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The Company 

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(Guest Choreographer, The Tip of My Tongue) Oakland native, Antoine Hunter aka PurpleFireCrow is an award-winning internationally known African-American, Indigenous, Deaf, Disabled, choreographer, dancer, actor, instructor, speaker, producer and Deaf advocate. He creates opportunities for Disabled, Deaf and hearing artists, produces Deaf-friendly events, and founded the Urban Jazz Dance Company in 2007 and Bay Area International Deaf Dance Festival in 2013. Awards include the 2021 Dance Teacher Award, 2019 National Dance/USA fellowship recognized by the Mayor of Oakland, 2018 inaugural Jeanette Lomujo Bremond Humanity Arts Award and 2017 Isadora Duncan (Izzie) for BAIDDF.

Hunter’s work has been performed globally and he has lectured across the U.S. including at Kennedy Center’s VSA, Harvard and Duke University, and the National Assembly of State Arts as an ambassador for social change. Hunter utilizes his company’s artistic talents to engage with audiences, empower Deaf and disabled communities, and advocate for human rights and access, working to end discrimination and prejudice.


His shoe company DropLabs and Susan Paley released an innovative haptic product to help people feel music. Hunter curated 2021 Bay Area Deaf Arts at SOMArts, is a 2021 YBCA 100 honoree, is on the production team of Signing Animation actively working on inclusive films and serves on the boards of Dance/USA, BABDA, Museum of Dance and councils for CalArts Alumnx and Intrinsic Arts.


In response to Covid-19 in July 2020, Hunter founded #DeafWoke, an online talk show that amplifies BIPOC Deaf and Disabled stories as a force for cultural change.  www.realurbanjazzdance.com

Photo: RJ Muna

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Kathryn Florez is an Ohio native who made a stop in Chicago and eventually moved to SF to train at the SF Conservatory of Dance beginning in 2010 under Summer Lee Rhatigan. Florez founded Fullstop Dance in 2015, a project-based contemporary dance company, and has since presented work at ODC Theater, Palace of Fine Arts, Cowell Theater, and others. In addition to performing Florez's work, the company regularly hosts out-of-town artists for residencies and open workshops for the Bay Area dance community. Her choreography and teaching have been commissioned by The Merde Project (SF), TWObigsteps (Vancouver), SALT Dance's Link Program (SLC), ODC's Hot Spot (SF), and Shawl Anderson Dance Center (Oakland). This is Florez's second season with DHPCo. Over the years she has also worked with Amy Foley, Amy Seiwert, Robert Moses, ZiRu Dance, and others.

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Olivia Caldeira Holston was born in São Sebastião, Brazil and was raised in California.  She received her BA Honours degree from the London Contemporary Dance School in 2019.  She attended summer intensives such as the Alvin Ailey Professional and Junior Divisions in New York as well as P.A.R.T.S. and Eastman in Belgium.  Since graduating, Olivia has had the opportunity to work with Bellwether Dance Project, Paufve Dance, A Pulso Dance Project, and Rebecca Morris and Dancers.  She is currently working with Margaret Jenkins Dance Company and Fullstop Dance.  In addition, she choreographed and performed in the dance video project “SweetWire” directed by Greg Niemeyer at UC Berkeley.  Olivia has taught in ODC’s and Shawl Anderson Dance Center’s youth programs, given master classes at Marin Academy, and is currently choreographing for the College Preparatory School’s Spring Program.  This is her first season with David Herrera Performance Company.

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Brandon Graham was born in Rochester NY and trained at School Of The Arts and Odasz Dance Theatre under Jessica Odasz. He has since graduated from Alonzo King Lines BFA program. After graduating the BFA program in 2020 he has been doing freelance work choreographing, performing and modeling. He has had the opportunity to work with Flock Works, Robert Moses, Kara Davis, Christian Burns and Gregory Dawson. Most recently he has performed with Kristin Damrow & Company.  This is his first season with DHPCo.
 

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Erik Debono is a San Francisco native, and has trained at Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Joffrey Ballet School, American Ballet Theatre (ABT), and a semester abroad at London Contemporary Dance School (LCDS). Upon earning his BFA at Adelphi University, he has performed works for Lar Lubovitch, Frank Augustyn, Earl Mosley, Manuel Vignoulle, Orion Duckstein, and Adelheid B. Strelick, while choreographing his own individual works, a full length evening program, and composing music for commissioned choreographies. Over the years he has worked with AVA Ballet, The Anata Project, dawsondancesf, Oakland Ballet, Ayalis In Motion, Parsons Dance, and Yayoi Kambara. Working under the moniker “Clyde Sapere,” he independently creates electronic music ranging from pop, hiphop, and dance score. His recent project “All That We Hold” was composed for Audrey Thao Berger and Noah Wang’s dance performance presented with APICC for the 24th annual United States of Asian America Festival. The commissioned project is available for play on all streaming services.

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Sawako S. Gannon is a dancer/musician based in San Francisco Bay Area. Gannon was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan, then moved to San Francisco in 2015 to pursue her career in modern/contemporary dance. Gannon has worked and performed with choreographers and companies, such as, Anna Harris (Driven Arts Collective), Jennifer Gerry, Joselyn Reyes, Jessica Recinos (Rising Rhythm Collective), Raissa Simpson (PUSH Dance Company) and Joe Landini (dog+pony). 

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Nico Ortiz Maimon (she/they) came to the US from Mexico with her family in 1997, and currently finds herself on unseeded Ohlone Land (Bay Area.) 

She is a movement artist, a teaching artist, and a community organizer/educator. She aims to occupy horizontal collaborations, and is on a forever quest to decolonize her body and configure systems beyond capitalism. Her solo and collaborative film and live works has been supported by QTBIPOC HIVE TV, HIVE x PLATAFORMA, Joe Goode’s GUSH Open House, Shawl-Anderson’s Queering Dance Festival (with Zoe Huey,) and FRESH festival exchange (with Kassidy Friend and Zoey Huey), and Dance Mission’s D.I.R.T. festival (with bananarama.) 

Nico has had the opportunity to work with Estrellx Supernova, Kim Ip, Jocelyn Reyes, and others. She has danced for David Herrera on a project basis, but this is her first season with David Herrera Performance Company. 
 

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