In Alphabetical Order:

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Edgar Aguirre 

Aguirre is originally from Guatemala City, Guatemala and grew up most of his life in Redwood City, California. He graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 2019 with a BFA in Dance Performance. Edgar is most proud of having danced in Donald McKayle's Étude Ensemble (2016 - 2018). Edgar was awarded the Donald McKayle Scholarship in 2019. Upon graduation, Edgar danced with the Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble in Denver, Colorado (2019 - 2021). He toured nationally and internationally, was a restaging assistant for Donald McKayle’s Crossing The Rubicon, Passing The Point of No Return and choreographed two original works for the company. 

 

Edgar is now based in California where he has been working as a freelance dance artist and choreographer between San Francisco and Los Angeles. Edgar is currently a guest artist with Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company,  Robert Moses’ Kin, Heidi Ducler Dance, Contra-Tiempo Activist Dance Theater and David Herrera Performance Company. In addition, Edgar has presented his choreography at various festivals and showcases in Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, Denver, CO and Orlando, Fl. As a Guatemalan born, Latin American dancer and choreographer, Edgar feels a cultural responsibility and desire to highlight the voices and experiences of the Latine community; furthermore, uplift the voices of the BIPOC community. In conjunction with his dance career, Edgar has also embarked on the field of body work. 

 

Edgar is passionate about fitness and wellness and is certified to provide one-on-one assisted stretching and is also a certified Pilates instructor. He enjoys working with clients and providing them with the support that they need in order to improve their bodies and achieve their goals.

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Bianca Cabrera (they/she)

Cabrera received early training at the Chicago Academy for the Arts and later studied at the Alvin Ailey School, the Martha Graham Center and Point Park College, before receiving a BFA in dance from Cornish College of the Arts. Their two (and almost a half) decade performance career includes work in Seattle, Colorado, the Bay Area and national tours with many renowned artists such as: Lingo Dance/KT Niehoff, Amii LeGendre, Paige Barnes, Glass Bones/Kristen Tsiastios, Ricki Mason/Lou Henry Hoover, Epiphany Productions, LevyDance, The Fossettes, Sonya Smith, Christine Bonansea, Flyaway Productions, Bandaloop and Cielo Vertical Arts. Look for upcoming shows with FACT/SF and Dance Brigade through 2024. Bianca is a founding member of Latinx Hispanix Danza Unidxs and served on the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards committee in 2019-20. 

 

Established in 2012, Blind Tiger Society is Cabrera’s main conduit for choreography and performance creation. Driven by the bias Bacchus before Buddha, Bianca’s work is built by a vibrant amalgamation of baton twirling, burlesque, ballet, go-go, club, cabaret, camp, contemporary and modern dance. Bianca has created over 10 full length works and many more short works, with performances and commissions for The Garage, ODC Theater, ODC Youth Company, CounterPULSE, vîv dance collective, SAFEhouse Arts, the Seattle Inter|National Dance Festival, Links Hall/Midwest Nexus, RAW Concept Series, Ann Schnake/Mobile InTent, Yerba Buena Gardens ChoreoFest, Sheridan College, SweetPea Festival, CocoSpa and Kate Mitchell Creative. Cabrera has been awarded artistic residencies from organizations in Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland and Wyoming. Her work was nominated for a 2014 Soul of Oakland award and has been supported through the Fleishhacker and Rainin Foundations. 

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Cabrera is dedicated to dance education, having developed her weekly technique classes, master classes and workshops for over 20 years at arts centers, studios and universities across the globe.

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Emily Hansel 

Originally from Rochester, Minnesota, Emily received their BFA in Dance from the University of South Florida. They currently dance for Post:ballet, Mark Foehringer Dance Project, Christy Funsch, Jennifer Perfilio, and David Herrera Performance Company, and previously danced with Robert Moses’ KIN, Garrett-Moulton Productions, FACT/SF, and many others. Emily is a self-producing choreographer whose work centers the dancer’s experience. 

 

Recently, Emily created new work for Post:ballet, was named an Individual Artist Fellow by the CAC, was awarded a free rental by ODC Theater, self-produced her first evening-length choreographic work, choreographed new work for Berkeley Ballet Theater in collaboration with multi-instrumentalist Vân-Ánh Võ, created a dance film commissioned by REYES Dance, published writing for the Life-as-a-Modern-Dancer blog and the ODC Dance Stories blog, and spoke on various panels on dancers’ rights. Emily advocates for equitable working conditions for dancers, and is a proud member of the Leadership Committee at Dance Artists’ National Collective

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Nico Ortiz Maimon

Originally from Mexico City, Maimon is a Bay Area performer, teaching artist, and community organizer. Her work has been supported by the Queering Dance Festival, FRESH Festival exchange, PLATAFORMA, and more. Nico has had the pleasure to dance for Estrellx Supernova, Bianca Cabrera, David Herrera, Kim Ip, Nina Haft, Cookie Harrist, and others.

