Na An, She/Her
nan011@ucr.edu
M.F.A. in Dance, Sarah Lawrence College; M.A. in Dramaturgy, the University of Melbourne; B.A. in Modern Dance Choreography, Beijing Dance AcademyNa An is a dance artist and first-year Ph.D. student in Critical Dance Studies at UCR with a Dean’s Distinguished Fellowship. As a dance-maker who has lived in China, Australia, and currently the United States, she is interested in examining the interplay between movement, place, and social gender and investigating what is buried beneath vulnerability and complexity. Her current research interests include subjectivity and embodied knowledge in dance, dramaturgical thinking in dance creation, body and emotion in East Asia, and especially the landscape of contemporary dance and performance in China. Website: http://naandance.com

Johnny Castro, He/Him/His
Johnny.Castro@email.ucr.edu
M.A. in Creative Enterprise Cultural Leadership, Arizona State University
B.S. in Nonprofit Management & Leadership, Arizona State University
Johnny Castro is a first year Ph.D. student in Critical Dance Studies at UCR. He holds a M.A. in Creative Enterprise Cultural Leadership from Arizona State University. He is a member of the Furious Styles Crew and co-founder of Worth The Weight event series. Johnny is a leader in the Arizona dance community as a bboy, practitioner, and event organizer/host & has witnessed unique aesthetic trends form in the Arizona dance scene.  His research is rooted in the lived experiences of street dancers and examines the relationship between social media and feelings of belonging and dis-belonging as experienced by street dancers.

Michelle Cole, She/Her
michelle.cole@email.ucr.edu
Michelle Cole (she/her), is an educator, choreographer, dancer, scholar, and mother. She is a first-year Ph.D. student in Critical Dance Studies at UCR. She received a Master’s degree in Dance Education from New York University, Steinhardt and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Florida International University’s Honors College. She is the founder of Dance Culture LLC- a company for independent dance residencies and professional development at universities, and public, private, and charter schools. Michelle became an adjunct faculty member at NYU Steinhardt in 2015 and has taught Afro-Caribbean, Anthropology of Dance, and Hip-Hop Dance Culture. She was the co-advisor of NYU Steinhardt’s Master’s in Dance Education concentration: Teaching Dances of the African Diaspora. She is interested in researching ways to decolonize the dance education space, revolutionize pedagogy, and both center and honor practices within dances of the African Diaspora. (Photo by: Beccavisionnyc)

Maya Andres Diaz-Villalta, (They/Them/Elle)
mdiaz234@ucr.edu
B.A. in Dance: Choreography & Performance, Saint Mary’s College of California
B.A. in Anthropology: Archeology, Saint Mary’s College of California
Maya Andres is an Indigenous movement artist based in Sacramento, CA. They are a first year Ph.D. student in Critical Dance Studies at UCR. They have danced with Davalos Dance Company in “Chocolate” and “For Gloria” and Ensemble Folklorico Colibri and have stage managed for the Festival of Latin American Contemporary Choreographers in San Francisco, CA. They are a ceremonial dancer engaging in dance communities across California, Arizona and Mexico as part of a ceremonial family in Danza Xiuhtecuhtli. They intend to research the lived experiences of herederos; people who have or will receive lineal or cultural transfers of rituals and responsibilities within the movement tradition of Danza Azteca in California and their transnational connections.

Fana Fraser, she / her / they / them
ffras001@ucr.edu
BFA Dance (Honors) Fordham University / The Ailey School, 2009
Fana Fraser is an artist and director whose work is rooted in expressions of eroticism, power, and compassion. She is interested in the study of behavior and being within and of dance, its performance; embodied / and astro-phenomenal creative performance of sound, and singing movement. Fana’s performance work has been presented at venues across New York, Philadelphia, Boston, San Francisco and Trinidad & Tobago. Her short film, ‘nesting’ was commissioned by TBA21-Academy in 2023; has been screened at UN World Oceans Day Conferences in Nice, France and Costa Rica; and is an official selection for the 2025 Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival. As an educator, Fana has been on faculty at Harvard TDM as a Visiting Lecturer in Dance (Fall 2024); taught workshops in the MFA Dance Program at Sarah Lawrence, and during 2020-2022 they taught as an Adjunct Associate Professor of Dance at University of the Arts in Philadelphia. At NYU Tisch and Adelphi University she has led workshops in BFA Dance Programs. Fana served as Rehearsal Director for Ailey II from 2016-20. She was shortlisted for the 2020 BCLF Elizabeth Nunez Caribbean-American Writer’s Prize.  fanafraser.com (Photo by: Lindsay Morris)

