Anita was born and raised in Chile. From an early age and to this day she has always enjoyed learning different styles of dance such as Ballet, Modern Dance, Contemporary Dance, and Latin Ballroom. Loves fitness and is certified in Buti Yoga and Sleek Technique. She has a degree in Physical Education at the university of Playa Ancha. She studied in the Department of Contemporary Dance (Graham and Leeder technique) at the Conservatorio Hizidor Handler in Vina del Mar Chile.

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She was a dancer for the Contemporary Dance Company Creadanza for more than 7 years where she participated in various exhibitions and dance festivals throughout Chile. Through her love of dance she always looked to improve and learn in which she regularly attended different dance seminars such as: Danzalborde (Chile), Erre que Erre (Spain), and SDC (Australia).

Cara received her BFA in Modern Dance from The University of Michigan.  Since moving to San Diego in 2010 she became a founding member of Blythe Barton Dance and has performed work by John Malashock, Dollhouse Collective, Voila Entertainment, Compulsion Dance Theater, and Pisces Dance Project. She is currently an active dance maker, performer, personal trainer, yoga instructor, wife and mom to two adorable kids and several kitties.

​Carise Baril trained in Pittsburgh and Boston with a ballet and folk dance focus, eventually finding her way to modern and contemporary styles. She performed with Boston Dance Company and Contrapose Dance in Boston, and has performed with a few local choreographers since moving to San Diego. When not in the studio, she can be found driving all over Southern California for her son’s soccer games and working as a Physical Therapist. After taking a few years focusing on work in the studio, she is happy to be performing again! 

Cathlin has been dancing since she could walk, with a taste for the spotlight ever since her breakout performance of “twinkle twinkle” as a tiny tot. She grew up training in the world of ballet, performing lead roles in many classical works, and traveled to Scotland to dance in the world-renowned Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Movement is integral to her everyday life, whether alone in her kitchen, free styling at a raucous concert, or on a professional stage with her peers. She is deeply grateful to continue exploring new styles and pushing her abilities with H2O Dance Company and Accipiter Dance.

Cecily Holcombe began dancing while majoring in physics at UCSD. Her first exposure to dance was a beginning modern class with Jean Isaacs, who she continued to study with extensively throughout her career. After graduating, she moved up to San Francisco and performed with Liss Fain Dance and worked with other local choreographers while earning her teaching credential and teaching high school. Since moving back to San Diego, Cecily has been honored to perform with Khamla Somphanh, Push Process Movement Theory, and Blythe Barton Dance, among others. Cecily joined SDDT in 2017 and presented her first choreographic work at Live Arts Fest in 2022. Outside of dance, Cecily teaches high school math and science and enjoys playing guitar. She lives with her husband, their dog, and 3 unpredictable children.

A central coast native, Elise began dancing at the age of 3 at Pat Jackson’s American Dance School until its close and later studied at the Academy of Dance of San Luis Obispo. She was a company member of the Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo and the San Luis Jazz Dancers performing in works by Drew Silvaggio, Michelle Epperheimer, Lisa Deyo and Jackie Lee. She has also completed trainings with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Alonzo King Lines Ballet and the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance (before its closure). Elise has come into the San Diego dance community in the past two years and has been training at Malashock Dance. Elise also has a BS in Integrated Marketing Communications from San Diego State University and is currently pursuing her MS through University of Southern California in Digital Media Management while pursuing a career in digital marketing and product branding.

Giovanna Francisco (she/her) is a passionate movement artist based out of the Coachella Valley. Giovanna received her BA in Dance, BA in Sociology, and a minor in Education Studies from the University of California, San diego. Her movement practice reveals her ballet foundation accompanied by (post)modern and contemporary forms. She aspires to pursue more choreographic endeavors, dancing professionally, and one day her MA in Dance Movement Therapy. She is also a creative through photographic and collage mediums that draw from botanic, sentimental influence.

Leigh took her first ballet class at age eight and was hooked! She studied ballet and jazz at her studio in Bakersfield, CA and by age 15, she was teaching ballet and jazz and by age 17 she was choreographing for her studio. In college, Leigh danced ballet and modern while studying for her degree in Biology. After college, Leigh took a hiatus from dance while she taught marine biology camps for kids, SCUBA classes both locally and abroad, and worked in the biotech industry. After having her first child, Leigh began teaching hip hop, ballet, jazz, and contemporary dance classes. She was also the coordinator for Expressions, the YMCA dance team. Leigh has been dancing and performing with various choreographers around San Diego County since 2006. She loves working with this amazing dance community!

