Wade Reynolds [MFA in Dance from Mills College (2022), BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University (2012)] has studied with the DAH Theater in Belgrade, Serbia, and performed in Urban Bush Women’s American Masterpiece “Shelter”, when it was restaged on VCU Dance students in 2011. Wade has worked with choreographers in New York and Philadelphia, including Helen Simoneau, Von Howard Project, Olive Prince Dance, Sharp Dance Company, Alchemy Dance Company, and Ellie Goodie-Averill. In 2015 Wade founded DNR in Denver, CO: a collaborative project bringing dance, punk, and hardcore bands together as a channel for social change, while focusing on exposing youth to multiple facets of counterculture art. Her recent work and performance opportunities include dancing as a guest artist with FACT/SF and working closely with Liz Lerman as her artist assistant. Wade currently dances with Aleño Dance Project, ArcTangent Dance and teaches at Danspace in Oakland, CA.
Nhan Ho, Company Choreographer
Danielle Noda, Company Dancer
Maria Basile, Artistic Director, Company Choreographer & Dancer
Alexandra Sheppard, Company Dancer
Kelly Barry, Company Dancer
Maestra Barbara Day Turner is the founder and music director of the San José Chamber Orchestra, and its family of five youth orchestras. An ardent advocate for new music, she has premiered more than 125 new works just with SJCO. Named a 2012 Silicon Valley Arts Council “On Stage” Artist Laureate, Maestra Day Turner is also Music Administrator and Conductor of the Utah Festival Opera where she has been resident conductor for the past 13 seasons. She frequently guest conducts for orchestras and opera companies in the US, Germany and Mexico, and conducted for Opera San José for 18 years. She is a frequent adjudicator for the Metropolitan Opera national auditions, annually serves as a judge for the Irving M. Klein International String Competition, and serves on the advisory boards of OperaNeo in San Diego, the Delphi Trio, and on the board of directors for the National Women's Philharmonic Advocacy association.
Matthew Antaky, Lighting Designer
Kevin Gaytan graduated San Jose State University as a double major in Sociology and a bachelor’s in fine arts. He has worked and trained under the instruction of Bay Area choreographers and lecturers such as Heather Cooper, Raphael Boumaila, Jill Yager and Dominique Lomuljo. In addition, he has studied composition and the art of choreography under the instruction of Fred Mathews at San Jose State University. Some of Mr. Gaytan’s performing highlights include classical Jose Limon works such as Psalm and Misa Brevis. He has also had the honor of performing and working for Tandy Beal & Company. In addition, as part of a choreography in residence program, he has performed with Doug Varone and dancers in Doug Varone’s “In the shelter of the fold” in 2018. Mr. Gaytan is currently an active company member of SjDanceCo under the artistic direction of Gary Masters and Maria Basile. As well as Rogelio Lopez and Dancers under the artistic direction of Rogelio Lopez. In addition to also working with Cypher Dance Company, under the artistic direction of Karina Cervantes.
Kevin Gaytan, Company Dancer
Madeline Takemori, Company Dancer
Kara Davis, Guest Choreographer
Matthew Antaky (Lighting Designer) has created both scenic and lighting designs for all of the performing arts including Theater, Opera, Dance and Music since 1985. His design history includes many years designing with companies such as Liss Fain Dance Company, Festival Opera, Lily Cai Dance Company, Mark Foehringer Dance Project, Opera San Jose, Caminos Flamencos, Utah Symphony, Cabrillo Music Festival, Shadowlight Productions, The San Francisco World Music Festival and Flyaway Productions among many others. Mr. Antaky is a five-time nominee and two-time recipient of the Isadora Duncan award for Outstanding Visual Design. This is Matthew’s sixth season designing for sjDANCEco. Please visit his website for more information at Matthewantakydesign.com
Gary Masters (Founder and Co-Artistic Director) for sjDANCEco is the 2014 Isadora Duncan Awardee for Outstanding Achievement in Restaging/ Revival/Reconstruction for the company’s 2012 production of Joseé Limón ‘s The Moor’s Pavane and the 2007-8 Awardee for ‘Sustained Achievement’. He has been a Professor of Dance at San Josée State University since 2001. A graduate of the Julliard School, he has been associated with the Limón Dance Company/Foundation as Dancer, Artistic Associate, Reconstructor, Director of the Limón West Dance Project and the Limón Dance Company’s San Joseé Operations since 1969. He has been hailed by Dance Magazine as “...one of the most gifted performers in contemporary dance...” and his choreography as a “...dance with symbolism that may be seen as something deeply spiritual, a kind of seeking into the unknown...” Besides choreography for sjDANCEco, he has created work for the Limón Dance Company/NY, Limón West Dance Project/San José, Diablo Ballet/Walnut Creek, Nashville Ballet, Dance Kaleidoscope/Indianapolis, Path Dance Company/Baltimore, Cabrillo Music Festival and Opera San Joseé. For more than a decade together with Fred Mathews, he directed the Mathews-Masters Dance Company/New York that toured the US, Canada and abroad. Other awards include Council Silicon Valley’s 2005 Artist Fellowship for Choreography and two National Endowment Choreography Fellowships.
