profiles
margaret jenkins

Joseph Copley,
Dancer/Collaborator

Joseph Copley was raised in Waverly, PA where he began his career as a tap dancer. After receiving his BFA from SUNY Purchase, he moved to the Bay Area and joined Oakland Ballet. He has had the honor of working with such iconic artists as Anna Halprin, John Sanborn, Carol Teten, and Heklina. Outside of MJDC, he is also a member of Amy Seiwert/im'ij-re, Mark Foehringer Dance Project/SF, Dance Through Time, SF Boylesque, and San Francisco Opera Ballet. Joseph joined MJDC in 2004.

Margaret Cromwell,
Dancer/Collaborator

Margaret Cromwell is originally from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. After earning her BFA from North Carolina School of the Arts, she taught dance and visual art at a secondary school on the island of St. Lucia in the West Indies. She initially moved to the Bay Area to earn her MFA from Mills College in Oakland. She had the pleasure of dancing, teaching, and touring with Axis Dance Company for two years and working with artists such as Margaret Jenkins, Joe Goode, Victoria Marks, Kate Weare and Sonya Delwaide. She was very honored to join the MJDC in 2008.

Chad Dawson,
Dancer/Collaborator

Chad Dawson was born and raised in New Orleans, LA where he began his dance training at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. He graduated with a BFA in Dance Performance from SUNY Purchase in 2008. Since arriving in San Francisco he has had the pleasure of working with Heidi Schweiker, RAWdance, Mark Foehringer Dance Project/SF, Nol Simonse, Erika Chong Shuch, Gretchen Garnett and Dancers, and Stephen Pelton Dance Theater.

Kelly Del Rosario,
Dancer/Collaborator

Kelly Del Rosario was born and raised in Mililani, Hawaii. He began his studies in dance in 2001 at the University of Hawaii and received his B.F.A. in Dance in 2005. Del Rosario has also studied Capoeira in Hawaii, California and Brazil since 1998. Upon graduation he moved to San Francisco where he worked with Shift>>>Physical Theater, Kara Davis of Project Agora, Liberation Dance, Sarah Bush Dance Project, and Robert Moses' Kin. This is his second season with the MJDC.

Melanie Elms,
Dancer/Collaborator

Melanie Elms left Arkansas at the age of 15 to pursue a life in dance. She made her way to NY and earned a BFA in Dance from SUNY Purchase. At a subway stranger's advice she moved to SFin 1999. Since being in the bay she has enjoyed dancing with Erika Shuch's ESP Project and has been a devoted member of MJDC since 2000. She recently took a break to give birth to her son in November of 2009. On the side, she has been attending a 4 year program at the Institute of Classical Homeopathy with plans of becoming a homeopath someday.

Steffany Ferroni,
Dancer/Collaborator

Steffany Ferroni was born in New Jersey. As a young dancer, she studied on full scholarship at Steps on Broadway in New York City. She continued her education at North Carolina School of the Arts and moved to San Francisco in 1997, where she has worked with Liss Fain Dance, Janice Garrett & Dancers, Mary Carbonara Dances and Heidi Schweiker. She joined the MJDC in 2005. Special thanks to her husband Gabe and her family for all of their love and support.

Heidi Schweiker,
Dancer/Collaborator

Heidi Schweiker first performed in San Francisco in July, 1996, and has been a steady and diverse participant in Bay Area dancemaking since then. A member of Margaret Jenkins Dance Company since 2000, Heidi also performed with Janice Garrett & Dancers for 8 years, as well as in projects with Mary Carbonara Dances, Nancy Karp + Dancers and choreographer Lea Wolf. Her choreography has been seen in numerous local festivals, through choreographic commissions from her alma mater Stanford University, and most recently in Dreams of Speaking, her first self-produced full evening of work. Heidi is on faculty at San Francisco Dance Center, LINES Ballet School and ODC Dance Commons.

Ryan T. Smith,
Dancer/Collaborator

Ryan T. Smith thrives on choreography, R&B and dark chocolate. He received his BA from Brown University performing in works choreographed by artists such as Carla Maxwell, Danny Buraczeski, Anthony Rizzi and Danny Grossman. Smith joined MJDC in 2005 after working with Bay Area artists Kim Epifano, Alma Esperanza Cunningham and Stephen Pelton. He also co-directs RAWdance, an emerging company that can be seen in June at the Belcher Street Studios and in the upcoming West Wave Dance Festival.
dancers
--joseph copley
--margaret cromwell
--chad dawson
--kelly del rosario
--melanie elms
--steffany ferroni
--heidi schweiker
--ryan t. smith

collaborators
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