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Madison McGain

is a movement artist currently based in the Bay Area and originally from Maui,Hi. Madison’s work has been presented at The CraftNY (2018), Small Plates Dance Festival (2019), the New Work Series (2019), funded by the NY Council on the Arts and Emerging Artist Fund, ArtsonSite (2021), Museum of Art History (MAH) in Santa Cruz, among others. In 2021, Madison was the recipient of a Cultivate Grant from the Santa Cruz Arts Council, for her site-specific project, VOID, featuring a live, sound score by ordinary blood. 

 

Madison is currently dancing for Randee Pauvfee, Erin Yen, and Fullstop Dance. She has danced for Nicole Von Arx, KayCrudden Co, FlockWorks, Mizanty Moves Dance, Spaces of Fontana, and Adaptations Dance Theater, among others. And performed at venues such as Austin Dance Festival (TX), Queens Theatre (NY), Wilson College (PA), Actors Art Fund (NY), Arts on Site(NY), Temple University(PA), and Stanford University (CA). Madison also teaches around the Bay Area! 

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Valerie Mendez (she/her)

Mexican/Native American artist, Mendez is a dancer and choreographer who encourages self exploration of creativity and growth by reconnecting the mind and body. After moving to the Bay Area in 2016 from southern California she has worked under and collaborated with artists such as Liz Boubion’s Piñata Dance Collective, Stephanie Hewlett, A. Spearman & Co, and Andreina Maldanado, and held administrative positions with Bandaloop and Dancers’ Group. 

 

Pulling from a martial artist background and knowledge gained from her time at UCR Riverside, Mendez utilizes rhythmic acrobatics, pedestrian movements, abstraction, games and humor to intimately connect with audiences. She aims to create a platform for people to come together, activate, share and connect on social issues through artistic expression showcasing how humans, earth and animals may coexist peacefully and respectfully among each other.

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Brooke Terry (she/they) 

is a dance artist, instructor, choreographer, and movement investigator. Native to St. Louis, Missouri, Brooke trained at COCA, with mentorship of Antonio and Kirven Douthit-Boyd, with summers spent at The Ailey School, DTH, and Kansas City Ballet.

 

In May of 2022, Brooke graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Alonzo King LINES Ballet BFA program at Dominican University of California, with a Psychology Minor, Honors Program Certificate, and Departmental Honors. Here they had the opportunity to work with Sidra Bell, Gregory Dawson, Maurya Kerr, Dexandro “D” Montalvo, and more.

 

Brooke has worked with dawsondancesf, REYES Dance, JGPG, Xochipilli Dance Company, the TEENS at LINES program and as a creative consultant for DETOUR Dance's We Build Houses Here. Brooke looks forward to their first season with DHPCO, while continuously sharing their experiences as an emerging Black Queer individual navigating the world of today through dance, joy, and gratitude.

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Juan L. Ruiz 

A San Francisco-native dancer and mover. He began his training at the age of 17 at San Francisco School of the Arts (SOTA) and later joined the ODC Dance Jam. Upon graduating the ODC Dance Jam, he then attended the LINES Ballet BFA program where he expanded his training in contemporary ballet. Since graduation, Juan has been dancing with local Bay Area choreographers.

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Fabiana Santiago

Originally from Crystal Lake, Illinois, Fabiana began training at the age of 4 under Judith Svalander. She attended intensives with the Boston Ballet, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy (BBA) resulting in a full scholarship to study in Moscow, Russia. Fabiana attended Butler University through talent scholarship where she earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance Performance and during the second semester of her sophomore year, attended BBA in Moscow training with the international training class performing lead character roles on the new and historical stages in the Bolshoi Theater. Upon graduation, she began her dancing career with Menlowe Ballet in the fall of 2017 (artistic director Micheal Lowe) performing ensemble, soloist, and leading roles as well as choreographing for the company. She currently freelances with ballet and contemporary companies throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and is a dance instructor for Menlo Park Academy of Dance. Fabiana joined David Herrera Performance Company in 2022. 

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Angel Velez (they/them) 

An independent dance artist who has collaborated with and performed works by Alleluia Panis, David Herrera, Eric Solano, Mariana Sobral, LV Dance Collective, and notable others in the Bay Area. Trained in multiple lineages from a young age, Angel is informed by internal experiences and draws inspiration from the natural world and intersecting cultural practices. Their current works concern Indigenous and ancestral connections, personal-political-spiritual bodies, precolonial Philippine cultural practices, and radical Indigenous-led transformation of contemporary ballet.