Wen Song has developed a great passion for the arts throughout the years. She has trained in numerous dance styles throughout her education at CPMA, SDSCPA, SD Mesa College, and UCSD. Her artistic journey extends beyond dance, as she has also trained in acting, voice, design, and visual arts, giving her a well-rounded approach to her artistic expression. Wen is a passionate educator, cultivating a nurturing and dynamic classroom environment where every student can be themselves and exercise their creativity. She is also the founder of Song in Motion, a dance company established in 2025 that has since produced numerous events. You can often find her teaching, performing, taking classes, and attending performances throughout the San Diego community

Erin Kracht is a San Diego–based dancer, choreographer, and teaching artist with a strong foundation in ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and contemporary dance. She holds a BFA in Dance from San José State University, graduating summa cum laude and receiving the Virginia Ann Excellence in Dance Scholarship. Erin has taught at a wide range of studios and community dance programs across California, focusing on injury prevention, movement literacy, and creative exploration. Her teaching fosters a supportive and inclusive environment for children of all ages. As a performer, Erin has appeared at numerous festivals and events throughout California, including the SAFEhouse RAW Residency in San Francisco, the 15th Annual MixMatch Dance Festival in Santa Monica, and the 2025 San Diego International Fringe Festival.

Lilian was born in San Diego, CA and raised in Tijuana, Mexico. Being a bi-national dancer broadened her views and gave her a culturally rich exposure. Lilian fell in love with dance at a very early age; at the age of 12, after trying various styles of dance she decided to specialize in Ballet and Modern under the guidance of Susana Lopez Reyes at Casa de la Cultura Tijuana. 2010 marked the beginning of her professional training with Modern Dance Company Lux Boreal where she specialized in Modern, Ballet, Jazz, Anatomy, Dance History and Stage Production. Since 2014 she has been a full-time dance educator, dancer and choreographer. In the summer of 2017 she received her K-12 Dance Teacher Certification from UNLV. In 2018 she became an Outreach Teaching Artist for NTC Foundation’s Liberty School. Since then she has devoted herself to share her knowledge and passion for dance with the children of various schools in San Diego such as Dewey Elementary (Point Loma), Washington Elementary (Little Italy) Hamilton Elementary (City Heights), Kimbrough Elementary (Grant Hill) and Logan Memorial Educational Campus (Barrio Logan). Inspired by her mother’s dedication to her career who was the director and owner of a preschool for 37 years, she specialized in early childhood dance education, with her youngest students being 18 months of age.

Jeremiah D. Jenkins earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Sam Houston State University. He has performed with numerous Dance Companies Across the U.S., Including Malashock Dance Company (CA), Urban Souls (TX), Gaspard Dance Company (NYC), Dulce Dance Company, Rosencrans Dance, CONDER|Dance, And Scorpius Dance Theatre (AZ/UK). As An Independent Artist, He has also served as A Guest Performer with Multiple Companies Nationwide.

His Choreographic Work has been featured at BETA Dance Festival, Multipurpose Dance Works, and The Las Vegas Dancing in The Desert Festival, among Others. Jeremiah Was awarded a full Scholarship
to attend Dance Italia in Lucca, Italy, where he continued to deepen his Artistry.
With Teaching experience in over six States, Jeremiah has worked with a wide range of Studios and
Institutions, led numerous Master Classes, and served as A Panel Judge for eight, National Dance
Conventions.

He Is Currently Based in San Diego, CA, working as a local Independent Artist and Educator.

Iverson Harding has been moving and creating through physicalization for twelve years. He is trained in an abundance of styles not limited to ballet, modern, contemporary, tap, and hip hop. After, graduating from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA in spring of 2024 he has evolved in his personal style which is a mixture of hip hop, contemporary and tap dance. His movement has melancholy yet sharp qualities that excite one’s eyes and brain. His teaching style is based on having an understanding of the music so you can translate the quality of movement better. Iverson enjoys finding a variety of ways to explain and demonstrate so that everyone has the chance to succeed.

Born and raised in the Caribbean, Maria Benjamin started formal dance training while in college in Boston, Massachusetts. She majored in International Business at Northeastern University, but had spent one year in Paris at the Sorbonne also majoring in French literature, history, culture and language. Maria’s Caribbean culture (which is influenced by French, British and African ancestries) plays a key role in her love of dance and its different styles and flavors. In Boston, she started studying ballet in her early 20’s but fell in love with Jazz, Limon and Graham techniques. Dance became a passion that she’s continued to nurture and train in.

Maria moved again to Paris and lived there for 4 years before finally making the Bay Area (San Francisco and Oakland) her home and the place where she would discover the style of dance that really spoke to her heart and spirit. It’s a fusion of Horton, Graham, Limon, Gospel, Afro, Blues and Ballet technique, influenced by Alvin Ailey. This style, which is being taught by her mentors and teachers in San Francisco, is called Modern Jazz Blues. Maria has trained at the ODC and Lines Ballet Dance schools in San Francisco for the past 20 years. During this time she taught dance to adults, and to high school students in the dance program at the SF School of The Arts (SOTA). At SOTA Maria choreographed pieces that the students performed at the end-of-year dance performance at the SF Palace of Fine Arts and the Cowell Theater.

