Abbie Ackerman was born and raised in Ohio. Her parents had a feeling she would be a performer when at four years of age they would find her singing and dancing in the living room. Abbie graduated from Ohio University in 2005 with a BFA in Modern Dance and Choreography. While at OU, she participated in several concerts and tours as a dancer, choreographer, and technician. She's had the opportunity to work with artists such as Bill T. Jones, David Dorfman, Bill Evans, and AXIS Dance. Currently Abbie performs with the Vietnamese performing arts group the Nguyen Dance Company and is working toward starting classes for cancer patients and survivors.  She would like to thank Peck peck for welcoming her to the company with such open arms.

Christine Bonansea has been a professional dancer since 1999 in France, Switzerland and the Unites States. She has explored diverse arts and performing techniques over the last ten years including contact improvisation, acting, clowning, video, graphics and bass guitar. Christine dances with Emspace Dance, Huckabay McAllister Dance, Lisa Townsend Company, peck peck dance ensemble, paige starling sorvillo/blindsight, and has collaborated with Mendena Production, and Dance Monks. Her own choreography has been presented in France and she is currently developing a new video-dance work in San Francisco.

Tara Fagan is a Bay Area performer, collaborator, teacher and choreographer. She arrived here three years ago after receiving a BFA in Dance from California Institute of the Arts. Fagan has been a proud member of peck peck dance ensemble ever since. She also enjoys performing with kelly kemp & company and Aura Fishbeck Dance and has had the pleasure of working with some amazing artists including Rose Pasquarello-Beauchamp, David Cabrera, Sarah Lockwood, Wanda Gala, Stephan Koplowitz, Christine Cali, Lauren Monheim, and Todd Courage. Recently, she premiered her own work as part of the Garage's Raw and Uncut festival. She teaches movement classes for Rhythm &Motion/ ODC School and Fitness In Transit and is a House Manager at ODC Theater and Theater Artaud. Fagan spends her free time eating chocolate ice cream, and experiencing what life has to offer.

Rebecca Fettig has trained in dance for over 20 years, including ballet,modern, jazz, african, and others.
She studied for many years at the Milwaukee Ballet School, Danceworks and First Stage Theater Academy in Milwaukee, WI as well as the University of Wisconsin- Madison. From 2003-2005 she danced with theConnolly Dance Company and the Kanopy Dance Company, a Graham technique baced ensemble in Madison that also showcased her own choreography. She formed and taught for a dance cooperative Modern Fusion that incorporated, elements of modern, ballet, ballroom, and improv. She has continued to dance in the bay area since 2006. This is her first season with peck peck dance ensemble. She also is currently pursuing a masters in traditional Chinese medicine.

Gretchen Garnett began dancing in her hometown of Northampton, Massachusetts and went on to graduate from the high school program at the North Carolina School of the Arts and earn a BFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Gretchen arrived in the Bay Area in 2005 and in addition to dancing with peck peck she has had the opportunity to work with companies including Kelly Bowker and Dancers, danceNAGANUMA, Aura Fischbeck Dance, Leyya Tawil's Dance Elixir and Janice Garrett and Charles Moulton. She has presented her choreography in Massachusetts, Illinois, Arizona and California, including at Dance Mission and the Garage in San Francisco.

Sebastian Grubb spent his childhood doing musical theatre in Santa Cruz. He then received a B.A. in Philosophy from Whitman College where he began taking classes in modern and contemporary dance. There he also had opportunities to present his own choreography on stage, opting for an exploration of the bizarre over the everyday. Since then he has studied a wide variety of dance forms and techniques, including a hefty dose of contact improv, freeform acrobatics, and release technique. In the Bay Area he works regularly with Scott Wells and a smorgasbord of other wonderful choreographers. He would like to thank Tara for her incredible energies and talent in co-creating their first piece together.

bios for peck peck and friends, May 8th and 9th

Malia Movement Company (MMCo) was created by Malia Connor in 1992 as a vessel to bring together and heal women of varying ethnicities, ages, body types and socio-economic status through the art of dance. Malia and her company firmly believe that all people can find inspiration in one another, and are dedicated to creating opportunities for this using different mediums and platforms of theater. Through numerous performances with a wide range of dancers, vocalists, poets, visual artists and audiences, Malia Movement Company’s programs have evolved into visual meditations; experiences that embody a seamless blend of Malia’s fluid movement vocabulary, social consciousness and commitment to artistic diversity.

As a Dunham trained dancer, Malia personally identifies with movement that is healing, socially relevant and multi-dimensional. She prides herself on creating pieces that educate with a light touch, and her choreographic works often shed light on social issues such as single parenting, being of mixed heritage or the plight of indigenous peoples. In addition, Malia often fuses a variety of artistic mediums into her dance pieces including visual art, spoken word, live music, live vocals, large-scale projections and the element of improvisation. Malia has shared work in venues ranging from large stages to small galleries, and appreciates any space that will allow the company to establish an intimate connection with its audience.

Now in its seventeenth year of arts collaboration in the Bay Area, Malia Movement Company is focused on growth and expansion. MMCo continues to be an active community member through participation in local events and collaboration with non-profit and educational organizations.

Leah Rybolt graduated from Goucher College, with a BA in dance and psychology. While attending Goucher she performed works by guest choreographers Kim Epifano and Adrienne Clancy. She also had the opportunity to perform faculty and student choreography. After graduating she spent time in North Carolina working as a raft guide and kayak instructor.
She recently moved to San Francisco to start dancing again. She will be performing in the Pilot program at ODC in April.

Julie Sheetz fled Nevada for San Francisco in 2000 with an MS in Geography and extra credits from stage and independent film productions. Lacking serious dance training but not luck, she has been honored to work with Strong Current, EmSpace Dance, Huckabay McAllister Dance, Fellow Travelers Peformance Group, Company Mecanique, Lisa Townsend, Hilary Bryan, Leyya Tawil, Chris Black, Hope Mohr, L. Martina Young, Dianne Rugg, rubber chickens, ceramic ducks, remote controlled bunny rabbits, shopping carts, and leafy green vegetables on both coasts. An original member of peck peck dance ensemble, she is thrilled to be back for the 2008 season.

Christi Welter grew up in Aiea, Hawaii where she performed with Hawaii Ballet Theatre from 1990-1996 before moving to the mainland for college. At UC Santa Barbara she received the Patricia Sparrow Scholarship, spent two years touring with the student dance company, and was awarded a grant for her Senior Honors Project Living in Lilies. Upon graduating with a BFA in Dance and a BS in Mathematical Sciences, she continued east to New York City presenting her own work and collaborations at Joyce SoHo and WAX. Unable to stand another cold winter she now shakes her sparkles, as alter ego Lovely Le Bang, with "Best of the Bay" winner Kitty Kitty Bang Bang and dances on more demure stages as a member of peck peck dance ensemble

Claire Willey has been an avid dancer throughout her life. After many years of dancing around her living room, she received a BFA in modern dance from North Carolina School of the Arts. Claire then continued her studies as a scholarship student at the Merce Cunningham Studio, while completing her Vinyasa Yoga instructor certification, and dancing with several small companies in NYC. In 2006, Claire toured Germany, Russia, and Eastern Europe as a guest artist with the national dance company of Lithuania, Dance Theater Aura. Since returning home to California, Claire has had the pleasure of working with Margaret Jenkins, Paige Starling Sorvillo, Peck Peck Dance Ensemble, and Janice Garrett & Dancers.