Director, WCB Arts Foundation Inc.
Sarah Berges - choreographer and performer - produced her own dance works in the San Francisco Bay Area for fifteen years prior to moving to Los Angeles. While working in the Bay Area, she worked as a choreographer in the theater, garnering great reviews for her choreography in Shakespeare's Cymbeline and Stravinsky's The Soldier's Story. She also created original choreography for All At One Point based on fiction by Italo Calvino. Ms. Berges' dance company, Amaranth, toured Mexico in 1988; in 1983 she produced a program of modern dance at the International Arts Festival in Amman, Jordan.
Sarah Berges' choreography is informed by a graphic sensibility bolstered by raw emotional expression. She makes ample use of many technical and stylistic influences absorbed over a lifetime of studying, performing and choreographing contemporary & ethnic dance as well as ballet.
In 2004, Sarah Berges founded Lion's Pounce Dance Theater and in March 2005 premiered "Mindscape" an hour-long work featuring an original electronic score by Steve Hopkins.
Sarah Berges has taught modern and creative dance in the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles for 25 years. At present Ms. Berges teaches modern and creative dance in Santa Monica, California.
As a dance writer and critic in the San Francisco Bay Area, Sarah Berges published dance reviews from 1984-1986 in The Daily Cal, the Berkeley Monthly, and the Express.
Education
B.A. Theater Arts / Dance, University of California at Berkeley, 1980
M.F.A. Choreography, Pedagogy, Mills College Oakland CA, 1984
Awards
Eisner Prize - Outstanding Artist at UC Berkeley, 1976-1980
Theater Arts / Dance Department Achievement Award - Choreography, 1976-1980
Co-Artistic Director, Lion's Pounce Dance Theater
Diane has toured around the world with the Mehmet Sander Dance Company, performing at the Holland Dance Festival, and in Brazil at the Festival Internacional de Danca. She has also performed in Germany, in Switzerland at the Bollwerk/Belluard Dance Festival, in Denmark at the Kobenhavns 4 Internationale Dansefestival, and in Turkey at the Istanbul Muzik Festivali.
Diane has performed extensively in the United States, also locally at the UCLA Center for the Performing Arts Dance Series, Los Angeles Open Festival, Palm Desert Dance Under the Stars Festival, Praxis Project, Spectrum Dance in LA, and Kaleidoscope Dance Festival. She has performed with The It Squad, R Dance Company, Fred's House, young Ae Park and Dancers, J Strauss Jazz, and Marion Scott's Spirit Dances; and with choreographers such as Kai Ganado, Ron Brown, Kiha Lee, Paula Present, Janice Garrett, and currently, Sarah Berges.
Diane has taught modern, jazz, hip hop, ethnic, gymnastics and performance classes. She has also been in dance and music videos.
Presently, Diane is Co-Artistic Director of the Lion's Pounce Dance Theater. She has a degree in Graphic Design and is very proud of her husband and of her two sons, ages 18 and 19.
Ella Goodheart
Born in Nanjing, China, Ella Goodheart came to the U.S. when she was one. She began her formal dance training at age three and has studied ballet, modern and hip hop under the direction of Seda Aybay and at the LA Conservatory for the Arts. Ella is in the fourth grade at Loyola Village Magnet School of Fine and Performing Arts. At present she aspires to be a teacher. Ella’s appearance in the October 2006 Lion’s Pounce Dance Theater production marked the first time Ella had performed to live music played by her mandolinist dad, Bob Applebaum.
Megan Hornaday
Megan Hornaday, actress & dancer, has performed in a variety of theater and film productions, both here and in New York. Ms. Hornaday studied English literature at Columbia University turning to theater soon thereafter. Most recently she has focused on dance, training with Rebecca Witjas, Sven Toorvald, Cynthia Molnar and Josie Walsh. Ms. Hornaday has appeared in productions by choreographers Sarah Berges and Seda Aybay, and last December danced the role of Snow Queen in West Valley Ballet Company's production of The Nutcraker.
Courtney Trowman
Courtney Trowman discovered dance when she was five years old.
She studied first with The Dayton Ballet and was later a member of the Kettering Youth Ballet. A little time off turned into an eight year hiatus. She returned to dancing in 2003. Courtney is happy to be dancing again having realized that dance is truly her life's passion. Courtney continues to study ballet along with modern dance and tap.
Dani Nissani
Dani Nissani dances wherever and whenever she can even at the risk of making herself and everyone else around her crazy. Choreographer's Note: Dancing is a labor of love and demands a commitment of the heart as well as an enormous commitment of timeI am overjoyed that there are people like Ms. Nissani and all the other Stars of this show that will make the commitment!
