Min Bridges: stories from the Malay World, Taiwan, and mainland China Performers

Shawn has 10 years’ experience as a classical and folk Chinese dancer in Bay Area collegiate Chinese dance groups. Shawn is passionate about pushing the line between contemporary and tradition, challenging ahistorical unions of religion, nationalism, and normative gender. Shawn loves lifting up over artists, and giving them the space to express their own voice. Outside of Chinese dance, Shawn does Waltz, occasional contra, and serves as Save Cantonese's Policy Advisor. They also serve as an advisory board member for National Choreography Month San Francisco, a contract EP advisor for 2kAve, and works full time as a Senior Scientist for New Energy Risk, an alternative energy insurance company.

Stefanie is a dancer from Taiwan trained in Classical Chinese dance and various Chinese/Taiwanese folk dance styles. She started her journey in dancing at four years old, mainly training with Ms. Hui-Zhu Shi. Stefanie loves the fluidity, strength, and cultural values underlying the Classical Chinese dance style. In the future, she hopes to advance her training in Classical Chinese and Chinese/Taiwanese folk dance styles while working on fusion pieces that bring these styles and other styles (ie. hip-hop, contemporary, ballet) together. In addition to BACID, Stefanie is also a member with FeiTian Dancers at UC Berkeley.

Genevieve Hodge comes from an artistic background molded by 19+ years of dance and performance experience; she first trained in dance forms such as ballet, tap, and jazz, then expanded her repertoire to incorporate Classical and Folk Chinese dance forms and street forms such as hip hop, while building together her own style of open choreography - a blend of her various movement backgrounds. As an Artistic Director and board member for AFX Dance Company (a UC Berkeley competitive collegiate dance team) she co-led a team for 3 years, helping shape the vision, choreography, and logistical organization of their semesterly competition sets. Through their performances, she and her team enjoyed accolades such as “Best Theme” two years in a row at World Of Dance Orange County and “Most Creative” at Maxt Out. Currently, in addition to BAICD, she continues her performance work as a company member of Ballet Afsaneh, a critically acclaimed dance ensemble performing dances from the Silk Road networks of Eurasia (primarily Persian and Afghan dance) and as a teaching artist at the EOSP Introductory School of Dance.

Shirley previously trained at the Academy of Chinese Performing Arts and the Ramon Moreno School of Ballet. Shirley then went on to dance at American Repertory Ballet as a trainee under Eithan Stiefel and Gillian Murphy. While studying as an undergraduate at Stanford University, Shirley has danced with Cardinal Ballet, Stanford Chinese Dance, and performed as a guest artist with San Jose Dance Theatre.

Erin grew up in San Jose in the Bay Area. Throughout elementary school, she enjoyed learning and performing Chinese dance at the local Chinese school. Now living in Oakland and after a long hiatus from dancing, Erin is returning to Chinese dance and excited to explore new techniques and styles.

Nathaniel Goh is a Data Engineer at Natron Energy helping close the gap between cutting-edge technology and sustainable energy solutions. Outside of work, Nathaniel enjoys playing badminton, cooking, and on occasion, attempting to defy gravity with diabolo tricks.

Ariel Liu has practiced and performed classical and folk Chinese Dance for over a decade and dabbles in other dance forms such as jazz, waltz, swing, and salsa. Ariel was previously the president of Stanford Chinese Dance group. She is currently an active member of the Chinese Performing Arts of America (CPAA) dance troupe and performs at Spring Festival Galas and non-profit events around the Bay. She is grateful for the opportunity to explore solo projects and dive deeper into her Chinese roots with Bay Area Independent Chinese Dancers.

Ekta is a guest performer from Ishami Dance Company. Her love for dance began at a young age through Bollywood and Bharatanatyam. She toured as a Bharatanatyam dancer with Shakti Dance Company under the guidance of Guru Viji Prakash for over ten years. She was also part of her college Bhangra and Indian Classical dance teams and has performed at a multitude of events for several dance companies in the LA area in Bollywood, Jazz, and Jazz Funk. One of Ekta’s most special dance memories was becoming a Raiderette, the team that dances for the Oakland Raiders. As a Raiderette, she got to experience meeting fans, performing at community events, and being part of the sports world up-close. Outside of dancing, Ekta works with districts across the globe to bring education technology into classrooms with a company called Clever!

Jenni Hong, a native of Taiwan, has spent the last 3 decades dancing, teaching and creating work in New York City. Jenni is a recent transplant to the Bay Area and currently teaches contemporary dance, contact improvisation, dance partnering skills, and choreography at San Jose State University. Her newest work is presented/sponsored by ODC at the ODC 74 Pilot Program in March of 2024 in San Francisco. www.jennihongdance.org Elise Knudson (eliseknudson.org) is a New York City based dance artist. She teaches Contact Improvisation for Movement Research and facilitates CI at festivals and studios such as Touch Festival (China), Leviathan Studio (Canada) WCCI Jam (Berkeley, USA) and Moab Jam (Utah). Elise has taught repertory and CI at Manhattanville College and Theory and Practice of Dance Improvisation at Yale University. She created NEXToNow, modeled after The Impermanent Society of Philadelphia to provide a platform for the practice of performing interdisciplinary free improvisation. Over the years Elise has choreographed aerial dances, experimental installations and concert dances for stages large and small. She is currently interested in developing fluidity between instantaneous and premeditated choreography.