Pannaga Jois, She/Her
pjois001@ucr.edu
B.A. in Journalism, Psychology and English, Christ University, Bangalore, India; Post Graduate Diploma, National School of Drama, New Delhi;  M.A. in Performance Making, Goldsmiths, University of London; M.A. in Performance Studies, Tisch School of The Arts, NYU. 
Pannaga is a Performance Maker and a researcher interested in gender inclusivity and cross gender roles in Yakshagana, a traditional form from southern India. She is interested in mapping social choreography of the demography within the region and seeing how performances on and off stage help us write a rich ethnography of the regional art practice. She has received Gluck Fellowship – 2022-23, TSOA Graduate Scholarship – 2022, Lew Wasserman Scholarship – 2022, Paulette Goddard Scholarship – 2022, Charles Wallace India Trust Scholarship – 2016-17, Fellowship Under Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India & National School Of Drama – 2016.

Yayoi Kambara, She/They
ykamb003@ucr.edu
M.F.A. Dance, University of the Arts, Alex Dubé Scholar / B.F.A. Dance Performance, University of Minnesota Twin Cities / B.A. East Asian Languages and Cultures, Lawrence University                                                                                                               Yayoi Kambara is a first-year Critical Dance Studies PhD Student and Gluck Fellow, excited to focus their research on the chest, specifically the dancing performance of these unruly body parts: our bewbs/nanas/tatas in concert and social dance practices.  Kambara’s career started as a dance artist in the Bay Area, primarily as a company member with ODC/Dance (2003 to 2015), and is currently directing and choreographing live performance works, films, and XR experiences. In 2023, Kambara was recognized by Opera America as a female stage director and received an Isadora Duncan Dance Award in Outstanding Achievement as a co-interrogator of Dancing Around Race. kambaraplus.org.

Cinthia Duran Larrea, She/Her
cdura033@ucr.edu
B.A. (Honors) in International Affairs, Double-Minor in Dance and Latin American Studies, Skidmore College
M.A. in Dance Knowledge, Practice and Heritage, at the CHOREOMUNDUS consortium: UCA(France), SZTE(Hungary), NTNU(Norway), and RU (United Kingdom)
Cinthia is a movement researcher with a decolonial vision, a latin social dancer, and an improviser following the legacy of the East Side Institute for Social Therapeutics and Performance Activism based in NYC. Her trajectory includes ethnographic research in Ecuador, Peru, the United States and Austria on contemporary forms of ritual dance as decolonial praxis. Her current research focuses on Latin Social Dances as resource-sharing and resource-building latinx technologies, that carry the potential of advancing local social justice agendas. Cinthia currently serves as Teaching Assistant, Gluck Fellow and Assistant Coordinator of the yearly gathering Indigenous Choreographers Riverside.

manuelMANNYmacias, He/Him/His
mmaci012@ucr.edu
B.A. in Gender, Ethnic, and Multicultural Studies, Minor in New Dance, Cal Poly Pomona
M.F.A. in Dance, California State University, Long Beach
manuelMANNYmacias is an interdisciplinary artist from La Puente, CA. He is a founding member of Mechanism Dancetheatre Collective, a Pomona-based project that centers de-colonial performance practices//processes//experiments in the areas “East of the 605.” He is also a collaborator//instigator with FEK-MAC, a bicoastal (NYC/LA) project with Gayle Fekete. His research//practice explores power structures and the cultivation//manifestation of emergent//divergent frameworks.

Marielys Burgos Meléndez, She/Ella
marielys.burgosmelendez@email.ucr.edu
M.A. Dances Studies, State University of New York/ Brockport
B.A. Double Major in Psychology & Sociology, University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras
AfroBorikua dance researcher, communicator, educator, advocate, and audio describer. Marielys´artistic and scholarly work is framed through Social Justice practices, Decolonial Methodologies, and Intersectional Feminism. Since 2014, she investigates experiences, poetics and narratives of mobility, migration, and displacement. Marielys has served as administrator and communicator for the arts for a decade and has shared academic and artistic work throughout Europe and Latin America. Her research interests focus on Indigenous and African Diaspora dance artists, and intersect embodied spiritual practices, experimental dance-making, and artists’ patterns of mobility—as migration or displacement. She is a  2023 Bessie´s Award nominee for Outstanding Performance (Ensemble).

