On stage this season
Athletic and spirited, bringing both strong technique and emotional depth. Several of them choreograph for the company too.
The ensemble
Maggie Hurd-Fleck grew up in the Bay Area and began her dance training at the Adage School of Performing Arts and Teen Dance Company of the Bay Area. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a BFA in Dance in 2012 and joined NCDE in 2013.
Clara fell into the wonders and joys of dance through her seven years competing in colorguard and winterguard. She loves the whole rehearsal process and how movement, colors, breath, song, and acting all come together for a moment’s connection with a person.
Jeanne-Claudius (JC) Casanova is a local human who began performing at a young age, learning jazz dance with Marie Stinnett and appearing in Sunnyvale Community Players productions both on and offstage. They continued dancing through their time at Cal Poly Humboldt with a modern dance minor in addition to their biology degree.
Originally from Sunnyvale, California, Alyssa Plummer began dancing ballet at a young age and then continued to dance throughout college, finding a love for new forms of dance thanks to the dance department at Saint Mary’s College of California. She earned a double major BS in Dance Choreography and Performance and Biochemistry, graduating Summa Cum Laude.
Avery grew up in southern California where she trained at Lauridsen Ballet Centre and South Orange County School of the Arts. She fell in love with modern dance at Santa Clara University, where she was inducted into NHSDA, received the Anna Halprin Dance Award, and graduated Summa Cum Laude in 2020 with a dual BA in Dance and Political Science and a minor in Gender Studies.
Elizabeth began her dance journey in her hometown of Fort Wayne, IN, where she started with hip-hop classes at a local dance studio and got to travel to Monsters of Hip-Hop every year. MOHH inspired her to grow as a dancer, and throughout high school, she tried other genres and classes.
Brooke Wertwijn is a freelance dancer in the Bay Area and most recently performed with Mariana Sobral’s eMotion Arts Dance and San Jose Dance Theatre. Originally from Minnesota, Brooke trained at Ashley Ballet Arts Academy directed by Ashley Burkland.
Skylar Rose Adams started her training with the Vaganova Ballet method (Mary Silva) and later discovered modern dance in high school with her first company, Gotta Dance! in Bend, OR.
Hayley Elizabeth Marilao is a dance artist, educator, and creative scholar based in the Bay Area. With a background in performance, teaching, and choreography, her work explores the intersections of movement, anatomy, culture, and artistic expression.
Formerly with the company
Dancers who have performed with NCDE in recent seasons.
Kerry began her eclectic dance training at Long’s School of Dance in Erie, Pennsylvania, but fell head over heels for modern dance during her college days at Duke University. Barbara Dickinson, Clay Taliaferro, Betty Jones, Gerri Houlihan, and Alvin Mayes are among the teachers who have inspired her the most over the years.
Audra grew up in Eagle, Idaho, where she studied ballet at Eagle Performing Arts Center with Jeff and Cathy Giese and Lisa Moon. While in high school, she also studied vocal music and theater.
Marie Hamel is originally from Portland, Oregon, where she studied Ballet, Contemporary, and Tap with Christine Hamel (her mother) at Hamel Dance Academy. In high school, she joined the Junior Artist Generator program at BodyVox, where she trained under Sara Parker and Heather Jackson and studied Jazz (Luigi Technique), Ballet, Contemporary, and Commercial Hip-Hop.
Yu-Chen Rockwell graduated from the Department of Dance at National Taiwan University of Arts. She has been a lead dancer for TUI-Mein Schiff in Germany; a musical tour dancer for Mark Thompson Productions in the UK; a performer, manager, and art director for Leofoo Village amusement park in Taiwan; a contemporary dancer for Taipei Circle Dance company; and an actress/dancer for Shanghe Taiwanese Opera.
Born and raised in San Diego, Tatianna Steiner is an Asian American movement artist mainly focused on performing and curating contemporary and modern dance. She has been dancing since the age of 5, training in ballet, jazz, tap, contemporary and modern.
Teo Lin-Bianco grew up in Los Angeles and has been dancing since they could walk, as the child of a dancer and a choreographer. They trained in tap, modern, and contemporary styles after spending several years in gymnastics and circus arts.
Emma has been dancing and performing ever since she could first stand up. After training at various studios throughout the Bay Area, she went to Muhlenberg College and obtained a Dance Science degree there in 2017.
Julia has been an active member of the Silicon Valley arts scene for more than 20 years. Graduating from Santa Clara University with a BA in Theatre Arts with a Dance Emphasis, Julia studied primarily Horton technique, although she also has training in Graham, Cunningham, and Lewitzky, as well as jazz, tap, ballroom, and folk dance.
Marissa Kuczkowski was born and raised in Burlington, North Carolina, where she received her first 16 years of dance training at Burlington Academy of Dance & Arts (BADA). Marissa then continued her dance studies at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), graduating in December 2019 with a BFA in Dance Performance & Choreography and a minor in Anthropology.
Since 2005
Listed by length of tenure. Fifty-nine dancers have performed with the company since its founding.