COterie DAnce Company (CODA) was established March 3, 2002 by Artistic Director Kimberly B. Valmore. Ms. Valmore was inspired by the dedication and enthusiasm of dancers she had worked with for over six years on various choreographic projects. She decided to break with the limitations of small suburban studio choreographic projects and expand toward larger venues. With the assistance of local dancer/choreographer Lisa Ann Tateosian, Ms. Valmore produced CODA's first company show on July 13th 2002 titled "Complexions Premiere Dance Concert." CODA is a contemporary dance company that performs classical ballet, modern, jazz, and Afro-Haitian inspired repertory works. www.COterieDAnce.com

Gnosis Dance Collective was established with the goal of creating a new open forum for all levels and styles of dance performance. Members of the group have danced together in many studios and on many stages over the years. With more than 15 styles of dance between them, they joined together in 2008 to form the Gnosis Dance Collective with the motto, “To Dance is to Know.” Their work is an exploration in pushing new edges and discovering transformation through movement. With performance pieces ranging from playful to profound, Gnosis breathes life into characters and stories that speak to audiences’ hearts and imaginations. Gnosis are the proud producers of Dance For Another Day. www.gnosisdancecollective.com

Gibson Pearl's unique fusion bellydance roots from her extensive background in tribal fusion, as well as the influence of both traditional folkloric and contemporary modern dance. She was a principal dancer in Ultra Gypsy for many years and was also Assistant Director for Damage Control Dance Theater. She is currently performing as a soloist as well as collaborating with other artists.

Janey Madamba has danced since the age of three and began her training in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Hula, and Tahitian dance. In 2002, she started dancing professionally as a Hip Hop dancer and choreographer. From 2002-2008 she danced with Freeplay Dance Crew and directed the non-profit dance company from 2007-2008. From 2007-2012, Janey was the artistic director of Funk4soul, a Hip Hop Fusion entertainment dance company. She has been teaching dance in the Bay Area since 2005, has danced with the Academy of Hawaiian Arts and in Paco Gomes's dance-performance workshops, and has acted and danced in music videos for Joshua Klipp (featured on MTV Logo), Kenneth Ronquillo, and Katastrophe. She has performed at San Francisco Hip Hop Dancefest, Women on the Way Festival, SF Pride, The Garage, and the Palace of Fine Arts. Janey is also active in participating and donating performances for a multitude of causes, most recently a fundraiser for the Wangu Kanja Foundation in Kenya.

Kieren Jameson & Emily Coles have been dancing together for over five years. They have performed and competed both nationally and internationally and are the current World Champions of Same Sex American Smooth Ballroom. They also hold first place titles as the 2012 North American Same Sex International Standard Ballroom, Latin and 10-Dance Champions. During the day Emily is the Community Manager for the Diabetes Hands Foundation (diabeteshandsfoundation.org) and teaches others the joy of dance (emilycolesdance.com). Kieren’s day-job is as the Digital Solutions Manager for ETR, a health education non-profit (etr.org), and by night she champions diversity in the tech industry with her blog WomenCodeHeroes.com.

Learn with Lynn! Lynn Gardiner has been performing for 24 years. She started by leaping into her dance career at Katie's Dance Studio, then added credits such as Camp Broadway in New York City and at Cal State Hayward productions. Lynn can be found patiently and joyfully teaching both the leader's and follower's roles for a whopping 17 styles of ballroom dances in addition to her knowledge of jazz, tap, ballet and hip hop. Lynn loves offering private dance lessons for dreamy-eyed couples, arguing couples, and also loves teaching the single person who wants to grow in their dancing comfort and abilities. With each lesson, students (from teens to retired folks) become more skilled and self-assured. Lynn’s teaching style is uniquely nurturing, compassionate, and supportive. Her students also regard her for being efficient, effective, and fun. Every lesson is thoughtfully personalized to suit each students' learning needs.
Teacher, Lynn and Student, Ron Rosa have created several whimsical showpieces together over the years and relish the weekly process of routine creation just as much as performing it in the show. They hope you enjoy! www.learnwithlynn.com

Madison Frilot started out taking kiddie dance classes at local dance studios. Then, soon after her 8th birthday, Madison was convinced to take youth Latin dance classes at the Allegro Ballroom, which soon sparked her interest and deep love for dance. Eight years later, Madison has fallen completely in love with the art and has branched out into different styles including ballet, tap, modern, jazz, contemporary/lyrical while still perusing her interest in ballroom dance. Madison has been fortunate enough to share her talent at various dance competitions and shows around the Bay Area, and she looks forward to dancing for Dance For Another Day!