Yeji Moon, She/Her/Hers
ymoon016@ucr.edu
B.F.A. in Dance, Dongduk Women’s University
M.A. in Dance Education: Teaching Dance in the Professions, New York University
Yeji Moon is a second-year Ph.D. student in Critical Dance Studies at UCR. As a professional dancer, her background is in performing, choreographing, and directing contemporary dance. She is also a certified Yoga and Pilates(RCCB) instructor. After her BFA program, She moved to New York City and continued to choreograph and perform with various choreographers and dancers. She also studied and worked at the Laban / Bartenieff Institution of Movement Studies as a Certified Movement Analyst (CMA). Her current research interests include K-pop dance, ritual dance, communal identity, and especially the relationship between K-pop culture and young audiences.

Cuauhtémoc Peranda, They/He/She/Prince/Father/Ella
cpera001@ucr.edu
B.A. in Comparative Studies in Race & Ethnicity, Stanford University 
M.F.A. in Dance, Mills College
(Mescalero Apache, Mexika-Chichimeca/Cano; cihuaiyolo butch queen) Their research focuses on the development of the House Ballroom Scene, and how queer, transgender and two-spirit black, and blackened indigenous peoples of the Western Hemisphere have deployed the dance form of vogue as a praxis of decolonization, realness, colonialism, transformational resilience via shade, and queering indigenous knowledge reclamation. They walk and raise children as “Overall Prince Don’Té Lauren” of The Legendary House of Lauren, International. Their studies have been supported by several fellowships including the U.S. Dept. of Education Native American Studies Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (G.A.A.N.N.).

Sriradha Paul, She/Her/Hers
sriradha.paul@email.ucr.edu
Sriradha is a PhD student in Critical Dance Studies at the University of California, Riverside, with a focus on Odissi dance. She brings over 25 years of rigorous training and performance experience to her research and teaching. Holding a second Master’s degree in Dance Anthropology from the Erasmus Mundus’s Choreomundus program, she integrates traditional and contemporary perspectives in her work. Her research interests include traditional dance forms, performance pedagogy, and community empowerment through dance. Sriradha has performed at prestigious venues and festivals across India, Indonesia, Hungary, the UK, and the USA, showcasing her global influence. Beyond academia, Sriradha leads an organization that makes dance and the arts accessible to underserved communities while supporting artists’ economic sustainability. Her efforts extend to curating international dance festivals and exhibitions, highlighting her commitment to enriching the global arts scene and promoting inclusivity in the arts.

SUR, They/He
ssanf004@ucr.edu
SUR is a Black/Queer/Trans-Nonbinary practitioner scholar whose work is rooted in reimagining parallels of BDSM and dance studies grounded in a Queer Afrocentric theoretical framework. SUR’s research is concerned with the amount of pain movement artists navigate in dance spaces, challenging the ethics of consent and care in dance spaces, power dynamics in dance spaces, the power of visible/invisible bruises that create discourse amongst Black bodies and the impact that historical spectacles of Black pain and suffering have on contemporary practices in dance and BDSM. SUR received their M.A in Communication Studies from California State University, Northridge with research that focused in Performance and Black studies.

Sammitha Sreevathsa, She/Her
ssree009@ucr.edu
B.A. (Honors) in English Studies, Christ University
M.A. in Philosophy, MCPH, Manipal University
Sammitha Sreevathsa has worked as an arts writer, documentarian and as a social science teacher for middle school students. Her columns for Firstpost and for Pulse, focus on the historical and the political aspects of classical dance in India. She has also reviewed performances for the Friday Review section of The Hindu newspaper. In her research, she is interested to interrogate how the politics of upper caste hetero-patriarchal domestic space, have come to structure the contemporary ecosystems of classical dance in India. She follows and tries to learn from the ongoing Ambedkarite anti-caste movement and wants to explore how the Indian anti-caste discourse could help in re-imagining the savarna dominant  Indian dance field more equitably.

