrun. Photo Credit: David Kim https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/85fed38d-642a-4335-80ff-0a1714683897/Mangiaracino+Headshot+2+BGRem.jpg Artists & Collaborators - DANIEL MANGIARACINO COMPOSER, JA COLLECTIVE WORLD PREMIERE Daniel is a composer, dancer, and interdisciplinary artist whose work fuses classical training with a boundary-defying sense of wonder. Equally fluent in movement, music, and media, Daniel creates emotionally charged works that dissolve the lines between sound, choreography, and visual storytelling. His practice is rooted in deep scholarship and curiosity, and his performances—whether on stage, on screen, or in spatial installations—aim to inspire and build community through a shared belief in the emotional power of the arts. A concert pianist and electronic music producer alike, Daniel’s work is driven by an impulse to merge electronic and acoustic textures, crafting dynamic sonic landscapes that respond to and amplify the body in motion. He has composed over 30 works for artists across the U.S. — and even more worldwide — collaborating with choreographers such as Steph Dai, Myles Lavallee, JA Collective, and FALCO Dance Company under the direction of Maddy Falconer. He was also entrusted as the sole composer for the world premiere of the Vista Del Mar Glorya Kaufman Performing Arts Center, presented as a part of the USC Kaufman Alumni Residency. His long-standing partnership with Phoenix Ballet reflects his hybrid background as both a soloist danseur and the company’s composer-in-residence since 2020, contributing over a dozen original works to their repertoire. Daniel’s versatility extends into film, media, and interactive platforms. His scores and musical guidance have accompanied works featured in the Sundance Film Festival and projects produced by Canon, PinkFong, and PBS—including Portrait of a Landscape, a nature documentary—and his music has reached global audiences through video games such as Generation 7 Studios’ Escape Room series, with over 150 million plays. On YouTube, his channel Dein0mite brings classical piano to contemporary audiences through humor and flair, amassing over 250,000 subscribers and 40 million views. Daniel is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Southern California specializing in Classical Piano Performance with additional fields in ethnomusicology, film scoring, and interactive media development. He also mentors undergraduate creators as a professor for USC Thornton’s Young Artist Project, guiding them in bringing ambitious, interdisciplinary capstones to life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/3f4260d8-102d-4773-b003-ca0476ef2149/JIMFRENCHHeadshot+New.jpg Artists & Collaborators - JIM FRENCH PRODUCTION DIRECTOR AND LIGHTING DESIGN Jim French (he/him) designs lighting for the performing arts and live events, with work seen in twenty five countries around the globe. Highlights of Jim's work in dance include over twenty five world premieres for San Francisco Ballet, nine seasons as resident designer for Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, and long running collaborations with the choreographers Val Caniparoli, Pascal Rioult, and Amy Seiwert, with vertical dance company Bandaloop, and with Ballet West. At home in the San Francisco Bay Area, he has collaborated with Alonzo King Lines Ballet, RAW Dance, Shotgun Players, Kronos Quartet, Joe Goode Performance Group, ODC Dance, Post:Ballet, Smuin Ballet, Imagery, Marin Theater Company, West Edge Opera, and has been house LD at SF Jazz. Favorite credits from further afield include Finnish National Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Nederlands Dance Theatre, Joffrey Ballet, Ballett Basel, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Carte Blanche, Royal Ballet of Flanders, and LA Dance Project. Jim designed lighting for the 2018 Global Climate Action Summit, and volunteers for Dancers Responding to AIDS and Bike East Bay. https://www.sfdanceworks.org/advisory-board daily 0.75 2025-07-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/c417e1ee-fd57-4b8d-8265-8cfdaa59bf3a/STRONGINHEADSHOT.jpg Advisory Board and Team - LAUREN STRONGIN Marketing Lauren Strongin (she/her) was born in Los Gatos, California, and grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona. At 11, she was offered a full scholarship to attend The Kirov Academy of Ballet in Washington, DC. In 1999, she was awarded a full scholarship to the John Cranko-Schule in Stuttgart, Germany. She was a finalist at the Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition in Switzerland and IBC at Jackson, Mississippi. Lauren joined Sarasota Ballet and quickly was promoted to Principal dancer. She then danced for Houston Ballet and finally, as a soloist for San Francisco Ballet. Her classical repertoire includes principal roles in Swan Lake, Don Quixote, Les Sylphides, Paquita, Giselle, Balanchine’s Coppélia, The Nutcracker, Le Corsair, and Cranko’s Onegin among others. She danced principal roles by Ashton, MacMillan, Balanchine, Robbins, Van Manen, Bourne, Tudor, Cranko, Kylián, Morris, Tharp, Possokhov, Wheeldon, Tomasson, Ratmansky, and Forsythe. She created roles in ballets by Scarlett, Morris, Elo, Barton, Peck, and others. Lauren retired from a professional ballet career in 2019. She is a certified instructor for the Dance for Parkinson’s program, has interned with the SF Ballet in their wellness department, focusing on mental healthcare accessibility for dancers, and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in their development department and has designed costumes for SFDanceworks and other companies. Lauren has managed social media and marketing for several small companies. Currently, she is a stager and trustee for the Liam Scarlett Trust and is completing her degree in American Studies and Masters in Communications at Stanford University. She is most proud to be mother to her daughter Cy with her husband Joseph Walsh. They live in San Francisco. Photo credit: Ryan Strongin https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1606274428958-1C00CR74S2IAMC6G2OVG/The%2BBedroom.jpg Advisory Board and Team - ADVISORY BOARD AND TEAM https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/94d963c2-8b4e-40a2-a433-64d9598b7e1b/Christina+Gray+Rutter+photo.jpg Advisory Board and Team - CHRISTINA RUTTER Operations and Administration With a background rooted in arts administration and a love for getting things organized behind the scenes, Christina has spent the past two decades working with some of San Francisco’s most iconic cultural institutions. She currently serves as Board Relations Manager at the San Francisco Symphony, where she ensures board operations run smoothly and strategically. Prior to that, she held several roles at San Francisco Ballet, most recently as Dean of School Administration, where she oversaw everything from budgeting and enrollment to student wellness and operational planning. Born and raised in San Francisco, Christina spent most of her free time in a dance studio—and the rest on MUNI getting there. She trained primarily at San Francisco Ballet School before discovering a passion for nonprofit arts administration. She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus in arts management from American University in Washington, D.C. Christina is grateful to live and work in her hometown and is dedicated to supporting resilient arts institutions through behind-the-scenes excellence and thoughtful leadership. https://www.sfdanceworks.org/new-page-2 daily 0.75 2024-04-27 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1606274808632-6SPMIAI0SSKT7XLORAR5/image-asset-1.jpg Founder https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1606274832053-O01PEAADQIMWBKF918BD/cropped%2Bb%26w.jpg Founder - JAMES SOFRANKO FOUNDER https://www.sfdanceworks.org/join-our-circle daily 0.75 2025-07-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/e62aed8f-27d9-4dad-b520-561b654b537a/DSCF6949.jpg