San Jose Chamber Orchestra are recipients of three ASCAP/League of American Orchestra awards for adventurous programming, the San Jose Chamber Orchestra has commissioned and premiered over 80 new works by North American composers since the orchestra's inception in 1991. Making SJ's Le Petit Trianon its concert home, SJCO always has something new and exciting on stage. The orchestra also mentors and oversees 4 youth orchestras serving 90 young string players, and frequently collaborates with young composers from SJSU through our Composition Connection program.
Rogelio has been a choreographic presence through out the California college dance scene over the past decade, where he has created many works chosen to be performed at the American College Dance Association annual festivals, some of which have been presented in the gala performances and at nationals. Rogelio is currently the director of the MFA in Dance at St. Mary’s College of Moraga, and teaches regularly at Shawl Anderson Dance Center in Berkeley. He holds an MFA in Dance from California State University and has danced professionally for many wonderful contemporary dance artists, including Keith Johnson, Hope Mohr, Cathy Davalos, Mary Armentrout, Deborah Slater, Nina Haft, and Randee Paufve.
Gary Masters, Artistic Director Emeritus, Advisory Board of Trustees
Raven Jones Bautista, born in the Philippines but raised primarily in the dynamic cities of San Francisco and San Jose, is an artist and educator with a passion for the performing arts. His journey into the world of creativity commenced in high school, where he was introduced to the electrifying domain of color guard. Raven's relentless pursuit of artistic excellence propelled him to march for an impressive five years in drum corp, notably spending two years with the Blue Devils color guard. Fueling his ambition, he pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance at San Jose State University, masterfully honing his skills and knowledge. Raven has dedicated himself to nurturing the next generation of performers. With seven years of teaching experience, he proudly serves as the color guard director for two high schools, sculpting young talents and instilling a profound appreciation for the performing arts.
Alexandra Sheppard found her love for dance at Modesto Junior College. After graduating from San Jose State with your BFA in dance she moved to New York to pursue her professional dance career. She set out to NYC with a plan to be there for 2 years (max)…almost 8 years later she moved back to the California. During her time in NYC Alex had the pleasure of dancing with many talented artists; Mike Esperanza, Jana Hicks, Marijke Eliasberg, Alison Chase, and Omri Drumlevich to name a few. Alex loved her time in New York but is excited to be back in California. She now lives in Oakland with her husband, fur babies and human baby; Finley. Alex is proud to be dancing for sjDANCEco for the first year and looks forward to more! Alex would like to dedicate this performance, and every performance, to her husband and son for their endless support and encouragement.
Luis Isiordia Company Dancer
San José Chamber Orchestra
Fred Mathews, Choreographic Advisor
Raven Bautista, Company Dancer
Kara Davis has danced, choreographed, and educated students in the Bay Area for the past 27 years. She is the Co-Artistic Director of project agora and has danced for the Atlanta Ballet, Ohio Ballet, SF Opera Ballet, and Ballet Jörgen in Toronto, Ontario. She is a founding member of KUNST-STOFF and Janice Garrett & Dancers both of whom she danced for ten years. She has performed choreographic works by Margaret Jenkins, Alex Ketley, Amy Raymond, Pearl Ubungen, Val Caniparoli (ACT), and Robert Moses. She has received multiple Isadora Duncan awards and nominations. Her choreography has been presented at the Bates Dance Festival, Edinburgh Fringe Festival ACDA Nationals at the Kennedy Center, ODC Theater, YBCA, SF MOMA and the Headlands Center For The Arts. She has taught and choreographed at LINES Dominican University and Training Program since 2005 and has taught at Stanford University, UC Berkeley, San Francisco State, University of San Francisco, San Jose State, and Mills College. She earned her MFA from Hollins University in 2013.