Andrew Ssebulime, He/Him/His
asseb001@ucr.edu
B.A. (Honors) in Music, Dance, and Drama. Makerere University Kampala-Uganda; M.A. in Dance Knowledge, Practice and Heritage, at the CHOREOMUNDUS consortium: UCA(France), SZEGED(Hungary), NTNU(Norway), and Roehampton University -RU (United Kingdom)
Andrew Ssebulime is a Ugandan first-year Ph.D. candidate in Critical Dance Studies at the University of California Riverside. He began active stage performance and choreography in Uganda in the early 2000s but later moved to China where he has expanded and extended his Ugandan folk dance practice since 2009. Andrew has conducted and presented numerous dance conferences, workshops and masterclasses on Ugandan folk dances and trainings in various countries and cities around the world. Always inspired by the notions of identity, de-coloniality, change and continuity in dance, Andrew’s academic and research interests are more focused on dance and diaspora/migrant discourses.

Fabiola Ochoa Torralba, She/They
fabiola.torralba@ucr.edu
B.A. in Mexican American Studies & Anthropology, University of Texas at San Antonio
A.A. in Dance, Palo Alto College; M.F.A. in Dance, University of Michigan
Fabiola is a movement artist, cultural worker, and activist who shares embodied learning with inner city youth, seniors, im/migrants, Spanish monolingual speakers, QTBIPOC, and working class people through choreography, research, practice, and performance. She has worked with SpareWorks Dance, Dance Exchange, Safos Dance Theatre, Forklift Danceworks, Urban-15, Dancing Earth Contemporary Creations, Erison Dancers, and the S.A. Parks and Recreation Department. Recent initiatives include the East to West Project centering the cultural expressions, politics, and histories of descendants of the African Diaspora and nx/sx, a performance project of kuir, questioning, gender fluid, and non-conforming im/migrants.

Erika Villeroy da Costa, She/Her/Hers
edac002@ucr.edu
B.A. in Dance, Faculdade Angel Vianna
M.A. in Estudos Contemporâneos das Artes, Universidade Federal Fluminense
Erika Villeroy da Costa is an Afro-Brazilian dancer, researcher, and Ph.D. student in Critical Dance Studies at UCR. Her work is based in archival, historical, and embodied research around the Black Diaspora’s transits through movement as well as the intersections between Brazilian and U.S. dance histories from a transversal perspective. As a performer, teacher, and assistant choreographer, she has collaborated with Rio de Janeiro and Salvador-based companies and is actively involved in the integration of Afro-Brazilian traditional and contemporary dances in her country’s college-level dance education curriculum.

Jorge P. Yánez, He/Him/His/They/Them
jpove001@ucr.edu
B.A. in Performing Arts (Hons), Universidad Central del Ecuador. BA in Law (Hons), Universidad de las Américas (ECU). M.A. in Dance Knowledge, Practice and Heritage, CHOREOMUNDUS consortium, Université Clermont Auvergne (FRA)
Performer, academic and researcher focused on the legal and artistic aspects of the digitization of intangible cultural heritage. Jorge is a member of S:PAM (Studies in Performing Arts and Media) and IPEM (Institute of Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music) at Ghent University wherein he explores new technologies of human movement recognition and blockchain architectures. His most recent publications are included in Dance Chronicle, Dance Articulated, and Revista de Humanidades Digitales. As a Fulbright scholar, he is joining the Dance Department at UCR as a Ph.D. fellow and Teaching Assistant in 2022. For expanded information please follow lasospechaperpetua.wordpress.com.

Magnolia Yang Sao Yia, She/Her/Hers
myang053@ucr.edu
B.F.A. in Dance and Minor in Asian American Studies, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Magnolia is a dance artist and Ph.D. candidate in Critical Dance Studies with a Designated Emphasis in Southeast Asian Studies. Her dissertation examines Hmong dance as a site of HMoob identity formation in the U.S. diaspora. Working from a transnational feminist and decolonial praxis, she imagines and works to activate a cultural politic of HMoob belonging and self-determination that is anticolonial and critical of white supremacist heteronormative patriarchal systems of power. Magnolia is a former dance company member of Ananya Dance Theatre (2013-2017, 2019), and as a choreographer, works to activate dancers’ bodily histories and knowledges to craft performative sociopolitical conversations, critiques, and inquiries on stage. magnoliayangsaoyia.com (Photo by Bill Cameron, 2019)