Spring 2013 Menlowe Dancers

 

Vincent Chavez

Vincent was born and raised in Albuquerque, NM. He received his dance education and training from Dance Theater Southwest, Ballet Hispanico, Academy of Nevada Ballet Theatre and Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet Training Program. A few of the companies he has worked with include New Mexico Ballet Company, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Robert Moses’ Kin and most recently Menlowe Ballet.

 

Coreen Danaher

Coreen was born in Vallejo, CA. She trained there in the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus under Patricia O’Reilly and later at Berkeley Ballet Theater. Coreen has performed the works of Bay Area choreographers such as Michael Lowe, Carlos Carvajal, and Reginald Ray-Savage with Peninsula Ballet Theater and Moving Arts Dance Company. She has been dancing with Oakland Ballet since 2009 in choreography by Val Caniparoli, Lowe, and Graham Lustig. Coreen joined Menlowe Ballet in their Spring Season 2012 and has been featured in Lowe’s ballets “Cirque,” “Double Happiness,” and “Plague.”

 

Aurora Frey

From the first time she saw the Nutcracker at the age of three, Aurora has loved ballet!  Aurora began her studies of ballet at Ballet Arts in her home town of Tucson, Arizona under the direction of Mary-Beth Cabana.  After spending many summers as a student at the American Ballet Theater summer intensive, Aurora moved to NYC where she was privately coached by Leslie Browne, former ABT principal.  In addition, Aurora has trained with many notable instructors including Gelsey Kirkland, Amanda McKerrow, John Gardener, Evelyn Cisneros, Rebecca Wright, Lupe Serrano, Maria Tallchief, Kyra Nichols, and David Howard.  Aurora began her professional experience in Birmingham, Alabama with the Alabama Ballet under the direction of Wes Chapman.  She has danced professionally for Ballet Tucson, City Ballet of San Diego, and Napoles Ballet Theater.  She has been featured in many full length classical ballets, works by George Balanchine and Anthony Tudor.  In addition, she has had the opportunity to dance in original works by choreographers such as Lawrence Pech, Leslie Browne, Jeffrey Graham Hughes, Roger Van Fleteren, and Luis Napoles.  Aurora is excited to be living in the Bay Area, and to be part of such a talented dance community.

 

Kevin Hockenberry

Kevin Hockenberry is from Texas and began his ballet training with Ballet Lubbock. He went to further his training at the University of Utah Ballet Department, Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet, Ballet Academy East, and Elite Ballet. Previous professional experiences include Company C Contemporary Ballet, Mudita Arts for Peace, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Nashville In Motion, Nashville Ballet, and Ballet Austin with performing works by Twyla Tharp, George Balanchine, Thaddeus Davis, Jodi Gates and more. This is Kevin’s first season with Menlowe Ballet.

 

Mariko Ishikawa

Mariko, a San Francisco native, has been training at Ayako School of Ballet under the tutelage of Ayako Takahashi. She has performed leading roles in Peninsula Youth Ballet’s Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote, Paquita, Giselle and Alice in Wonderland. Mariko represented USA at Youth America Grand Prix New York Finals and has traveled to Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Japan to refine her ballet techniques. She has also been invited to perform with the ManDance Company SF and Diablo Ballet. In the summer of 2011, Mariko participated in DMangagement’s “Performing in Chicago” as a soloist member, and during the winter of 2011, Mariko toured the U.S. East Coast with the Albany Berkshire Ballet’s Nutcracker as a principal dancer. This past summer Mariko competed for, and won the 2012 Beach Blanket Babylon Scholarship Award for the Arts by the Steve Silver Foundation. This is Mariko’s first season with Menlowe Ballet.

 

Jacob Kreamer

Jacob started his training at the Contra Costa Ballet Center, he went on to study at Pacific North West Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre. He has danced professionally with Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, Richmond Ballet and prior to joining the Oakland Ballet Company in 2007 he was one of the original dance members of Company C Contemporary Ballet.