JOIN SFDW - JOIN SFDW https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1723834586163-SMZZIV7T9TCSOM75FJLW/A9_03601.jpg JOIN SFDW - Season 8 Donors 2025 https://www.sfdanceworks.org/volunteer daily 0.75 2021-04-08 https://www.sfdanceworks.org/contact-us daily 0.75 2023-11-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1634000356838-3S35IK7CN3XCWLULDVCD/QBW06838.jpg Contact Us - 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Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.sfdanceworks.org/mission daily 0.75 2024-08-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/3d40999a-eef4-42b6-905a-d1d2863e1625/QBW06209.jpg Mission “No other repertory company in the Bay Area offers much of this kind of rep…The company accomplished this with a smart, stimulating, and substantive program that also provided a chance for a few early-career choreographic forays.” - Rachel Howard https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/a9df9430-d67d-4e4e-b64e-c7f59a499fad/2.jpg Mission https://www.sfdanceworks.org/employment-auditions daily 0.75 2023-11-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1633992734060-ZRRHEI4ZULPB05AIQ0AX/QBW07053.jpg Employment / Auditions - Employment / Auditions https://www.sfdanceworks.org/artistic-director daily 0.75 2024-10-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1635374045972-N1CI5QYMP6XTSY1KIYFU/ARO-2950+copy.jpg Artistic Director https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/43b3cebb-ba05-4da3-89e4-0241e0bc7422/DanaGenshaftHeadshot.jpg Artistic Director - DANA GENSHAFT Artistic Director Dana Genshaft was born in Moscow, where she began her early dance training. Upon moving to NYC with her family, Dana continued studies at the School of American Ballet, Kirov Academy of Ballet, and finally the Paris Opera Ballet School prior to joining the San Francisco Ballet in 2000, promoted to soloist in 2008. Dana’s repertory includes both classical and contemporary works by Petipa, Balanchine, Robbins, Cranko, Ashton, Nuemier, Forsythe, Possokhov, Morris, Taylor, McGregor, Wheeldon, Liang, among others. In 2015, Dana joined the faculty of the San Francisco Ballet school, under Patrick Armand, where she began teaching a wide array of classes, Ballet, Contemporary and Improvisation...in particular supporting the development of the choreographic workshop initiatives. In 2016, Dana was selected to participate in the NY Choreographic Institute, jump starting her choreographic career. The same year, Dana joined SFDanceworks inaugural season, performing works by Cerrudo and Saunders, as well as choreographing a solo work, entitled “Portrait”, which has since then been adapted to film and screened in festivals globally including SFDanceFilmFestival, Paris Independent Film Festival, Montreal Independent Film Festival, Prague International Indie Film Festival, and Berlin International Art Film Festival. Notably her choreography is featured in George Harrison’s official music video, ‘What is Life’. Dana continues to teach, mentor and choreograph. Her commissions include the Washington Ballet, Ballet Met: Columbus, Ohio, The Cincinnati Ballet, Ballet Idaho, SFBallet Training program, and ABT Studio Company. Her works have been seen at ‘Fall For Dance’ in NYC, Guggenheim Works and Process, and Marquee TV. Dana was the recipient of the 2018 Princess Grace Award for choreography. In October of 2021, Dana was appointed Interim Artistic Director for SFDanceworks’ 2022 performance season, and Artistic Director beginning Fall 2022. Photo: Alex Reneff-Olson https://www.sfdanceworks.org/season-five daily 0.75 2024-12-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/3b61b8cb-d2a7-4869-9088-87fdf7a823a7/DSC09864.jpg Season 5: Summer 2022 - Martha Graham Deep Song, West Coast Premiere Premiere date: 1937 Music: Henry Cowell single prepared piano recording, Cante Hondo Lighting: Jim French Costumes: Martha Graham Bench Build: Lucas Smithey Regisseur : Miki Orihara Dancer: Dores André and Katerina Beckman This work is made possible by the support of the Dossetter family, in loving memory of Jeremy and the generous support of David Chase. Photo: Katerina Beckman in Deep Song https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/b78a8b22-593e-4069-9603-659d63018807/DSC09684.jpg Season 5: Summer 2022 - Laura O’Malley Within Where, World Premiere Music: New commission by composer Kristina Dutton Costume Design: Lauren Strongin Lighting Design: Jim French Dancers: Amelia Schultz, Lani Yamanaka, Erik Debono, Matt Wenckowski “Created in collaboration with the dancers. Much gratitude for the generosity and support from Larissa Roesch, Dana Genshaft, and Kristina Dutton.” Photo: Amelia Shultz, Lani Lamanaka Matt Wenckowski in Within Where. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/94d767be-4deb-49de-aad0-6a93963f718e/DSC00932.JPG Season 5: Summer 2022 - Yin Yue Just Above the Surface, West Coast Premiere Digital Premiere with Peridance Contemporary Dance Company (NY) in 2020. “The piece was created during joint residency at West Michigan University with Peridance contemporary dance company.” Music: Michel Banabila, Shifted, Machinefabriek & Freiband, Metamorphoses Costumes: Mondo Morales Lighting: Recreated by Jim French Dancers: Lani Yamanaka, Brooke Corrales, Sarah Chou, Amelia Shultz, Matt Wenckowski, Erik Debono, Nick Korkos, Babatunji Johnson The piece “is about realizing and becoming fully aware of our existence through gravity. We must anchor ourselves first before we can interact with others. Our desire is to sink our feet into the earth, to feel the ground, in order to reach toward the sky.” Photo: Amelia Shultz & Erik Debono in Just Above the Surface. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/71045798-2c1d-47c8-8593-d4792df12c0b/Screenshot+2024-09-30+at+7.49.59+PM.png Season 5: Summer 2022 - Babatunji Johnson Began Again, World Premiere Music: Various artists Costumes: Babatunji Johnson and Charmaine Butcher Lighting Design: Jim French Dancers: Babatunji Johnson, Brooke Corrales, Stella Jacobs, Ben Simeons Photo: Stella Jacobs, Benjamin Simoens, Brooke Corrales, and Babatunji Johnson https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/5c3141af-e301-4ac5-9684-999eca1cef88/DSC00528.jpg Season 5: Summer 2022 - Danielle Rowe Little Scratch, World Premiere Music: Joby Talbot's gloriously rich rendition of "Chacony in G Minor" Costumes: Susan Roemer Lighting Design: Jim French Staging: Brett Conway Dancers: Ben Simeons and Katerina Beckman “The piece traverses through two people's inner chatter and the feedback loop of memory, the senses and distractions whilst revealing the divergence between what is chosen to be shared and what is scratching beneath the skin.” This work is made possible by the generous support of the Dossetter Family, in loving memory of Jeremy. Photo: Katerina Beckman & Benjamin Simoens in Little Scratch. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/8d113418-afc2-46e9-a7c8-4d0012368880/DSC09246.jpg Season 5: Summer 2022 - Edward Clug Benjamin Simoens, Amelia Shultz, Erik Debono in Edward Clug’s ‘mutual comfort’. https://www.sfdanceworks.org/new-page-3 daily 0.75 2024-08-11 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/3d40999a-eef4-42b6-905a-d1d2863e1625/QBW06209.jpg VOLUNTEER - Ready to help? https://www.sfdanceworks.org/season-six daily 0.75 2024-12-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/912abf43-475b-42a2-9bae-3b76d3cf20be/Screen+Shot+2023-03-21+at+12.06.40+PM.jpg Season 6: Summer 2023 - José Limón Danzas Mexicanas West Coast Premiere Music: Lionel Nowak, original score Premiered: Mills College, Oakland, CA 1939 Restaged: Joyce Theatre NYC, NY 2022 “In celebration of the Limón Dance Company’s 75th anniversary season we are reconstructing and reimagining “Danzas Mexicanas”, a partially lost early work by José Limón. Developed at a pivotal moment in his career, “Danzas” is a collection of five solos representing historical Mexican figures that reveal Limón’s complicated relationship with his heritage and identity.” Dante Puleio, Artistic Director, Limón Dance Company Danzas Mexicanas deepens our connection and reverence for masterworks. Working with the Limón Company, we secured an excerpt comprising two solos. These will be performed by a wonderful dancer (and former student of Dana Genshaft), current Limón Company member MJ Edwards, accompanied by a piano score by American composer Lionel Nowak. The work, which is José’s response to his Mexican heritage, premiered in 1939 at Mills College in Oakland. Since then it has not been seen outside of New York, and SFDanceworks is the first company to perform these solos apart from the Limón Company. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/d2bfb7e3-04ee-4e81-a57f-60dcd5b59f2b/BrianArias.jpg Season 6: Summer 2023 - Bryan Arias The Broken Glass World Premiere Bryan, who is based in Zurich, Switzerland, will be creating a new work, a world premiere for SFDanceworks, that dives into his Puerto Rican heritage, uncovering the music of Bomba Y Plena, Boleros, and the music of his childhood. Season 6 is Bryan’s first time working with SFDW. "Arias’s approach is similar to the magic mixture in Wes Anderson’s films: The silliness is graced by sincerity, and the poignancy glows with humanity” Boston Globe https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/b471261d-09c9-43dd-8d91-b02e646e7c46/Screen+Shot+2023-03-21+at+9.51.30+AM.jpg Season 6: Summer 2023 - Laura O’Malley The Tone Inside World Premiere For her third commission, we are thrilled Laura, former co-director of SFDW will create an anchor piece for Season 6. Laura, who is on the precipice of a rich choreographic career, will be collaborating with lighting and set designer James French and costume designer Lauren Starobin, using music composed and arranged by Alton Allen. Her world premiere is generously underwritten by Larissa Roesch. After her success last season with Within Where we are anxious to see where Laura takes us this year. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/040c5e86-468a-44c0-a541-e66f86af0729/Screen+Shot+2023-03-21+at+12.03.38+PM.jpg Season 6: Summer 2023 - Alexander Anderson What’s Left Unsaid World Premiere Alexander Anderson, a gorgeous emerging artist from NYC and former member of the Netherlands Dance Theater and Gibney, has choreographed an intimate duet for returning long-time company artist Nick Korkos and former SF Ballet principal dancer, Benjamin Freemantle. Alex joins Season 6 as a choreographer for the first time, after being part of the staging of Edward Clug’s Mutual Comfort last season. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/4185fdf6-5129-462f-b0e4-a606df73ddc2/AlbaCastilloLimeArt.jpg Season 6: Summer 2023 - Alba Castillo Before You Land US Premiere Music: Joep Beving, “Prelude”, adapted by Alba Castillo Premiere date: July 15th 2019, National Center for the Performing Arts in Beijing. Alba Castillo, a fantastic choreographer originally from Spain and formerly with Campanie National de Dance, will be presenting a work for two women that earned her a choreographic gold medal in 2019 at the Beijing Choreographic Competition. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/fac67dec-1a15-42a7-8806-4746f2001a59/Screen+Shot+2023-03-17+at+8.44.27+PM.jpg Season 6: Summer 2023 - Pam Tanowitz Gustave Le Gray, No. 1 West Coast Premiere Music: Caroline Shaw’s Gustave Le Gray Costume Design: Reid Bartelme and Harriet Jung World Premiere: The Kennedy Center, Ballet Across America 2019 in collaboration with Miami City Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlem “The work has an egalitarian air: All of the dancers are onstage for (nearly) the whole time, flocking together in beautifully billowing red costumes (again by Bartelme and Jung). At one point, they push the piano across the stage; Gosling ambles along with them, his fingers not leaving the keys. With a grounded simplicity and sense of play, the piece resolves as almost a mirror image of where it started.” New York Times, Siobhan Burke, April 24, 2022. Season 6 will proudly present Gustave Le Gray No. 1, a ravishing and arresting work by Pam Tanowitz, a choreographer Artistic Director, Dana Genshaft, has long admired. In its West Coast debut, this work will be performed with live piano accompaniment to a score written by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Caroline Shaw. Photo: George Etheredge https://www.sfdanceworks.org/new-page-49 daily 0.75 2024-10-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/fdea8955-57f4-4dfa-a221-121689215fdd/BrianArias.jpg IN THE KNOW - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/b471261d-09c9-43dd-8d91-b02e646e7c46/Screen+Shot+2023-03-21+at+9.51.30+AM.jpg IN THE KNOW - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/040c5e86-468a-44c0-a541-e66f86af0729/Screen+Shot+2023-03-21+at+12.03.38+PM.jpg IN THE KNOW - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/c3913e0f-fdb5-42e1-b35b-f8eb3b013f51/DSCF6949.jpg IN THE KNOW - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/fac67dec-1a15-42a7-8806-4746f2001a59/Screen+Shot+2023-03-17+at+8.44.27+PM.jpg IN THE KNOW - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/b35736e9-eb12-4585-b79d-9e7700e15c90/DSC00553.jpg IN THE KNOW - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/2b06f0f4-e520-4a02-b66a-92ea7d0a9ad7/Screen+Shot+2023-02-28+at+8.05.10+PM.png IN THE KNOW https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/89815fa6-3389-4448-8966-b15cb771730b/Screen+Shot+2023-02-07+at+8.31.50+PM.jpg IN THE KNOW https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/5356f66f-8fd0-4d29-a905-3d9e1d236585/Screen+Shot+2023-02-27+at+8.35.22+PM.png IN THE KNOW https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/912abf43-475b-42a2-9bae-3b76d3cf20be/Screen+Shot+2023-03-21+at+12.06.40+PM.jpg IN THE KNOW - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/9e0d1a8b-f528-4c78-bcae-7fc625510ad6/Screenshot+2024-06-24+at+6.21.12+PM.jpg IN THE KNOW - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/b35736e9-eb12-4585-b79d-9e7700e15c90/DSC00553.jpg IN THE KNOW - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.sfdanceworks.org/artists-copy daily 0.75 2023-05-06 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/cbd85633-ffba-4cd1-b2f0-d8402daf9d9f/Brookes+head+shot.jpg Artists (Copy) - BROOKE CORRALES Brooke Corrales is originally from Paso Robles, California. She danced at Artistry in Motion and trained at Nor Cal Dance Arts under the direction of Tawnya Kuzia. She is a graduate of Alonzo King LINES Pre-Professional Program under the direction of Karah Abiog. During her two years with LINES, she performed pieces by Alonzo King, Chuck Wilt, and Mike Tyus, among others. She had the amazing opportunity to perform with SFDanceworks Season 5 under the direction of Dana Genshaft debuting pieces by Edward Clug, Yin Yue, and Babatunji Johnson. She is currently attending Arts Umbrella Graduate Program under the direction of Artemis Gordon. While at Arts Umbrella she has worked and performed pieces by Ethan Coloamgelo, Crystal Pite, Lucas Timulak, James Kudelka, and Stephen Shropshire. She is looking forward to being a part of SFDanceworks Season 6. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/e95955a7-524e-4a4e-9c8f-d2b72077278b/Sarah+Chou+Headshot+-+Sarah+Chou.jpg Artists (Copy) - SARAH CHOU Sarah Chou (she/her) is originally from San Diego, California and received her training at Southern California Ballet and Danceology. She is a graduate of the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program under the direction of Karah Abiog, where she performed works by Sidra Bell, Gregory Dawson, David Harvey, Alex Ketley, and Chuck Wilt, among others. In 2021, she attended the School at Jacob’s Pillow’s Contemporary Program on full scholarship. Sarah was a guest artist for ODC/Dance in 2022 and this is her second season with SFDanceworks. Sarah graduated Cum Laude from Wellesley College in 2020 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and a minor in Economics. As an undergraduate, she performed, choreographed, and produced extensively for Harvard Ballet Company and Wellesley College Dancers. Beyond her performance career, she has worked as an arts administrator at numerous organizations, bridging her passions for performance and production leadership. Photo credit: Peter Wei https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/5a93bfa5-f31f-4c6f-be35-fe75bd57da9e/Screen+Shot+2022-06-02+at+6.49.06+AM.jpg Artists (Copy) - MATTHEW WENCKOWSKI Matthew is from St. Charles, Illinois, where he received his early training at Moves Dance Studio in North Aurora. As a competitive dancer with Excel Dance Productions, he was awarded the national title Senior Mr. Adrenaline at the age of 17. Matt joined the Joffrey Academy of Dance’s pre-professional and trainee programs under the direction of Alexei Kremnev and Anna Reznik, performing with the Joffrey in The Nutcracker as well as in pieces created for the Joffrey Academy. He has studied on scholarship at Lou Conte Dance Studio under the guidance of Claire Bataille. Matt then joined DanceWorks Chicago under the direction of Julie Nakagawa. It was there he had the privilege touring nationally and internationally performing a variety of contemporary works. In 2015 he joined the Grand Rapids Ballet and remained there until 2022 working under both Patricia Barker and James Sofranko. It was there he danced soloist roles in both classical and contemporary works, dancing in full-length ballets and as well as new and remounted works. With Grand Rapids Ballet he has had the privilege of performing pieces by Alejandro Cerrudo, Trey McIntyre, Ben Stevenson, George Balanchine, Yuri Possokhov, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa, Val Caniparoli, Robyn Mineko Williams, Penny Saunders, and many more. Matt joined Hubbard Street Dance Chicago for the 2022-2023 season. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/8155a4da-32e2-40af-9388-e36e371b0ab6/MJ+Edwards+Headshot.jpg Artists (Copy) - MJ EDWARDS Michael Edwards Jr (they/them), today known as MJ was born in Middletown, NY. They began their professional training at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. While at LaGuardia, they trained on scholarship at American Ballet Theatre JKO School, Steps on Broadway, and French Academie of Ballet. They further studied and performed with MOVE|NYC| where they had the opportunity to work with notable faculty such as Jermaine Spivey, Sidra Bell, Maleek Washington, Navarra Novy-Williams, and Jamall Callender along with many others. Additionally, they performed the works of Azsure Barton, Shamel Pitts, Nigel Campbell, Yin Yue and Gregory Dolbashian. In 2017 MJ began studying at the San Francisco Ballet School. There they achieved the San Francisco Ballet School 2018-2019 Choreographic Fellowship and had the privilege of premiering their own choreography “Constant Search” for the San Francisco Ballet School’s 2019 Spring Festival Performance. They are a 2019 YoungArts Winner in Modern/Contemporary, as well as a 2019 Meringoff Family Foundation Valedictory Prize Winner. MJ also attended The Juilliard School in pursuit of a BFA in Dance. During their Juilliard career they worked with choreographers such as Ohad Naharin, Sonya Tayeh, Amy Hall Garner, Andrea Miller and performed the work “Crossing the Rubicon” by Donald Mckayle at The David H. Koch Theater. Since departing Juilliard they are an artistic assistant and performer with The Francesca Harper Project. They most recently joined the Limón Dance Company in 2021. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/41ce5a32-d7a9-4ec1-abbb-06dea9396236/Bates-Vinueza%2C+Isaac+Headshot+BW.jpeg Artists (Copy) - ISAAC BATES-VINUEZA Isaac Bates-Vinueza (he/him) is from Louisville, Colorado. He studied at Boulder Ballet School and at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, where he was a 2016 recipient of the Flemming Halby Exchange with the Royal Danish Ballet School. Upon his graduation, he joined Sacramento Ballet, where he performed leading roles in works by George Balanchine, Penny Saunders, and Amy Seiwert, among others. He has also performed with LED Boise and Amy Seiwert’s Imagery. Isaac recently made his choreographic debut with "Rumor," which premiered at Sacramento Ballet in 2022. That same year, he was awarded the Ann and Weston Hicks Choreography Fellowship at Jacob’s Pillow. He lives in Berkeley, California, where he works as a freelance artist and studies English at the University of California, Berkeley. Photo Credit: Frances Powless https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/9fa515f6-d164-4f1a-8e35-0b645bc021ec/DSC_0599.jpg Artists (Copy) - NICHOLAS KORKOS Native San Franciscan Nicholas Korkos has performed with Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Les Ballet Jazz de Montreal, Aszure Barton & Artists, SFDanceWorks, Hubbard Street 2, Loni Landon Dance Project, Zhukov Dance Theatre, Robert Moses' KIN, project agora, tinypistol, Opera Omaha, LA Opera, San Francisco Opera, and four times with the San Francisco Symphony, including a restaged version of On the Town with the original Broadway revival cast and as Charlie in A Charlie Brown Christmas. In addition to performing, Korkos teaches and choreographs at various schools including the LINES Ballet School B.F.A. and Training programs, Gibney Dance and Peridance Center in NYC. In 2021 he conceived, directed, choreographed, performed in and crowdfunded for the dance film Being Alive, a Dance. As a photographer Korkos has photographed for Opera Philadelphia, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Opera Parallèle, and various dance companies, and his work has been seen in numerous publications including The New York Times. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/98569b1e-2fef-457d-b929-da585e5f3934/LaniSFDW.jpg Artists (Copy) - LANI YAMANAKA Lani Yamanaka (she/her) is a San Diego native who began her movement training in Judo and Dance and finds the two intrinsically aligned. She studied at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts at UC Irvine where she received her BFAs in Dance Performance and Choreography. Lani has been a company dancer with Akram Khan Company, ODC Dance, Entity Contemporary Dance, and SFDanceworks, and a guest artist and collaborator with Kambara+. She has performed works by Donald McKayle, Edward Clug, Yin Yue, and Kate Weare. In 2015, she was in the original ensemble of PEARL, directed and choreographed by Daniel Ezralow which premiered at Lincoln Center. In 2019, she served as dance captain for DRAGON SPRING PHOENIX RISE, the inaugural production of The Shed NYC. She is featured in MOVE, a Netflix docu-series featuring Akram Khan which follows her time in Bangladesh right before the Covid-19 lockdown. Lani is an educator and a NASM Certified Personal Trainer who strives to bring forth a deeper sense of awareness and body autonomy to movement learning environments. Instagram: @laniyamanaka Photo Credit: Patrick Andrada https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/ed5536dd-9e28-4a76-8863-63551b1c6a7f/EmilyHansel2.jpg Artists (Copy) - EMILY HANSEL Originally from Rochester, Minnesota, Emily Hansel (she/they) received their BFA in Dance from the University of South Florida. They currently dance for Post:ballet, Christy Funsch, Mark Foehringer Dance Project, Jennifer Perfilio, and David Herrera Performance Company. Emily has also performed Cunningham repertory in “Signals from the West: Bay Area Artists In Conversation with Merce Cunningham at 100” and danced with Robert Moses’ KIN, Garrett-Moulton Productions, FACT/SF, ZiRu Dance, The Anata Project, Talli Jackson, and Marika Brussel, among others. Emily is a self-producing choreographer whose work centers the dancer’s experience. Recently, Emily created new work for Post:ballet, choreographed new work for Berkeley Ballet Theater in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Vân-Ánh Võ, and created a dance film commissioned by REYES Dance. In 2022, Emily was named an Individual Artist Fellow by the California Arts Council, was awarded a free rental by ODC Theater, and self-produced her first evening-length choreographic work, Four by Four. She writes for the Life as a Modern Dancer blog and the ODC Dance Stories blog, speaks on dancers’ rights, and teaches ongoing dance classes for youth and teens. Emily advocates for equitable working conditions for dancers, and is a proud member of the Leadership Committee at Dance Artists’ National Collective. