DELLA DAVIDSON (Founding Artistic Director) arrived at UC Davis
to become a professor of dance in 2001 just as the Department of
Theatre and Dance became a merged department. She was the
founding artistic director of the department’s Sideshow Physical
Theatre. Each piece of choreography usually took years to
complete, as she worked interactively with the dancers and other
collaborators to develop the work. A survivor of Hodgkin’s
disease that she conquered at the age of 28, her gift was to make
work darkly-toned yet human, with beautiful movement that faced
tragedy with hope.
JOHN FLAX (Co-Director and Creator on A Dream Inside Another)
John Flax has been creating and performing original theater for
over twenty years. He joined the French/American Theatre de la
Jeune Lune in 1979, performing in Moliere!, a dramatic history of
Moliere’s company and A French Christmas, staged French folk
tales. Along with the Jeune Lune ensemble he co-created and
performed in Ubu for President and 1929: The American Dream. Both
won Kudo Awards for Best Production in Minneapolis. In 1983, Flax
founded Theater Grottesco with Frenchman Didier Maucort.
Eric has performed with numerous companies in the Bay area
including Margaret Jenkins Dance Company, Nancy Karp and Dancers,
amd Stephen Pelton. He founded Dandelion Dancetheater in 1997
with co-director Kimi Gurthrie for an outlet for his own
choreographic visions.
KEGAN MARLING is a choreographer, writer, designer and arts
consultant. His work is a reflection of ever-shifting interests:
contact improv, creative writing, sound design, photography,
pottery, bookbinding, ballroom, ballet, Afro-Caribbean dance,
painting, tap, gymnastics, acting, woodworking and installation
art. In addition, Kegan’s work is heavily influenced by the
artists he has worked with: Della Davidson, Bill T. Jones, Joe
Goode, Lea Anderson, Scott Wells, Susan Foster, Nigel Charnock
(DV8) and Anna Halprin.
Richard Marriott, Composer Mr. Marriott is the principal composer
of The Clubfoot Orchestra, which he founded in 1983. Marriott’s
compositions include new soundtracks for several classic silent
films, including The Cabinet of Dr. Calgari and Nosferatu, and
collaborative scores for Metropolis, Sherlock Jr., Pandora’s Box
and Hands of Orlac.
KERRY MEHLING holds an MFA in choreography from UC Davis and a
BFA in performance from the University of Utah. In 2005 she
formed Talismanic Physical Theatre. Kerry has performed and
toured in the companies of Della Davidson’s Sideshow Physical
Theatre, Deborah Slater Dance Theater, Della Davidson Dance
Theatre, Ririe Woodbury Dance Company and several other West
Coast companies. Kerry has had the pleasure to teach, perform and
choreograph nationally as well as internationally.
JANE SCHNORRENBERG received a BA in dance from Mills College and
an MFA in choreography from UC Davis. She has performed and
toured in the companies of HT Chen (NYC), DanceArt Co. (UK/US),
Lily Cai (SF), Tracy Rhoades’ Exploding Roses, Nancy Karp +
Dancers and Paufve/Dance. Jane was a longtime
dancer/collaborator/friend of Della Davidson, dancing with her
for over 20 marvelous years. She and Kegan Marling currently
co-direct their own company entitled spoon.
Sandra Woodall, Costume Design Working in collaboration with
diverse figures in the performing arts world, Sandra Woodall has
been designing costumes for numerous ballet, modern dance,
theatre, music, and performance art groups since 1970. Among them
are the San Francisco Ballet, Margaret Jenkins Dance Company,
Della Davidson Dance Theater, ODC/San Francisco, Oakland Ballet,
American Conservatory Theater, Eureka Theater, California
Shakespeare Company, Magic Theater, and the Kronos Quartet.