She’s performed her own choreography and also works by Elvia Marta at the SF Black Choreographers’ Festival on several occasions. Maria now lives in beautiful San Diego and is excited to teach and share the joys of dance within this community.

Araceli Carrera is a multidisciplinary artist whose teaching methods in both dance and art cultivate an environment where students discover, connect, and grow their artist voice. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Education from Arizona State University in 2001. During her studies, she trained in modern release technique and soon after graduating, her training in afro cuban, latin rhythms, and hip-hop became an important part of her dance vocabulary in her dance classes and choreography. Building her connection to dance has offered many beautiful opportunities in the classroom, on stage, leading professional development workshops, touring, and collaborations. She feels honored to teach students dance technique and academics through dance consistently throughout San Diego. She is the founder of Danza, Impulse y Arte and has produced dance shows where Visual Art, Modern Technique and Afro Caribbean Dance come together to cultivate and celebrate DIVERSITY.

Alexa Fote earned her BFA in Dance from The Ohio State University. She began studying at the South Dayton School of Dance, taking ballet, modern, jazz, and tap. As she got older and more serious, she joined their pre-professional company, which she was a part of for seven years. While in the company, she went to four Regional Dance Americas to perform multiple contemporary pieces by choreographers including Shannon Bramham, Abby Leithart, and Susie Payne. She attended summer programs throughout her high school years, including The American Ballet Theatre, Point Park University, and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. In college, Alexa focused her energy on dance education by teaching in local schools and interning for non-profits such as Momentum Excellence in Columbus, Ohio. She explored Modern techniques, including Horton, Graham, and Cunningham, with the guidance of her professors, Crystal Michelle Perkins, Daniel Roberts, and Edward Taketa. Alexa went on to work for BalletMet after graduating college, becoming a teaching artist for their Wiggle Jig and outreach programs. Alexa loves to help kids feel excited about dance the way she is. Today she teaches various ages a multitude of styles, and she feels blessed to get to share her passion.

Rachel Torres graduated from the University of California, San Diego with a BA in Literature with Honors and a minor in Dance, performing in works by Liam Clancy, Allyson Green, and Yolande Snaith during her time there. Upon graduation, Rachel began taking classes and working with independent artists in the San Diego community. She has had the pleasure of performing works by several local choreographers including John Malashock, Jean Isaacs, Terry Wilson, Sadie Weinberg, Debi Toth, Lara Segura, Erica Buechner, Erin Tracy, Lavina Rich and Brianna Pilkinton. Rachel has performed as a guest artist with San Diego Dance Theater and LITVAKDance, and was a company dancer with the Malashock Dance Company from 2016-2020. Recently, Rachel was selected as an Emerging Artist in Dance for the Arts District Liberty Station 2025-2026 Residency.

Alston Tyndall (she/they) is a dance artist that explores movement through the lens of active liberation. They hold “dance artist” as a broad identifying term that encompasses their intertwined passions for dance making, dance teaching, dance research, dance community, their own dancing body, dance administration, and dance production.

Alston currently holds an MFA in Dance with a Somatic Emphasis in Access and Inclusion from the University of Colorado Boulder and a BA in Sociology and Dance with a Professional Performance Certificate from Meredith College. They have worked in public schools, private studios, nonprofit organizations, community centers, and universities with expertise in teaching dance to all ages (3-80+) and all abilities. She has danced professionally, collaborated and created with extraordinary interdisciplinary artists, and persuaded people that movement will always be worth doing. Alston is dedicated to making dance accessible and inclusive while asking questions about who gets to dance and why.

Joyce Lien Kushner is a second generation Taiwanese-American dance artist, teacher, and maker, trained in modern, contemporary, ballet and jazz, and certified in Progressing Ballet Technique®. As a teaching artist, Joyce has trained dancers of all ages, focusing primarily on contemporary and modern techniques. As a dancer and maker, she has created her own works and has performed and collaborated with artists throughout California – Modern City Repertoire, Strong Pulse Dance, Epiphany Dance Theater, Surhabi Suraf, Sarah Bush Dance, Amy Lewis, Five Feet Dance, and Chris Black Dance. In 2015, Joyce founded TILTshift Dance in San Francisco. Now in San Diego, Joyce continues to teach, make work, and hold space for other dance artists to create and work. She also serves on the board of Disco Riot. Through TILTshift Dance, Joyce curates and produces AADF, San Diego’s first Asian American Dance Festival, providing a platform for AAPI dance artists. Joyce works to build community among dance artists, uplift their voices, and create opportunities.