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Malia, born and raised in Hawaii, studied modern, ballet and jazz in Southern California; continued her training at SFSU where she studied the technique of Katherine Dunham under the direction of Dr. Albirda Rose and Alicia Pierce; and has since expanded her movement vocabulary further to include lyrical jazz/modern and Brazilian dance styles, hip-hop and hula. She has been involved with numerous artistic projects throughout the Bay Area, including "Just Add Water," a self-published book of spoken word poetry; BackDoor Productions, a promotion/production company she co-founded; collaboration with Robert Henry Johnson Dance Company as a dancer and consultant; collaboration with jazz ensemble Mingus Amungus as a dancer, choreographer and featured spoken word artist on two of their recordings; and the 2005 Black Choreographers' Festival. In addition to serving as Executive and Artistic Director of Malia Movement Company, Malia dances with Kaiaulu Hula Halau under the direction of Kumu Hula Michael Yamashita. |
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Tricia is a Bay Area native who studied at the Marie Stinnett School of Dance and later continued her dance education at San Francisco State University under the direction of Dr. Albirda Rose and Alicia Pierce. While immersed in studying the technique of Katherine Dunham at SFSU, she met Malia and other original members of what was later to become Malia Movement Company. Beyond her involvement with and dedication to MMCo, she earned a B.A. in Dance from SFSU, co-directed All Sol, an organization that showcased dance pieces for young choreographers, and later toured as a dancer with the local jazz ensemble Mingus Amungus. Tricia has been dancing with Malia Movement Company since its inception – giving her the unique eye to Malia’s inner process.
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Jhyl is originally from San Diego, CA, and while attending SFSU as a Dance Major, she held the position of Captain/Choreographer for the songleaders. During this time she auditioned for a Malia Movement Company where she remains a principal dancer. Jhyl is also a member of Kaiaulu Hula Halau and in February 2005 was honored with the opportunity to perform in the Black Choreographers Festival with Malia Movement and Kaiaulu performing in the same piece. With an extensive dance background ranging from jazz to hula, Jhyl is currently in her 12th year coaching the Varsity Cheer/Dance Team for Mercy High School of San Francisco where she also teaches dance and choreographs for the Fine Arts Department.
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Catarina began dancing as a child and has studied with Nita Little, Wendy Diamond, Albirda Rose, Susan Whipp, Rosa Montoya, Priscilla Regalado, Cathleen McCarthy, Mary Sano, Joe Goode, and Arturo Fernandez. She graduated from San Francisco State University with degrees in dance and apparel design. Catarina has been dancing with MMCo since 2003. She designed costumes for 2 pieces featured in the Just Add Water series in 2007.
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Veleda was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. She received her BA in Humanities with a focus in queer and activist performance from the Experimental Performance Institute at New College of California. She has volunteered and worked with many community-based organizations, creates her own interdisciplinary performance work, and currently teaches children and adults throughout Alameda County with Luna Kids Dance. Veleda has been performing with Malia Movement Company since 2004.
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Daryl was born and raised on the island of O'ahu. She is a 1997 honor graduate of the Kamehameha Schools and a 2002 graduate of Brown University. While at Brown, Daryl was a dancer with Fusion Dance Company and eventually served as Co-Director in her third year. She has studied ballet under the direction of Rodwic Fukino; hula, jazz, hip-hop, modern and West-African dance. Daryl joined Malia Movement Company in 2004.
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Christine grew up in northwest Indiana where she studied Thai Classical Dance from the age of three. She went on to study jazz, ballet, and modern. In college, Christine minored in Dance and performed with the Purdue Repertory Dance Company for 4 years. During this time, she also co-directed and choreographed for student concerts Black Box and X-Works. She holds BA degrees in Visual Communications Design and Fine Arts from Purdue University in Indiana and now works as a graphic designer in the Bay Area. Christine joined Malia Movement in 2007.
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Alena is a native of Portland, Oregon, but has made her home performing, choreographing and teaching in the San Francisco Bay Area with artists such as The Purple Moon Dance Project, Elvia Marta and Consuelo Faust. Alena holds a BFA in Dance from California Institute of the Arts. She has studied ballet, modern and West African dance for over 20 years and has also studied Japanese, Balinese and hula dance. In addition, she has had the pleasure of bringing the joy of dance to all as a Rhythm & Motion dance workout instructor. Alena joined Malia Movement Company in 2008.
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Amy is a California native whose passion for dance began at a young age. She has studied dance at various schools in central California, including The Academy of Classical Ballet in Sonora under the instruction of Suzanne Stalley-Katsarsky. She continued her dance education at the University of California, Santa Cruz under the direction of Mel Wong, and at the University of Hawaii-Manoa. At UH Manoa, Amy performed works by Shapiro and Smith, Shaffer and Stern, Jeff Rebudal and Lotte Goslar; and studied with Gregg Lizenbery, Betsy Fisher, Peggy Gaither-Adams, Celia Chun and Eve Sanders. Amy graduated from UH Manoa with an MFA in Dance Choreography and Performance in May 2008 and joined Malia Movement company in August 2008.
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Hannah Pearl Walcott is a collage artist from New York City. She attended Hampshire College in western Massachusetts from 1998 to 2002, where she graduated with a degree in Fine Art. Hannah Pearl became a bay area resident in 2005. She has taught art to youth of all ages in various capacities ranging from after school programs to toddler workshops. Her work has been shown in galleries in New York, Massachusetts, Colorado and California. Since 2006, Hannah Pearl has been a resident artist at Root Division, a non-profit arts and arts education collective in San Francisco’s mission district. Her involvement with Root Division has included event planning, curatorial work and youth art education, as well as private collage lessons for adults. Hannah Pearl has been working with Malia Movement Company since 2005. |
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Born and raised in Oakland, California, Chaney is one of the Bay Area's rising promoters. She has worked with Bay Area Productions, Sony Music and the Collectiv. She is also the founder of Social Life Productions, created in 2007 to produce events for the LGBT community in Oakland and San Francisco. Chaney joined Malia Movement company in 2007 for the "Just Add Water" series and provides unparalleled support with promotions and on-site event management. |
Photos provided by Barbara Jerabek
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