 

Maria LaMance

Bay Area native, Maria LaMance trained at the San Francisco Ballet School and received her B.A. in dance from San Francisco State University. Maria has performed internationally in Scotland, Poland, France and Belarus, and recently completed a fifteen city national tour for the show, The Moscova Affair. A cross disciplinary artist, Maria has worked professionally with numerous ballet, modern dance, dance theater, and circus arts companies, as with film makers in the Bay Area. Maria has appeared with Moving Arts dance, Huckabay McAllister Dance, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, ArtFace, Vau de Vire Society, Oakland Ballet, and Black Diamond Ballet. Maria is very excited to be working with Menlowe Ballet again this season.

 

Alec Lytton

Alec was born in Houston, received his formal training at the Houston Ballet Academy while attending the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. He received his BFA in Dance Performance from the Boston Conservatory while working with the Boston Ballet. In NYC, after graduation, he danced with New York Theater Ballet and the New York Metropolitan Opera Ballet. He moved to the Bay Area to work with Company C Contemporary Ballet, in Walnut Creek, where he danced for four seasons. He also danced with Oakland ballet and is a member of Liss Fain Dance. This is Alec’s first season with Menlowe Ballet.

 

Damon Mahoney

Damon Mahoney began his dance training in Santa Barbara and then Los Angeles, studying ballet, lyrical jazz, modern and hip hop. He began his performing career with Oakland Ballet in 2005. He has since  worked with a variety of companies including Savage Jazz Dance, Peninsula Ballet Theatre, Moving Arts Dance, Los Angeles’ Luminario Ballet and San Diego Opera. He has recently been made a member of San Francisco Opera’s Resident Corps and has danced as a soloist in their 2010 season. In addition to dancing Damon is a Pilates Instructor, Acrobat and Fire Performer. He most recently appeared with Oakland Ballet for their Nutcracker and in several works for Menlowe Ballet.

 

Terrin McGee-Kelly

Terrin is a native of Antioch, California where she began her classical ballet training at Delta Ballet Academy with Helga Ishikata, Helen Piernik, and Michael Lowe. Afterwards she went on to study with Arlene Newhouse at Ballet Celeste International, and the Joffrey Ballet. She has appeared with Theater Ballet of San Francisco, Oakland Ballet, Peninsula Ballet Theater, Black Diamond Ballet, Moving Arts Dance, Ballet San Jose, and San Francisco Opera. She has been a featured dancer in music videos and national commercials, and has held numerous titles in the Miss America Organization, as well as winning the coveted Leni Arnhym classical performer award. Terrin also holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Saint Mary’s College.

 

Lauren Mindel

Born in the San Fernando Valley to a mother who was on the POM squad in high school and a father who danced on American Bandstand, it was clear that Lauren had it in her blood.  Lauren trained in ballet, jazz, contemporary, tap, hip-hop and character dance with Lynn Brilhante, Anne Barrett, Amy Bouris, Justin Cole, and Michael Lowe, to name a few, at the California Academy of Performing Arts under direction of Joan Robinson Borchers in Moraga, CA.  She attended intensive programs with American Ballet Theater in 2005 where she had the wonderful opportunity of working primarily with Lawrence Pech and Christine Spizzo, and Alonzo King’s LINES Ballet in 2007 where she worked primarily with Kara Davis and Carmen Rozestraten. Lauren performed with Peninsula Ballet Theatre in 2005 and 2008 and Black Diamond Ballet Theatre in 2010, both under the artistic direction of Michael Lowe. She also trained with UCLA’s dance program staff, and with LA’s hip-hop and jaz funk choreographer, Saleemah E. Knight.  Aside from dance, Lauren is an up-and-coming recording artist and enjoys acting in both film and theatre.  She is delighted to be a part of Menlowe Ballet.