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/00fc85d3-e19f-45ae-8dec-ee3c70f94da8/BenjaminFreemantleHeadshot.jpg Artists (Copy) - BENJAMIN FREEMANTLE Guest Principal Artist, Benjamin Freemantle (he/him), started his training in his hometown of Vancouver, Canada at the Caulfield School of Dance. At 15 years old he was offered a full scholarship to train at the San Francisco Ballet School, later joining the San Francisco Ballet School Trainee Program. He joined the San Francisco Ballet as a member of the Corps de Ballet in 2015, immediately dancing Principal roles in original works and full length ballets like Lensky in Onegin. In 2018, Benjamin became a Soloist with the company and was named “25 To Watch” by Dance Magazine. In 2019, he was named Principal Dancer by Helgi Tomasson, after performing works by George Balanchine, Christopher Wheeldon, Jerome Robbins, Trey McIntyre, Dwight Rhoden, John Neumier, William Forsythe and many more. In 2022, he stepped away from San Francisco Ballet and now pursues an independent artistic career based in New York City. As a professional performer and creative, Benjamin challenges and re-imagines boundaries and possibilities both on the stage and on the screen. Photo credit: Travis Chantar https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/6b547aac-85a5-48bc-98ad-797a2867f467/QBW06927.jpg Artists (Copy) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/730c1c00-e214-4f04-93f5-eacfb76665ec/Stella+Jacobs Artists (Copy) - STELLA JACOBS Stella Jacobs (she/her), originally from Boston, is a NYC-based freelance dancer. She joins SFDanceworks for a second year in their 6th season, and has performed for Dawson Dance SF. Stella apprenticed for BODYTRAFFIC, a contemporary dance company in Los Angeles, after completing the Alonzo King LINES Ballet Training Program in San Francisco. During her time at LINES, she was a soloist, part of a duet, and a company member in works by David Harvey, Alex Ketley, Chuck Wilt, Gregory Dawson, Sidra Bell, and others. She also choreographed and co-choreographed pieces performed at LINES Training Program shows. Stella began her training at the Deborah Mason Performing Arts Center in Somerville, MA, where she studied under Adreinne Hawkins, Christopher Huggins, and Gino DeMarco, and attended summer intensives at Juilliard, Jacob’s Pillow, BODYTRAFFIC, and elsewhere. She will be attending GibneyPRO this fall to further immerse herself in the New York based community of artists. https://www.sfdanceworks.org/season-6-program-1 daily 0.75 2024-12-09 https://www.sfdanceworks.org/season-seven daily 0.75 2024-12-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/3e9fbdd2-f586-431d-ba86-4883bf57a154/Marco+Goecke+Portrait+2+%C2%A9Rahi+Rezvani.jpg Season 7: Autumn 2024 - Marco Goecke Äffi West Coast Premiere Marco Goecke completed his ballet training in 1988 at the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung ballet academy in Munich as well as at the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague, where he received his diploma in 1995. Engagements followed at the Berlin State Opera and Theater Hagen. It was in the year 2000 at this theatre that Goecke created his first choreography, entitled Loch. There followed several choreographies for the Noverre-Society with dancers from the Stuttgart Ballet, and an invitation to the New York Choreographic Institute. In July 2003 Goecke won the Prix Dom Pérignon in Hamburg with the piece Blushing, danced by the Stuttgart Ballet. In the years that followed, he received numerous commissions for international companies such as Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, the Norwegian National Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle and the Berlin State Ballet. In the 2005/2006 season Marco Goecke was appointed Choreographer in Residence at the Stuttgart Ballet, and it was there in December 2006 that he created his first narrative ballet The Nutcracker, which was later also filmed for the ZDF theatre channel. From 2006 to 2012 Goecke also held the post of Choreographer in Residence at the Scapino Ballet in Rotterdam. Since the 2013/2014 season he has been Associate Choreographer at the renowned Nederlands Dans Theater. Between 2019 and 2023 he was Artist in Residence with Gauthier Dance Stuttgart and held the position as Artistic Director of the State Ballet Hannover. Of the over ninety works Goecke has created in just a few years, many are also performed by companies for whom they were not originally created, for example in Tel Aviv, in Sao Paulo, by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, by the Canadian National Ballet, by the Ballett-Theater in Munich, by the Finnish National Ballet in Helsinki, by the Stanislavsky Theater in Moscow, by the Zurich Ballet, by the German Opera on the Rhine in Düsseldorf, and by the Vienna State Opera. Goecke has received several international awards, including the Culture Prize of the State of Baden-Württemberg in 2005, the Nijinsky Award in Monte Carlo in 2006, the Choreographer of the Year in the critics’ survey by the magazine Tanz in 2015, and the Dutch dance prize Zwaan as well as the Italian prize Danzadanza for the best choreography of the year in 2017. This award was for the full-length work Nijinski, which he created in 2016 for Gauthier Dance in Stuttgart; since then it has been performed on worldwide tours to great success. In 2022 he was awarded with the Jiří-Kylián-Ring and the German Dance Prize 2022. The book Dark Matter (Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg), published in 2016, offers a concise overview of his oeuvre. His most recent successful works include the full-length piece “A Wilde Story” based on the live and work of the author Oscar Wilde for the Staatsballett Hannover and “In The Dutch Mountains” for the Nederlands Dans Theater created in 2023. From the season 2025/26 he will be Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer of the Ballet at Theatre Basel. Photo Credit: Rahi Rezvani https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/28df3bca-a01e-4724-b2c1-4c1d8244e4cd/SFDanceworks%2BSeason7.jpg Season 7: Autumn 2024 - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/5323d017-0c57-44cd-90bb-ea4efcf9e74b/JA_Photo+by+Skye+Schmidt+Varga.jpg Season 7: Autumn 2024 - JA Collective impact III World Premiere "We are thrilled to be collaborating with SFDW. This whole process is significant for our creative journey, especially in that it is our first time premiering our work on a professional dance company in the concert scene. In doing this, it feels meaningful to go back to one of the first live works we ever made and redefine it for a more mature audience with more mature dancers. We are honored to share a space imbued with such rich history and vibrant energy. DanceWorks' open and exploratory environment inspires us, and we are excited to be a part of it. This opportunity will lead our art into new spaces literally and metaphorically.” JA Collective is a creative collaboration between Los Angeles natives Jordan Johnson and Aidan Carberry. JA Collective was formed at University of Southern California when Jordan and Aidan found themselves drawn to making work together. Aidan’s strong background in various hip-hop forms and acting, plus Jordan’s contemporary and theater background lead to them developing a unique style