Rachel Torres graduated from UC San Diego in 2012, receiving a BA in Literature with Honors and a minor in Dance. She has since had the pleasure of performing for several local dance artists, including Lara Segura, Erica Buechner (Sound Dance Company), Lavina Rich (Push Process Movement Theory), Erin Tracy, and San Diego Dance Theater’s Trolley Dances (Terry Wilson, Mark Haim, and Debi Toth-Ward). In 2014, she performed as a guest artist with San Diego Dance Theater and in 2016, she joined the Malashock Dance Company where she currently is a company dancer and teaching artist.

Originally from the small town of Ashland, Ohio, Rebekah started dancing at age seven at Opus II Dance Studio. She holds a BFA in Dance Performance from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and while there, pioneered a study abroad program with the University of Chichester in England. She also holds an MFA in Choreography from Mills College, where she received the E.L. Weigand Award for Innovation in Choreography. Rebekah has been a dance teacher and choreographer for almost 20 years, drawing inspiration from her training in ballet, modern, contemporary, and jazz. She is on faculty at The Ballet Company and a guest teaching artist for Awaken Theater and other studios around San Diego. Rebekah is the founder of H2O Dance Company and the co-curator for Fresh Dances with colleague Emily Miller. She is the Theater Coordinator at Awaken Church, as well as the choreographic lead for musicals and dance items at Awaken. She is also a painter and visual artist, and her passion for painting continues to be a strong component of her creative work.

Sara fell in love with dance at our local community colleges, and has had the pleasure of working with choreographers from across the globe. Driven to make quality dance education accessible to all, Sara has spent almost two decades working as a professional in dance education leadership roles. From 2017-2019, Sara served as the Executive Director and then as a consultant for Jean Isaacs San Diego Dance Theater & Light Box Performance Space, a San Diego non-profit arts organization. Her leadership and development skills helped grow SDDT’s annual fundraising budget, providing the organization with the breadth to expand its programs, services, and staff team exponentially. She has worked with other nonprofit organizations including Boys and Girls Clubs, Performing Arts Workshop, and Carlsbad Performing Arts Academy, in development and administrative roles. Prior to that, she developed and directed dance programming for nine years at the YMCA of San Diego County, where she met Brianna Pilkinton in a CPR course as part of their onboard process -- you can imagine the laughs and tears they've shared since then! Sara previously spent several years as a volunteer teaching dance within two North County school districts, and she was instrumental in launching dance programs at several San Diego County High Schools.

Shannon is a proud dog mom, an Oceanside dweller, a big geek about space, sci-fi, and claymation, and an in-the-ground kind of mover. What inspires her most are opportunities to collaborate with various multidisciplinary art forms and play with diverse modes of communication. She cultivated her passion for the arts in the Bay Area, attaining a BA in Dance at SFSU and a MFA in Performance and Choreography at Mills College. Shannon recently found her way back to dance, after a long break, and is thrilled to be dancing again! She has gratefully performed in works by H2O Dance Company, Accipiter Dance,  Kevin Jenkins, Cathleen McCarthy, Paco Gomez, Byron Seddens, Ori Flomin, Shinichi Iova-Koga, and Sheldon Smith. 

Stephanie Smith graduated from the University of North Texas with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Modern Dance Performance. She was kicked out of Texas for not caring about football and landed in Sandy Eggo. She has performed for Malashock Dance, Jean Isaacs’ San Diego Dance Theater, The PGK Project, Michael Mizerany, Golden Corpse, and many others in San Diego. She has trained aerial apparatuses, including the lira and pole. Besides dance, her biggest passion is her dog training busines and being the best dog mom she can be.

Tina Carreras is a Dancer, Choreographer, Teaching Artist, and Personal Fitness Instructor. Her passion is movement as a form of creative expression, exercise, therapy, self-care, and building community. She has been performing, choreographing, and volunteering in the San Diego dance community for the past 5 years with organizations such as San Diego Dance Theater, Disco Riot, Malashock, 40 North, PAW, and Mounarath Powell Productions. Tina also dabbles in dance film and editing and continues to seek out her dance education through San Diego City College and with many other dance organizations throughout San Diego.

Marley Wood-Pilkinton is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Organizational Psychology with a minor in Business at CSU Chico. From a young age, she has been a dedicated supporter of her mom's dance endeavors, whether participating as a tiny tot in dance classes or assisting backstage with dancer logistics and show running. Marley’s passion for creative arts and expression is evidenced by her graduation from Canyon Crest Academy's Envision Visual Arts Conservatory Program. Today, she is thrilled to contribute to Accipiter Dance through music editing, design consulting, and administrative support.

Brittany Taylor, Casey Flores, Christine Doan, Danielle Muckle, JT Magee, Molly Schwartz