 

Patricia Rehn

Patricia was born in San Mateo, California and began her ballet training at the age of five at Ayako’s School of Ballet under the direction of Ayako Takahashi. She began training with Michael Lowe for the past 9 years and has placed top rankings in past competitions including Youth America Grand Prix, American Dance Awards, and won the title Miss Teen Starquest at Starquest Nationals. She has been awarded scholarships to several intensives including Bolshoi Ballet, LINES Ballet and in 2008, was chosen to perform in an international gala in Florida alongside Jose Carreno (ABT), Mizuka Ueno (Tokyo), Gennadi Saveliev (ABT), to name a few. Since the start of her professional career in 2008, she has had the honor of performing with Moving Arts, Peninsula Ballet, and Black Diamond. Outside the theater, Patricia is a freelance model and full-time college student pursuing a degree in Performing Arts and Business. Patricia is very excited to be apart of Menlowe’s third season, and would like to thank God, her family, and friends for their love and support.

 

Rachel Speidel Little

A native of Michigan, Rachel Speidel Little received her training at the Flint School of Performing Arts, the Joffrey Ballet School, the Rock School of the Pennsylvania Ballet, and the Milwaukee Ballet School. She has appeared with numerous companies spanning her career, including Amy Seiwert’s Imagery, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, Sacramento Ballet, Ballet de Teatres Generalitat Valenciana in Valencia, Spain, Channel Islands Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet II. Most recently, in addition to being a member of Menlowe Ballet, she has performed with The Oakland Ballet and the San Francisco Opera. In addition to the classical repertoire, some of her performance highlights include principal and soloist roles in works by George Balanchine, Graham Lustig, Yves de Bouteiller, and Phillipe Trehet. She has also performed in numerous pieces by such notable choreographers as Michael Lowe, Amy Seiwert, Dwight Rhoden, Peter Quanz, Jean-Paul Comelin, Ron Cunningham, and Sonja Delwaide, and Wen-Wei Wang. She is a Pilates certified through Integrated Teacher Training, and is working to obtain her degree through LEAP St. Mary’s. Rachel is excited to continue to be a part of Menlowe Ballet this season.

 

Mariko Takahashi

Mariko “Mari” Takahashi is a free-lance dancer, actress, teacher, and choreographer who owes her training to Ayako School of Ballet under the guidance of her mother, Ayako. She was a principal dancer with Oakland Ballet from 2005-2009. She has also danced with Diablo Ballet, Moving Arts, and Peninsula Ballet amongst others and represented Smuin Ballet at student outreach programs throughout the Bay Area. Mari has had the pleasure to work with renowned choreographers such as Donald McKayle, Viktor & Nikolai Kabaniaev, Scott Rink and Michael Lowe and has been a guest artist dancing principal roles in classics such as Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, Don Quixote, The Nutcracker, and La Bayadere. Mari is a graduate of Saint Mary’s College with a BFA in Performing Arts and Liberal Studies. She is also a signed model with CITY Model Management and YouTube personality with the comedy group Smosh. When not pursuing dance, Mari spends her time rock climbing, traveling and summitting 20,000ft mountain peaks around the world.

 

Megan Terry

Megan was born in Mission Viejo, California and began her ballet training at the age of 3 at Saddleback Dance Center. In the summer of 2000, she moved to Tucson and began her training with Ballet Arts. She has attended summer intensive programs with The Rock School, Boston Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and American Ballet Theatre, New York. She has performed in productions at the Orange County Performing Arts Center including Swan Lake with San Francisco Ballet, The Nutcracker with Moscow Classical Ballet, and Le Corsaire with American Ballet Theatre. Megan was a member of Ballet Tucson from 2004-2012, under the direction of Mary-Beth Cabana. Some of her roles with Ballet Tucson include Sugar Plum Fairy, Snow Queen and Dewdrop Fairy in The Nutcracker, Cygnet in Swan Lake, Fairy Godmother, Spring Fairy and Time Fairy in Cinderella, Pigtail Girl in Graduation Ball, and Antony Tudor’s Continuo and 3rd pas de deux from The Leaves Are Fading. She is excited to join Menlowe Ballet for their fall 2012 season. Megan dedicates her performances to her parents Bill & Kim Terry, who have been her inspiration & light since day one.