Marlena E. Zahm (Shades of Marble Dance Company) holds a BFA in Dance & Theater from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst & a MA in Expressive Arts Therapy from the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco. She started dancing at age 4 and has not stopped since. Recently she joined Mix'd Ingrdnts Dance Crew, co-directed by Jenay ShinobiJaxx & Samara Atkins. She is also on the Board of Directors for World Dance Fusion founded by Katy Alaniz-Rous. Marlena is very passionate about her work as an Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant. She works in pre-schools within the SFUSD. As always, Marlena would love to thank the incomparable Tamara L. Smart for this amazing opportunity to dance in DFAD & her dancers for their everlasting support and courage!

After a six year hiatus, Peter Cheng launched a solo dance project in February 2014 presenting site specific short improvisations in public spaces– from the Santa Barbara County Courthouse to Cupid’s Span in San Francisco, and as far east as the Cleveland Museum of Art. These improvisations were documented on YouTube as 30-second to 3-minute video clips with some improvisations presented in tandem with Dance Anywhere and Bay Area Dance Week. In May, a group of dancers was brought together to create a new work, “Off the Cuff” as a part of The Garage’s Resident Artists Workshop. The new group work is a part of a new choreographic venture- thus Peter & Co. San Francisco was formed. Peter & Co SF is an emerging contemporary dance company based out of San Francisco, CA. They are a fiscally sponsored member of Dancers’ Group (www.dancersgroup.org).

“Photon” is a dance partnership formed in 2005 by Photis Pishiaras and Ron Jenkins. They began competing and quickly became the leading male US ballroom couple. You can see them perform or compete regularly at events all around the SF Bay Area and the US, including shows, fundraisers and International competitions. Photon is the 2012 US and California and the 2013 US and North America Men's Ballroom Standard champions. They won a GOLD medal in the 2013 World OutGames in Antwerp! Their most recent exciting accomplishment was winning 3 silver medals for the world championships in Men's Ballroom and Latin devision at the 9th Gay Games in Cleveland, Ohio. They are happy to share their love of dance at DFAD.

Take classes with Shereen Prince and members of Prince on Point- P.O.P. at ODC! www.odcdance.org

Rose Vierling & Jesse Dishart have been professional partners for the last five years. They teach Argentine Tango classes throughout the Bay Area and were also principle dancers in Christy Cote’s dance company, LiberTango, which performed at events such as The Ethnic Dance Festival and the San Francisco 49ers' Half Time Show. Rose Vierling will also present an Argentine Tango Student Performance Group and duets with her students, Robert Noakes (milonga) and Ron Rosa (foxtrot) at this year's Dance For Another Day.

Tamara LaRee Smart is a fourth-generation dancer and dance teacher from a long line of artists and performers. She came to the Bay Area from L.A. in 2005, where she worked as an actor, dancer, choreographer and instructor. With over 25 years of training and performance experience including ballet, jazz, modern, hip hop, swing, salsa, Brazilian samba, burlesque, aerial dance and circus arts, Tamara has been featured in numerous productions ranging from film and TV to the theater and beyond. As a dancer, she has been blessed to work and share the stage with such inspirational artists as Alessandro Sol (Sol Salsa), Molly Underhill Kozma, Sarah Bush Dance Project and Freeplay Dance Crew. She has been featured at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, Paramount Theater at Hollywood’s legendary Paramount Studios, Project Artaud Theater, Dance Mission Theater and the Palace of Fine Arts. Currently, Tamara dances with Gnosis Dance Collective and conducts private sessions and workshops in performance technique and authentic movement. She is the Director and Producer of Dance for Another Day and holds a Master’s Degree in Expressive Arts Therapy.

Vima Vice Squad is an all-male group formed in 2008 in San Francisco that has members from a variety of dance backgrounds. They have frequently performed at numerous shows, events and fundraisers through the SF Bay area, US and beyond. They are the reigning 2012-2014 US and 2013 North America Formation Team Champions. Their most recent accomplishment was winning the World Championship with a gold medal at the 2014 Gay Games 9 in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Latin Symbolics • The Ladies of the Latin Symbolics •
Alise Halbert's Bolero Performance Group • R. Jefferson Joseph,
Michael Leavell & Afshin Odabaee • And a very special guest, just in time for the holidays!