Danielle Dawson
Danielle Dawson began her dancing career in the womb. She started practicing ballet when she was four and has been motivated and inspired to continuously practice ballet up to the present moment. She has performed in a number of recitals with Doneva Ballet and plans to dance her way through third grade at Roosevelt Elementary School. She also enjoys performing and handball at school!
Daryl Reynolds
Daryl has returned to dance after a thirty five year hiatus at the urging an with the encouragement of Sarah Berges. Whether this is a return to his roots or the beginning of a mid-life crisis remains to be seen. In the early nineteen seventies Daryl studied dance and dance therapy at Hunter School in New York City. This performance is Daryl's Los Angeles debut.
Marc Chase
Marc has been a pirate most of his adult life. The opportunity to perform Tweedle Dee has Hollywood's popularization of the pirate lifestyle. Marc has found a port in the storm, a snug harbor and a new persona as Tweedle Dee "T-Dee" to his public and friends!
Born to her musical family in Shenyang, China. Her mother played the Pipa and her father was the principal cellist at the Liao Ning Opera House. Xiaodan began her studies at age 5 with her father and gave her solo debut with the Ulan-Ude Philharmonic at age 9 in Russia. She was accepted to the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory a few years later and began her journey as a professional cellist.
In 1997, Xiaodan was accepted to the Pre-College Division of the Juilliard School and studied with Andre Emelianoff. During her studies in New York, Xiaodan won numerous awards and frequently performed in Avery Fischer Hall, the Juilliard Theater, Weill Recital Hall, Joradan Hall of New England Conservatory, Carnegie Hall, and Alice Tully Hall as both a soloist and chamber musician. Her piano trio has appeared on National Public Radio "From the Top show". She also collaborated in concerts with Itzhak Perlman, soloed under the baton of Pinchas Zukerman, and Yo-Yo Ma.
In 2001, Xiaodan moved to Los Angeles to pursue her bachelor's degree at University of Southern California. While studying with former principal cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic- Ronald Leonard, she served as principal cellist at USC Thornton Chamber Orchestra, Thornton Symphony, and YMF Debut Orchestra as well as assistant principal cellist at American Youth Symphony. In April 2006, Xiaodan became the youngest member of the Long Beach Symphony. Xiaodan will be touring Europe, Asia, and Australia with Verbier Festival Orchestra in November.
John Hoft
Painter/Muralist
John Hoft is a painter, sculptor and builder whose prolific career spans 40 years and encompasses many media. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, John studied at the Layton School of Art. He spent most of the 1970s as artist-in-residence at Pulpit Rock artist community in Woodstock, Connecticut. As a “struggling artist” with a young family, John quickly learned the value of incorporating recycled materials into many of his projects, including his works of fine art. At times, John considers his artwork more invention than “fine art.” Some of his works of art, AKA inventions, include custom wall surfaces, papier mâchè furniture and 3D murals. His works have been exhibited throughout the U.S.
Bob Applebaum
Musician
Bob Applebaum is a nationally recognized mandolinist with over thirty years professional experience as both teacher and performer in stage, recording, television and film work. He has performed and recorded with many of the Nation’s greatest acoustinc musicians including Bela Fleck, Tony Trischka, Peter Wernick, Byron Berline, Stewart Duncan, Richard Greene, Pat Cloud, John Fogerty, Mason Williams, and Sam Bush. He is the co-producer along with Marty Cutler of The Bluegrass Band Program for PG Music and co-author with Fred Sokolow of Fretboard Roadmaps for Mandolin published by Hal Leonard. He has produced two albums of his own music: the contemporary jazz Passion Dance and the critically acclaimed modern bluegrass CD, All The Way Home. Mr. Applebaum is currently a featured member of the Los Angeles based World Music Orchestra, Mesto, under the direction of Nabil Azzam.
Henry Diltz
Henry Diltz never set out to take some of the most iconic photos of our era, it just happened. Fresh from a globe-trotting childhood, he attended colleges in Munich, West Point, then Honolulu, and later became known as a musician and founding member of the Modern Folk Quartet. This led to his many friendships with recording artists of the California rock community in the 60s and 70s. Immersed in this world he accidentally discovered a passion for photography, which turned into obsession and occupation.
“I am amazed at the accumulation of images that has resulted, simply by doing what I love to do, day after day after day,” he says. “It’s a result of being with countless people over the years, waiting at the sidelines for the moment to happen. Photography has been my passport, and I have arrived in the present, where I have always been, camera in hand. There! That says it best for me!” In October, 2006, Henry transformed himself into character actor/dancer extraordinaire, performing as Tweedle Dum in Lion’s Pounce Dance Theater’s Adventure In Wonderland: truly a man of many talents!
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