RAWDANCE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Cynthia has a deep love of dance and an unshakable belief in the power of art to affect the lives of people. She has a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Gerontology and is retired from serving the community for 35 years as an investigator focused on legal issues pertaining to the elderly, concluding her career in a management position. She worked in concert with multiple legal, medical and social service segments of San Francisco, and was enriched by the great diversity of cultures that grace the Bay Area. Cynthia has lived in San Francisco for the past 35 years.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Secretary / Fundraising Co - Chair
Storytelling and the arts have always held a special place in Elizabeth's heart. She graduated cum laude from San Francisco State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography and a minor in Holistic Health. After performing as an artist and rehearsal director with Push Dance Company for three years, Elizabeth entered the non-profit sector as Operations Manager at the Lafayette Library and Learning Center Foundation, where her organization and customer-focused approach supported programs and operations. She now works for the Diablo Regional Arts Association, the non-profit partner of the Lesher Center for the Arts in Walnut Creek as Communications Director and Head of Marketing. Elizabeth is grateful to combine her personal passions and professional experiences to bring the arts to her community in the SF East Bay.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Kristen Jacobson is dedicated to the accessibility of arts education for diverse populations. In 2019, she became the Executive Director at Youth in Arts in Marin County, CA. Recently, she was the Managing Director of Education at Alonzo King LINES Ballet where she led initiatives to expand LINES' programs that promote individuality, creativity and communication through dance. She also served on the Board of Directors of the Arts Educators Alliance of the Bay Area and recently on SFUSD's Arts Ed. Master Plan Advisory Committee and was co-chair of the Community Education and Programs Group for Dance/USA. At Hubbard Street Dance Chicago she developed the Youth Dance Program from its inception as their Youth Programs Manager. She holds a BA Point Park University and a MA Columbia College Chicago.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- CONCEPT Series Coordinator
- CONCEPT Series Coordinator & Co - Curator
Megan is a San Francisco based dancer and choreographer. She works with her sister, Shannon Kurashige, on wild collaborative projects as the co-directors and co-choreographers of Sharp & Fine. She also performs with Liss Fain Dance, where she has been a company member since 2010. She previously worked with choreographers Christian Burns (burnsWORK), Alex Ketley (The Foundry), and Amy Seiwert, and performed with Ballet Pacifica and Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal. She studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance under the direction of Summer Lee Rhatigan and the Academy of Ballet under the direction of Richard Gibson. She is also a writer. Her fiction has appeared in various magazines and anthologies and she is a graduate of the 2008 Clarion Writers' Workshop at UCSD.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Based in San Francisco, Noel has a passion for effective teams and organizations. He practices this as a Human Resources professional focused on the healthcare industry and with experiences in global settings, having lived and worked in San Francisco, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. He is an avid student dancer, having been part of a Filipino Folk Dance company in his youth and is currently a student of the hip hop dance community here in San Francisco, and also during his stints abroad. Noel has a Masters in Human Resources and Organization Development and an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering.
Pam recently became a San Francisco resident after 23 years in the Bay Area suburbs. Her current work is focused on new media, podcasting, and audio innovation. She works with young companies and innovations that are poised to become part of everyday culture because she enjoys the process of figuring out how to help make something new, and useful, catch on. She has a bachelor's degree in English literature and a master's degree in Japanese cultural anthropology. Pam also serves on the board of the Bay Area Ridge Trail Council and supports local arts and progressive educational organizations.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Ryan is a queer dance-maker, performer, curator, and connector. A Co-Founder of RAWdance, he has served as Co-Artistic Director since 2004, creating dozens of works for stage, alternative locations, and film with creative partner Wendy Rein. As a dancer, he has performed for artists such as Amy Seiwert, Alma Esperanza Cunningham, and Stephen Pelton. He was a member of the Margaret Jenkins Dance Company from 2005-2016, touring nationally and internationally, and participating in several collaborations with artists and organizations in Kochin, Kolkata, Guangzhou, and Jerusalem. Originally from outside of Boston, MA, Ryan received his B.A. in Theatre Arts and French Literature from Brown University before moving to San Francisco. In 2019, after 16 years in the Bay, he moved his primary residence to High Falls, a small hamlet in New York's Hudson Valley.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
A Bay Area native, Stacey received her BFA in Dance from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. She went on to work with Seán Curran and the Santa Fe Opera, and to travel to Greece to perform in works by Johannes Wieland and Stella Zannou at the one small step dance festival. She spent three seasons as a dancer and rehearsal director with the Sticky Trace Company in Germany. Since returning to the Bay, Stacey has worked with Robert Moses, Katie Faulkner, Jennifer Perfilio, Lenora Lee Dance, Alyssandra Katherine Dance Project, and RAWdance.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Advisory Board
Job Titles:
- Production & Program Manager
Twyla is a queer, Berkeley based dance artist, bodyworker, and arts administrator. Originally from Portland, OR, she has lived in the Bay for five years after graduating from Chapman University with a BFA in Dance Performance. While in the Bay, she's been actively evolving a multi-media creative practice. She previously worked with Ishan (Armineh Astanbous & Rachael Sharkland), Byb Chanel Bibene, Michael D. Lee, and has danced on film with Ky Woodward, Amelia Nommensen and for musical artist, Madeline Kenney. Beyond performing, Twyla is trained as a Responsive Body practitioner under the guidance of Holly Johnston, offers bodywork through the Bay Area, and is training to become a birth and postpartum doula.
A native New Yorker, Wendy has been dancing and breaking furniture since age 3. With a BA from Brown University, she brings over 20 years of professional experience in the field to her work as a performer, choreographer producer, curator, and teacher. She worked with Misnomer Dance Theater before moving to San Francisco, where Wendy co-founded RAWdance with Ryan Smith and had the privilege of performing with Amy Seiwert, ODC/Dance, Deborah Slater, Alma Esperanza Cunningham, Nancy Karp, Mary Carbonara, and Todd Eckert, among many others. She also worked for seven years both in front of the camera and behind the scenes on a series of dance film projects with RJ Muna. Wendy moved to NY's Hudson Valley in 2019 as the company expanded to two locations.