Luis Isiordia is a dance artist from Turlock, CA. He began dancing at eight with Center for Urban Performance and Service directed by Kylene Murphy. Recently, he received his Bachelor’s of Fine Arts from San José State University where he performed repertory work from renowned choreographers Mike Ezperanza, Doug Varone, Camille A. Brown, Shlomit Fundaminsky, Cameron McKinney, and José Limón. Luis is also an aerialist, having training from Kat Hughes, Irina Jang, Rebekah Leach, and Chloe Axelford. In 2021, he received his aerial certification from Jill Franklin of Aerial Physique. Luis has had the opportunity to train in many styles. He has training in ballet, modern, contemporary, lyrical, hip hop, jazz, and tap. Aside from the more classic styles, he has also been trained in styles with cultural influences including Ballet Folklorico, Cumbia, Bachata, African, and Capoeira. Currently, he is excited to be with sjDANCEco for their twenty first season.
Wade Reynolds, Company Dancer
Cathleen McCarthy, Guest Choreographer
Rogelio Lopez, Guest Choreographer
Barbara Day Turner, Music Director & Conductor
Maria Basile is the 2010 recipient of Arts Council Silicon Valley Artist Fellowship for Performance, received the 2009 Individual Artist Special Recognition award for her choreographic contributions in Santa Clara County and was a 2009 “Isadora Duncan Award” nominee for Best Performance in Birthing the Ascension. Maria was recently honored with a Blessay Award for Performance & Acting by Bay Area Dance Watch/San Francisco. She is a founding member and Co-Artistic Director for sjDANCEco. Basile’s Birthing the Ascension (2006) was hailed by Rita Felciano as “one of her finest achievements…exquisitely designed dance… (that)eloquently spoke of permanence within change. It was her opening solo as roaming spirit over the waters that set the tone.” Besides her annual choreography for sjDANCEco, Maria is a soloist in the Premiere of Oceans with Spector Dance (Marina, CA) this coming November. She has choreographed for the Cabrillo Music Festival (2001 and 2002), Operaé (2005), Midsummer Mozart Festival (2005), De Anza College (2005) and San Jose State University Dance Theatre (2003, 2005, 2007, 2010). Performing highlights of Ms. Basile’s career have been as a charter member of The Limón West Dance Project of San Jose, CA (1994 -1998) and as part of The Limón Dance Company’s critically acclaimed 1997-1998 50th Anniversary World Tour. She has also danced in the Bay Area with ODC/SF and Anne Bluethenthal & Dancers. Ms. Basile competed in The XXIII Rhythmic Gymnastics World Championships in Varna, Bulgaria in 1987. Ms. Basile is a Balance a certified instructor by the Balance Center (posture/ structural integration), and since 1996 a prominent teacher of Ballroom, Modern, and Latin dance at De Anza College and San Jose State University. She received her BS in Dance from the University of Oregon.
Cathleen McCarthy received her BFA from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase. In NYC- , she performed in the companies of the Kevin Wynn Collection and Larry Clark and Dancers. In the Bay Area, she worked with choreographers- Della Davidson, Emily Keeler, Cliff Keuter and Joanna Haigood. She is faculty emeritus at San Francisco State University where she taught in the School of Music and Dance for twenty two years. Other faculty appointments include Dominican University, University of San Francisco and San Jose State University. In 2011, she received an Isadora Duncan Award for Sustained Achievement as Founder and Artistic Director of Summerfest/Dance which produced the work of over 100 Bay Area Choreographers. She has received numerous grants for choreographic projects. She is certified in Pilates, Gyrotonic and is a Master Trainer in Z Health with a practice in San Francisco.
Remembrances (2019)
Give and receive, fall and support, love and be loved. For Matthew
Danielle Noda began her dance training at NCDC under the direction of Jen Bradford. Danielle was a part of the pre-professional program in her youth with a focus on modern dance. After graduating highschool, she received the Virgina Ann Excellence in Dance scholarship which allowed her to continue her training at San Jose State University. During her time at SJSU she was a company member of University Dance Theater and performed works by Raphael Boumaila, Heather Cooper, Mike Esperanza, Doug Varone, Chafin Seymour, and Shlomit Fundaminsky. Noda received awards for her work titled “Resilience During the Pandemic”(2020) and “Above and Beyond”(2023). In Spring of 2023, Noda received her Bachelor's of Fine Arts in Dance from San Jose State University. Outside of the studio, Danielle is passionate about collaborating with artists of other disciplines. Most recently, Noda produced her own live performance that involved artists from diverse disciplines.
Kelly Barry graduated from San Jose State University with a BFA in Dance in 2020 and joined sjDANCEco in 2021. She has been actively involved in the professional dance world for nine years as a teacher, backup dancer, character performer, and more. She began her training at Katie’s Dance Studio in El Cerrito, CA, where she trained in tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, lyrical, and acrobatics from 2000-2015, and continued at SJSU in modern, contemporary, ballet, and jazz. Kelly enhanced her skills through programs like The Rockettes’ Summer Intensive in New York (2016) and Axis Dance Company’s summer intensive in Oakland (2018). As a member of SJSU’s University Dance Theater, she had the honor of performing in the ACDA 2018 National College Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Currently, Kelly is pursuing a career in public school dance education, with a mission to bring dance to students who may not otherwise have access to pursue this incredible art form.