together. They are known commercially for their work with the band half•alive for which they’ve made international touring shows, music videos, and tv performances. Also, they have collaborated commercially with Future, Frank Ocean, Taika Waititi, Mike Mills, Paul McCartney, Olivia Wilde, Shia Labeouf, and More. Aside from their commercial success, Jordan and Aidan have been traveling and performing in a new work of William Forsythe’s that they helped choreograph called “Friends Of Forsythe”. They have also been developing their own live performance works in Los Angeles and abroad. Through JA’s continual play in different realms of dance and multidisciplinary forms, they hope to challenge and positively impact the community around them. Photo Credit: Skye Schmidt Varga https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/c10416e5-177b-42fa-9cbd-aea40d6faefd/Screenshot+2024-06-24+at+6.21.12+PM.jpg Season 7: Autumn 2024 - Rena Butler Sheep’s Gothic World Premiere In collaboration with The Young Women’s Choral Projects of San Francisco Rena Butler hails from Chicago, IL. She began her studies at The Chicago Academy for the Arts, studied overseas at Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan, and received her BFA from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. Rena danced with companies including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (also a choreographic fellow), AIM by Kyle Abraham, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, David Dorfman Dance, Manuel Vignoulle/M-Motions, The Kevin Wynn Collection, Pasos Con Sabor Salsa Dance Company, among many others. She most recently danced with Gibney Company and was their inaugural Choreographic Associate. She is a recipient of the prestigious 2019 Princess Grace Foundation Award for Choreography and created works for the National Ballet of Canada, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Parsons Dance, Charlotte Ballet, Boston Dance Theater, Ballet X, Oregon Ballet Theater, Oklahoma City Ballet, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Parsons Dance Company, Pony Box Dance Theater, AIM by Kyle Abraham, Whim W'Him, Norrdans, San Francisco Opera’s Orpheus and Euridice, The New Orleans Museum of Modern Art in collaboration with Academy Award-Winning jazz composer, Terrence Blanchard, CHTV Stories television program in Switzerland, a film portrait for Third Coast Percussion x Devonté Hynes/Blood Orange, The Young Choreographer’s Festival in NYC, The Juilliard School, Jacob's Pillow Contemporary Summer Program, The Ailey/Fordham School, TEDxChicago Virtual Salon 3.0: Design Your Life, and more. She has been spotlighted in Dance Magazine’s On The Rise feature in 2013, and the featured cover story in Dance Magazine’s November 2021 issue. Butler has taught dance and choreographic workshops at L’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Danse de Marseille in France, The Macau Cultural Center in China, Ailey Camp Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. She served on the Consortium for Chicago Dancemakers Forum for 3 years, was on the annual panel for Black Girls Dance in Chicago, and co-created and directed DanceLab—a free, choreographic course for Chicago teens, empowering participants of varying socioeconomic backgrounds + identities to find commonality in creation. She currently serves on Dancewave’s Artistic Advisory Council in NYC. https://www.sfdanceworks.org/in-collaboration-with-odc-state-of-play-festival daily 0.75 2024-12-05 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/127f0695-24e1-432e-bc53-f423e00147af/Arias.pdf.JPG Season 7: Summer 2024 / STATE OF PLAY - Make it stand out Emily Hansel, Isaac Bates-Vinueza, Chris Bloom, Lani Yamanaka, Nick Korkos in ‘The Broken Glass’, Photo by Alba Castillo https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1723492193304-DTUPCAXL71XCM7EYV9FK/d9b8b1ad-05aa-4fe9-879e-5441f041fb4a+3.JPG Season 7: Summer 2024 / STATE OF PLAY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1723492193180-FD0YE0ZHAA49J0N4MQ4J/b02c266f-d6d9-44bf-bf1e-fed450e4c0e9+3.JPG Season 7: Summer 2024 / STATE OF PLAY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1723063329467-WMZUVS2VUJWCKZOS1SSJ/632bd278-8dd6-418c-96d8-7ba308532666+2.JPG Season 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https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1723492900863-NU9JF1QVRQVWN0TZGMTB/i-DFSPsxf-X3.jpg Season 7: Summer 2024 / STATE OF PLAY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1723492914636-474H1WW9NJ952OT59WS1/i-WhDfQb5-X3.jpg Season 7: Summer 2024 / STATE OF PLAY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1723492904023-J1F50DJ5TCMH3WH99DC8/i-fZvnSgF-X3.jpg Season 7: Summer 2024 / STATE OF PLAY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1723492912837-G10F0YV8CQ0X7BD47IGD/i-sw9Sdc7-X3.jpg Season 7: Summer 2024 / STATE OF PLAY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1723492911198-OMYR21LA576T48MMI0X0/i-Sn2x8jk-X3.jpg Season 7: Summer 2024 / STATE OF PLAY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1723492907285-SWSADBMKSA4IZRA5WVA1/i-NKKPZh2-X3.jpg Season 7: Summer 2024 / STATE OF PLAY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1723492905904-9FFSHAP28LHATJCRMRHC/i-gQvLJRK-X3.jpg Season 7: Summer 2024 / STATE OF PLAY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/1723492918437-KNBV78UBU3P27P1WAK22/i-zmmKJvd-X3.jpg Season 7: Summer 2024 / STATE OF PLAY https://www.sfdanceworks.org/season-7-program daily 0.75 2024-12-09 https://www.sfdanceworks.org/season-7-autumn-2024-copy daily 0.75 2025-03-28 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/c10416e5-177b-42fa-9cbd-aea40d6faefd/Screenshot+2024-06-24+at+6.21.12+PM.jpg Season 7: Autumn 2024 (Copy) - Rena Butler Sheep’s Gothic World Premiere In collaboration with The Young Women’s Choral Projects of San Francisco Rena Butler hails from Chicago, IL. She began her studies at The Chicago Academy for the Arts, studied overseas at Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan, and received her BFA from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. Rena danced with companies including Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (also a choreographic fellow), AIM by Kyle Abraham, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, David Dorfman Dance, Manuel Vignoulle/M-Motions, The Kevin Wynn Collection, Pasos Con Sabor Salsa Dance Company, among many others. She most recently danced with Gibney Company and was their inaugural Choreographic Associate. She is a recipient of the prestigious 2019 Princess Grace Foundation Award for Choreography and created works for the National Ballet of Canada, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Parsons Dance, Charlotte Ballet, Boston Dance Theater, Ballet X, Oregon Ballet Theater, Oklahoma City Ballet, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, Parsons Dance Company, Pony Box Dance Theater, AIM by Kyle Abraham, Whim W'Him, Norrdans, San Francisco Opera’s Orpheus and Euridice, The New Orleans Museum of Modern Art in collaboration with Academy Award-Winning jazz composer, Terrence Blanchard, CHTV Stories television program in Switzerland, a film portrait for Third Coast Percussion x Devonté Hynes/Blood Orange, The Young Choreographer’s Festival in NYC, The Juilliard School, Jacob's Pillow Contemporary Summer Program, The Ailey/Fordham School, TEDxChicago Virtual Salon 3.0: Design Your Life, and more. She has been spotlighted in Dance Magazine’s On The Rise feature in 2013, and the featured cover story in Dance Magazine’s November 2021 issue. Butler has taught dance and choreographic workshops at L’Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Danse de Marseille in France, The Macau Cultural Center in China, Ailey Camp Chicago, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. She served on the Consortium for Chicago Dancemakers Forum for 3 years, was on the annual panel for Black Girls Dance in Chicago, and co-created and directed DanceLab—a free, choreographic course for Chicago teens, empowering participants of varying socioeconomic backgrounds + identities to find commonality in creation. She currently serves on Dancewave’s Artistic Advisory Council in NYC. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/3e9fbdd2-f586-431d-ba86-4883bf57a154/Marco+Goecke+Portrait+2+%C2%A9Rahi+Rezvani.jpg Season 7: Autumn 2024 (Copy) - Marco Goecke Äffi West Coast Premiere Marco Goecke completed his ballet training in 1988 at the Heinz-Bosl-Stiftung ballet academy in Munich as well as at the Royal Conservatoire of the Hague, where he received his diploma in 1995. Engagements followed at the Berlin State Opera and Theater Hagen. It was in the year 2000 at this theatre that Goecke created his first choreography, entitled Loch. There followed several choreographies for the Noverre-Society with dancers from the Stuttgart Ballet, and an invitation to the New York Choreographic Institute. In July 2003 Goecke won the Prix Dom Pérignon in Hamburg with the piece Blushing, danced by the Stuttgart Ballet. In the years that followed, he received numerous commissions for international companies such as Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, the Norwegian National Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle and the Berlin State Ballet. In the 2005/2006 season Marco Goecke was appointed Choreographer in Residence at the Stuttgart Ballet, and it was there in December 2006 that he created his first narrative ballet The Nutcracker, which was later also filmed for the ZDF theatre channel. From 2006 to 2012 Goecke also held the post of Choreographer in Residence at the Scapino Ballet in Rotterdam. Since the 2013/2014 season he has been Associate Choreographer at the renowned Nederlands Dans Theater. Between 2019 and 2023 he was Artist in Residence with Gauthier Dance Stuttgart and held the position as Artistic Director of the State Ballet Hannover. Of the over ninety works Goecke has created in just a few years, many are also performed by companies for whom they were not originally created, for example in Tel Aviv, in Sao Paulo, by Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, by the Canadian National Ballet, by the Ballett-Theater in Munich, by the Finnish National Ballet in Helsinki, by the Stanislavsky Theater in Moscow, by the Zurich Ballet, by the German Opera on the Rhine in Düsseldorf, and by the Vienna State Opera. Goecke has received several international awards, including the Culture Prize of the State of Baden-Württemberg in 2005, the Nijinsky Award in Monte Carlo in 2006, the Choreographer of the Year in the critics’ survey by the magazine Tanz in 2015, and the Dutch dance prize Zwaan as well as the Italian prize Danzadanza for the best choreography of the year in 2017. This award was for the full-length work Nijinski, which he created in 2016 for Gauthier Dance in Stuttgart; since then it has been performed on worldwide tours to great success. In 2022 he was awarded with the Jiří-Kylián-Ring and the German Dance Prize 2022. The book Dark Matter (Königshausen & Neumann, Würzburg), published in 2016, offers a concise overview of his oeuvre. His most recent successful works include the full-length piece “A Wilde Story” based on the live and work of the author Oscar Wilde for the Staatsballett Hannover and “In The Dutch Mountains” for the Nederlands Dans Theater created in 2023. From the season 2025/26 he will be Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer of the Ballet at Theatre Basel. Photo Credit: Rahi Rezvani https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/28df3bca-a01e-4724-b2c1-4c1d8244e4cd/SFDanceworks%2BSeason7.jpg Season 7: Autumn 2024 (Copy) - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/5323d017-0c57-44cd-90bb-ea4efcf9e74b/JA_Photo+by+Skye+Schmidt+Varga.jpg Season 7: Autumn 2024 (Copy) - JA Collective impact III World Premiere "We are thrilled to be collaborating with SFDW. This whole process is significant for our creative journey, especially in that it is our first time premiering our work on a professional dance company in the concert scene. In doing this, it feels meaningful to go back to one of the first live works we ever made and redefine it for a more mature audience with more mature dancers. We are honored to share a space imbued with such rich history and vibrant energy. DanceWorks' open and exploratory environment inspires us, and we are excited to be a part of it. This opportunity will lead our art into new spaces literally and metaphorically.” JA Collective is a creative collaboration between Los Angeles natives Jordan Johnson and Aidan Carberry. JA Collective was formed at University of Southern California when Jordan and Aidan found themselves drawn to making work together. Aidan’s strong background in various hip-hop forms and acting, plus Jordan’s contemporary and theater background lead to them developing a unique style together. They are known commercially for their work with the band half•alive for which they’ve made international touring shows, music videos, and tv performances. Also, they have collaborated commercially with Future, Frank Ocean, Taika Waititi, Mike Mills, Paul McCartney, Olivia Wilde, Shia Labeouf, and More. Aside from their commercial success, Jordan and Aidan have been traveling and performing in a new work of William Forsythe’s that they helped choreograph called “Friends Of Forsythe”. They have also been developing their own live performance works in Los Angeles and abroad. Through JA’s continual play in different realms of dance and multidisciplinary forms, they hope to challenge and positively impact the community around them. Photo Credit: Skye Schmidt Varga https://www.sfdanceworks.org/season-8-summer-2025 daily 0.75 2025-07-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/0ab6f456-6a54-4857-a2ac-099e4c5764f3/Emma+Portner_David+Kim+2.jpg Season 8: Summer 2025 - EMMA PORTNER In another exciting first, SFDanceworks will be the First West Coast Company to present the work of the enigmatic Emma Portner. Renowned for her multidisciplinary artistry, Emma has made waves across film, fashion, and the performing arts, with commissions from companies like the Paris Opera Ballet and the Norwegian National Ballet. This season, she will perform in her own work, a duet titled “elephant,” alongside legendary SF artist and longtime SFDanceworks collaborator Babatunji Johnson — a performance sure to be both hypnotic and deeply moving. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/37ea1eda-cbfc-408b-a7f7-a8adb5b3d0fd/YueYin.jpg Season 8: Summer 2025 - YUE YIN Our dedication to supporting emerging voices goes hand in hand with presenting works by global leaders. We are proud to welcome the return of Yue Yin with the Bay Area premiere of “A Measurable Existence”, a 17-minute, intensely physical duet for two men that exemplifies her distinctive choreographic voice. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/5323d017-0c57-44cd-90bb-ea4efcf9e74b/JA_Photo+by+Skye+Schmidt+Varga.jpg Season 8: Summer 2025 - JA COLLECTIVE Building on the successes of season 7, we are thrilled to welcome back west coast rising stars JA Collective for a World Premiere. JA Collective’s signature style — a striking blend of highly physical movement language and astonishingly immersive soundscapes — continues to push artistic boundaries and captivate audiences. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/233c9235-1d6c-487d-a896-0643fa5aaaa9/A9_02516.jpg Season 8: Summer 2025 - Make it stand out Jordan Johnson and Aidan Carberry of JA Collective with Lani Yamanaka in Season 7 World Premiere, impact III by Robbie Sweeny https://www.sfdanceworks.org/choreographers2025 daily 0.75 2025-06-02 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/5323d017-0c57-44cd-90bb-ea4efcf9e74b/JA_Photo+by+Skye+Schmidt+Varga.jpg Choreographers - JA COLLECTIVE WORLD PREMIERE BUILDING ON THE SUCCESSES OF SEASON 7, WE ARE THRILLED TO WELCOME BACK WEST COAST RISING STARS JORDAN JOHNSON AND AIDAN CARBERRY OF JA COLLECTIVE FOR A WORLD PREMIERE. JA COLLECTIVE’S SIGNATURE STYLE — A STRIKING BLEND OF HIGHLY PHYSICAL MOVEMENT LANGUAGE AND ASTONISHINGLY IMMERSIVE SOUNDSCAPES — CONTINUES TO PUSH ARTISTIC BOUNDARIES AND CAPTIVATE AUDIENCES. “The program’s centerpiece, a premiere by Los Angeles-based JA Collective, was the purest, smartest, faith-in-humanity-restoring variety of movement play.” -Rachel Howard, Datebook, San Francisco Chronicle, November 11, 2024 On JA Collective’s Season 7 World Premiere, impact III. JA Collective is a creative collaboration between Los Angeles natives Jordan Johnson and Aidan Carberry. JA Collective was formed at the University of Southern California when Jordan and Aidan found themselves drawn to making work together. Aidan’s strong background in various hip-hop forms and acting, plus Jordan’s contemporary dance and theater background led them to develop a unique collective style. They are known commercially for their work with the band half•alive for which they’ve created international touring shows, music videos and TV performances. JA has worked with Future, Frank Ocean, Taika Waititi, Mike Mills, Margaret Qualley, Paul McCartney, Olivia Wilde, and Shia Labeouf, and more in collaboration. Jordan and Aidan have contributed choreography and perform in William Forsythe’s work Friends of Forsythe, which continues to tour the world. Through JA’s continual play in different realms of dance and multidisciplinary forms, they hope to challenge and positively impact the community around them. Photo: Skye Schmidt Varga https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/0ab6f456-6a54-4857-a2ac-099e4c5764f3/Emma+Portner_David+Kim+2.jpg Choreographers - EMMA PORTNER elephant Bay Area Debut and North American Premiere IN ANOTHER EXCITING FIRST, SFDANCEWORKS WILL BE THE FIRST WEST COAST COMPANY TO PRESENT THE WORK OF THE ENIGMATIC EMMA PORTNER. RENOWNED FOR HER MULTIDISCIPLINARY ARTISTRY, EMMA HAS MADE WAVES ACROSS FILM, FASHION, AND THE PERFORMING ARTS, WITH COMMISSIONS FROM COMPANIES LIKE THE PARIS OPERA BALLET AND THE NORWEGIAN NATIONAL BALLET. THIS SEASON, SHE WILL PERFORM IN HER OWN WORK, A DUET TITLED “ELEPHANT” ALONGSIDE LEGENDARY SF ARTIST AND LONGTIME SFDANCEWORKS COLLABORATOR BABATUNJI JOHNSON — A PERFORMANCE SURE TO BE BOTH HYPNOTIC AND DEEPLY MOVING. Emma Portner is an enigmatic director-choreographer, dancer, and actor known for her inimitable movement quality and complex devotion to the craft. An Olivier Award nominee, she has been hailed by The New York Times as “beguiling” and recognized by critics as "from another planet.” Born in 1994, she trained at the National Ballet of Canada and The Ailey School in New York. By age 20, she had choreographed the West End musical Bat Out of Hell—becoming the youngest woman in history to do so—and garnered millions of views for her dance on film work. She has created with artists including Doechii, Maggie Rogers, FKA Twigs, Blood Orange, and Sylvan Esso. Her choreography has been commissioned by the National Ballet of Canada, The Norwegian National Ballet, GöteborgsOperans Danskompani, and institutions such as the Guggenheim Museum, Jacob’s Pillow, and Théâtre des Champs-Élysées. Recent stage work includes Forever, Maybe (Göteborg), Bathtub Ballet (Royal Swedish Ballet), and islands (National Ballet of Canada), presented alongside works by Crystal Pite and Jiří Kylián. Portner portrayed Gozer the Gozerian in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and stars in A24’s I Saw the TV Glow (2024), directed by Jane Schoenbrun. She continues to merge classical rigor with experimental form across stage, film, music and installation. Photo Credit: David Kim https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/6b547aac-85a5-48bc-98ad-797a2867f467/QBW06927.jpg Choreographers - Choreographers https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/37ea1eda-cbfc-408b-a7f7-a8adb5b3d0fd/YueYin.jpg Choreographers - YUE YIN A Measureable Existence Bay Area Premiere OUR DEDICATION TO SUPPORTING EMERGING VOICES GOES HAND IN HAND WITH PRESENTING WORKS BY GLOBAL LEADERS. WE ARE PROUD TO WELCOME THE RETURN OF YUE YIN WITH “A MEASURABLE EXISTENCE”, A 17-MINUTE, INTENSELY PHYSICAL DUET FOR TWO MEN THAT EXEMPLIFIES HER DISTINCTIVE CHOREOGRAPHIC VOICE. Yue Yin is a choreographer, founder and artistic director of YY Dance Company and the creator of FoCo Technique™, a unique contemporary form of dance movement rooted in Chinese classical and folk dance melded with the complexity and diverse influences of the immigrant experience. She began her training in Chinese classical and folk dance in Shanghai, China at the prestigious Shanghai Dance Academy and completed her MFA in dance at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 2008. In 2018, Yin founded YYDC, a non-profit contemporary dance company dedicated to the teaching, production and performance of her original choreographic work. The overall vision for YYDC is to showcase this signature, diverse movement style in original, emotionally charged and culturally influential performances nationally and internationally. In addition YYDC: creates original commissioned and repertory works for a wide range of companies and schools including Martha Graham Dance Company, Gibney Company, Philadelphia Ballet, Boston Ballet, BalletMet, Limon Dance Company, Balletto Teatro di Torino, Oregon Ballet Theater, NW Dance Project, Whim W’him, Bruce Wood Dance, Ririe Woodbury Dance Company, 10 Hairy Legs, New Dialect, Backhausdance and more. YYDC works with educational institutions such as Juilliard School of Dance, Tisch School of the Arts, Princeton, USC Kaufman School of Dance, Purchase, Marymount, George Mason, Point Park, West Michigan and more. Yin teaches regular classes in FoCo Technique™ to dancers and general public alike and cultivates a broader interest in contemporary dance by presenting artistically engaging, culturally and socially conscious works. Yue Yin was the recipient of the 2021 Harkness Promise Award. This prestigious award recognizes her innovation in choreography and education. She was the winner of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago 2015 International Commissioning Project, winner of the 2015 BalletX Choreographic Fellowship, and winner of Northwest Dance Project’s 5th Annual Pretty Creatives International Choreographic Competition in 2013. Yin’s work has been commissioned from acclaimed organizations such as Gibney Company, Martha Graham Dance Company, Oregon Ballet Theater, NW Dance Project, BalletMet, Boston Ballet, Philadelphia Ballet, Limon Dance Company, Alberta Ballet, Balletto Teatro di Torino, Peridance Contemporary Dance Company, Juilliard School for Dance, USC Kaufman School of Dance, Tisch School of The Arts, Princeton and more. Photo Credit: Steven Trumon Gray https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5fbd6e788e89c92eadcefd39/9249da7e-c4c4-499f-a519-cf978db62cf6/Nat+Headshot+-+Dwiartanto.jpg Choreographers - NAT WILSON A MEASURABLE EXISTENCE Nat Wilson (they/he) is a Brooklyn-based freelance dancer, choreographer, and teacher. Their main work is with YYDC, performing with the company in New York and internationally, and assisting Yue Yin in staging repertory and creating new work. They are in the first generation of certified FoCo instructors, and have already led FoCo workshops in Peru, Los Angeles, and Chicago, in addition to ongoing classes in New York. Their other freelance work includes kNoname Artist/Roderick George, Boca Tuya, ate9 Dance Company, and More Fish Dance. Before moving to Brooklyn, Nat worked abroad dancing with Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, where they had the opportunity to perform and teach masterclasses around the world, including China, Colombia, South Korea, and India. They are always happy to connect via Instagram through the handle @natattax. 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