Madeline Takemori (Maddie) was born and raised in San Jose California and is excited to be back dancing in the Bay Area community. Maddie grew up dancing (2003-2015) at The Joy of Dancing in San Jose where she trained in styles such as ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary and acrobatics and participated in the competition and performance team, Dynamics (2010-2015). She attended Independence High School and was a member of iDANCE the Performing Arts Ensemble under the direction of Kellye Dodd.Maddie earned a BFA in Dance and a BA in Economics and Accounting in 2019 from the University of California, Santa Barbara. During her time at UCSB, she studied ballet and various modern techniques and was a member of the UCSB Dance Company (2019) which toured five countries in Europe to teach community classes and perform over the course of three weeks. While in college, she worked under artists such as Doug Elkins, Ephrat Asherie, Nancy Colahan, and Alice Condodina. Under the guidance of Alice Condodina, Maddie studied and performed excerpts of José Limón’s “The Unsung” as part of the first ever female-inclusive cast, which had previously only been performed as an all-male piece. Maddie was also selected to receive the Alice Condodina performance award in the dance department (2019). Maddie works full time as a auditor at a mid-sized public accounting firm in the Bay Area and is looking to continue growing the presence of dance in her career.
Fred Mathews (Choreographic Advisor) graduated from Stephens College where he worked under the tutelage of Harriette Ann Gray, former Humphrey-Weidman dancer, subsequently becoming her protégé. He then joined the internationally recognized Jose Limón Dance Company, where he became known for his dramatic portrayals. He also performed in a broad repertory of works including “There is a Time’, “The Winged”, “A Choreographic Offering” (dedicated to Doris Humphrey), “The Unsung”, “The Traitor”, “Missa Brevis” and as was featured as the ‘white man’ in “The Emperor Jones”. In addition, he performed in original works by Anna Sokolow, Ruth Currier and Ted Rotante. In 1975, he was engaged to dance opposite Rudolph Nureyev at the London Coliseum in Limón's masterpiece“The Moor's Pavane.” His first major work, “Solaris”, was premiered by the Limon Company in 1975 and received enthusiastic reviews. His next piece, “Lunaris”, was choreographed for Winnipeg’s Contemporary Dancers and became known as his signature work. In 1979, he and former Limon dancer, Gary Masters, formed the Mathews-Masters Dance Company in New York City, performing throughout the United States and in Europe. He has choreographed for several professional companies and taught for many years at New York University. In addition, he has given extended workshops at Harvard University, Radcliffe College and Sarah Lawrence College. In 1989 Mr. Mathews was invited to join the faculty at San Jose State University. Professor Mathews is Choreographic Advisor for sjDANCEco and also serves as an adjudicator for sjDANCEco’s Choreoproject series. In 2008, his innovative piece, “Witness the Dawn”, was performed by sjDANCEco and he directed a structured improvisation as part of “Velocities” for their 2011 season at the California Theatre. Professor Mathews is a long time faculty member of the Dance Program at San Jose State University where he teaches choreography and performance. Most recently he has been invited to give workshops in choreography at the New Ballet School in San Jose.
Nhan Ho, an eminent artist hailing from San Jose, is widely acknowledged for his outstanding versatility in the world of dance. With expertise as a choreographer, dancer, teacher, director, and mentor, he has established a remarkable reputation in the industry. His unwavering passion for collaborative endeavors has earned him recognition for his innovative and unpredictably mesmerizing choreography. In the year 2010, Nhan Ho founded the esteemed Nhan Ho Project, an artistic haven where he assumes the role of Artistic Director, providing invaluable professional opportunities to a diverse array of artists. His ingenious works have graced stages across the United States, captivating audiences with a blend of creativity and passion that knows no bounds. Additionally, he has choreographed for numerous esteemed dance programs and companies, solidifying his standing as a visionary choreographer. Nurturing emerging talents lies at the core of Nhan Ho's mission. He dedicates his time to mentoring aspiring dancers in the vibrant communities of San Jose and Sacramento, sharing his invaluable expertise and inspiring the next generation of artists.Committed to elevating his craft and knowledge, Nhan Ho is currently pursuing his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Dance at the prestigious University of Arizona, setting new standards for his artistic aspirations.
To learn more about Nhan Ho's work, please visit his website at www.nhan-ho.com.